I was recently promoted to the position of General Counsel to lead my company’s law department.  Law department management is completely new territory for me, so I was wondering if you have any resources to help provide me with a general foundation on this topic?

Answer: ACC has many resources on the topic of law department management and administration, ranging from broad overviews of the subject to more narrow, topic-specific discussions. Start with the following resources:

• ACC Primer - Using a Structured Process to Allocate Work
• Applying Project Management to Legal Matters
• Legal Project Management
• Top Ten Tips for Running an Efficient International Legal Department
• Top Ten Tips for Running an Efficient Legal Department

Also try the Law Department Management Committee and its e-Group, which offers a wealth of resources, information and knowledgeable in-house colleagues at www.acc.com/committees/ldmc.
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NEW Top Ten: Considerations When Evaluating a System for Managing Outside Counsel Work In this month’s ACC Top Ten, key questions are asked for you to consider when looking for a matter-management system for you and your firms.

FEATURED Top Ten: Practical Suggestions for Managing Outside Counsel Spend Read this month’s ACC Top Ten on effectively managing outside counsel spend and ensure ways for everything in the law department to run smoothly and know how much of your budget is going to outside counsel fees.

The Health Law Committee’s monthly teleconference calls cover the latest substantive issues in the health law industry that keep you up-to-date.  The next call will be April 5 at 12 noon ET. Check out ACC’s newest committee, Health Law Committee today.
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The ACC Compliance Training Portal makes internal compliance training a more efficient process. Developed in conjunction with our ACC Alliance partner, WeComply, the portal brings together a variety of resources specifically designed to help you meet your internal compliance and ethics training requirements. Resources include “Train the Trainer” and “Do-It-Yourself” courses and tips of the week. Find out more at www.acc.com/compliance.

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Find out how Hartford Financial Services’ law department uses an intranet to improve its worldwide communications in the ACC Value Practice resource, "Legal Intranet Enhances Communication, Consistency and Efficiency."  For insights into interfaces with law firms to manage workloads and gain expertise during workload peaks, check out "Maximizing Value in Relationships with Outside Counsel- Secondments, GC-Managing Partner Meetings and Beyond," which details Bombadier, Inc’s efforts on that front. Find more ACC Value-Based Resources at www.acc.com/valuechallenge/resources.
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The ACC Value Index is an efficient and effective way to do what in-house counsel have always done - consult each other about law firms. 

• Efficient because once your review is posted to the AVI, any ACC member, anytime, can find your review when searching the database by firm name, location and/or matter type
• Effective because firms are scored on a common scale and set of criteria for better comparability

The ACC Value Index is "by in-house counsel, for in-house counsel" - log-in to www.acc.com/valueindex today to contribute your latest reviews.
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· Webcast: Avoid the Workplace Earthquakes: What California Employers Need to Know for 2011 and Beyond March 17

· Webcast: Multinational Data Discovery: Quick and Defensible Processes for Collecting and Assessing Data
March 23

· Webcast: Understanding the Contracting Capability Maturity Model: How Competitive is Your Organization’s Contracting Function? March 24

· The New Canada Consumer Product Safety Act – Toronto March 29

· Project Management for the In-house Law Department at Boston University March 30–31

· Risk Management & In-house Counsel at Boston University April 6–8

· Webcast: The 12 Most Common Employer Mistakes in Substance-Abuse Prevention - and How to Avoid Them April 6

· A Conference for In-house Counsel in Collaboration with the Bar of Montreal and the Bar of Quebec – Montreal April 13

· Legal Services Management: Executive Workshop on Driving Value in Firm/Client Relationships in Chicago, IL  May 3-4

· Joint ACC Quebec and Meritas Event – Montreal May 12-13 

· Corporate Counsel University® – For New to In-house Counsel in New Orleans, LA  May 15-17

For more information and a complete list of educational programs please visit www.acc.com/education.

Early bird registration rate of $1,300 is available now through Wednesday, March 30. To learn more and to register, visit am.acc.com.
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ACC Europe’s Annual Conference (29–31 May, Grand Hyatt, Berlin, Germany) is a premier educational and networking event for the in-house profession. The opening plenary, “Are you ready to change? Designing a forward looking legal department,” will feature several renowned speakers, including Prof Richard Susskind. Early bird registration rate is now available through 31 March for ACC Europe’s 18^th Annual Conference. Reserve for your spot today and save €100. To learn more and to register, go to www.acc.com/berlin.
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In Gillard v. AIG, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reversed and remanded a Superior Court decision, which severely constricted the attorney client privilege in Pennsylvania in an opinion released February 23. ACC filed amicus in April 2010 requesting a clear statement from the court “that communications made within the lawyer/client relationship are privileged when made for the very purpose of soliciting or providing legal advice.” For more information, click here.
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Continuing to build on three years of successful programs, the IP Business Congress will be holding their fourth Congress in San Francisco at the Palace Hotel on June 19-21. Thought leaders from the worlds of IP business and finance will gather to discuss issues that center on the creation and management of IP value.  ACC members are eligible for a 10% discount off of the registration price when using discount code 10ACC. For more information and to register, click here.
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Learn more about media coverage of ACC when you visit ACC in the News. For a complete listing of ACC’s media coverage, visit ACC in the News at www.acc.com.

• ACC Taps Veta Richardson as New President, CEO (Corporate Counsel)
• Alternative Fees are Not the Enemy  (National Law Journal)
  
• Building Value (Lexpert – Canada)
• Corporate Lawyers in Canada Take a Stand / La Revanche des Avocats D'entreprise (La Presse)
• Veta Richardson to Lead ACC (Financial Post)

If you have any questions, or wish to receive additional information about items included in this month's newsletter, please contact the Legal Resources Department at legalresources@acc.com or the Membership Department at membership@acc.com.
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