A general counsel should visibly promote and defend the department’s lawyers

The rank and file in a law department look to the general counsel to be their advocate and spokesperson (See my post of Oct. 6, 2006 about leadership in law departments.). Overt forms of being on point include when the general counsel goes to the mat for in-house counsel on compensation, negotiates budget increases or staves off cuts, gets lawyers promoted to the officer level (See my post of Feb. 28, 2006 on officer titles.), protects the law group from enervating administrivia, obtains dispensations from restrictions on travel, and many other forms.

So why should I stop? Other forms of visible promotion of the department include publication of newsletters (See my post of Sept. 4, 2006.) and favorable publicity for the department (See my post of June 30, 2006 about public relations for law departments.) and success at getting the department’s lawyers in front of senior corporate executives.