Comments on: The value of legal advice isn’t measured by a law degree. https://berkonomics.com/?p=535&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-value-of-legal-advice-isnt-measured-by-a-law-degree Dave Berkus' business insights Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:10:34 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Rich Greenhalgh https://berkonomics.com/?p=535&cpage=1#comment-501 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:10:34 +0000 https://berkonomics.com/?p=535#comment-501 How very true. I was fortunate when I worked at Paramount Pictures. Their legal people were very good. I spent so much time in their legal department reviewing contracts, they wanted to give me an honorary law degree.

]]> By: Huw Jones https://berkonomics.com/?p=535&cpage=1#comment-500 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:10:11 +0000 https://berkonomics.com/?p=535#comment-500 Dave-
Once more you have hit the nail squarely on the head. Your story is so true. I am an Attorney, but having both been through an MBA and spent 15 years’ in the corporate world I know both sides of the story. The one bit of advice I would have offered is that the inside business development guy should have pushed the matter up to the COO/CEO to make the decision and override outside counsel. If he didn’t, shame on him for passing the buck to outside counsel.

]]> By: JJ Richa https://berkonomics.com/?p=535&cpage=1#comment-499 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:22:23 +0000 https://berkonomics.com/?p=535#comment-499 I agree with Dave. This is a great example of the influence attorneys have on their clients.

As I’m very sensitive to this matter, I’ll just add few words to reflect my experience on the opposite side of the spectrum. Early on, I had gotten burnt couple times by receiving the wrong advice from my attorney in the spirit of getting things done and protecting the company’s interest. The attorney was loose and cooperative with his counterpart. From a legal stand point, he was shortsighted and failed to look at the entire picture and the long term interest of the company – resulting eventually in imposing irreparable harm along with significant financial burden.

]]> By: Steve Reich https://berkonomics.com/?p=535&cpage=1#comment-498 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:38:30 +0000 https://berkonomics.com/?p=535#comment-498 Dave:

Great post–an attorney who understands how to get business done is worth their weight in gold.

I have had the good fortune to work with several, and the common thread seems to be keeping a balance between managing risk and actually concluding transactions. The good ones make the risks clear, offer solutions to address them, and then stand back to let the management team make a decision.

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