Happy Halloween, readers of Inside Track. It's your esteemed Law.com reporter Dan Clark! This week we get into how much some of you are getting paid, and which industries are the most lucrative for in-house lawyers. We also look at some ethics issues.

One former college GC was just advised that the ethics violation claims against her have not been proven. She's not in the clear yet, though. On the other hand, a newer college GC is accused of ethical violations. We also find (shocker!) that even consensual relationships with a subordinate can be the downfall of a high profile GC.

Reach me anytime through my email at [email protected] or you can find me on Twitter @DanclarkALM.

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What's Happening-

 

 

GC pay survey

 

My colleague, Phillip Bantz, looked at a report put out by BarkerGilmore this week which shows overall compensation is rising for top in-house lawyers. However there are some exceptions. Below are some takeaways from the report.

╋ Overall pay for GCs at companies with revenue of less than $5 billion grew, on average, by 22 percent.

╋ On average, GCs at companies with revenues between $5 and $10 billion saw their total compensation drop by 3.3 percent in 2017.

╋ Compensation grew largely because GCs are taking on expanded roles at their companies.

╋ In the “basic materials sector,” think metals, chemical products or forestry products, GC pay went up by more than 27 percent in 2017.

Ethics, Ethics, Ethics

 

Over the past week, we've seen two ethics stories involving GCs of colleges. One may be in the clear, while another is just beginning his ordeal.

Last Friday, a hearing committee appointed by the disciplinary board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that Cynthia Baldwin, the former GC of Penn State, had not violated any of the Rules of Professional Conduct while representing three former administrators during the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The panel's recommendation will now go to the disciplinary board for review.

Meanwhile, as my colleague Sue Reisinger reports, Robert Young Jr., the current general counsel of Michigan State University, has been ensnared in another controversy after firing the firm Clark Hill. The firm was representing a university trustee and six university employees in suits by Larry Nassar's victims.

At issue is whether Young fired the firm because it was representing one employee in a way that made the school look bad. Young told Sue that the law firm created a conflict of interest and that the only choice he had was to firm Clark Hill.

Don't. Just Don't.

 

Last week, Alphabet Inc. CLO, David Drummond managed to save his job following reports that he had a consensual sexual relationship with a female subordinate and fathered a child with her while serving as general counsel. But let's consider what might have happened to an in-house lawyer who was a tad less bulletproof.

Law.com reporter Sue Reisinger found that those who harass are, often times, terminated and even consensual relationships are often discouraged.

“If a general counsel crosses that line, it's almost a career-ending move,” BarkerGilmore founder John Gilmore told Sue. “Good judgment is a big deal to companies.”

Susan Strauss, a workplace and school harassment consultant said many workplaces have a zero dating policy between executives and subordinates.

“Most companies I deal with say someone in a position of power should not be in a romantic relationship with someone of less power. You risk the possibility of a sexual harassment claim,” Strauss said.

Don't Miss-

 

Thursday, November 1 Global Leaders in Law (GLL) is hosting an event on the changing world of global trade at Mortens in Singapore. On Wednesday, November 7 GLL is hosting an event on managing risk in the age of disruption at Käfer-Schänke in Munich, Germany. GLL is an invitation-only membership group offering general counsel a global platform for in-person collaboration to exchange ideas and receive advice and guidance from peers. For more information, contact Meena Heath at [email protected].

Thursday, November 1. The Economist is hosting its 15th General Counsel conference at the Jumeriah Carlton Tower in London. The event seeks to find “compelling solutions to meet changing expectations.” Speakers include Sarah Jones, the group general counsel to the BBC, Dervish Tayyip, assistant general counsel at Microsoft, and Mark Maurice-Jones, the general counsel of Nestle UK and Ireland.

Wednesday, November 14. In-house lawyers from leading Bay Area companies will come together at Perfecting Your Pitch in San Francisco, a forum for women lawyers to practice pitch delivery, perfect their presentation skills and get business development tips straight from top in-house lawyers. Panelists include Ashlie Beringer,deputy GC at Facebook; Eleanor Lacey, general counsel at Sophos; and Dana Rao, general counsel at Adobe.

Wednesday, November 28-Thursday, November 29. Legal industry players will gather at ALM's LegalWeek Connect in London for keynotes, workshops and roundtables on collaboration, diversity and talent. Featured speakers include Clare Wardle, general counsel of Coca Cola European Partners; Helen Hayes, legal director for Uber in Northern and Eastern Europe; and Jeremy Barton, general counsel of KPMG UK.

On the Move-

 

 

Taking off to a new role. Lawyer/Pilot Michael Bisignano was named last week as the top lawyer for cleaning services company ServiceMaster. He has previously been the top lawyer at education company Blackboard and electronic payment company Online Resources Corp. He has also worked as the assistant general counsel for Arbros Communications Inc., a voice and data communications company.

Can I get a side of counsel with that? Texas-based burger restaurant chain Luby's Inc. announced on Wednesday that its chief operating officer, Peter Tropoli, stepped down from that role to become its general counsel, for the second time. Tropoli had served as the company's top lawyer from 2001 to 2011 and in 2012 became COO. Todd Coutee was then named as the company's new COO, replacing Tropoli.

Three for the price of … three. International firm Mayer Brown recently added three high profile in-house attorneys to its roster as partners. Audrey Harris, former chief compliance officer of BHP in Australia, has re-joined the firm as the co-leader of the global anti-corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act group in Washington, D.C. Megan Webster, former associate general counsel of BMO Financial Group and Melissa Richards, formerly chief legal and risk officer at CMG Financial, are the other two partner hires.

Moving offices. On Friday, WeWork announced that Jared DeMatteis, the company's deputy GC, will become its new Global GC. He replaces Peter Greenspan who was made the company's global head of real estate. DeMatteis started at WeWork in 2015 where he led some of the company's largest corporate transactions.