Michael P. Maslanka

January 25, 2007 | Corporate Counsel

Most things are not good in the extreme, and that goes especially for work. Despite that fact, employees are working too hard, and that's not good for business. So what's a company with exhausted employees to do? It's the general counsel, the adviser and counselor to the company, who's often in the best position to put the work lives of the executives, managers and employees into better balance. With that in mind, Ford & Harrison managing partner Michael P. Maslanka provides tips to help stop the madness.

By Michael P. Maslanka

8 minute read

November 03, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

Strategic questioning gets the general counsel�s office to where it needs to be �- at the center of decision-making, not the periphery.

By Michael P. Maslanka and Burton D. Brillhart

9 minute read

June 05, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

It's summer and time for the fourth annual "Work Matters" beach blanket book review for general counsel. What needs to be wedged into the beach bag, between the sunscreen and the multicolored towels?

By Michael P. Maslanka

7 minute read

June 02, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

When an employee with a lot of knowledge or know-how leaves to join a competitor, the executives' e-mails to the general counsel's office ask one question: Now what?

By Michael P. Maslanka and Theresa M. Gegen

10 minute read

January 18, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

William Shakespeare's play "The Merchant of Venice" teaches us some good lessons, says Michael P. Maslanka. But the most important is this: We are just not because we must be, but because it is in our nature to be so. "The quality of mercy is not strained/it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven/upon the place beneath . . . though justice be thy plea, consider this/that in the course of justice, none of us should see salvation/we do pray for mercy/and that same prayer doth teach us all to render/the deeds of mercy. . . ."

By Michael P. Maslanka

5 minute read

March 18, 2008 | Corporate Counsel

Attorney fees are in the spotlight with firms popping for first-year associate salaries of $160,000 plus. It doesn't take a Harvard MBA to know what business gets in the gut: They pay for the increases short term, their customers pay for it long term. What's to be done? Attorney Michael P. Maslanka advises GCs to treat legal fees the way C-level execs down the hall treat business issues that cross their desks. He provides five rules to help GCs do just that.

By Michael P. Maslanka

7 minute read

April 03, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

Here are three inexorable trends guaranteed to impact a GC's life: an aging work force, a multicultural work force and a geographic migration.

By Michael P. Maslanka

7 minute read

January 29, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

Think that your company's legal culture is outside your purview? Think again. C-level execs need to pick lawyers whose vision creates a culture that benefits the business, not retards it. Here are five core principles general counsel need to instill in an organization to create a culture that will continue to generate smart decisions long after the GC leaves.

By Michael P. Maslanka

7 minute read

November 07, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

C-levels to the right, shareholders to the left, an oath to the law front and center. The two do mesh: Pick your fights; look for incremental change; understand that lawyering, like politics, is the art of the possible; and, never, ever be blinded to the truth.

By Michael P. Maslanka

7 minute read

October 06, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

What's in the batter's circle at the Texas Supreme Court? Two key employment law issues: When does an employer get nailed for punitive damages? Will Sabine Pilot expand or contract?

By Michael P. Maslanka and Burton D. Brillhart

10 minute read