In House Counsel

News

Margo Smith Leaves Apttus After 10 Months for Snowflake Computing

Ross Todd | April 24, 2018

Smith replaces Barbara Walkowski in the CLO role at the cloud-based data warehousing company in San Mateo.

News

In-House Leaders From Facebook, Uber, Dropbox and Salesforce: 'Consent Is Complex in GDPR'

Caroline Spiezio | April 20, 2018

Are companies seeking too much consent to process data? Too little? It's a situation that poses challenges for in-house lawyers far and wide, according to a panel discussion of industry leaders at Santa Clara University School of Law.

Profile

Former ClearSlide GC Olga Mack Joins San Francisco's Quantstamp as VP of Strategy

Caroline Spiezio | April 18, 2018

Mack, who was also formerly in-house at Zoosk, was planning to take some time off, but then found a job that she couldn't turn down.

Slideshow

What 5 California Legal Department Luminaries Have Said About Outside Firms

Rebekah Mintzer | April 16, 2018

Here are some of the quotable (and occasionally controversial) statements California lawyers in corporate legal departments have made about outside partners.

Dodgers' GC Says Technology Has Created Major League Changes for Baseball Lawyers

Caroline Spiezio | April 13, 2018

Veteran legal leader Sam Fernandez spoke on Friday at Berkeley Law about how in-house lawyers' roles in the sport have evolved over his three-and-half decades on the job.

News

In-House Leaders: The Future of IP Law Is Global, Data-Driven

Caroline Spiezio | April 12, 2018

At Wednesday's IPForward Conference in San Francisco, the Recorder took a look into the crystal ball with in-house IP luminaries.

News

5 Takeaways From IPForward's 2018 Conference

Caroline Spiezio | April 12, 2018

Here's some of the knowledge that a high-profile group of in-house IP specialists shared at the San Mateo conference on Wednesday.

News

Eve Saltman Returns to GoPro, This Time As General Counsel

Caroline Spiezio | April 05, 2018

After a stint at Asana, Saltman is back in on the action at GoPro, taking over for Sharon Zezima as general counsel.

News

AcelRx Hires New GC From McKesson Corp.

Kristen Rasmussen | April 02, 2018

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. has hired John Saia, most recently associate general counsel at drug distributor McKesson Corp., as its new top lawyer in the run-up to resubmitting its pain drug Dsuvia to the FDA.

News

Facebook Deputy GC Details Plan to Increase User Data Privacy, Transparency

Caroline Spiezio | March 28, 2018

Facebook's vice president and deputy general counsel Ashlie Beringer co-authored a blog post detailing how the company is attempting to make its privacy tools and settings easier to find.

News

Legal Departments Developing Criteria to Judge Outside Counsel Data Defenses

Caroline Spiezio | March 26, 2018

The Corporate Legal Operations Consortium is designing a framework to help corporate legal departments evaluate how firms can protect valuable client data, and give firms real standards to shoot for on cybersecurity.

Expert Opinion

Business Intelligence Finally Knocking at the Legal Department Door

Eric Willis | March 26, 2018

Legal departments are expected to do more with less and are now charged with better controlling and reducing costs, continuously evaluating and improving processes, and wherever possible, retaining and re-using historical data and knowledge.

Former ClearSlide GC Olga Mack Appointed to the California Law Revision Commission

Caroline Spiezio | March 20, 2018

Mack says she jumped at the opportunity to join the commission, as service is the reason why she became a lawyer in the first place.

Slideshow

Four Takeaways from the the Hispanic National Bar Association's Corporate Counsel Conference

Caroline Spiezio | March 19, 2018

Key highlights from panels at the conference, which ran from Thursday to Sunday at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square

Former Google In-House Discovery Leader Says It's Important to Invest in People Before Tech

Caroline Spiezio | March 15, 2018

For Pamela Davis, who left Google last year, success is about a lot more than just technology.

Bay Area’s In-House Lawyers Find Collaborative, Cross-Company Communities

Caroline Spiezio | March 09, 2018

“The bar is high in the Bay because we don't have to start each conversation at a higher level. We understand each other,” said one legal ops leader.

News

In-House Counsel Poll Finds a Quarter Have Used Litigation Finance—Mainly in Tech

Ben Hancock | February 28, 2018

The survey also showed that corporate legal departments often drive the decision to use third-party funders, but that many in-house lawyers have ethical reservations.

Analysis

After a Second Google Suit, Time to Re-Examine Policies Around Internal Forums?

Caroline Spiezio | February 26, 2018

The follow up to James Damore's suit against Google may prompt legal departments to take a close look at how they deal with speech on internal company message boards.

Expert Opinion

How Long Should a GC Stay at the Same Company in Today's Market?

Julie Brush | February 26, 2018

Many professionals view the role of general counsel/chief legal officer as the top legal spot in the in house world. It is a “goal achieved”—through years of hard work and career navigation. And it’s a legal position unique to any other… and is viewed as such by employers

Q&A

Wickr GC Says 'Waymo v. Uber' Had 'Very Positive Result' for Ephemeral Messaging

Caroline Spiezio | February 15, 2018

Jennifer DeTrani, GC at the disappearing message app maker and Wickr outside counsel, and Jonathan Meyer, a partner at Sheppard Mullin, spoke to The Recorder about how they explain the perks of ephemeral messaging to companies and what it's like being name-dropped in court.

49 Tech Companies Call for Protection of Sanctuary City Funding in New Amicus Brief

Caroline Spiezio | February 13, 2018

The companies, which were represented by attorneys from Fenwick & West, called Trump's move to cut funding to sanctuary cities "antithetical to the values, practices and culture of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, and technology hubs across the country."

News

Adobe Pairs With Firms for Split-Summer 1L Diversity Internship

Caroline Spiezio | February 12, 2018

Adobe Systems Inc.'s legal team is looking to build diversity in-house and in partnered firms in a new, more collaborative way.

News

5 Takeaways From Tech Leaders' Content Moderation Conference

Caroline Spiezio | February 05, 2018

Tech companies' legal leaders and policy experts gathered at Santa Clara University School of Law on Feb. 2 for a day of panels on content moderation and removal.

News

Airbnb CLO Belinda Johnson Becomes the Company's First COO

Caroline Spiezio | February 02, 2018

Belinda Johnson, who has been dubbed "Airbnb's Sheryl Sandberg," will be the first to take this role at the company.

Q&A

Adobe GC Mike Dillon Is Retiring, but He Won't Be Slowing Down

Caroline Spiezio | February 01, 2018

Dillon's post-Adobe plans include welding, baking sourdough bread, fighting climate change—and publishing a book.

News

Snap Inc. GC Michael O’Sullivan to Employees: If You Leak, We May Sue You

Caroline Spiezio | January 19, 2018

"If you leak Snap Inc. information, you will lose your job and we will pursue any and all legal remedies against you. And that’s just the start," O'Sullivan wrote in a recent internal memo obtained by the media.

News

Former Uber CLO Salle Yoo Named in Reports of Tool Meant to Evade Foreign Authorities

Caroline Spiezio | January 12, 2018

Uber's former CLO Salle Yoo is in the spotlight again, after a report from Bloomberg that she knew about an Uber tool that allowed remote company-owned device shutdowns in the event of police raids in offices outside the United States.

Profile

GE In-House Leader Goes 'Home' to Gibson Dunn in San Francisco

Caroline Spiezio | January 08, 2018

"I started my legal career with Gibson Dunn, so this feels like a return home," Aaron Briggs said.

News

Silicon Valley GCs Increasingly Named Executive Officers, Report Says

Caroline Spiezio | December 22, 2017

"People want to be part of an operation that's highly regarded, to be among the executive team, and to be a part of the decision-making for the entire entity," one expert said.

Analysis

4 Changes In-House Tech Teams Could See Under New Tax Bill

Caroline Spiezio | December 21, 2017

Tax attorneys told The Recorder that legal departments should be figuring out exactly how the bill affects their individual company, as there are a variety of changes in regulations.

Cannabis Industry Lawyers Up: A Q&A With Eaze CLO Michael Brandis

Caroline Spiezio | December 20, 2017

"It's a once-in-a-generation opportunity for any lawyer to go work at a fast-growing company in a new industry where the laws are being born as you start on day one," Brandis said.

News

Ex-Uber In-House Lawyer Fights Waymo's Quick-Turnaround Depo Request

Celia Ampel | December 19, 2017

Former Uber in-house lawyer Craig Clark argues he cannot be forced to testify 3,000 miles away from home on less than a week's notice.

News

Charles Renfrew, Former Federal Judge, Dies at 89

Caroline Spiezio | December 18, 2017

Charles Renfrew, a former federal judge in California has died. Aside from his time on the bench, Renfrew was also a deputy U.S. attorney general and served as general counsel of Chevron.

News

Survey: Lots of 'Movement in the Market' for Calif. Legal Departments in 2017

Caroline Spiezio | December 18, 2017

California's in-house lawyers have made a lot of career moves as of late, according to new data from HBR Consulting.

News

Fired GC Tries to Laugh Off Bio-Rad's Appeal of His Winning Verdict

Sue Reisinger | December 18, 2017

Sanford Wadler, former Bio-Rad GC and whistleblower, won a retaliation case earlier this year against his former employer.

Expert Opinion

How Important Is In-House Experience When Applying for an In-House Job?

Julie Brush | December 18, 2017

All things being equal, candidates possessing in-house experience still hold a healthy competitive advantage in today’s legal market. With this said, the requirement has been relaxed and the consideration is a bit more balanced due to the factors noted above, specifically at the junior levels.

News

Will In-House Opportunities in California Grow With Budding Cannabis Industry?

Caroline Spiezio | December 14, 2017

With California's legalization of recreational marijuana sales, the outside-counsel-only approach for cannabis companies could go up in smoke.

News

With Senate Tax Plan, Tech Could Pull Back From Ireland, Other Foreign Outposts

Caroline Spiezio | December 08, 2017

Ireland and some other countries might lose their luster for tech companies if tax reform goes the way the U.S. Senate would like.

News

Judge Weighs Uber’s Obligations to Produce Controversial Letter in Waymo Battle

Caroline Spiezio | December 04, 2017

An Uber lawyer admitted that an email about the letter sat unread in his email inbox for months prior to the latest kerfuffle.

News

Who Uses the Sing! Karaoke App at Work? Smule’s GC Does.

Stephanie Forshee | December 01, 2017

Sharon Segev has found herself in a very unique workplace as the sole in-house lawyer at music app maker Smule Inc.

News

Just Days Into New Job, Uber's Tony West Tells Employees To 'Stop It Now' With Surveillance

Caroline Spiezio | December 01, 2017

Tony West, the newly minted CLO of Uber, has a lot of work on his hands already as he tries to help the ride-hailing company clean up past messes and move on.

News

Bay Area Hits Diversity Milestone With 100 Asian-American GCs, But More Work Remains

Caroline Spiezio | November 30, 2017

Asian-Americans have come a long way in legal departments in the Bay Area, but issues such as stereotyping and the need for mentoring are still getting in the way.

News

Nutanix Announces Tyler Wall as New Chief Legal Officer

Caroline Spiezio | November 30, 2017

"Nutanix is a high-growth software company that’s disrupting a large market," Wall said.

News

Uber In-House Lawyer Gets Grilling From Judge Over Inflammatory Letter

Caroline Spiezio | November 29, 2017

"Maybe you're in trouble," Judge William Alsup told Uber's Angela Padilla. "This document should have been produced."

News

Uber In-House Attorney Out Behind Massive Cyberattack That Went Undisclosed

Stephanie Forshee | Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | November 21, 2017

The company failed to notify 57 million users of a breach in October 2016. Two employees tasked with handling the response process have left the company, including Uber in-house attorney Craig Clark, who reported to the company’s chief security officer.

News

Airbnb Boosts Accessibility Following Pre-Litigation Settlement With California Advocacy Groups

Caroline Spiezio | November 21, 2017

Airbnb and disability rights groups have worked together, using an emerging dispute resolution process, to earn new protections for people with disabilities looking to find a place to stay via Airbnb's platform.

News

5 Ways To Safeguard Company Hiring Processes From Ageism

Caroline Spiezio | November 20, 2017

The tools that make hiring more efficient can also make it more discriminatory, according to a panel at UC Berkeley School of Law.

News

Uber and IBM Counsel Sound Off on Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | November 17, 2017

The in-house attorneys spoke at a IP Dealmakers panel in New York City this week.

News

5 Factors Facing Lyft's Legal Department as Company Drives North of the Border

Caroline Spiezio | November 16, 2017

Lyft announced this week it plans to expand into Toronto.

Q&A

In-House Impact: Seth Weissman, SolarCity

Ross Todd | November 15, 2017

When Seth Weissman arrived at SolarCity in 2008, he was employee number 250 and the company's first full-time lawyer. By the time he left his post…