Many factors can affect the trajectory of an in-house career: competency, good business judgment, political savvy, personal branding, timing and luck are a just a few. Some of these factors are beyond the control of any lawyer. But there are concrete steps that lawyers can take to improve the chances of advancing their in-house careers and becoming the General Counsel of a thriving enterprise. "At A Glance:"

What is a rainmaking partner supposed to do? You could spend half your time talking to headhunters, interviewing with other firms, or just plain mulling over different opportunities. Demand for your practice has never been more intense. Should you just tune it all out and stick with the devil you know? Or, should you open that door a crack and "see what else is out there?"

The new partnership classes have been announced. We would like to add our congratulations to those who have been elected to partner in their respective firms. The legal journals, magazines, and newspapers are now full of celebratory articles and good advice concerning how newly-minted partners should approach this new phase in their legal careers.

Associate General Counsel, Assistant General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, Director Of Legal Services, Corporate Counsel, Senior Corporate Counsel, Senior Attorney, Lawyer In Charge Of Everything. Is it worth it in a tight market for candidates to negotiate for what they perceive to be better and beefier titles? Are they wasting their breath? Do titles really matter?

It's a universal truth that lawyers spend a lot of time at the office. A lot. Therefore, it's a corollary universal truth that the office is one of the most likely places that lawyers would meet someone with whom to start a romantic relationship. As one outplacement specialist said, the workplace has become in the new millennium what singles bars, health clubs and Internet match-making companies were in the past.

No more ties and pinstripes, pantyhose and pumps.

"Business casual" dress codes began at West Coast dot-coms in the 1990s, infecting local law firms, and the trend has since traveled eastward. No longer just a Fridays- or Summer-only tradition, casual dress is now sanctioned by most major law firms 24/7. Some of the country's biggest and most traditional law firms, including New York's Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, have gone so far as to promote casual dress with in-house fashion shows sponsored by designers like Ralph Lauren.

Maybe you became a big-firm litigator after watching countless "LA Law" reruns during law school, drawn to the fancy suits, courtroom suspense and law firm glamour. But after several years in litigation, you find yourself dreading the countless motion hearings and the transparent posturing of contentious opposing counsel. You're starting to long for the simple, cut-and-dried rules of inheritance you learned during your law school trusts and estates class. Could you leave litigation and become an estate lawyer? Or maybe you're an antitrust lawyer whose practice just isn't what it used to be. Could you ground your law practice in your childhood Long Beach roots and become an admiralty and maritime law specialist?