Unlocking the value of legal literacy and legal leverage requires managers and lawyers to learn to work together.  It means passing the ball and clearing the way to the goal.  It requires trust.

     Unfortunately, a number of nasty stereotypes have built up around lawyers that interfere with the trust building process.  These stereotypes echo in lawyer jokes all the time.  “And what’s wrong with lawyer jokes?” you might say.  Well, lawyers don’t think they’re funny and nobody else thinks they’re jokes!  That’s what.

     This week Law.com featured and article titled “GCs Vent Their Frustrations About Outside Counsel” that reminded me of how that tug of war that can undermine the trust building process and the attorney-client relationship as a whole.  If such behaviors drive in-house counsel crazy – members of the bar who understand where their fellow counsel is coming from — imagine how it impresses business leaders who don’t share the same educational background.

     Being a go-to lawyer takes more than an impressive credentials, a good website, or impressive firm brochure.  It also require skills for managing the client relationship.  It’s a 2-way street.  For 10 tips on how lawyers and clients can build a better working relationship see chapter 10 of The Business Guide to Legal Literacy: What Every Manager Should Know About the Law.

Google, the premier search engine company is reportedly one of the most tight-lipped companies around.  “The Internet giant’s business model sounds simple,” according to today’s Los Angeles Times.  “It attracts audiences through search and other Web services, displays targeted ads and charges marketers only when their ads are clicked on.”

The keys to the Internet kingdom, however, are a bit more complex.  Google relies on “imponderably complex mathematical formulas, a sophisticated accounting system, an aloof corporate culture and a growth strategy secret to all but the upper echelon of the company,” says the Times.

Sounds like Google has mastered the legal significance of confidentiality and leveraged that knowledge to protect it business model.  It joins the ranks of Coca Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken for keeping the family jewels safe.  They earn an A+ in my book for implementing legal literacy strategically.

Way to go!