http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/index.jsp Get daily news that in-house attorneys need to know, including legal department management tips and salary information. en-us 02/11/2008 Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.shtml http://www.law.com/img/newswire/ihc_rss.gifhttp://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/index.jsp With the launch last week of DLA Piper's Facebook-style networking tool, it looks as if the social networking buzz is slowly working its way into the legal world. For the comparatively isolated in-house legal community, having easy online access to peers and external counsel alike could spell the beginning of an era of greater empowerment and integration, but how ready are they to log on and be counted? It is a question that corporate counsel may have to ask themselves sooner rather than later.http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1202469641265&rss=ihcThe charter school movement is growing rapidly by putting business principles and results to work in school management. In Georgia as well as a number of other states, the person charged with oversight of charter schools is neither an education administrator nor a business person, but a lawyer. "The intersection of law and school policy here in this job is really fascinating," said Andrew W. Broy, associate superintendent for policy and charter schools for the Georgia Department of Education.http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1202426496493&rss=ihcStephanie Lucie often seems to be in the right place at the right time in her life. The Staktek Holdings GC worked her way through the ranks at private firms before making the move in-house. She has leveraged her securities experience to her advantage, working for growing companies as they sought to capitalize on technology by going public or expanding through mergers and acquisitions. And she has parlayed her general legal and business expertise to positive effect in the corporate environment.http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1202297431870&rss=ihcSallie Mae has been in the headlines a lot lately. Maybe that's why it didn't bother announcing that its top lawyer resigned last week. General counsel Robert Lavet stepped down Jan. 31 after 16 years at the student loan consolidator formally known as SLM Corp. Lavet's resignation came three days after Sallie Mae settled a suit against a buyout group that abandoned a $25.3 billion bid for the company. Both Lavet and a Sallie Mae spokesman say the GC's resignation had nothing to do with the settlement.http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1202297431676&rss=ihcYou don't need a weather vane to know which way the wind is blowing, and you don't need a Wall Street Journal subscription to know we're in a recession, writes attorney Michael P. Maslanka. So, what's the smart general counsel to do? Recession plan now, not later. Recession planning translates into one thing: more work for fewer employees. Maslanka reviews some options on how to minimize the pain.http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1202211784781&rss=ihcWe share everything about ourselves online. We post candid images, videos, political views, religious beliefs and gossip. We post permanent, intimate details we once held private. And no one seems to mind. But what happens when these intimate details spill over into the workplace? asks attorney Harry A. Valetk. Should our legal, off-duty, off-network online activities jeopardize our jobs? In our reputation-based economy, what are the appropriate boundaries between work and our private lives?http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1202136231178&rss=ihcFor a GC reporting to a CEO and board, surprises are rarely welcome, especially when presenting the tab from outside counsel. One potentially valuable tool is project management, an established method for planning work, tracking progress and reporting status and changes. Still, it only goes so far. "Project management doesn't always mean your law firm has the lowest rate," said Jonathan B. Wilson, who in his prior job as Web.com GC changed litigation counsel midway through a matter and took bids from firms.http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1201912763205&rss=ihcThe number of corporate pretrial agreements negotiated by the Justice Department increased sharply from 2006 to 2007, but the number of agreements containing waivers of attorney-client privilege and work-product protection declined, according to a recent study. Although two-thirds of agreements involved violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and federal health care laws, attorney Lawrence D. Finder said that wasn't surprising given that the DOJ's focus on those areas began at least two years ago.http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1201779827146&rss=ihcTo earn top dollar, GCs need to supervise legal departments of more than 25 lawyers, according to a survey by Altman Weil. For GCs in one-lawyer departments, the average cash compensation was $200,000, according to the comparison posted on the consulting firm's Web site. The survey shows GC median pay climbed to $300,000 for two- to five-lawyer departments, $400,000 for six to 10 lawyers, about $500,000 for 11 to 25 lawyers and more than $600,000 for more than 25 lawyers.http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1201687552469&rss=ihc