Carrying alignment to an extreme – no diplomas on walls and no lawyer titles

Mark LeHocky, general counsel of Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, is the subject of a profile in the Recorder, March 30, 2007. He tries “to embed our legal team members [three attorneys and soon a fourth] into our various business teams such as manufacturing, marketing and distribution.” That is commendable, as close alignment with clients distinguishes well-managed law departments. But LeHocky goes further.

“We do less obvious things to break down perceived barriers between our legal team and everyone else like having no legal diplomas on the walls and avoiding the use of “Esq.” titles or other things that serve to differentiate attorneys from the rest of our workforce.” Does equality extend to cubicles and compensation? Such egalitarianism is extreme.