GIMME SHELTER - The rent is too damn high in Silicon Valley—and it’s driving off in-house candidates. So writes Caroline Spiezio, who reports that in-house candidates at all levels increasingly are turning down offers in Silicon Valley, citing the cost of living as the reason. What’s more, with the average pay for in-house support employees at less than $60,000, while the average home price in places like Menlo Park and Palo Alto stands at $2 million, in-house lawyers find themselves handling more administrative tasks while support staff openings linger unfilled, sometimes for months.
LESS IS LESS - May be time to tighten that belt, counselor. A full 82% of in-house legal leaders will be forced to cut legal spend over the next two years, according to a report by EY. Based on a survey of 1,058 senior legal practitioners from businesses in 25 countries, the report finds that rising business costs and in-house salary competition are some of the reasons, as are escalating salaries for outside lawyers. As Dan Clark reports, some 37% of respondents indicated that over the next two years they plan on cutting legal spend by 11% to 20%.
