In-House Legal Departments

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The story of how one legal department is using legal operations to engage stakeholders and reduce risk.

In 2019, I graduated from Northwestern’s Master of Science in Law.  After graduation, I got a job in the legal department at VillageMD, a healthcare and technology growth company. I am actually one of three graduates…

COVID era is creating conditions for more and faster legal innovation. 

The widespread havoc that COVID has wrecked on corporate supply chains mirrors the impact that it has had on society at large.  Key suppliers that once were highly dependable now find themselves unable to staff their factories and distribution centers and unable to reliably…

Reflections on the connection between specialization and innovation

Your mother needs heart valve replacement surgery, and it’s time to choose between doctors. You will have to explain yourself to two siblings and a few other relatives, but as a practical matter the choice is in your hands. You interview two potential surgeons. Here’s what they have to say:…
Continue Reading The Swiss Army Lawyer (138)

General counsel exert an outsized influence on the legal market.  Through the open letter below, some of them are taking the long view by trying to influence the health and vitality of the legal talent supply chain. They are looking for other general counsel to join them.

Want to make a difference?  Encourage your general…

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The legal profession’s commitment to diversity has a credibility problem.

Since the early 2000s, law departments and law firms have advanced ambitious public initiatives to diversify the legal profession. In law firm power centers, however, the disconnect between public proclamations and empirical reality is staggering.…
Continue Reading Credible commitments to legal diversity (114)

Rather than wait for it, Microsoft’s legal team has decided to create what it needs, starting now.

Innovation is taking place in many parts of the legal ecosystem these days. Yet, as relates to legal operations inside corporate legal departments, a refreshing community of practice is starting to unfold. The camaraderie and fellowship among practitioners,…

Photo by Louis Reed via Unsplash / Microsoft is bringing the scientific method to legal innovation.

Microsoft is pushing legal buy and provider engagement to the next level and asking their primary firms to come along. Here’s why it matters: they’re thinking bigger, committed for the long haul, and bringing a STEM mindset to legal innovation.

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Continue Reading Huge, If True: How Microsoft’s Big Ideas Could Transform Legal Buy (069)

Microsoft’s legal department has the talent, resources and vision.  With enough time, a “Microsoft system” could evolve that will be as influential as the original Cravath system.

I was very fortunate to be invited to the most recent Microsoft Trusted Advisor Forum, which took place on September 20 at Microsoft’s Redmond campus. The Forum featured…

Big corporations are growing faster than the rest of the economy. It is not hard to figure out where this is going. Lawyer acceptance is different story.

Many lawyers and law firms claim to serve the middle market, often describing how they deal directly with owners and executives rather than in-house counsel. Although these clients…