- , Demand for FLEX-ible in-house roles. What we saw in Q1 and expect to see in Q2, The challenges experienced by technology and life sciences clients starting in mid-2022 continued through the first quarter of 2024. Layoffs, hiring freezes, and budget cuts in legal departments sometimes result in more openings for temporary contract roles. In 2023, however, even interim roles were restricted while many tech companies sought “efficiencies” by expecting their existing lawyers to…, Tech Transactions: Still Dominant, Tech Transactions has consistently ranked as FLEX’s most in-demand practice area, exceeding 50 percent of all engagements. Tech transactions include buying, selling, distributing, and licensing technology. Experience with Software as a Service (SaaS) and other cloud computing agreements is essential for many in-house tech transactions roles. FLEX partners with large enterprises and startups in…, Product and Privacy Counsel: Often Related and Broad in Scope, Product and Privacy consistently ranks second in demand to technology transactions. Almost all technology-focused product roles involve an element of privacy counseling. In many ways, product counsel act as generalists, providing the consistent advice needed to mitigate risk throughout every stage of the product development process, including privacy concerns. As in-house legal teams have become…, Corporate Law: Relatively Slow, but Steady, Demand for traditional Corporate support was soft in Q1, like last year, compared to explosive growth over 2021 and early 2022. Where there was demand, client requests centered on private company generalists to advise on a broad range of matters. Fewer clients reached out for M&A transactions and IPO preparations. A growing number of businesses did rely on in-house corporate attorneys to…, Life Sciences: Resilient, Biotech, medical device, and pharmaceutical companies must navigate an increasingly complex and constantly changing regulatory landscape, making access to counsel with deep, specific experience in the sector critical to their success. Life Sciences demand remained steady in Q1 after a slight increase in 2023 relative to prior years. The best in-house life sciences attorneys bring a blend of…, Q2 expectations, If we use the stock market as an indicator, megacap technology companies are showing strength and resilience in 2024. While high interest rates and fewer funding options challenge some smaller technology and life science companies, the strength of major players in the AI space could continue to support improved tech performance throughout the rest of 2024. Thinly staffed legal departments will…
- The general attitude of in-house legal decision-makers toward bringing on interim attorneys, especially concerns over data security and work product, has changed considerably over the last several years. In-house leaders have become more receptive to the advantages interim support can bring, in terms of cost, substantive work, and flexibility. In this article, we will discuss how flexible…, Optimize Your Legal Budget, Layoffs and budget cuts have hit the tech industry hard. As companies focus on efficiency and cost reduction, they are carefully analyzing which legal needs require the level of attention and merit the fees of outside counsel, and which legal work is most efficiently performed by lawyers working within the company. Interim in-house counsel can provide you with responsive and predictable legal…, Access Top-Quality Talent, The COVID-19 pandemic caused many high-quality attorneys to rethink the need for flexibility and predictability in their legal careers. On the flip side, the layoffs abundant in the tech industry have led some exceptional attorneys who had not previously considered flexible work to now actively seek interim engagements. Furthermore, as many companies moved to a remote work model, they are now…, Prepare for Uncertainty, The difficulty in forecasting legal workflow is perhaps the top concern we hear about from FLEX clients. This can be due to the unexpected timing of deals, the unexpected departure (voluntary or not) of legal staff, or unexpected regulatory or economic shifts. Maybe a project requires specific subject matter expertise that your current legal team is lacking. You may not know the length of the…, Selecting Your Provider: The FLEX Difference, Once you’ve made the decision to bring on interim legal counsel, you’ll find that you have a plethora of providers to choose from. Selecting the provider best suited to meet your company’s immediate and future needs can be a daunting task. Here are some factors to consider in making that selection, along with how FLEX addresses those factors., Assess your specific needs, FLEX has a specific focus on attorneys for technology and life sciences transactional needs. We do not recruit paralegals, legal assistants, or other legal professionals, and we do not recruit attorneys from other industries. FLEX also exclusively recruits attorneys with significant in-house experience, as we know the ability to provide practical, business-minded advice is key for our clients. We…, Assess the recruiting team and vetting process, The recruiters you work with should always be able to fully understand the substantive needs you have and your organization’s culture, so that they can send you only the most qualified candidates. The FLEX management team is made up solely of former practicing attorneys. We know the right questions to ask when speaking with you about your needs and when speaking with our attorneys to assess their…, Assess potential efficiencies, FLEX attorneys can access Fenwick-created templates, playbooks, and knowledge management materials on your behalf at no additional cost. While you do not have to be a Fenwick client to use FLEX for interim support, FLEX attorneys can work seamlessly with your Fenwick team as needed if you are also a Fenwick client. Offering contract management software or AI-based contract review tools can be…, Conclusion, By incorporating interim attorney support into their workflow, in-house legal leaders can ensure their departments remain appropriately staffed and equipped to handle the unexpected. When considered in tandem with the significant cost savings that utilizing interim counsel can bring, and the wealth of top-tier attorney talent available, the value of bringing on interim attorneys is clear. However…
- FLEX Case Study – Tech Giant Appreciates the FLEX Difference, This will be the first article in what will be an ongoing series highlighting some of FLEX’s biggest client successes and how FLEX’s specific expertise led the way there. You can learn more about how FLEX can assist with your specific challenges here ., For over a decade, FLEX has supported one of the biggest global tech companies through a period of tremendous growth. FLEX has assisted with: Parental leave coverage Gaps in hiring Overflow/surge transactional support Acquisition diligence and/or integration Product launches Complying with new regulations (privacy, advertising, etc.) The client has appreciated the adaptability of FLEX’s coverage…
- Many legal departments face tighter budgets, limited headcount, and a need for increased efficiency in a challenging economic climate. When done correctly, support from interim counsel to backfill leaves and absorb overflow can help legal departments get the right amount of support and optimize efficiency., When to Contract and When not to Contract, At FLEX, we pride ourselves on our years of experience helping companies understand when to hire a FLEX lawyer and when to wait. A few of the most important factors include: 1) type of work, 2) volume of work, and 3) short-term goals. Hiring a FLEX attorney or an interim counsel, in general, is ideal for day-to-day commercial agreements. This can range from outbound customer agreements to inbound…, Avoid Pitfalls, Be flexible. Finding the exact lawyer with the exact practice area experience in the exact technology subcategory can be difficult, especially when faced with surges in emerging areas (e.g., AI today, product counsel in 2018, privacy in 2016, bitcoin in 2013). FLEX had more success placing IP law firm litigators as product counsel at a hypergrowth social media company than any other type of…, Give and Get, A little feedback goes a long way. Direct feedback can be difficult to give and difficult to receive, but when communicated well, it is one of the best ways to increase efficiency and get the most out of the engagement. Our FLEX lawyers are encouraged to ask for feedback and welcome transparency. FLEX managers also seek client feedback to ensure we meet the company’s needs. Hiring interim counsel…
- This is Amrish. He's one of two recruiters at FLEX tasked with finding, vetting, and onboarding attorneys to work on interim in-house counsel positions with FLEX’s technology and life sciences clients. Amrish has spent approximately 5,000 hours reviewing resumes over his legal recruiting career. Let's learn what Amrish looks for when recruiting at FLEX., Q: What do you look for first when reviewing a resume?, At FLEX, we are always proactively recruiting, as opposed to “reactively” recruiting based on a specific client need, because we know what our clients come to us for and our vetting process is more rigorous and time-consuming than at a traditional staffing agency. As such, the first thing I look for is experience at companies similar to our client base handling responsibilities we typically see…, a lot, of resumes, I am always grateful for organized formatting that is easy follow. If the information is there, I’ll find it, but I appreciate it when an applicant makes it easy., Q: What methods do you use to avoid unconscious bias when evaluating attorneys?, The FLEX management team interviews every potential FLEX attorney as a panel in order to get a variety of perspectives. We give every attorney candidate the same skills exercise and use specific criteria to evaluate their performance. We are careful to craft the job descriptions we use for recruiting to not include stereotypically gendered language. FLEX also has a 100% diverse internal team.…, slight, favoritism toward University of Maryland alumni – Go Terps!)., Q: What are some of the more common red flags that you see on a resume?, Major spelling or grammatical errors are the biggest red flags, followed by sloppy formatting errors. Those mistakes evince a lack of attention to detail that, rightfully or not, many clients believe will extend to the attorney’s substantive work product. Any dates or titles that don’t line up with what’s on an attorney’s LinkedIn profile also give me pause. One thing that does, not, give me pause is a gap between positions. There are any number of valid reasons why one may take a pause in working, even if just to recharge and relax. One of the reasons I’m such a believer in the FLEX model is because it allows for a balance between rewarding, interesting work and outside pursuits. For attorneys working on interim positions through services like FLEX, another red flag is…, Q: How many candidates do you typically call for a single role?, At FLEX, we never send out mass emails or InMails, nor do we ever post openings on an internal job board and have our attorneys “bid” for them. Rather, the internal FLEX management team meets about every new opening that comes through the door and discusses attorneys we think could be a good fit for the need based on their experience, skills exercise performance, and prior client feedback. We…
- Four Ways FLEX Drives Impact for Clients, In today's fast-paced business environment, efficiency and productivity are crucial for staying competitive and meeting demands. This is where FLEX comes into play, offering a variety of benefits that can greatly impact organizations in a positive way. Here are some ways FLEX drives impact for our clients: Efficiency with Complex Legal Matters Clients can tap into a pool of highly skilled…
- Product teams in tech companies collaborate to plan, develop, release, and market new products or features. While designers, engineers, and marketers are responsible for bringing these innovations to market, lawyers (“product counsel”) are essential for ensuring that these new products or features comply with laws, regulations, or contractual obligations. Involving experienced lawyers early,…
- Meet Jenny. Jenny joined FLEX as one of two Attorney Development Managers. She sources, vets, and recruits technology and life sciences lawyers, in addition to managing FLEX clients. As prior product counsel, Jenny's background is like the attorneys we recruit at FLEX. Read below for insights on her experience as a product counsel and her path to legal recruiting., Q: What is a product counsel in your experience?, I think of product counsel as one-part legal advisor, one-part business partner, and one-part cat herder. Every company defines the role differently but at the core, I think it means being the single point of contact anyone associated with the product(s) you support can come to with their questions (whether they're legal in nature or not). Whether it’s engineering, product managers, marketers,…, Q: How did you become a product counsel?, Many product counsel come from a litigation background because they are often generalists who are adept at efficiently picking up new areas of the law and learning about new products and businesses. I was no different. I began my career as a litigator at Bingham McCutchen (which later became Morgan Lewis) working on everything from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill case to water rights cases. I…, Q: How has your career experience helped you as an attorney recruiter at FLEX?, There’s only so much you can learn from a resume. While solid credentials are always a bonus, when I look for product candidates, I lean heavily into our discussion to try and get a good sense for how agile they are, how well they cope with ambiguity, how good their problem solving and communication skills are. A firm grasp of core legal issues is imperative, but based on my own experience I…
- , “Working with FLEX gives me the opportunity to jump right in and use my experience representing technology companies to help clients navigate their legal challenges and grow their business.”, Gary is a technology transactions attorney with experience negotiating hardware, software, SaaS, and general commercial agreements. As prior VP of Legal, he is accustomed to navigating general legal issues, including product counseling, and managing outside resources when needed. In addition to being an in-house generalist, Gary offers unique experience in aerospace, satellites, and government…
- , "With the span of their clientele, FLEX has provided me with the chance to explore new industries and companies of different sizes and stages of maturation which has given me invaluable insight. I also believe FLEX gives companies the opportunity to work with people they may otherwise not have a chance to work with. I highly recommend FLEX to companies and to those seeking a variety of…, Pauline is an in-house generalist with deep commercial and privacy experience and a background advising technology clients. She supports innovative tech clients through FLEX and advises on a broad range of areas including data privacy, cybersecurity, digital product counseling, IP, media, and commercial transactions. Clients appreciate Pauline's ability to quickly come up to speed on new products…