Rees W Morrison

August 06, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

As if being a general counsel were not stressful enough � risks from all directions, politics with senior executives, constant changes in the law and all the compliance mandates � there's still the worry about law department management.

By Rees W. Morrison

9 minute read

August 04, 2008 | Corporate Counsel

The general notion of core competencies crops up frequently in management writing. Fundamentally, the thought is that when limited resources face unlimited requests for assistance, law departments ought to focus on a subset of services and do them very well. What no one has done is to define fully and usefully the term "core competency" in the context of corporate law departments, says consultant Rees Morrison, who examines the pros and cons of four possible definitions.

By Rees W. Morrison

8 minute read

September 02, 2004 | Law.com

General counsel must periodically step back and think about department staffing needs, use of outside counsel, acquisition of technology, client-service plans and other significant issues. Here are six tools to help general counsel in strategic planning. All of them have strengths and weaknesses, but trying out different tools should help planners figure out what works best for a specific company.

By Rees W. Morrison

8 minute read

June 14, 2007 | Corporate Counsel

By most definitions, commodity legal work covers humdrum, everyday work. Consultant Rees W. Morrison suggests that in-house counsel develop a shared understanding of the term and the kind of services it describes. Once general counsel more consistently recognize commodity work, they can improve how they manage it. In fact, commodity legal services allow in-house counsel to use progressive techniques for work-flow management, technology use, staffing, client relations and outside counsel arrangements.

By Rees W. Morrison

8 minute read

December 14, 2005 | Corporate Counsel

Roughly half the lawyers in a typical law department support a business unit, and much of their work involves contracts. They vet them, revise them, negotiate and draft them, interpret and enforce them. How effectively they and their colleagues process contracts determines in a major way their clients' satisfaction with the department and the department's managerial prowess. Here are Rees W. Morrison's tips to thinner contract workloads in 30 days -- although you don't have to limit their use to a month.

By Rees W. Morrison

9 minute read

December 26, 2005 | New Jersey Law Journal

The review and preparation of contracts consumes the largest amount of law department time. Listed below are ideas for actions that can help you expedite your treatment of contracts.

By Rees W. Morrison

7 minute read

April 30, 2008 | Law.com

Compelled to try to control legal costs, general counsel across the land are hypnotically drawn to billing-rate discounts. But consultant Rees Morrison is suspicious of discounts on legal fees as a cost-control tool. Ultimately, he says, law firms still enjoy a cost-plus arrangement, inducements to pad law firm bills are everywhere, and in-house lawyers must still flyspeck long bills. Morrison discusses other aspects of fee discounts that may also be problematic.

By Rees W. Morrison

8 minute read

January 26, 2006 | Law.com

In their bid to reduce legal fees, many law departments auction off their legal business to competing law firms. This system is generally a great idea from the standpoint of in-house counsel and has worked well for major corporations. Still, companies should have a clear understanding of the different types of auctions available, and how to choose the right one. For starters, be leery of one-shot bidding -- and don't succumb to the winner's curse.

By Rees W. Morrison

10 minute read

November 27, 2007 | Law.com

Benchmark metrics help a general counsel know how well his or her law department is managed compared to other law departments. General counsel use benchmark data to argue for more hires or bigger budgets, defend the resources they have, and look for clues to improve their department's operations. Consultant Rees W. Morrison discusses three pre-eminent benchmarks, including the most important metric -- total legal spending as a percentage of revenue.

By Rees W. Morrison

9 minute read

July 25, 2007 | Law.com

As if being a general counsel were not stressful enough -- politics with senior executives, constant changes in the law, all the compliance mandates -- there's the worry about law department management. Among those management difficulties, five particularly vexing challenges have remained unsolved for many years. While each problem has proved to be intractable, there are some things law departments can do. Consultant Rees W. Morrison offers suggestions that may help you cope better in your legal department.

By Rees W. Morrison

9 minute read