Corporate Counsel Career Guide and Counseling

Question: What can you do if you feel that corporate counsel for a county is commmiting perjury and slanderring you?

Answer: 'corporate counsel for a county' is an oxymoron. A county is a unit of GOVERNMENT. Corporate counsel represents a PRIVATE company. That said, contact the JUDGE'S office.

Question: A corporate counsel has a duty to the coorporation. Does he have any duty to shareholders that can be cited? In order for a shareholder to accuse an attorney for wrongdoing in the conduct of company business, it is first necessary to show that he had a duty to shareholders as well.

Answer: No. Counsel also has an ethical obligation to the shareholders. Generally, corporate counsel would have stock in the company and therefore, would technically be a shareholder. Corporate counsel is acting/defending for the corporation. There should be executed documentation via counsel prior to accepting his/her position there. In the event corporate counsel engages in behavior that costs the corporation financially or otherwise he has an obligation morally and legally.

Question: What does the title 'senior counsel' mean at a corporate law firm? How high is that in terms of the rank of the individual in the firm?

Answer: Senior Counsel is somewhat of an amorphous title at a law firm. Generally speaking it is a position that is higher than that of an Associate but lower than that of an Equity Partner. To understand this better it helps to understand the other possible positions one may hold as a practicing lawyer in a law firm and they are as follows: 1. Associate - Sometimes the terms Junior and Senior precede this but basically this is an attorney that works for the firm on a salary. 2. Equity Partner - This is a lawyer who is a part owner in the law firm. As such he or she gets paid a percentage of the firm's net profit. In a successful law firm this is generally considered to be the ultimate career goal within the firm. 3. Contract Partner - This is a lawyer who does not have any ownership interest in the firm but is paid based on hours billed and the amount of client work he or she brings to the firm. 4. Senior Counsel - This is a lawyer that has a status that is higher than that of an associate but lower than that of an Equity Partner and in some firms, a Contract Partner. It is a title granted under numerous circumstances. One of my friends was made Senior Counsel at a large prestigious law firm based on the fact that she was an extremely efficient, effective and well-liked senior associate within the firm but was not really partnership material because of her lack of client production and need to cutback hours to spend more time caring for her 3 children. Rather than lose her the firm offered to make her Senior Counsel, cut back her hours and have her paid on an hourly basis with full benefits. Another friend was promoted to Senior Counsel because the firm was not prepared to offer him equity partnership but he needed to have a better title for marketing purposes as the only attorney who had the legal skills and ability to produce clients in a particular area of law, and because he needed more administrative control over his client relationships (which he was granted as part of the promotion). As part of that promotion he also received a percentage of all money collected for clients he produced for the firm. In many firms when an Equity Partner's productivity goes down, he or she may often be downgraded to a Senior Counsel position. He or she may continue to draw income based on productivity, but is no longer an owner of the firm and generally speaking makes less money than when he or she was an Equity Partner. This is often an interim position prior to retirement for former older Equity Partners.

Question: what does a corporate counsel do??

Answer: Attorney

Question: Can a Canadian public corporation award 2% of gross corporate licensing revenue to the president ? The corporate president is a non shareholder and chief corporate legal counsel? The firm is structured as a patent portfolio licensing firm and is listed on the Toronto Exchange . What is the legal meaning of misappropriation of assets or improper manipulation of finances by high level managers or board members in Canada ?

Answer: Yes the board can pretty much do what ever it wants(which is usually what the CEO wants).Life isn't fair.

Question: Within 5 years, can corporate/finance attorneys far better than Zoning/Landuse attorneys? Zoning/Land Use attorneys are a small nitch compared to Corporate attorneys. There are only 37 attorneys that practice landuse vs. 35,000+ that practice corporate law. Can we say that due to margin, landuse attorneys have a better opportunity in building a lucrative career, both faster and more efficient than corporate attorneys? (Please be of Counsel to answer this question)

Answer: No. That isn't how salaries work in the legal field. It isn't a matter of how many attorneys practice in a given area, it is how much clients are willing to pay for their services. Not all corporate attorneys make a lot of money, but overall, it pays more than land use practice.

Question: Would it bother you if you found out that one of Obama's top campaign contributors is a corporate law firm? Obama, and many of his supporters, talk about evil corporations and how they are destroying America and exploiting the poor and middle class. Does it bother you that one of his top campaign contributors is a corporate law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP that is a firm that represents Fortune 100 companies? On Skadden's website, they proudly proclaim: "Skadden ranked first when representing Fortune 100 companies on corporate transactions in Corporate Counsel magazine's annual "Who Represents America's Biggest Companies." His other top contributors are a who's who of corporate business leaders. So, does this create any sort of conflict for Obama supporters? http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638 http://www.skadden.com/Index.cfm?contentID=1 In response to the post below, McCain has 2 law firms on his top list, Obama has 4. In any case, that isn't the point. The point is that Obama and his supporters criticize corporate America, but he takes a pile of money from a law firm that protects corporate interests. In response to the post below, McCain has 2 law firms on his top list, Obama has 4. In any case, that isn't the point. The point is that Obama and his supporters criticize corporate America, but he takes a pile of money from a law firm that protects corporate interests. And McCain has no oil companies on his list. See it here: http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00006424

Answer: Yes but it probably is a fact of life that cannot be avoided unless the people rise up and truly speak to this issue and to their Senators and Representatives. If more people realized what the tort lawyers have done to the American people they probably would stone them all. There certainly needs to be limits to these outrageous lawsuits that are ruining our health care and driving insurance costs out of sight. Everytime they award a big'un more medical professionals drop out because they can no longer afford the insurance to practice. More insurance rates spiral higher because of the same thing. Because there are so many lobbyists representing the Attorneys, so many 'good old boy' Attys in WA DC - it will be very difficult to get this changed but it can be done! We just need a wildfire grass roots drive to make Congress pass the laws that put a stop to their expensive practice of law. McCain/Palin '08

Question: Lawyer to represent me out of state? I was recently issued a notice to appear in court in another state. This is a work related issue and corporate counsel advised they will have an attoney in that state represent me. Once the matter is resolved, what type of legal documentation should I ask for to protect myself in the future?

Answer: At least get the contact info of the lawyer you had to defend you, at the very least. This would probably be a question you should ask your lawyer when you meet him/her. He/she would know better.

Question: On Tuesday, the administration “announced his intent to nominate� Ignacia S. Moreno? to be Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division in the Department of Justice. Moreno is now the corporate environmental counsel for General Electric, “America’s #1 Superfund Polluter“. General Electric has been a leader in the effort to roll back the Superfund law and stave off any requirements for full cleanup and restoration of sites they helped create. Is this going to be another 'fox in the hen house? Will he be effective in holding his former corporate friends accountable?

Answer: More Liberal Hypocrisy Does (Mega Carbon Footprint) Al Gore know of this?

Question: could you paraprhase it but dont make it short i want the same lenght please :)? No, Charlie would not be justified in ignoring the situation. First, the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Management Accountants states that the management accountant must “Avoid actual or apparent conflicts of interest and advise all appropriate parties of any potential conflict.� If J.B. insists on continuing the relationship with A-1, Charlie has a concern to guide both the corporate counsel and WIW’s Board of Directors. Second, as the company’s controller, Charlie has a responsibility to ensure that the JIT approach is properly implemented. From the data given in the problem, it does not appear that A-1 Warehouse Sales is the best or most dependable supplier available. Orders are late and not complete, and there is no way to ensure proper quality since nearly all orders are shipped directly from the manufacturer. The present arrangement with A-1 negates most of the benefits that can accrue from JIT.

Answer: no, charlie isn correct in ignoring this issue..1st the standards of ethiceal conduct for management accountants says that the accountant must "Avoid actual or apparent conflicts of interest and advise all appriate parties of any potential conflict." if JB insists on continuing the relationship, charlie has a concenr to guide. 2nd, as he company controller, charlie ahs to be responsible to ensure the JIT approach is properly carried out.

Question: What is the average salary of an attorney in Taiwan? Preferably with 8-10 years experience in corporate law, or in-house counsel.

Answer: Depends on many things. Everyone approaches this process differently, so use the tips that work best for you. More information, tips and help at http://moreaboutsalary.blogspot.com/

Question: Is this the correct contact info for Yahoo Corporate Legal Offices? General Counsel: Mr. Michael J. Callahan 701 First Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94089 Phone: 408-349-3300 Fax: 408-349-3301

Answer: yep

Question: Could anyone paraphraze this 2 paragraph please? No, Charlie would not be justified in ignoring the situation. First, the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Management Accountants states that the management accountant must “Avoid actual or apparent conflicts of interest and advise all appropriate parties of any potential conflict.� If J.B. insists on continuing the relationship with A-1, Charlie has a concern to guide both the corporate counsel and WIW’s Board of Directors. Second, as the company’s controller, Charlie has a responsibility to ensure that the JIT approach is properly implemented. From the data given in the problem, it does not appear that A-1 Warehouse Sales is the best or most dependable supplier available. Orders are late and not complete, and there is no way to ensure proper quality since nearly all orders are shipped directly from the manufacturer. The present arrangement with A-1 negates most of the benefits that can accrue from JIT.

Answer: By professional standards, Charlie must inform both the company's lawyers and its Board of Directors if he suspects something is wrong. Charlie does not believe his company should rely on the A-1 company to perform its responsibilities as required in their JIT contract.

Question: What's the best humble way to say that my dad is a lawyer? My dad works for a multinational company. When people ask me what he does, I really want to answer in humble way yet shows his status. He is a senior counsel there. Can I say he's a corporate lawyer or attorney? Normally, I say he's a legal adviser. Is that right?

Answer: Most people don't have a very high opinion of lawyers, so you could maybe say 'he is an executive' or something vague.

Question: How do I prepare to for a meeting with an EXECUTIVE? OK! October 30 I have a meeting with a restaurant executive pertaining to opportunities on either opening my very own restaurant or joining the corporate team. What do I take? How do I prepare? What do I say? Do I listen to the advice and counsel or do I express my desires and goals? Please help me prepare for this meeting, this meeting will be life changing!

Answer: Do not prepare. He does not want to get "prepared" answers. Just go in with your head held high and look him in the eyes when speaking. Do not agree with what he says if it is wrong..

Question: What decisions must an in-house attorney make after their company is sued, but before a trial team is hired? I want to know as much as possible about initial lawsuit decision making within corporations. What are the basic obligations of an in-house corporate ligation attorney? How do they assess the risks associated with a given lawsuit prior to discovery? If sued, how do they decide to fight or settle? Do they always rely on outside counsel, or do they sometimes make initial case decisions based on their own risk analysis? In other words, do they ever settle before hiring an outside trial firm? If they do retain outside counsel, do they ever settle before discovery is closed? If so, what gyides their analysis? If suing, how do they pick a venue?

Answer: I'm an in-house counsel. I do some of the litigation myself and farm some out. That's a simple analysis that depends on how busy I am. We do not settle good cases, even for nuisance value. I always try to settle bad cases. Remember, we are almost always the defendant, so I do not need much discovery to assess the merits of the case. All that information is usually in our possession. Some of this is hard to explain, but I use a tree-like diagram to analyze a case. For example, a critical piece of evidence might be hearsay if I can't find an exception to the hearsay rules. My litigation tree will have a branch that shows what I have to do if the hearsay is not admitted and a branch that shows my next step is if the hearsay is admitted. That's just something I'd have to show you individually, but every branch on my litigation diagram represents a different scenario for the trial based upon whether an objection is overruled or sustained. I also have branches representing each witness with twigs off that branch that show the problems and the benefits of that witness. I assess the risks by tools such as jury verdict research for the court where the case is being tried. I almost never rely on outside counsel for a risk analysis. I'm the one who decides whether to settle or fight the case. If we decide to settle, I do not give it to outside counsel. If it goes to outside counsel, it's a strongly defensible case but I'm just too busy to handle it. My organization does not want me in trial for weeks. I'm needed in the office, so the length of the trial is as important as any other factor. Yes, we do settle during discovery in some cases--particularly if it involves a death or injury. Or, I might settle on liability and dispute the damages. Venue is pretty easy and generally not my choice. Venue is in my county or the county where the plaintiff lives. I normally do not care and have seldom fought over venue. I know I'm not answering all your questions and the first answer was very good. I thought I'd try to add a corporate atty's perspective. I do not believe any of your questions can be answered in an "always" or "never" format. Every company's policy is probably different, but we never settle a case we think we're "right" on just to make it go away. I'm sure many companies do, however.