Michael P. Maslanka

May 05, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

As corporate counsel, the boss asks one key question: Are we managing the situation or is the situation managing us? Rejecting a connect-the-dots approach to mediation, and adopting a truly strategic one, lets the attorney give the answer the client wants to hear.

By Michael P. Maslanka and Theresa M. Gegen

10 minute read

April 04, 2011 | Texas Lawyer

The Family and Medical Leave Act continues to bedevil corporate counsel, writes Michael P. Maslanka. The idea is a good one: providing 12 weeks of unpaid leave for employees who find themselves or their close family members incapacitated. But implementing a worthwhile idea is an entirely different matter than legislating it. Let's look at whether 2010 brought clarity or confusion.

By Michael P. Maslanka

7 minute read

February 14, 2011 | Texas Lawyer

Michael P. Maslanka says he recently reread Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From a Birmingham Jail." He was imprisoned for leading protest marches against stores in the city that discriminated against black patrons. While in jail, he wrote a response to white ministers who called his protests "unwise and untimely." King's letter is a model of powerful persuasive skills and moral clarity — both of which are key for general counsel to possess.

By Michael P. Maslanka

5 minute read

August 02, 2004 | Texas Lawyer

GCs can take steps to ensure adherence to new DOL regulations.

By Michael P. Maslanka and Theresa M. Gegen

14 minute read

October 07, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

Life in the GC's office is now divided into B.E. (before-Enron) and P.E. (post-Enron). But the simplest demarcations -- the Mason-Dixon Line, the 38th Parallel, the Iraqi No Fly Zone -- are often the ones creating the messiest dilemmas. In the new P.E. world, your company's ethical quotient will matter as much as your price-earnings ratio. And in deciding issues of business integrity, the boss will be turning to you, the trusted adviser.

By Michael P. Maslanka and Burton D. Brillhart

9 minute read

February 06, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

The general counsel�s r�sum�: B.A. and J.D. Is the first degree merely an unavoidable prerequisite to the second? Not really. Art, poetry and music inform, expand and enrich their students. It's the thoughtful GC, not one mindlessly wedded to regulations and needlessly ensnared by minutia, that C-level executives prize the most.

By Michael P. maslanka

8 minute read

November 27, 2007 | National Law Journal

The Bible, as literature, can help illuminate lawyers' legal lives, especially some of its dicier parts, says Ford & Harrison managing partner Michael Maslanka. The Bible -- beliefs aside -- gives lawyers what they crave: a good story with a strong establishing shot, an arc and a resolution. Trial lawyers should take note, says Maslanka, who points out several passages helpful to attorneys. And the Bible also reminds lawyers that there is a difference between what is legal and what is right.

By Michael P. Maslanka

5 minute read

November 14, 2005 | Corporate Counsel

When a company executive demands that the general counsel play hardball in employment litigation, the GC's role as a business adviser can conflict with the values of the legal profession. The GC then has three options: Ignore the edict, take the requested action or try to change the executive's mind. While legal hardball tactics can be legal, appropriate and action-oriented, the GC's job is to help executives see that action undertaken solely for action's sake is often counterproductive.

By Michael P. Maslanka

7 minute read

July 13, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

Well, it's summer, time to unpack the briefcase and pack the beach bag; time to set down the 10(k) and pick up a book; time to deep-six old and tired ideas and replenish them with new and invigorated ones, says Michael P. Maslanka. So, here is his annual "Work Matters" summer reading list for corporate counsel.

By Michael P. Maslanka

7 minute read

November 04, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

While the legal world runs clockwise, employment law revolves counterclockwise. Not only does it not work the way you believe it should, but also it repeatedly reveals itself as counterintuitive -- replete with hidden dangers to a general counsel's office, which relies on sense and sensibility.

By Michael P. Maslanka and Burton D. Brillhart

11 minute read