On the Job

On the Job

How I Made Partner: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s Rachel Elsby
How I Made Partner: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s Rachel Elsby

After years of hard work, Rachel Elsby of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld made partner this year in the firm’s intellectual property litigation practice. 

Inside Track: Even with Added Risk, Doing Business Over Video Is Getting Easier for In-House
Inside Track: Even with Added Risk, Doing Business Over Video Is Getting Easier for In-House

About 32% of in-house lawyers were uneasy with using videoconferencing before the pandemic. 

Stray Jurors and Pantless Attorneys: 5 Embarrassing Remote Court Blunders
Stray Jurors and Pantless Attorneys: 5 Embarrassing Remote Court Blunders

As a way to avoid completely shutting down legal proceedings, court systems across the United States have adopted more remote proceedings during the pandemic. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court upended tradition when it moved oral arguments to a telephone-based venue for the first time in its 230-year history.

From Six Months to Six Weeks: Lateral Hiring Is Speeding Up
From Six Months to Six Weeks: Lateral Hiring Is Speeding Up

In the time before the COVID-19 pandemic, law firm partners that were looking to make a lateral move, particularly to a firm with a national presence, can expect to spend substantial time in the air. However, that is currently no longer the case. And cutting out that travel is serving to compress the timeline for bringing new lawyers on board.

Good Help Is (Still) Hard to Find in Legal IT and Cybersecurity
Good Help Is (Still) Hard to Find in Legal IT and Cybersecurity

Law firms and corporate legal departments were pulling from the cybersecurity talent pool before the outbreak of COVID-19. This pool was not exactly overflowing though. With the sudden influx of employees working remotely and a host of other pandemic-related needs, this pool might have even further narrowed the already hyperspecific criteria that legal professionals are looking for in cybersecurity support. 

Inside Track: COVID-19 Is Forcing Corporate Legal Departments to Spend More on Outside Counsel
Inside Track: COVID-19 Is Forcing Corporate Legal Departments to Spend More on Outside Counsel

In-house counsel may be overspending on outside counsel despite functioning in an unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic economy. 

GCs Looking for Jobs Post-Pandemic Should Flex Cybersecurity and Crisis Management Muscles
GCs Looking for Jobs Post-Pandemic Should Flex Cybersecurity and Crisis Management Muscles

The coronavirus pandemic brought sudden changes and unusual challenges to many general counsel and other corporate law department leadership. However, the good news is that the experience of successfully navigating their way through the storm could give in-house counsel a boost to the next rung on the career ladder.

In a Moment of Change, Savvy Firms Are Finding Ways to Innovate
In a Moment of Change, Savvy Firms Are Finding Ways to Innovate

This year has delivered huge changes to the way our world lives and works. But, will American law firms be ready to recognize and use what is going on in our world as an opportunity to create real change? In her book “Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen,” business professor Rita McGrath defines an inflection point as a moment that ““upends the basic assumptions that a business model is built on.”

Get Comfortable at Home: Big Firms Plan to Allow Remote Work for Rest of Year
Get Comfortable at Home: Big Firms Plan to Allow Remote Work for Rest of Year

Working from home is here to stay for a while in the legal field amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So when are lawyers and their staff expected to come back into the office? Not until 2021, according to several law firms.