Since the Great Recession and possibly a little before, businesses have been relying less on outside counsel and using in-house attorneys more to work on legal matters. The main drivers behind the trend are companies’ desire to save money as well as to increase efficiencies in getting work done.
Five of six judges of Indiana’s new commercial courts spoke to about 100 lawyers and corporate counsel Tuesday, urging them to make use of the venues that emphasize collaboration and prompt resolutions.
At Anthem Inc., the billion-dollar health insurance provider, women comprise 76 percent of its workforce and 63 percent managerial leadership.
A survey of in-house and outside counsel finds conflicting views about whether outsourced legal work has increased in the past year. Attorneys in firms and in-house positions who responded to the survey also both rated themselves higher than they rated each other.
ITT Educational Services, the embattled Carmel-based operator of for-profit colleges in 38 states, has terminated its chief administrative and legal officer after less than two years on the job.
Management at hhgregg realized it had a problem. It was spending too much in legal costs — more than $70,000 a month — and the retailer and its employees did not have a centralized place to go for legal answers.
As the Indianapolis Motor Speedway celebrates the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, its legal partner has its own milestone with the track. It’s one of several firms marking significant anniversaries this year.
A new study completed by the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation has given some much needed data on lawyers struggling with substance abuse and depression.
Diversity in employment will be the focus at the spring Organizational Networking Luncheon presented by the Indianapolis Professional Association on April 3.
From her desk, Elizabeth Ellis watched the attorneys in her office work and realized as many other paralegals have – I can do that.
With its acquisition by Access Group, Bloomington-based Lawyer Metrics will be positioned to apply its data analysis expertise, and possibly increase its role, in helping legal education and the profession as a whole navigate ongoing changes.
By a more than 2-to-1 margin, attorneys who responded to the IL survey said their organization encourages them to promote themselves and their firm or organization, compared to those who said their organization discourages social media.
The traditional career path for Indiana attorneys – graduate from law school, become an associate in a law firm, work long hours and eventually become a partner – appears to be broken, or at least cracked.
The pro bono community still believes having attorneys donate their time and professional skills remains a viable method for providing services to low-income individuals and families. But Indiana attorneys overwhelmingly indicate they neither want to be told to volunteer nor be obligated to report their volunteer hours.
Thirty-eighty percent of the respondents to the Indiana Lawyer’s 2015 Practicing Law in Indiana survey listed transition or succession planning as the greatest challenge to their organization’s viability. Only the issue of managing costs while protecting quality of service topped this concern, which 42 percent found to be the greatest challenge.
Life’s not bad being a lawyer. Work is satisfying, there’s time for life outside work, and the pay is good. But I wouldn’t recommend it. Those contradictions in lawyers’ prevailing attitudes were revealed in Indiana Lawyer's Practicing Law in Indiana survey.
Law firms large and small face similar challenges – keeping costs down and quality high while also finding ways to sustain and grow the business.
Chief legal officers say internal and external cost pressures were their biggest concern in managing their law departments this year, according to survey results released Tuesday by Altman Weil.
Figuring out how to balance the demands of practicing law with the needs of a family is a struggle that female attorneys have long faced, but increasingly male attorneys also want to be able to take time for their families.
Total legal spending is up slightly – by 2 percent – according to HBR Consulting’s 2015 Law Department Survey. But, not surprisingly, outside counsel spending is flat compared with last year.