IBM general counsel Robert Weber isn’t afraid to take on a fight. Outside investment in law firms? He told The Wall Street Journal he opposes it. Should the general counsel be the conscience of the company? No, he explained to our sibling publication corpcounsel.com, that’s not the right mind-set. On a frigid February day, I drove up to the computer giant’s woodsy Westchester, New York, campus to talk to the former Jones Day trial lawyer about another no-holds-barred topic: his pet peeves about his outside counsel.
It all starts with "The List." Every law department has one, whether it’s a formal document or something the GC keeps in his head: a rundown of firms that the law department will not hire. There are approximately 10 firms (including one from the Magic Circle) that are currently persona non grata to Weber’s 500 in-house lawyers. (IBM’s roster includes some 10 individual lawyers on its blacklist, too.)
