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What inspired general counsel first insisted on a budget from a law firm? Who first received an invoice electronically? When did the first law department appoint an official administrator? I do not know these milestone dates and specifics, but I wish I did. I have managed to dig up a few historical points (See my post of Dec. 31, 2006: pre-1900 references in the NY Times to law departments; Dec. 31, 2006: historical information on law departments; Feb. 19, 2006: eras of law department management; Feb. 23, 2006: books, including one from 1907 on a law department; July 18, 2006: Sears? law department formed in 1946; April 8, 2007: first university IP department; and March 1, 2008: another book on the NY City Law Department.). Because no historical narrative traces the roots of law-department management practices, I was interested to read that in 1962, Shook, Hardy & Bacon was retained by Eli Lilly, and ?went on to become Lilly?s regional counsel ? a new concept at the time.? Aha, a glimmer of history regarding one piece of law department management. The quote comes from the ABA J., Vol. 94, Oct. 2008 at 55.

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