Rees W Morrison

April 18, 2011 | Corporate Counsel

In tumultuous times, the cry goes up for change. Pressed on all sides, general counsel welcome the idea of new practices and different forms of service delivery -- innovations that hold promise of improvements in productivity, quality or costs. But innovation comes dear.

By Rees W. Morrison

8 minute read

January 25, 2006 | Corporate Counsel

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

June 01, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

Those who manage law departments and the partners who serve them ought to think about what they mean by "commodity legal work" and to take advantage of what managerial opportunities this type of work presents.

By Rees W. Morrison

8 minute read

October 01, 2005 | Law.com

Nonlegal work is the cellulite of law departments. Here's how to get rid of it.

By Rees W. Morrison

7 minute read

March 08, 2010 | National Law Journal

Twenty techniques can increase coherence and effectiveness when counsel are spread around the world.

By Rees W. Morrison

8 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

January 12, 2009 | Corporate Counsel

Consultant Rees W. Morrison reviews five hot-button issues in outside counsel guidelines: charges related to travel time, conflicts of interest, changes in billing rates, disbursements and staff restrictions. These topics crop up all the time because for law departments they affect the budget; for law firms they concern quality of life, liability, profitability and management. Morrison says law departments and law firms will be better off if there are some standards that are generally understood and shared.

By Rees W. Morrison

9 minute read

May 23, 2007 | Corporate Counsel

Analytic reports on outside counsel spending help law departments determine how efficiently their money is being spent. Most common are yearly reports that contain three areas of information: the amount of money spent on law firms in aggregate, the amount spent on the law firms hired most frequently and the absolute number of law firms paid. But more sophisticated breakdowns and presentations of information can pay off. Consultant Rees W. Morrison offers 10 methodologies to learn more from your data.

By Rees W. Morrison

10 minute read

August 01, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

Quasi-legal work is the cellulite of law departments. These are the tasks in-house counsel can do but shouldn't -- if their legal department wants to reach peak effectiveness.

By Rees W. Morrison

8 minute read

October 10, 2005 | New Jersey Law Journal

A retreat is enriched if it covers three important topics: information that teaches participants about their company, the laws they need to know and how the department can work together more efficiently.

By Rees W. Morrison

7 minute read