THE SAYINGS OF 'UNCLE SHELBY': A corporate guide to working with in-house counselAuthor(s): Paul MarcotteSource: ABA Journal, Vol. 73, No. 10 (AUGUST 1, 1987), p. 46Published by: American Bar AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20759440 .

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THE SAYINGS OF "UNCLE SHELBY' A corporate guide to working with in-house counsel

They weren't exactly brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses, but as guidelines go, they seem to work pretty well for McDonald's Corpora tion.

Actually, they are "Uncle Shel by's 10 Commandments," delivered by Shelby Yastrow, McDonald's gen eral counsel, to the Trial Practice Committee of the ABA's Litigation Section at a recent meeting in Chi cago.

Yastrow was one of the panelists on the program "Selecting Outside Counsel." The panelists agreed that when corporations pick outside law yers to handle their litigation, they are fussy shoppers who know what they want. They don't care so much about brand names as finding a law yer they can trust with their busi ness.

Besides being an effective liti gator, that lawyer must be able to communicate with corporate man

agement and recognize its needs. "Uncle Shelby," however,

opened his tablets to outside counsel to outline his program for an effec tive and positive relationship with in house counsel:

1. E.T. phone home. Keep the corporation informed. The biggest complaint of corporations is that law firms treat the case as not being im portant enough to let them know what's going on. It's important to us, so make it important to you.

2. If you don't believe I'm a lawyer, ask my mother. Many out side law firms regard in-house coun sel as nothing more than a client, not as co-counsel. It's offensive, not fair

and not productive. We really know about these esoteric concepts such as offer and acceptance, waiver and es

toppel. 3. Big trees were once little

nuts. Those young little staff law yers who are so easily ignored and of fended will soon be deciding who to retain and who not to retain.

4. Indulge the layman. Trial firms sometimes don't understand that there are busy people with im portant jobs who are not lawyers. Most of those people regard lawyers

as intrusions. You've got to under

stand how they fit into this whole scheme of things.

5. Whose side are we on any way? Our job is to represent to you the management's point of view, the business policies and the corporate goals. We go back to management and try to explain the legal aspects to them.

We are always in a semi-adver

sarial position. It gets frustrating at times. Don't get mad at us. Pity us.

6. Since I wear your hat some times, I wish you would wear

mine. Trial lawyers have to do their * job in the context of the client's over all corporate policy considerations. You have to give some thought to our image problem, our public relations problem and our overlying policies that will be with us long after that lawsuit is gone.

7. Give us guidance and not consolation. Solve our problem. Don't write us a 12-page letter telling us that we have one. Don't tell us we can't do something if there's a way it can be done.

We all know the cases go both ways. They always do. We want you to make recommendations and stick your neck out once in a while. I

8. Turn out the lights when you leave the room. Spend our money like it was your own. Let us know that you are cost-conscious. We, like your other clients, watch that a little closer than you think we do.

It's almost unheard of that I complain about a legal bill. I just won't use the firm again if I think it's unfair. The biggest gripe other than secretarial overtime is conferences. I don't know how many lawyers in one firm must talk about a case, whether it's a lunch or otherwise, and bill you for it. And how many lawyers charge you for research you never see?

9. Write right. We really don't like 15-page, single-spaced letters any

more than you do. If you're going to do that, at least stick your recom mendations or your opinions up front or in a summary fashion. If you want to be heard, you just can't do it in those kinds of epistles.

10. Don't take the first nine commandments too seriously. The best way to impress a client and keep a client is to win his case. Solve his problem. If you can do that by writ ing long letters, calling us laymen and ignoring our associates, so much the better. We'll still hire you. Maybe.

?Paul Marcotte

U

46 ABA JOURNAL / AUGUST 1, 1987 abaj/uws Souie

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