Bright Ideas

Globalization of business has driven a paradigm shift in corporate legal services internationally, changing how multinational corporations, their in-house legal departments and their law firms interrelate. The demands caused by international business growth require companies to confront scores of legal issues in many different countries, at the same time. Numerous factors have converged to elevate the impact of law and compliance on global business today. Understanding and responding to these factors is paramount to the success of inside and outside counsel. In this book, E. Leigh Dance presents 26 essays written by current and past heads of legal at global companies including: Azko Nobel, EADS, Fiat, FMC Technologies, Hilton, Honeywell, Lenovo, Marsh & McLennan and Schering-Plough, as well as leaders of global law firms including DLA, Eversheds, K&L Gates, Latham & Watkins, Orrick, Paul Hastings and other top legal industry experts. "This collection of 26 impressive essays, skillfully edited by Leigh Dance, creates a superb textbook for leaders as they consider current and future strategies, whether as global law firms or corporate law departments. A unique compendium of global perspectives and ideas, it makes very useful reading for all who are working to chart a course in these unprecedented times." -Ralph Baxter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Orrick "Leigh Dance has managed to replicate in a book the excitement of a rich roundtable discussion among industry leaders. Reading it is like sitting in on an intimate exchange of practical experience, personal insights, and critical thinking about global business law, now and into the future. I highly recommend 'Bright Ideas.'" -Nino Cusimano, General Counsel, Telecom Italia "The legal industry is a time machine speeding through generations of change in a blink of an eye. Leigh Dance and her collaborators understand that such movement doesn't count as progress unless it is infused with bright ideas and intelligent execution. She has collected and presented those ideas in a highly readable form." -Peter Kalis, Chairman and Global Managing Partner, K&L Gates "Jump in, and profit from the many superb ideas and thought-provoking perspectives advanced in these pages, by an outstanding list of legal luminaries." -Jan Eijsbouts, former General Counsel, Akzo Nobel