The American Bar Association Business Law Section has released a new book, “Showing the Value of the Legal Department: More Than Just a Cost Center,” that shares important insights on how in-house counsel can demonstrate the value of their legal department and justify the investment to the overall business.
In a clear, humorous, and practical style, author Sterling L. Miller lays out lessons and advice about how to demonstrate value from what he learned during his legal career of more than 30 years. The guide takes lawyers through the evolution of the in-house legal department to the need to win the hearts and minds of the business, the importance of numbers, and the appreciation for perception when it comes to showing the value in-house lawyers bring to the business.
This authoritative guide provides a practical blueprint of the nuts and bolts of showing value, including:
• The importance of working to maximize value creation and minimize value destruction
• Technology that generates value
• Partnering with the business
• Legal departments as profit centers
• How to be a strategic in-house lawyer
• Creating an annual value-creation to-do list
• Marketing the legal department to the business
• How to parlay showing value into getting more resources for the legal department
The book includes KPIs (key performance indicators), a sample client satisfaction survey, a low-value contract checklist and practical advice on how to make contracts easier to understand.
Author Miller is currently chief executive officer and senior counsel for Hilgers Graben PLLC in Dallas, Texas. He is a three-time general counsel, author, and blogger. He is the author of the ABA Business Law Section’s “Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel” and “Ten (More) Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel.” His popular blog offers tips, anecdotes and advice for in-house counsel.
“Showing the Value of the Legal Department: More Than Just a Cost Center” is available as a paperback for $79.95. To order, call 800-285-2221 or visit ShopABA.org.
The American Bar Association Litigation Section and Thomson Reuters released the new fifth edition of “Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts.”
The treatise is a comprehensive practice guide that covers every aspect of a commercial case, from the investigation and assessment that take place at the inception, through parties, pleadings, discovery, motions, trial, appeal and enforcement of judgment, with emphasis on strategic considerations specific to commercial cases.
The text from the fourth edition has been substantially expanded and revised, and the fifth edition contains 26 new chapters on cutting-edge topics such as artificial intelligence, climate change, corporate sustainability and ESG, political law, shareholder activism, space law, third-party litigation funding and virtual currencies. There also are chapters that cover the issues most often encountered in commercial cases, including securities, antitrust, banking, contracts, insurance, sale of goods, intellectual property, professional liability, business torts, franchising, alternative dispute resolution, remedies and more.
Also included are chapters on the business of litigation practice (budgeting and controlling costs, fee arrangements, marketing to potential business clients, coordinating counsel, crisis management and litigation avoidance and prevention) and the professional growth and development of commercial litigators (teaching litigation skills and pro bono).
The numerous special features and categories of information in the fifth edition include strategies and client counseling sections, checklists and more than 1,000 pages of essential litigation forms and jury charges.
The chapters are written by many of the best-known commercial litigators and judges. “Their efforts and commitment are reflected in the comprehensiveness and accessibility of the Fifth Edition content,” said Beth L. Kaufman, chair of the ABA Litigation Section. ABA President Reginald M. Turner and Patricia Lee Refo, immediate past ABA president, chapter authors, jointly noted: “This treatise is unprecedented in many ways.”
“Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts” is available in hardcover and eBook through Thomson Reuters. It can be purchased online at https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en.
