I’ve often wondered about the members of Google’s legal team. How many are there? What sort of people are they? And do they work 168 hours per week to keep up with the avalanche of lawsuits? I still don’t know the answers to all those questions, but in regards to the first one, a new report indicates that many more specialists will soon join up.
“Google is planning to recruit an in-house team across Europe after growing by more than 50 per cent in the last year,” states Malar Velaigam for TheLawyer.com.
Showing both a healthy dose a skepticism and a willingness to report the Google’s statements, Velaigam then continues, “The internet company has been bombarded with lawsuits and regulatory issues, but it claims the need for a new European legal capability is due to ‘rapid growth.’”
Hmph. A rapid growth in the number of lawsuits it faces, sure. And many of those suits have been filed overseas, so it makes sense that Google would hire lawyers in Europe (despite facing pressures from the likes of Viacom in the U.S.).
A side note: the term “Europe” is sometimes used when referring to just two, or maybe three, countries. But in this case, “Google is seeking legal chiefs for Amsterdam, London, Madrid, Milan, Moscow and Zurich,” according to Velaigan, and “[e]xcluding London, which is already home to a number of Google lawyers, this will be the first time the company has any lawyers based in these European cities.”
Well, let’s hope these Google lawyers are the friendly sort, because it looks like they’re spreading out pretty quickly.
