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He may be “respected in the field,” but your duty is to your client, not him. By all means be respectful, but don’t underestimate the power you have as the client.
I’ve sometimes found when I have issues with outside counsel it helps to lay out the issues in brief bullet points in an email, then ask for a call to discuss. It avoided blindsiding them and also gives them a bit of a heads up so the can come to a call prepared to address the issues.
I just started in house too. I am a younger attorney. However, I’ve already switched to new outside counsel for several issues. You are the client. It’s no hard feelings.
Agree. You have to be honest and likely find that current counsel has just not taken the time to understand the disconnect.
This is not unlike the role I took and am now 5 yrs strong. I spent the first year just listening and learning, keeping my opinions to a minimum and only when asked of me. I learned what was working and what wasn’t (helped that my boss, COO, was very vocal about what she did not like with current counsel). That way I knew where I could add value. Over the following two years, I began to expand roles and responsibilities, one success after the next, and drawing on outside counsel for specialized expertise. This was rewarding both in new opportunities as well as financially. There was one dysfunctional relationship between my boss and key outside counsel due to very slow response time on matters. I resolved by requesting a different associate to be the point of contact and then slowly shifted new matters either to other attorneys or different firms, effectively transitioning, respectfully. Good luck on yours journey.
It appears you are faced with the reality that you have to just be honest and direct (which can be uncomfortable for some) and make it clear that it is the direction the business wishes to take. I have been there but “you got this..”
Start to diversify the outside counsel you use.