Black Law Student Discussion Board

[Why are the Newbies scared to speak up?]

Why are the Newbies scared to speak up?

They prefer to Lurk.

 16 (34.8%)

They're not, they're just on another website.

 4 (8.7%)

The Board is too cliquish.

 10 (21.7%)

There's nothing interesting to talk about.

 2 (4.3%)

There's nobody interesting to talk to.

 2 (4.3%)

Not enough Board moderation.

 4 (8.7%)

Newbies?  What Newbies?

 8 (17.4%)

Total Members Voted: 46

[legalized]

Random thought:

Any Chicagoans or political heads out there watching that Senate race? That brother Barack Obama is impressive as all hell! First black president of Harvard Law Review among his other accomplishments. He's speaking at the Democratic Convention this month. Bet he'll be one to watch over the next few years. I can see him running for president in the future.

woowwww this was posted july 2004...amazing foresight...the man is now US President!

[jsimp]

I think when Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention everyone thought that he might run for president. I remember watching his speech again in my AP U.S History class because there was so much talk about him during that time. Obama has people that know how to make things happen. The Democratic Convention speech was just his way of saying Hi, this is the way a man, regardless of race, is supposed to carry himself.

[TexasEsq]

New poster here. Well actually I was a lurker about four years ago and forgot about the place. Texas licensed and currently working in house for an oil and gas company. Seems to be a bit dead around here (finals?). Feel free to ask any questions.

[A.]

Seems to be a bit dead around here

As a doornail.  I find oil and gas law interesting.  For posterity: How do you like being in-house?  Did you also summer at your current employer?    Is most of your work contractual in nature?

[TexasEsq]

Seems to be a bit dead around here

As a doornail.  I find oil and gas law interesting.  For posterity: How do you like being in-house?  Did you also summer at your current employer?    Is most of your work contractual in nature?

I like the in-house lifestyle. I actually had the full gamut of experiences in law school (government, firm, and mid sized in-house gig) and definitely preferred working in-house. I didn't summer with my current company although we do have 4-5 law clerks we keep year around. My work is 100% transactional. Our litigators mainly just manage outside counsel. I do think that things are starting to change from the client side. I know for a fact that a number of our outside law firms have received engagement letters specifically asking that first and second years not be assigned to matters. You are seeing significant cost pressure on the large firms and a demand for discounts and alternative fee arrangements. It is interesting to see from the inside.

[A.]

Interesting, especially in light of the leaked Simpson documents.  But clients don't seriously think that just b/c 1st and 2d years aren't put on matters that they won't be charged for them, right?  Someone has to pay...either directly or through higher rates.

How big is your legal department?  How much interaction do you have with the GC/other corporate execs??

[TexasEsq]

The mentality is changing to the amount of value added. Invoices are facing crazy amounts of scrutiny and clients are asking for more detail on bills. One of my friends is corporate counsel for a large company in the midwest and has sent bills back or just flat out refused to pay. You are also seeing RFP's coming from F500 clients where they are able to take a look across the board at rates. There will always be a premium that is paid for that senior partner whose rates are justifiable but the law firm business model is going to need to adapt to a changing landscape. We completed a large acquisition last quarter and that was sent to outside counsel simply because they have the resources to handle it so there is always going to be room for the large firms.

Our legal department has about 100 attorneys worldwide. We are fairly large so I don't get the same amount of interaction with C-level execs that I get with some of the other VP's on day to day matters. I can tell you though that if you are able at some point to land a GC gig it seems like the ideal situation.

Edit: Here's an article from Corporate Counsel magazine that discusses some of the things i've been talking about.

_Deals_Have_Been_a_Colossal_T rain_Wreck" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202436129130&Qwest_GC__Alternative_Billing _Deals_Have_Been_a_Colossal_T rain_Wreck

[cui bono?]

wowee board is still dead. 

[A.]

indeed...

[Julie Fern]

julie here, baby.