First Chair Magazine

Obstacles Facing Legal Departments The A Tale of Two In Pitches: NewEffective EconomyTools and for The Most How Outside Counsel Pitching In-House Counsel Page 9 Can Help Page 6

Collaboration Between

I’ll Have What She’s In-house and Outside Counsel Is Women the Key on To Having: Successfulthe Budgeting Achieving Top Spot of Legal Matters Page 17 Page 13

Don’t Jump!

I Will Survive!

(At Least Not Until

You Read Tactics This Article) Recession for In-House Page 37 Counsel to Survive & Thrive Page 25

MAY/2012

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INSIDE:

The Top In-House Attorneys Thein the Annual List Country Top In-House

INSIDE:

Attorney’s in the Country

The Ties That Bind

Top In-House Legal Department Recipients:

How law firms create enduring relationships with their in-house clients Kaplan, Inc. Janice L. Block General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer

Sears Holdings Corporation Kal Gibron Vice President of Real Estate Law & Asset Management

RECOGNIZED + ACCOMPLISHED Making a difference. Congratulations to our clients who received First Chair Awards, as well as our other friends and colleagues who were honored with these prestigious awards for their hard work, innovation, and significant contributions to the legal community.

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UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

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First Chair Magazine 333 West North Avenue Suite 257 Chicago, IL 60610 www.firstchairawards.com

FROM THE EDITOR

Spring is my favorite season as it is a time of new beginnings. At First Chair we are thrilled to have a new beginning of our own—the launch of the magazine you are reading. Thank you for reading this magazine and learning about the organization that is changing the way the legal community interacts.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to First Chair and our community.

My name is Jennifer Levin and I am the Founder and President of First Chair and the Editor-in-Chief of First Chair Magazine. We are thrilled to have you join our community and learn how First Chair can help you strengthen your relationships and advance your career.

First Chair’s mission is to bring together a community of accomplished attorneys in private practice with their talented in-house peers in order to recognize in-house achievement. To achieve our mission, we developed four platforms to benefit our community: 1. The First Chair Magazine First Chair Magazine is an annual publication for members of the legal community featuring profiles of the recipients of the First Chair Awards as well as articles drafted by members of our community. The First Chair Magazine is distributed in all 50 states to in-house counsel and partners at 250 of America’s largest law firms. Unlike other legal magazines, the First Chair Magazine is not designed to examine substantive legal issues.

Instead, we focus our coverage on attorney lifestyles, career progression, commentary on the practical aspects of legal practice and personal achievement.

2. The First Chair Awards We developed the First Chair Awards to publicly acknowledge outstanding performance by in-house attorneys at all levels within an organization.

Nominations for the Awards are solicited electronically through our website (www.firstchairawards.com) and are subject to review and evaluation by our esteemed Nomination Committee. Our Nomination Committee is comprised of recognized leaders in the private practice community. Our nomination process begins on March 1st each year and closes on July 1st.

3. Signature Events Each year First Chair hosts three spectacular networking events: The Nomination Event; The First Chair Awards Event and our “Sponsors Only” event. All of our events have a CLE component and are free for members of the in-house bar.

Our events are not your typical speech, table and rubber chicken dinner affair.

Each event is carefully orchestrated to insure high-impact networking takes place at our unique upscale venues. We suggest you check out the pictures in our Scene at First Chair section to get a better sense of our events.

Our Inaugural First Chair Awards Event (think of the Oscar’s but with lawyers instead of actors) was met with wide acclaim. The event was attended by over 350 members of the legal community from across the United States to celebrate the achievements of our 71 in-house award recipients, who are profiled in this edition of the Magazine.

4. LinkedIn® Group This year, we launched the First Chair LinkedIn Group and it has grown by leaps and bounds. We now have over 2,000 in-house counsel and select partners from our law firm participants exchanging ideas and opinions through our social media platform on LinkedIn. Thank you for becoming a part of the First Chair community. We hope you enjoy the Magazine and look forward to seeing you at our events!

For more information, visit www.firstchairawards.com.

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All my best, Jennifer

Editorial Editor in Chief Jennifer Sara Levin Managing Articles Editor Bryan Sugar Assistant Articles Editor Leslee Cohen

Design Graphic Designer Alena Reinhardt Photographer Romy Modlin

Advertising Sales Director of Market Development Pia N. Thompson Contributing Authors Stacee A. Hasenbalg Valeria Bailey Hope Katz Janice Block Fred Langtry Jenelle Chalmers Jennifer Levin Leslee Cohen Stephanie S. McCann Larry W. Conner Kurt Rawlins Josh Glazov Paul R. Steadman Stephanie Hart 2011 nominating committee Mark Gershon (Chair) Polsinelli Shughart David Almeida Sedgwick Leslee Cohen Hershman Cohen Josh Glazov Much Shelist Brent Hawkins McDermott, Will & Emery Mike Karpales Greenberg Traurig Rachel Pontikes Duane Morris Jamie Robinson Ungaretti & Harris Kerrin Slattery McDermott, Will & Emery Pia Thompson Gould & Ratner Jeff Wagner Kaye Scholer 2011 host committee Bryan Sugar (Chair) Valeria Bailey Sam Banayan Michael Booden Paul Brown David Chameli Sonia Coleman Anthony Curtis Elena DeWolfe Andre Frieden Ann Hamilton Tami Horton Tracy Kocourek Saumil Mehta April Minkus Elliot Molk Meredith Ritchie Brad Schecter Patti Sheahan Diane Sciacca Peggy Trelford

Ungaretti & Harris Rand McNally Redbox Accenture Underwriters Laboratories Sears Holdings Monitor Liability Managers Verizon Wireless IBM Corporation Wolters Kluwer Kimball Hill, Inc. Illinois Bone and Joint Institute Accenture IBM Allstate World Kitchen Alliant Credit Union Discover Financial Services Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago JPMorgan Chase Motorola Mobility

Foley & Lardner is Proud to Recognize and Congratulate the 2011 First Chair Award Winners Beth Sprecher Brooks, Inland Real Estate Corporation Paulette Dodson, Sara Lee Corporation Tim Peters, ProLogis, Inc. Matt Revord, Potbelly Sandwich Works We honor your achievement of significant leadership contribution to the legal community.

For more information about Foley, please visit foley.com.

Foley.com

BOSTON • BRUSSELS • CHICAGO • DETROIT • JACKSONVILLE • LOS ANGELES • MADISON • MIAMI • MILWAUKEE • NEW YORK • ORLANDO • SACRAMENTO • SAN DIEGO • SAN DIEGO/DEL MAR • SAN FRANCISCO • SHANGHAI • SILICON VALLEY • TALLAHASSEE • TAMPA • TOKYO • WASHINGTON, D.C. ©2012 Foley & Lardner LLP

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

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Table of contents cover story technology

scene at first chair AWA R D S all award recipients / illinois 2011

OBSTACLES

Category: rising Stars

Category: rising Stars

Sam Banayan REDBOX AUTOMATED RETAIL, LLC

Paul Brown UL (UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES)

1 Tower Lane, Suite 900 Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 banayan@gmail.com

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Obstacles Facing Legal Departments In The New Economy and How Outside Counsel Can Help

The Value of Information Governance

Senior CounSeL • Secured Lending; Commercial Transactions; Securitizations; Creditors’ Rights

Sam Banayan is Senior Counsel at Redbox Automated Retail, LLC. His primary areas of practice in this capacity are corporate and commercial transactions. He also provides counsel in furtherance of enterprise-wide initiatives, assists in litigation management, and serves on a multitude of internal committees. Prior to Redbox, he was counsel to several transnational corporations; focusing the majority of his practice on complex international logistics and commercial transactions. He considers his pro-bono practice a priority and serves as counsel and commercial advisor to several startup companies in the entertainment and goods and services industries. He holds a JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law and a BS in Finance from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Paul is Assistant General Counsel for Intellectual Property and Knowledge Management at UL, a 118-year old global independent safety science company. Paul leads a small team that is responsible for growing, managing, and protecting UL’s global IP portfolio, including the famous UL-in-a-circle certification mark. His practice also includes developing and implementing IP strategies for UL, counseling and educating UL executives and staff on IP issues, and structuring and negotiating IP-related business transactions.

Previously, Paul was an associate at Marshall, Gerstein & Borun and at Kirkland & Ellis. He received a BS in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his JD, cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law. Paul also co-owns and manages an electronic music label, Siteholder Records. Paul, his wife, and their three children live in the Chicago suburbs.

Jamila S. Covington is Senior Counsel for Navistar Financial Corporation. At Navistar, her practice primarily relates to secured lending, commercial transactions, securitizations, creditors’ rights and litigation management. Prior to joining Navistar, Ms. Covington was an associate at Quarles & Brady LLP in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, concentrating on corporate transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions and commercial lending. She earned her BS in Mathematics from Northwestern University and her JD from University of Wisconsin Law School. Ms. Covington is licensed to practice law in both Illinois (active status) and Wisconsin (inactive status) and is a member of several professional organizations, including the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. (Corresponding Secretary, 2011; Board Member, Co-Chair of the Mentoring and Law Student Outreach Committees, 2010; Member, 2005-Present), the Association of Corporate Counsel (Member, 2008-Present; Diversity Summer Intern Program Committee of the Chicago Chapter 2010-Present), and the Midwest Minority In-House Counsel Group.

Category: rising Stars

Category: rising Stars

Category: rising Stars

Megan Ferraro HyATT HOTELS & RESORT

ethan Hayward APPLIED SySTEMS, INC.

robert Lindsey DELL INC.

200 Applied Parkway University Park, IL 60484 ehayward@appliedsystems.com

One Dell Way Round Rock, TX 78682 robert_lindsey@dell.com

Senior CounSeL • Litigation; Hospitality Law - Operations; Electronic Discovery & Information Governance

aSSoCiate CounSeL • Software Licensing, Intellectual Property, Corporate, Labor & Employment, Litigation, Mergers & Aquisitions, Contracts

Senior CounSeL • Securities, Finance, M&A

Ms. Ferraro has served Hyatt since 2007 and is responsible for managing legal matters related to the operations of Hyatt’s properties worldwide.

This includes the prosecution and defense of litigation brought by or against any Hyatt entity. Immediately prior to coming in-house, Ms. Ferraro was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the City of Chicago’s Law Department where she defended Chicago police officers and other City employees against alleged civil rights violations in state and federal court.

Ms. Ferraro is a graduate of DePaul College of Law, is admitted to practice in Illinois and is a member of the Northern District of Illinois Federal Trial Bar. She is also a Committee Member of the Seventh Circuit Electronic Discovery Pilot Program. Ms. Ferraro serves on the boards of two non-profit organizations: Leaders Council of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, and the Advocates Society.

Ethan Hayward is Associate Counsel at Applied Systems, a developer of insurance agency management systems that serves tens of thousands of licensees, from single-user agencies to multi-national carriers and brokers.

Previously, Mr. Hayward was a senior associate at Lowis & Gellen, where he litigated complex commercial disputes and oversaw the firm’s IP prosecution and protection matters. He is a former judicial clerk for the Illinois Appellate Court, and wrote over 35 published opinions and hundreds of unpublished orders. He holds a JD and Certificate in IP Law from DePaul University, and a BA in History and Communications from the University of Notre Dame.

He has been active in the American Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association, where he served on the Judicial Evaluation Committee. Mr. Hayward enjoys spending his spare time with his wife and two young daughters, reading, writing, and watching films long since out of general release.

Robert Lindsey is Senior Counsel at Dell Inc. where he is responsible for its securities law compliance matters. In addition, he provides counsel on corporate governance, finance and M&A matters. Prior to Dell, Mr. Lindsey was an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP. He holds a law degree from the University of Virginia, and a chemistry degree from Harvard College.

Category: rising Stars

Category: rising Stars

Category: top assistant general Counsel

Lisa Seilheimer CDW CORPORATION

Vineet Shahani APPLE INC.

Benjamin Berman KAyAK.COM

2011 Award Recipients

Check out the scene at our signature events!

425 North Martingale Road, Suite 1800 Schaumburg, IL 60173 jamila.covington@Navistar.com

aSSiStant generaL CounSeL • Intellectual Property

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Jamila Covington NAVISTAR FINANCIAL CORPORATION

Senior CounSeL • Corporate and Commercial

71 South Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 megan.ferraro@hyatt.com

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Category: rising Stars

333 Pfingsten Road Northbrook, IL 60062 paul.brown@ul.com

200 North Milwaukee Avenue Vernon Hills, IL 60061 lseilheimer@me.com

55 North Water Street, Suite 1 Norwalk, CT 06854 berman@kayak.com

1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014 vineetshahani@gmail.com

Senior CorPorate CounSeL • Compliance

LegaL CounSeL • Mergers and acquisitions, venture and technology transactions, intellectual property, private equity fund formation and general corporate matters

aSSiStant generaL CounSeL • Commercial transactions, intellectual property, advertising, marketing, privacy, security, real estate, litigation and regulatory compcompliance

Lisa Seilheimer is Senior Corporate Counsel at CDW Corporation, a leading provider of technology solutions. Previously, she was Senior Counsel Litigation, at Kaplan Inc. She also formerly served as a litigation associate at Winston & Strawn LLP, where she was a member of the Critical Motions and Appellate practice group, and as Assistant Inspector General for the City of Chicago. Following law school, Ms. Seilheimer was a law clerk to the Honorable Kermit E. Bye of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and a law clerk to the Honorable Lynn J. Bush of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. She holds a JD from the George Washington University School of Law, with honors, and a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, magna cum laude. She serves on the Executive Committee of the CBA Alliance for Women and is a triathlete.

Vineet Shahani is Legal Counsel for Apple Inc., based in Cupertino, California.

He provides business counsel to operations, engineering, finance, and marketing colleagues on component supply and contract manufacturing transactions, M/A integration, IP/licensing arrangements, and product development issues. Mr. Shahani leads transactions and advises on matters around the world related to Apple’s global supply chain. Prior to Apple, he was Assistant General Counsel for Enova Financial, a technology company in Chicago. He was also a corporate attorney with Latham & Watkins LLP, based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. and Chicago offices. He received a JD, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, and a BA with honors, from the University of Michigan. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs, is a wannabe politico and a die-hard college football fan, and now lives in Mountain View, California with his wife and two children.

Benjamin Berman is Assistant General Counsel at Kayak.com, which provides free web and mobile services to help people find and manage their travel.

Prior to joining Kayak, he spent over seven years with Orbitz Worldwide, Inc., where he held a variety of positions in the legal department, primarily as a generalist with a specialty in corporate transactions. Prior to law school, he spent several years in business development and Internet production during the Web’s infancy. He graduated with a BS from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and received his law degree at DePaul College of Law. Mr. Berman is married and the father of two girls.

First Chair

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relationships

the Old Fashioned Way

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10

The Foundations of an Outstanding In-House / Outside Counsel Relationship

Benefits of Networking the Old Fashioned Way

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Collaboration Between In-house and Outside Counsel is the Key to Successful Budgeting of Legal Matters

Hybrid Billing: A Creative Partnership

finance careers fitness fashion Don’t Jump!

A Working Wardrobe

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Pay Close Attention to Financial Reporting About Litigation 4

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Don’t Jump!

(At least not until you read this article)

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Legal Training: 7 Tips For A Great 30- Minute Workout

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A Working Wardrobe

CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

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Clothes Make the Man

From the Chairs When we formed First Chair we knew that building a passionate and involved community of lawyers was not going to be easy. Many hours were spent having conversations over lunch and coffee evangelizing the First Chair concept to friends and colleagues. We quickly learned the most effective and fastest way for us to build our community was through the formation of two mini-communities: the Host Committee and the Nomination Committee.

The Host Committee is comprised of an outstanding group of in-house counsel that has dedicated their time to build awareness of our events among the in-house community. Moreover, each of our members has advocated for their peers to participate in the First Chair Awards nomination process. Each of them is responsible for the unprecedented participation in our organization by in-house community.

The Nomination Committee is comprised of attorneys from the country’s top law firms. Our Nominating Committee has actively promoted participation in the First Chair award nomination process among the private practice community. Each member of the Nominating Committee spent numerous hours evaluating each of the nominees, which resulted in a slate of 71 award recipients in 2011.

We are amazed at how our two mini-communities spawned three standing room only events, over 500 nominations for the First Char Awards in our first year, an online community of more than 2,000 attorneys from across the country, and now a national publication distributed to over 60,000 attorneys nationwide. A real sense of community is beginning to develop.

accomplishments could have been possible. We encourage everyone reading this to get involved.

If you are a member of the in-house bar, please contact Bryan Sugar at bsugar@uhlaw. com to learn how to join our Host Committee. If you are a member of the private practice community and would like to get involved, please contact Mark Gershon at MGershon@polsinelli.com. If you would like to passively participate in our community, please nominate a member of the in-house community for a First Chair Award at www.firstchairawards.com/ nominate and join our online community on Linkedin.

Congratulations to all of the 2011 Award Recipients. It was our honor and privilege to review the numerous glowing and insightful nominations and to choose you to be recognized for your many achievements.

Our personal thanks to the members of the Host Committee and the Nominating Committee for all of your dedication and service to creating a strong and vibrant First Chair Community. You made being chairs of our respective Committees both rewarding and easy. Finally, our thanks to Jennifer Sara Levin whose energy, organizational and networking skills as President of First Chair not only made all of this possible, but also enjoyable!

We look forward to the continued growth of our community.

This magazine is a testament to the hard work of our committees.

Without their dedication and support, none of the aforementioned

Congratulations to Kal Gibron and Sears Holdings Corporation

A N ATTORNEY

THE RIGHT ATTORNEY

for recognition as 2011 First Chair Top Real Estate Counsel and Top Legal Department

Work with a legal team that’s built to do what’s right. While most law firms claim to offer you the best attorney for the job, they’re simply not structured to do so. That’s where we’re different. We have the flexibility and resources to tailor our services precisely to your needs. That’s a better partnership.

A BETTER PARTNERSHIP ® Grand Rapids

Holland

Lansing

Muskegon

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

Southfield

Sterling Heights

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Cover Story

author: Cheryl D. Orr

OBSTACLES Facing Legal Departments In The New Economy and How Outside Counsel Can Help

Kaplan, Inc.’s Janice Block (General Counsel & Executive Vice President) and Stephanie Hart (Vice President & Associate General Counsel – Labor & Employment) recently sat down with Cheryl Orr, Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP’s national Labor & Employment Co-chair to discuss the obstacles facing legal departments in the new economy and how outside counsel can help. Here are excerpts from that conversation.

Cheryl: Janice and Stephanie, thank you so much for agreeing to talk with me about the challenges in-house law departments are facing. I’ve known Janice since we were roommates at Columbia Law School and Stephanie through our working relationship. For those who haven’t had the pleasure, can you please provide your backgrounds?

Janice: My career in law began as an intellectual property attorney and litigator in the Chicago office of several global law firms. Prior to that and to law school, I earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism and had a brief stint as a TV reporter. My first in-house counsel job was for Microsoft in 1999. My first General Counsel role was at Career Education Corporation in 2004. I joined Kaplan Higher Education as General Counsel in late 2006, and in the fall of 2011, I became the General Counsel of the parent company, Kaplan Inc. Stephanie: I’ve spent almost an equal number of years in my career practicing management side labor & employment law in law firms in California and New Jersey and in-house for two corporations. I joined Kaplan, Inc. in New York in 2004 to help build both an HR and employment law function for all of the business divisions. As our higher education division grew, I also took on an HR leadership role for a time. At the end of 2010, I began reporting into the Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Department as Vice President & Associate General Counsel - Labor & Employment.

Cheryl: With both of you having spent so many years in-house, have you seen any changes in the economic pressures facing company law departments?

Janice: At Kaplan, we run our Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Department like a business unit, forecasting, budgeting, and managing to a P&L on a monthly basis. There’s no question that, in recent years, we’ve had to watch our internal and external legal spend even more closely.

Stephanie: As a corporate services function, company law departments are constantly being asked to do more with less. Of course, this pressure is intensified when your company is in a period of financial challenge.

Cheryl: You have shown creativity in controlling your outside legal spend (e.g., through your budgeting, billing and openness to creative fee arrangements).

What do you believe has worked best for you and what would you recommend to others?

Janice: We adhere to a series of measures for controlling legal costs, each of which has worked well for us. These include requiring budgets and cost estimates from our external vendors, using an expedited RFP process to select our vendors, scrutinizing our legal invoices, exploring “flat fee” and alternative fee arrangements, and in some areas of law, ramping up our internal legal expertise to contain external spend.

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Stephanie: I think we do a good job predicting our legal spend by performing a regular review of our open and anticipated matters and cases. The more you know and understand, and rigorously prioritize and manage your risks and your data, the fewer surprises you have down the line.

Cheryl: Janice, when you spoke at Drinker, Biddle’s partnership retreat a few years back you emphasized what is typical of many in the “C suite”: you want the pithy answer, not the lengthy memo. What are examples of how law firms have got to the quick and saved you money?

Janice: You’re right – at Kaplan, we place a premium on lawyers who can quickly deliver the “bottom line” and present their information in a way that is easy for us to digest and retain. The law firms that obtain the best and most cost-effective results for us are those that really dig in and understand our business and our goals.

Cheryl: I know how strongly your legal department at Kaplan, Inc. values teamwork. This comes through in the First Chair Awards for Top In-House Legal Department and Top General Counsel. What are your group’s secrets?

Stephanie: Teamwork is one of our core Departmental values. As cliche as this may sound, the lawyers and legal staff at Kaplan genuinely like and respect each other. These relationships are key when we are working through challenging business crises together. Although our Department is organized by substantive areas, we take a holistic approach to handling the company’s legal issues, and we maintain open communication with each other about the matters we are working on. This concept of teamwork also holds true with how we work with our internal business clients. Our business partners consider us valued members of their team.

Janice: A great example of how much our business partners value their lawyers occurred when Stephanie received Kaplan Higher Education’s “Lighthouse Award” in 2010 for excellent service to our campuses’ field operation.

Cheryl: Can you describe how your teamwork approach extends to the law firms you work with?

Janice: We view our external counsel as true partners for us on the matters we work on together. The same respect, collegiality, support, shared objectives, and open communication that Stephanie described above has to carry forward into our relationships with our law firm lawyers.

Cheryl: The theme of Drinker Biddle’s recent partnership retreat was “Always On.” Kaplan, Inc. seems to share that philosophy. I know you are all tireless in your dedication to the company. What fosters that investment and how can those you partner with match your expectations?

Janice: An added benefit here is that we are really passionate about our core business: education! And we are very excited about the ways in which companies like ours are transforming education as we’ve all come to know it.

Cheryl: Your industry has faced a challenging and changing regulatory environment in the last few years. How do you stay ahead of the curve and what lessons can other counsel import from your experiences, particularly in the HR realm?

Cover Story

Stephanie: Because of stress and a level of uncertainty, we spent significant time and resources on ensuring we have open communication lines with our employees. We are a people-driven business, and to be successful we have to remember to walk, not just talk, our corporate values of Integrity, Knowledge, Support, Opportunity and Results. I learned through our challenges that it is important to respectfully engage with your critics and confidently continue to do what we know is right for our students and employees.

Cheryl: All companies face periods of “crisis management.” Your group has done an exceptional job. What tips would you provide for our colleagues both in-house and at firms for weathering rough patches?

Janice: Years ago my children (two of whom are in college now) bought me a sign that still sits on my desk – it reads: “Try to Relax and Enjoy the Crisis”!

When a deeply urgent work matter arises, that’s exactly what I try to do. The very best skills that we as lawyers can bring to bear in “crisis” situations are: the abilities to project manage, to problem-solve, and to simply put yourself “in the shoes of the other side” (be they litigation or transactional opponents, regulators, media reporters, or others) so that we can best understand, relate to and resolve their concerns.

Stephanie: Strong leadership is critical in navigating a crisis. Janice is the best I have ever seen in crisis management. Remaining focused, confident, positive and calm has gotten us through our rough patches.

Cheryl: Your own responsibilities, and that of your team, have increased in the past year as you’ve assumed global responsibilities at Kaplan, Inc. Please comment on how you have grown to learn all the additional businesses, and how your business partners have assisted you.

Stephanie: My colleagues and I are actively doing everything we can to learn about our UK and Asia Pacific businesses, and understand their business goals, challenges and legal needs. This involves a lot of relationship building, listening and drawing on the expertise of our law firm partners to help us with countryspecific legal and regulatory information we need.

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

Janice: And as we methodically engage in the exercise that Stephanie has just described, we make sure that we are keenly aware of the cultural differences and challenges that we may face as U.S. lawyers, coordinating and handling matters in other geographies throughout the world.

Cheryl: You have had some significant victories in the past year including at trial. How important is it for you to be “hands on” in all you do and how do you think that has contributed to your success?

Stephanie: I think it is very important to be “hands on.” My team and I stress a very proactive approach. On litigation matters, I am actively involved in strategizing with outside counsel, but rely heavily on them to drive cases.

Cheryl: Stephanie, “Always On” does not mean always working. I know you are a Karaoke star. What is your favorite number?

Stephanie: Evenings at home and with friends and colleagues often feature karaoke. I start the fun to prove to the timid that you don’t have to be a great singer to enjoy karaoke. My go-to numbers are 70’s classics, Broadway and American song book. Cheryl, next time you are in Chicago, I’ll be looking forward to your performance.

Cheryl: I’ll be right behind Janice. Janice, do you remember the all-female panel of attorneys who spoke to our law school class on work/life balance? To be honest, I recall leaving it depressed. I’d like to think we got it a little better.

To what do you attribute that?

Janice: Work-life balance is always top-of-mind for me, as a lawyer and a department leader. I think technology, for one, has both hurt, but then at the same time, helped the cause. We’re truly on call now 24-7, with our mobile devices constantly buzzing with emails and text messages. And yet those same devices allow us to spend quality time with our families, away from the office. Cheryl, all I can truly remember from that panel at Columbia Law School in the mid’80s is the woman lawyer who held up her hands to the audience, and exclaimed, “I have not had a manicure in ten years!”

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Relationships

The Foundations of an Outstanding In-House / Authors: Fred Langtry and Leslee Cohen

OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL POINT OF VIEW (LESLEE COHEN)

All of the factors that I believe are most essential to the inhouse/outside counsel relationship can be summarized in one word: COMMUNICATION. I spent the first 20 years of my career at larger law firms, where I serviced clients “originated” (as this term is commonly understood in law firm lingo) by other attorneys.

Although I always strived to do my absolute best work, now that my partner and I run our own firm and I service my own client base, I have learned that the key to providing the best possible legal representation is to know what my clients need, think, require, and desire. As a result, my advice to in-house counsel is as follows:

1. COMMUNICATE with your outside counsel regarding your

company and its business.

Present to your outside counsel a complete picture of your company’s business to enable them to provide value to your company in return for the (sometimes major) expense of legal work. I find it tremendously helpful to remain cognizant of my client’s strategic plan, organizational chart, growth strategies, and new products and/or services it intends to unveil, as well as its competitors and the difficulties and risks the business is facing.

I then tailor my legal work accordingly, focusing my time on those issues that are most important to the company.

2. COMMUNICATE with your outside counsel regarding your

individual goals and challenges.

Confide in us with respect to any challenges you are facing with company management. Are you hearing that our bills are too high?

Tell us so that we can work to reduce them, or give you an explanation you can use to clarify the situation. Keep us informed about how we can help you solidify your position with the company. We are always happy to use our own resources to make you look good, perhaps by referring others in our network as potential new business for your company.

3. COMMUNICATE your feedback to your outside counsel.

You are providing outside counsel with a tremendous benefit when

you are honest with us about what you like best about our legal

services AND where you would like to see improvement. Like many

business people, I often wish I could get inside my clients’ heads

to know what aspects of my work and our relationship they would

change. I would make those changes immediately! Of course, I also

enjoy hearing (as I often do from Fred) how appreciative my clients

are that I am responsive, proactive and creative; provide common

sense, realistic answers to their issues rather than purely legalistic

responses; and always attempt to keep their bills as low as possible.

“Great outside counsel don’t just handle transactions and provide expertise; they spot issues, ease work load, give wide-ranging advice, and keep the company (and me) out of hot water. They reduce the time that I need to devote to overseeing a matter and allow me to focus on the most essential company issues. In short, they keep me from having anxiety attacks and allow me to see my family at night.”

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IN-HOUSE COUNSEL POINT OF VIEW (FRED LANGTRY):

During my almost 10 year stint at Banner, I have been fortunate to build successful, long-term relationships with a handful of outside counsel, including Leslee Cohen. I learned early on how important these relationships are to the company and to me. Great outside counsel don’t just handle transactions and provide expertise, they spot issues, ease work load, give wide-ranging advice, and keep the company (and me) out of hot water. They reduce the time that I need to devote to overseeing a matter and allow me to focus on the most essential company issues. In short, they keep me from having anxiety attacks and allow me to see my family at night.

So what qualities do Leslee and our other counsel have that work so well with our company? Of course, they bill at relatively reasonable rates and have top-notch expertise. These are threshold qualities which, by the way, are not mutually exclusive. Yet other attorneys have these qualities. So what sets Leslee and the others apart? What intangibles add value in the eyes of the in-house counsel and help develop a successful and long-lasting relationship? Every in-house counsel has his or her own list, but here is mine:

1. Be Responsive.

Frequently when I contact outside counsel, the situation requires quick action. Too often I have used up all spare time with a project languishing on my desk and now the clock is ticking. It is critical for me to know that counsel will be respond quickly, even if it’s to say, “I can’t talk right now, but is it okay if we talk tomorrow?”

Responsiveness is value to me.

2. Offer Practical Advice.

I like to know the “by the book” course of action, but often a more practical, common-sense alternative exists. I want to know that option too. Business decisions have to be made by weighing risk, and sometimes the right answer is the more practical one even if it involves some risk. I want outside counsel to recommend that alternative if he or she believes it is the better business decision, even if the recommendation is accompanied by a disclosure of risks. Sometimes outside counsel is not just a technician, but also a consigliere.

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Outside Counsel Relationship 3. Communicate Work Arrangements and Be Flexible.

I want outside counsel to be flexible with work arrangements.

Sometimes I prefer to do the legwork and have outside counsel only review drafts. Other times I prefer outside counsel to handle everything and only communicate on business issues and critical legal issues. My advice to outside counsel, therefore, is: don’t assume the way that you would handle a work arrangement is what the client wants. Make your client aware that you are willing to work either surgically or full-scale. Never push off work to a client or client’s paralegal. (Believe me, we hear about this!) When counsel and client work together long enough, these arrangements become second nature. Until then, outside counsel should communicate work arrangements in advance and let the client dictate how these arrangements will operate.

From both our perspectives, an outstanding in-house/outside counsel relationship helps us achieve success, makes our work more enjoyable, and is well worth pursuing.

About the Authors: Leslee Cohen is a Principal at Hershman Cohen LLC, a corporate and securities boutique law firm.

Her full biography is available at www.hershco.com.

Fred Langtry is the General Counsel of Banner Apartments, LLC, a multi-family apartment real estate investment and development enterprise.

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

EXPERT WITNESS SERVICES

DAMAGES  Business Valuation Disputes  Intellectual Property Infringement  Securities Disputes  Fraud and Forensic Accounting

MONIKA WITEK

MONIKAWITEK@GMAIL.COM 847.652.5144 (c)

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Relationships

Benefits of Networking AUTHORS: Stephanie S. McCann and Stacee A. Hasenbalg

the Old Fashioned Way

A

ll the talk these days in lawyer networking circles is about the

power of social media, and what attorneys must do to properly market themselves on sites such as Facebook®, LinkedIn® and Twitter®.

However, enthusiastic technology lovers fail to recognize that no Internet company, computer program, trendy tablet, or smart phone can be as effective a networking tool as old fashioned, face-to-face relationship building. Social media is a great way to stay informed and connected, but relationship building remains the only way to take your career to the next level.

F

ace-to-face networking events, such as those hosted by First Chair, the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law, continue to provide the optimal platform for both law firm attorneys and corporate counsel to connect and forge long-term bonds that enhance career prospects on both sides of the corporate divide. For lawyers seeking to develop new business, strengthen ties to existing clients, or pursue new job opportunities, the regular meetings, educational forums and other special events at such organizations serve as an excellent platform to enhance one’s name recognition in the legal industry and leverage existing contacts.

B

Blank Rome congratulates

BOCA RATON

CINCINNATI

HONG KONG

Janice Block, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL COUNSEL & CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER

KAPLAN HIGHER EDUCATION

on being honored as

Co-General Counsel of the Year

HOUSTON

LOS ANGELES

NEW YORK

PHILADELPHIA

PRINCETON

SHANGHAI

WASHINGTON

WILMINGTON

www.BlankRome.com

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ut, it’s not as easy as just showing up. Preparation is key to making a good impression. Law firm lawyers should review the guest list ahead of time, or keep track of the corporate counsel who regularly attend events. Identify the corporate counsel to whom you would like to introduce yourself. Research his or her employer beforehand, get to know the business, perhaps peruse the company’s 10-K or proxy statement. When you finally meet, you will have more to discuss than simply the quality of the appetizers. The company’s counsel will be impressed that you are knowledgeable about his or her business and its legal needs, and you may just see some new business sent your way.

T

aking a leadership role as a board

member, committee chair or in a group’s practice-level subcommittees can help young lawyers to improve their public speaking skills early in their career, perhaps before they have had opportunities to lead board meetings, negotiations or trials.

Leading discussions or events can be particularly helpful in developing skills for the business-centric presentations that are unique to law firm leadership and corporate counsel roles, where targeted presentations

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to business or firm colleagues require a different approach than arguing legal theories to a court.

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eadership positions in legal

organizations also can enable a young lawyer to showcase management skills, organizational prowess and personal charisma outside of the office to scores of potential clients and contacts. A lawyer who makes heads turn while leading a major event or spearheading a high-profile initiative for a legal group also raises her profile among group members as someone to remember when new business and new job opportunities come along.

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or in-house counsel, these

organizations provide a venue to take the pulse of the legal industry and to stay visible. They might be reassured to learn that other corporate counsel are dealing with similar business or regulatory issues, and they have a forum to discuss different approaches and solutions. Taking these alternatives back to corporate executives helps them showcase a solutions-based mind-set, knowledge of the business environment, and obvious legal expertise.

Participating in legal organizations also provides corporate counsel with an excellent opportunity to get to know, on a personal level, lawyers at a multitude of law firms and across a wide range of practices. Short of a formal “beauty pageant,” regular events hosted by such groups can be the next most effective way for corporate counsel to become familiar with, and evaluate, the law firms they currently employ, as well as those they may want to hire in the future.

Janice Block of Kaplan, Inc. Top General Counsel Award

Kal Gibron of Sears Holdings Corporation Top Real Estate Counsel Award

Kaplan Higher Education Top In-House Legal Department

Sears Holdings Corporation Top In-House Legal Department

from your friends at SNR Denton SNR Denton is an international legal practice serving clients from more than 60 locations worldwide, through offices, associate firms and special alliances in the US, the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and the CIS, Asia Pacific and Africa. We offer our clients premier service in eight key industry sectors. For more information, visit snrdenton.com.

I

n-house counsel also can effectively

snrdenton.com enhance their corporate diversity initiatives © 2012 SNR Denton. SNR Denton is the collective trade name for an international legal practice. by becoming active in groups that promote Attorney Advertising. Please see snrdenton.com for Legal Notices. diversity in the workplace. More than ever, diversity in law firm staffing is a major need and ever-present concern for today’s corporate counsel, as companies strive to make their legal teams mirror and cater to their increasingly diverse and multicultural client and customer bases. Attending events and getting to know the leaders, speakers and members of premiere women and minority legal organizations helps in-house counsel to hire the best, brightest and most diverse legal teams for their companies.

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n a strange and busy new world where lawyers suddenly “tweet” and “like” each other without leaving their offices or actually “talking” to another

person, taking time to attend face-to-face events may seem oddly quaint and old-fashioned. However, it is still by far the most effective relationship and career building tool available for both law firm lawyers and in-house counsel. Misguided technology lovers, ignore them at your peril.

About the Authors: Stephanie S. McCann is a corporate partner at Kirkland & Ellis who focuses her practice on debt financing transactions. Her full biography is available at www.kirkland.com/smccann.

Stacee A. Hasenbalg is Associate General Counsel at Harris N.A. She is a recipient of a 2011 First Chair Top Associate General Counsel Award. Her current profile is featured in the Awards section of this magazine.

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

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UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

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Collaboration between in-house and outside counsel is the key to successful budgeting of legal matters

Of all the functions performed by counsel, both inside and outside the company, budgeting is perhaps the one most laden with unintended consequences. Increasingly important as companies seek tighter control of their legal expenditures, budgeting remains more art than science. For outside counsel, an attractive budget can make the difference between getting, keeping, or losing a client; but an overly-optimistic or –pessimistic budget can mean losing a client, even those for whom your excellent work achieved a great result.

On the other side of the coin, it can be difficult for inside counsel to differentiate at the outset of a matter between a realistic budget and an overly-optimistic one; and choosing the lowest budget risks having counsel fail to meet it, with the associated business repercussions.

Moreover, law school does not prepare those entering the practice to prepare an accurate estimate of the cost of a legal matter. Nor does it prepare in-house counsel to negotiate legal fees or alternative pricing arrangements. As a result, less experienced lawyers are all too often burned when a budget goes awry.

In the authors’ experience, the keys to successful budgeting are open communications, full disclosure, and flexibility.

Open Communications.

When a client asks outside counsel for a cost estimate, it can mean a lot of different things. It could mean, “how much should the company set aside for this matter?” Or it could mean, “what are the costs we should consider as we decide whether to take on, continue with, settle or back out of this matter?” And, in these days of increased scrutiny on legal bills and special fee arrangements, it could also mean “who bears the risk when the budget is exceeded?”

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

Authors: Valeria Bailey and Paul R. Steadman

The best budgeting experiences generally require inside counsel to open a dialog with outside counsel, explaining who within the client wants the budget, how they intend to use it, whether and when the budget may be updated or changed, and the intended ramifications if outside counsel fails to meet the budget under varying circumstances. Similarly, outside counsel should ask questions to expose these issues and communicate clearly what their estimate is intended, and not intended, to cover.

The parties must understand each other’s expectations during the course of an engagement. For budget-minded inside counsel, setting milestones for legal fees incurred during an engagement can be a successful method for maintaining an open dialog. When a milestone is reached, inside and outside counsel convene to discuss budgeting for the next milestone.

Full Disclosure.

Closely related to open communications, both sides should enter into the budgeting process fully disclosing their assumptions and intentions.

For the client, this generally means disclosing factors that may drive the cost of the matter. Documents, for example, are expensive to handle. Document collection and production alone can take up a huge proportion of the budget in complex matters. And the client often has a better idea than counsel of the volume of discovery or diligence materials that might be expected for a particular matter.

Geographic considerations such as where witnesses or document rooms are located or whether witnesses speak foreign languages can also quickly drive up expenses. Client timing, especially on transactional matters, or other similar client-driven pressures may unexpectedly affect the budget and should be disclosed at the outset.

For outside counsel, full disclosure means acknowledging the assumptions on which the budget is based, the hourly rates of the billers involved, the schedule that has been assumed, and factors that may increase or decrease costs. Given the uncertainties in legal practice, and depending on how the budget will be used, the best budgets for legal services often have several illustrative cases showing expected, high, and low results depending on how various assumptions play out. Inside counsel may not have this information, and usually appreciate examples of typical expenditures to share with their business teams.

The best budgeting experiences are generally those that involve back-and-forth between inside and outside counsel. It begins with a discussion of the factors the client expects to drive the budget; is followed by disclosure of a budget and the assumptions on

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which outside counsel has created the budget; and a collaborative discussion about how those assumptions fit with the matter at hand and what might change them, and how both parties’ interests may be met.

Flexibility.

The practice of law is full of unexpected outcomes. Facts change. Judges and opposing parties do unexpected things.

Documents that no one remembered turn up. Management changes its mind about the goals or parameters of a successful outcome. And sometimes cases or legislatures even change the operating rules in the middle of a matter.

Successful budgeting must account for these changes of fortune. The budget for legal expenses can be critical to determining how the company will deal with a matter (for example, whether to seek a settlement, or continue to pursue a transaction). Outside counsel must be attuned to how unexpected events may affect the budget, and be prepared, throughout the course of a matter, to update management and inside counsel that the costs have

changed. But sometimes, especially if the factors changing the cost structure of the matter were foreseeable, outside counsel must be prepared to absorb some negative budget surprises in order to protect their in-house client from having to explain overages.

The client, in turn, must realize that budgets can and do change for very legitimate reasons. In-house counsel must sometimes explain to management why a matter cost more than was initially anticipated, and why the extra costs are justified by the work that had to be done. Understanding that these situations may be highly sensitive for in-house counsel, outside counsel should provide detailed explanations that can be shared with internal business teams.

Ultimately, as with so many aspects of legal practice, budgeting often is easier in a long-term relationship between outside counsel and client. Regardless, however, client and counsel must work together to make the budgeting process transparent and flexible to ensure an outcome that satisfies each party’s expectations.

About the Authors: Valeria Bailey is the General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs at RM Acquisition, LLC, a Skokie-based company better known as Rand McNally.

She has also worked as in-house counsel at Accenture LLP and LaSalle Bank. She is a recipient of a 2011 First Chair Top Corporate Counsel Award.

Her current profile is featured in the Awards section of this magazine.

Paul Steadman is a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP. He spends most of his time on cross-border and other complex intellectual property litigation and arbitration matters. He has been representing Rand McNally in various litigation matters since he was a Kirkland summer associate in 1995. His full biography is available at www.kirkland.com/psteadman.

Seyfarth Shaw LLP commends Janice Block, Recipient of the 2011 First Chair Award – Top General Counsel, and Valeria Bailey, Recipient of the 2011 First Chair Award – Top Corporate Counsel on their outstanding achievement in the legal community. It is our privilege to work with these talented attorneys. www.seyfarth.com

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#12-640

congratulates our friend

Janice Block and all of the

2011 First Chair Award Recipients

www.gibsondunn.com Brussels  Century City  Dallas  Denver  Dubai  Hong Kong  London  Los Angeles  Munich  New York Orange County  Palo Alto  Paris  San Francisco  São Paulo  Singapore  Washington, D.C.

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Hybrid Billing: A Creative Partnership

As general counsels strive to control outside legal costs, Navigant Consulting’s general counsel, Monica Weed, has partnered creatively with her outside counsel to implement successfully what she refers to as a “hybrid” billing arrangement. Navigant Consulting is a Chicago-based publicly-held global consulting firm.

Under this arrangement, an outside firm is trained by Navigant internal counsel to essentially serve as an extension of Navigant’s internal legal department when the volume of work Navigant’s lawyers need to handle requires additional resources.

For Navigant, this can happen when one or more members of the legal team are pulled away from their day-to-day matters to work on other programs requiring all of their attention or when the volume of work is such that their ability to meet deadlines is challenged.

At the outset of the engagement, Weed meets with the firm to agree on a proposed budget and negotiates an arrangement whereby the firm provides a reduced hourly rate in return for a certain allotted number of hours each week based on what the parties agree is reasonable.

There is also a “10% rule”—if the hours for a certain week are more than 10% higher than the weekly allotted number, the firm only bills 50% of the excess. If the hours for a given week are more than 10% below the allotted amount, Navigant pays for the actual hours worked plus 50% of the difference between the agreed upon fee and the hours worked. Weed believes this arrangement provides the right incentives to both parties.

“This arrangement has been great in providing us with an extra pair of hands—we are not actually turning over the matters to outside counsel—instead, they are acting behind the scenes to accomplish the work we can’t handle ourselves,” says Weed. “All of the lawyers on the team have come to

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really value it—it has helped us meet time sensitive deadlines and serves as a ‘vital release valve’ in those situations where we simply have too much to handle at the moment.”

At the beginning of the engagement, Weed’s in-house legal team trains an attorney from the outside firm to handle the work. That attorney is responsible for

Navigant to take the time needed to conduct a thoughtful interviewing process and find the right candidate, rather than just the available candidate,” says Weed.

“We set really high standards and are able to obtain high quality legal work working with outside lawyers who have been trained specifically by us in the ‘Navigant legal way.’ We have a strong sense of confidence in the work product such that we can just rely upon it and run with it,” says Weed.

She says this arrangement also provides her with the confidence in knowing that she has a firm that can provide high quality “round the clock coverage” 365 days a year to support her legal team in meeting the needs of Navigant’s expanding fast-paced business.

training other attorneys at his or her firm who will be stepping in to work on Navigant matters.

The firm will absorb some of the time it spends on this learning curve, Weed notes.

“There is an investment on both sides—a quid pro quo,” she says.

Weed says that this arrangement can work in any legal area where there is a high volume of repetitive work, either contract or litigation, which requires some degree of experience and sophistication on the part of outside counsel. The arrangement can often begin when the company has a vacancy in its in-house legal team, and the outside firm helps handle the overflow work resulting from that vacancy. This arrangement allows

One of the firms Weed has partnered with is Aronberg Goldgehn, a full-service Chicago based firm of more than 40 attorneys. Cynde Munzer, Navigant’s relationship partner with the firm, says the firm greatly values the opportunity to work with Navigant pursuant to this arrangement.

“It has been an incredible experience working so closely with Navigant’s team on a daily basis and developing an understanding of their business.”

Munzer says that the stability and confidence provided by knowing this work continues each month helps her to bill the discounted rate as her firm saves on marketing and administrative costs inherent in developing business.

Aronberg Co-Managing Member John Riccione notes that “Navigant’s ‘hybrid’ fee arrangement allows us to partner effectively with predictable billing in order to handle a volume of day-to-day contract projects in a cost-effective manner.” Riccione says he has been successful in using alternative fee arrangements (“AFAs”) for many clients,

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large and small, in the litigation area. “We are very experienced in customizing and utilizing AFAs which fit a particular client’s needs”, Riccione says. “Keep in mind, throughout most of our 120-year history, our firm’s attorneys billed clients for the value provided, as opposed to simply for time spent.”

Riccione says that the firm’s client-centrist focus has been a mainstay throughout its history and it is important that any billing arrangement fits the needs of the client if an attorney strives to build a strong and lasting relationship as a partner and trusted advisor.

Littler Mendelson, P.C. congratulates

Janice Block and

Kaplan, Inc.’s Legal Department for their selections as 2011 Top General Counsel and Top In-House Legal Department in recognition of their significant contributions to the legal community

Margaret H. Gillespie

littler.com • Littler Mendelson, P.C. 2049 Century Park East, 5th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067 • PH: 310.712.7332

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

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Technology

The Value of

Information Governance Author: Larry W. Conner, Esq. (Bud)

In its 2010 white paper “The Expanding Digital Universe,” International Data Corporation (IDC) measured the volume of data in the world in 2009 at 800,000 petabytes, or the equivalent of a stack of DVDs that reaches from the Earth to the Moon and back.

If that is hard to visualize, IDC’s prediction for 2020, with the digital universe 44 times greater than in 2009, pushes that stack of DVDs halfway to Mars. To bring that statistic a little closer to home, consider this: researchers from the University of California, San Diego found that the average employee creates or handles 1.6 gigabytes—the equivalent of 100,000 pages of printed text—daily.

For many organizations, this Age of Big Data is unwelcome.

Companies become flustered when trying to wrangle the rapidly expanding volume of data and often resort to managing it by taking one of two approaches: storing everything, or storing only what they are required to retain and destroying the rest. They conceive of governing their information simply as records management.

But records retention policies are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to information governance.

To truly govern information instead of merely managing it, companies must expand their definition of information governance. The concept incorporates the areas of records retention, knowledge management, disaster recovery, risk management, and e-discovery, to name a few. It is a comprehensive framework for maintaining an organization’s information according to evolving legal, regulatory, and privacy requirements. It includes the processes, roles, standards, and metrics that ensure the effective and efficient use of information to enable an organization to achieve not only its compliance goals but its broader business objectives as well.

Whether a company takes a narrow or expansive view of information governance often comes down to how it views data. Does the company perceive information as an asset or liability? If it views data as an asset, it might readily make the information technology investments required to make data more easily identifiable and accessible. It might also look for ways to create synergies between current and future systems. Conversely, companies that focus on data as a liability tend to limit their focus to retention policies and restrict employees’ access to data as well as their ability to create it.

Though these companies may face less exposure from potentially damaging documents, the potential for employees to violate the retention guidelines remains.

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Big Data = Big Content for Practical Use The myopic view of information governance ignores the value inherent in data: with big data comes big content. If a company deploys the right information governance strategy, this data can be meaningful in many ways. For instance, it can warn of potential risks that might lead to litigation, and it can even connect the dots and lead to innovation. It also translates into financial benefits. A recent study of Fortune 1000 companies at the University of Texas at Austin showed that a 10 percent increase in data accessibility and usability at a firm with 36,000 employees and $388,000 in sales per employee can translate into gains of roughly $2 billion in total revenue.

When they put their data to its highest use, companies can mine their stores of information and achieve greater value. For example, IBM is partnering with healthcare organization Wellpoint to apply its Watson computer system technology to improve patient care.

Watson—which already used its ability to rapidly analyze natural language to defeat two Jeopardy! champions—will employ its analytical skills to compare patient information against repositories of medical information. When a doctor enters a patient’s medical history and symptoms into the system, Watson can compare it against other patient histories and 200 million pages of medical articles and textbooks in three seconds, thereby helping the doctor arrive at the most likely diagnosis and most viable treatment options.

The use of this type of information governance technology is not limited to the healthcare arena. As an example, companies might soon be able to leverage information-synthesizing artificial intelligence to analyze data from across a company and compare it to records in the U.S. Patent Office and other sources of prior art to determine whether an invention or formula is unique and patentable.

Moreover, the management of big data has positive implications for e-discovery. The influx of data means it is becoming increasingly difficult to collect disparate bits and pieces of information in response to discovery requests for electronically stored information in litigation. With structured and unstructured data scattered about a company’s electronic landscape, how can a company respond comprehensively to these requests and avoid the risk of spoliation sanctions? How can it meet its obligations in a way that complies with deadlines yet reduces expense? Advanced technology such as

Technology

How to Develop an Information Governance Strategy

The first step in developing an effective information governance strategy is recognizing that it involves more than just the IT department; it touches every part of a company. Therefore, legal and compliance need to join forces and approach the executive team first. Then, they should gather the departmental stakeholders who are responsible for the various pieces of the information puzzle and ensure they understand the potential benefits of learning more about the company’s data.

“

The first step in developing an effective information governance strategy is recognizing that it involves more than just the IT department; it touches every part of a company.

“

data analytics and predictive tagging can look for trends in data and cost effectively mitigate the risk that documents are erroneously overlooked or produced.

Once a company has an information governance strategy in place, the strategy should drive its approach to e-discovery. Since legal and compliance have already worked with other teams in the company to create policies governing information, the company will be in a better position to respond in discovery. By having solid data practices and policies already in place, it will also be able to improve the consistency—and thus the defensibility—of its discovery response.

Businesses that learn the information governance lesson will harness the power of big data, achieve gains in revenue, reduce litigation expenses, and be poised to surge ahead of their competitors.

About the Author: Bud Conner is an attorney and discovery consultant in the Chicago and Cleveland offices of Applied Discovery. In this role, he works with law firms and corporations throughout the Great Lakes region counseling clients in all aspects of the discovery of electronically stored information including preservation, collection, review, and production. Mr. Conner provides special insight in the early formulation of strategies designed to minimize business disruption and make each step in the discovery process as cost-effective as possible, mitigating the risks of unnecessary and/or redundant efforts by the review team.

CONGRATULATES TIM VERRILLI RECIPIENT OF THE 2011 FIRST CHAIR TOP CORPORATE COUNSEL AWARD WWW.GOLDBERGKOHN.COM BUILT ONE LAWYER, ONE CLIENT, ONE MATTER AT A TIME

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

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UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

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Scene at First Chair

THE FIRST CHAIR AWARDS EVENT 1

SCENE

at First Chair

2 THE EVENT On August 31, 2011 First Chair hosted the First Annual First Chair Awards Event at Gibson’s Bar & Steakhouse – one of Chicago’s premier restaurants. The event was attended by over 350 members of the legal community from across the United States to celebrate the achievements of our 71 in-house award recipients.

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THE SCENE 1. Jennifer Levin (President, First Chair) and Valeria Bailey (General Counsel, Rand McNally).

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2.

Nancy Paridy (General Counsel, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), Patti Sheahan (Assistant General Counsel, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), Laurie Tenzer (Assistant General Counsel, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), and Nancy Ardell (Assistant General Counsel, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago).

3.

Michael Karpeles (Partner, Greenberg Trauig), Bradley Nelson (Partner, Schopf & Weiss), and Douglas Graham (General Counsel, Oil-Dri Corporation).

4. Jennifer Levin and Lisa Seilheimer (Senior Corporate Counsel, CDW Corporation).

5. Brian Kerwin (Partner, Duane Morris), and Rachel Pontikes (Partner, Duane Morris).

6. Kerrin Slattery (Partner, McDermott Will & Emery), and Nancy Gerrie (Partner, McDermott Will & Emery).

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7. Jennifer Levin and Tracy Kocourek (North American Legal Lead for Software, Accenture).

8. Rosanne Model (Senior Counsel, Hyatt), Megan Ferraro (Corporate Counsel, Hyatt), and Frank Ferraro (Senior Attorney, Walgreens).

9. Jennifer Levin and Kerry Abbott (Assistant General Counsel, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co).

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Scene at First Chair

1

THE FIRST CHAIR AWARDS EVENT

2

SCENE

at First Chair

3 THE SCENE (con’t) 1.

Tzivia Masliansky (Senior Counsel -

Litigation, Sears), Leslee Cohen (Partner, Hershman Cohen), Tricia Meyer (Counsel, Reliance Globalcom), Sam Banayan (Senior Counsel, Redbox), Robin Iori (First Chair), and Jennifer Levin.

2. Jennifer Levin and Janice Block (General Counsel, Kaplan, Inc.).

3.

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Ann Chen (Senior Attorney, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.), Andrew Tsai (IP Counsel, Mars Incorporated), and Melody Cheung (Counsel, Dr. First, Inc.).

4. Jennifer Levin and Kal Gibron (VP Real Estate Law & Asset Management, Sears).

5. Tracy Kocourek, Valeria Bailey, and Ilana Ekstein (Senior Counsel, Sears).

6. Mark Gershon (Shareholder, Polsinelli Shughart) and Jennifer Levin.

7. Jennifer Levin and Jeffery Langer (Senior Counsel, Macy’s Inc.).

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8. Jennifer Levin and Beth Sprecher Brooks (General Counsel, Inland Real Estate).

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9. Paulette Dodson (General Counsel, Sara Lee Corporation), and Jennifer Levin.

10. Brent Hawkins (Partner, McDermott Will & Emery) and Jennifer Levin.

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10 UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

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11. Jamie Robinson (Partner, Ungaretti & Harris), Bobbi-Sue Doyle Hazard (General Counsel, New England Cryogenic Center), Tina Solis (Partner, Ungaretti & Harris), Ade Oremosu (Counsel, Verizon), Tianne Bataille (Senior Counsel, Accenture), and Angela Frye (Counsel, Verizon Wireless).

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Scene at First Chair

1

THE MAGAZINE EVENT

SCENE

at First Chair

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THE EVENT On November 30, 2011 First Chair hosted its Magazine Event at Studio Paris – Chicago’s elite new rooftop lounge. The purpose of this sponsors-only event was to celebrate the launch of the First Chair Magazine. The sold out event was far from your standard fare. Guests sipped on cocktails during our CLE and partied late into the night under studio lights hanging from the club’s retractable glass roof to the sounds of one of Chicago’s hottest DJs.

THE SCENE 1.

David Ebroon (Assistant General Counsel, JPMorgan Chase), David A. Goldberg (General Counsel, Combined Insurance Company of America), and Jamie Robinson (Partner, Ungaretti & Harris).

2. David Ebroon (Assistant General Counsel, JPMorgan Chase), and Sam Banayan (Senior Counsel, Redbox Automated Retail, LLC).

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3. Michelle Askew (Associate Counsel, Johnson Publishing), and Alan King (Partner, Drinker Biddle).

4. Leslee Cohen (Partner, Hershman Cohen), Tricia Meyer (Counsel, Reliance Globalcom), and Stephanie Gournis (Partner, Drinker Biddle).

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Jamila Covington (Senior Counsel, Navistar Financial Corporation), Rachel Pontikes (Partner, Duane Morris), and Lisa Seilheimer (Senior Corporate Counsel, CDW Corporation).

6. Jim Henegan (Senior Counsel, Bridgestone/ Firestone), and Robert Guttman (General Counsel, Ulta Salon).

7. Kurt Stepaniak (General Counsel, Kone), and Tina Solis (Partner, Ungaretti & Harris).

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A ronberg Goldgehn congratulates the 2011 First Chair Award Recipients for their

Outstanding

contributions to the legal community

agdglaw.com • 312.828.9600 • 330 N. Wabash Ave. Suite 1700 • Chicago, IL 60611

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Attorneys At Law

all award recipients / illinois 2011 Category: rising Stars

Category: rising Stars

Category: rising Stars

Sam Banayan REDBOX AUTOMATED RETAIL, LLC

Paul Brown UL (UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES)

Jamila Covington NAVISTAR FINANCIAL CORPORATION

1 Tower Lane, Suite 900 Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 banayan@gmail.com

333 Pfingsten Road Northbrook, IL 60062 paul.brown@ul.com

425 North Martingale Road, Suite 1800 Schaumburg, IL 60173 jamila.covington@Navistar.com

Senior CounSeL • Corporate and Commercial

aSSiStant generaL CounSeL • Intellectual Property

Senior CounSeL • Secured Lending; Commercial Transactions; Securitizations; Creditors Rights

Sam Banayan is Senior Counsel at Redbox Automated Retail, LLC. His primary areas of practice in this capacity are corporate and commercial transactions.

He also provides counsel in furtherance of enterprise-wide initiatives, assists in litigation management, and serves on a multitude of internal committees.

Prior to Redbox, he was counsel to several transnational corporations; focusing the majority of his practice on complex international logistics and commercial transactions. He considers his pro-bono practice a priority and serves as counsel and commercial advisor to several startup companies in the entertainment and goods and services industries. He holds a JD from ChicagoKent College of Law and a BS in Finance from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Paul is Assistant General Counsel for Intellectual Property and Knowledge Management at UL, a 118-year old global independent safety science company. Paul leads a small team that is responsible for growing, managing, and protecting UL’s global IP portfolio, including the famous UL certification mark. His practice also includes developing and implementing IP strategies for UL, counseling and educating UL executives and staff on IP issues, and structuring and negotiating IP-related business transactions. Previously, Paul was an associate at Marshall, Gerstein & Borun and at Kirkland & Ellis. He received a BS in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, and his JD, cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law. Paul also co-owns and manages an electronic music label, Siteholder Records. Paul, his wife, and their three children live in the Chicago suburbs.

Jamila S. Covington is Senior Counsel for Navistar Financial Corporation. At Navistar, her practice primarily relates to secured lending, commercial transactions, securitizations, creditors’ rights and litigation management. Prior to joining Navistar, Ms. Covington was an associate at Quarles & Brady LL PLLP in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, – concentrating on corporate transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions and commercial lending. She earned her BS in Mathematics from Northwestern University and her JD from University of Wisconsin Law School. Ms. Covington is licensed to practice law in both Illinois (active status) and Wisconsin (inactive status) and is a member of several professional organizations, including the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. (Corresponding Secretary, 2011; Board Member, Co-Chair of the Mentoring and Law Student Outreach Committees, 2010; Member, 2005-Present); the Association of Corporate Counsel (Member, 2008-Present; Diversity Summer Intern Program Committee of the Chicago Chapter 2010-Present); and the Midwest Minority In-House Counsel Group.

Category: rising Stars

Category: rising Stars

Category: rising Stars

Megan Ferraro HyATT HOTELS & RESORT

ethan Hayward APPLIED SySTEMS, INC.

robert Lindsey DELL INC.

200 Applied Parkway University Park, IL 60484 ehayward@appliedsystems.com

71 South Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 megan.ferraro@hyatt.com

One Dell Way Round Rock, TX 78682 robert_lindsey@dell.com

Senior CounSeL • Litigation; Hospitality Law - Operations; Electronic Discovery & Information Governance

aSSoCiate CounSeL • Software Licensing, Intellectual Property, Corporate, Labor & Employment, Litigation, Mergers & Aquisitions, Contracts

Senior CounSeL • Securities, Finance, M&A

Ms. Ferraro has served Hyatt since 2007 and is responsible for managing legal matters related to the operations of Hyatt’s properties worldwide. This includes the prosecution and defense of litigation brought by or against any Hyatt entity. Immediately prior to coming in-house, Ms. Ferraro was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the City of Chicago’s Law Department, where she defended Chicago police officers and other City employees against alleged civil rights violations in state and federal court. Ms. Ferraro is a graduate of DePaul College of Law, is admitted to practice in Illinois, and is a member of the Northern District of Illinois Federal Trial Bar. She is also a Committee Member of the Seventh Circuit Electronic Discovery Pilot Program. Ms. Ferraro serves on the boards of two nonprofit organizations: Leaders Council of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, and the Advocates Society.

Ethan Hayward is Associate Counsel at Applied Systems, a developer of insurance agency management systems that serves tens of thousands of licensees, from single-user agencies to multi-national carriers and brokers.

Previously, Mr. Hayward was a senior associate at Lowis & Gellen, where he litigated complex commercial disputes and oversaw the firm’s IP prosecution and protection matters. He is a former judicial clerk for the Illinois Appellate Court, and wrote over 35 published opinions and hundreds of unpublished orders. He holds a JD and a Certificate in IP Law from DePaul University, and a BA in History and Communications from the University of Notre Dame. He has been active in the American Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association, where he served on the Judicial Evaluation Committee. Mr. Hayward enjoys spending his spare time with his wife and two young daughters, reading, writing, and watching films long since out of general release.

Robert Lindsey is Senior Counsel at Dell Inc., where he is responsible for its securities law compliance matters. In addition, he provides counsel on corporate governance, finance and M&A matters as well. Prior to Dell, Mr. Lindsey was an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP. He holds a law degree from the University of Virginia, and a chemistry degree from Harvard College.

Category: rising Stars

Category: rising Stars

Category: top assistant general Counsel

Lisa Seilheimer CDW CORPORATION

Vineet Shahani APPLE INC.

Benjamin Berman KAyAK.COM

200 North Milwaukee Avenue Vernon Hills, IL 60061 lseilheimer@me.com

1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014 vineetshahani@gmail.com

55 North Water Street, Suite 1 Norwalk, CT 06854 berman@kayak.com

Senior CorPorate CounSeL • Compliance

LegaL CounSeL • Mergers and acquisitions, venture and technology transactions, intellectual property, private equity fund formation and general corporate matters

aSSiStant generaL CounSeL • Commercial transactions, intellectual property, advertising, marketing, privacy, security, real estate, litigation and regulatory compcompliance

Lisa Seilheimer is Senior Corporate Counsel at CDW Corporation, a leading provider of technology solutions. Previously, she was Senior Counsel Litigation, at Kaplan Inc. She also formerly served as a litigation associate at Winston & Strawn LLP, where she was a member of the Critical Motions and Appellate practice group, and as Assistant Inspector General for the City of Chicago. Following law school, Ms. Seilheimer was a law clerk to the Honorable Kermit E. Bye of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and a law clerk to the Honorable Lynn J. Bush of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. She holds a JD from the George Washington University School of Law, with honors, and a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, magna cum laude. She serves on the Executive Committee of the CBA Alliance for Women and is a triathlete.

Vineet Shahani is Legal Counsel for Apple Inc., based in Cupertino, California.

He provides business counsel to operations, engineering, finance, and marketing colleagues on component supply and contract manufacturing transactions, M/A integration, IP/licensing arrangements, and product development issues. Mr. Shahani leads transactions and advises on matters around the world related to Apple’s global supply chain. Prior to Apple, he was Assistant General Counsel for Enova Financial, a technology company in Chicago. He was also a corporate attorney with Latham & Watkins LLP, based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. and Chicago offices. He received a JD cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, and a BA with honors, from the University of Michigan. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs, is a wannabe politico and a die-hard college football fan, and now lives in Mountain View, California with his wife and two children.

Benjamin Berman is Assistant General Counsel at Kayak.com, which provides free web and mobile services to help people find and manage their travel.

Prior to joining Kayak, he spent over seven years with Orbitz Worldwide, Inc., where he held a variety of positions in the legal department, primarily as a generalist with a specialty in corporate transactions. Prior to law school, he spent several years in business development and Internet production during the Web’s infancy. He graduated with a BS from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and received his law degree at DePaul College of Law. Mr. Berman is married and the father of two girls.

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

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all award recipients / illinois 2011 Category: top assistant general Counsel

Category: top assistant general Counsel

Category: top assistant general Counsel

Cynthia Boeh GE ENERGy

Stacee Hasenbalg BMO FINANCIAL GROUP

elliot Molk WORLD KITCHEN, LLC

1101 W. St. Paul Avenue Waukesha, WI 53188 cynthia.boeh@ge.com

5500 North Pearl Street Rosemont, IL 60018 molkei@worldkitchen.com

Senior CorPorate CounSeL • General corporate law including transactions, litigation, compliance, import/export, regulatory and intellectual property

aSSoCiate generaL CounSeL • Financial services

aSSoCiate generaL CounSeL • Corporate and transactional, litigation, compliance, real estate, environmental, labor and employment, general business

Cynthia Boeh is Senior Corporate Counsel, GE Energy, Waukesha gas engines in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Cynthia uses her substantial experience gained through practicing in national law firms and as General Counsel to provide legal and business advice to senior corporate executives, reduce and direct litigation, set and enforce policy and ensure that a comprehensive global compliance culture is maintained. Cynthia speaks conversational German and Japanese and has traveled to dozens of countries in support of client needs. Cynthia is particularly adept at securing win-win outcomes for corporations, their supply chain partners and distributors. Cynthia is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel and is a highly sought speaker on matters ranging from OSHA regulations to cultivating diversity.

In her spare time, she is busy raising three very active, athletic and smart little men.

Stacee Hasenbalg is Associate General Counsel at BMO Financial Group.

In this capacity, she manages the group of attorneys who support the U.S. private banking businesses of BMO Financial. She counsels business partners on all aspects of their products and services, as well as fiduciary risk management. Previously, she was an associate at Mayer Brown LLP, where she was a member of the Wealth Management practice group. Ms. Hasenbalg holds a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BA from Purdue University. She is a member of various legal and industry groups and is on the board of Friends of the Chicago River. She previously attended school to become a pastry chef, and enjoys traveling to exciting places. She climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2011 and will be climbing to Everest Base Camp in November 2012.

Since 2007 Elliot Molk has been the Associate General Counsel at World Kitchen, LLC, a privately-held global consumer products company that manufactures and distributes Pyrex® glass bakeware, Corelle® tableware, CorningWare® ceramic bakeware and other products found in millions of homes around the world. Mr. Molk is responsible for supporting the company in the areas of business development, consumer safety, products liability and commercial litigation, corporate finance, employment disputes, commercial transactions, and other matters. Prior to joining World Kitchen, he was a partner at Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum and Nagelberg in Chicago, with a corporate and finance practice. Mr. Molk began his career at Latham & Watkins after graduating with honors from the University of Chicago Law School in 1989. He earned a BA degree from The University of Michigan, with a concentration in Accounting, and is also a CPA.

Category: top assistant general Counsel

Category: top assistant general Counsel

Category: top Compliance Counsel

nicie Pratt ST. JOSEPH HEALTH SySTEM

Patrick Zeller INVENTUS

Jeffrey Langer MACy’S, INC.

4000 24th Street Lubbock, TX 79413 npratt@covhs.org

600 W. Fulton, Suite 302 Chicago, IL 60661 pzeller@inventus.com

9111 Duke Boulevard Mason, OH 45040-8999 jeffrey.langer@macys.com

ViCe PreSident & aSSiStant generaL CounSeL • Corporate Health Law

CHieF Strategy oFFiCer & dePuty generaL CounSeL • Litigation & eDiscovery

Senior CounSeL • Consumer financial services, banking regulation, privacy and data security

Juanici “Nicie” Pratt currently serves as Vice President & Regional Assistant General Counsel for St. Joseph Health System. She works as primary legal counsel to Covenant Health System. She offers legal advice on a broad range of health care and corporate matters, including EMT, ALA, HIPAA, business transactions, physician arrangements, Medicare regulations, non-profit and tax-exempt issues, medical staff matters, patient issues, and other matters.

Ms. Pratt also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, where she currently co-teaches a Healthcare & Bioethics Mediation clinic in partnership with the local Lubbock Dispute Resolution Center. She holds a JD from Texas Tech University School of Law, and a BA in Psychology from Southern Methodist University. Ms. Pratt resides in Lubbock, TX with her husband and five children.

Patrick Zeller is Chief Strategy Officer of Inventus, and is responsible for creating and executing corporate strategic e-discovery initiatives. He also works with corporate law departments of other companies seeking to implement defensible in-house e-discovery processes in the US, Canada, UK, and Europe. He writes and speaks regularly on topics related to e-discovery and digital evidence, and the intersection between law and technology. Mr. Zeller is an Adjunct Professor and Distinguished Lecturer at the John Marshall Law School Information Technology and Privacy Law LLM program, where he teaches a course on eDiscovery, Digital Evidence and Computer Forensics.

He also holds several certifications in computer forensics, including EnCE, and is a member of the Sedona Conference, a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP), and a member of the national Board of Directors of the American Association of Digital Forensics and eDiscovery (ASDFED ).

Jeffrey I. Langer is Senior Counsel at Macy’s, Inc. in Mason (Cincinnati), Ohio.

His primary areas of responsibility include privacy and data security, bank and holding company regulation (for the federal savings bank owned by Macy’s), prepaid/gift card, telemarketing/e-marketing, debt collection, credit reporting/ disputes, debt cancellation and federal/state legislative review matters, as well as substantive support on consumer credit litigation defense (including class action). Mr. Langer is a former partner of Jones Day and is a past chair of the ABA Business Law Section Consumer Financial Services Committee. He also is a Founding Fellow and Secretary of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers. Mr. Langer has also been named to Illinois and Ohio Super Lawyers in Banking Law. He holds a JD from Northwestern University School of Law and a BA summa cum laude with highest distinction in History, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Category: top Corporate Counsel

Category: top Corporate Counsel

Category: top Corporate Counsel

Kerry abbott ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER & CO.

Valeria Bailey RAND MCNALLy

tara Cowell ST. JOSEPH HEALTH SySTEM

Two Pierce Place Itasca, IL 60143-3141 kerry_abbott@ajg.com

aSSiStant SeCretary and Senior CounSeL • Investments, private equity, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, securities, and general corporate matters Kerry Abbott is responsible for advising on and coordinating all legal matters for the financial services business of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and is a member of the team handling legal matters for all Gallagher mergers and acquisitions. He is the Assistant Secretary of Gallagher and has handled general corporate matters including SEC and proxy, and employee benefits and board advisory matters. His areas of practice include Section 45 clean coal deals, private equity, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, securities, and general corporate matters. Prior to joining Gallagher, Mr. Abbott held a similar investment attorney role at Allstate Insurance Company, and he was an Associate at Winston & Strawn concentrating on corporate matters. He graduated with honors from the Northwestern University School of Law and obtained a BS in Business Administration from Georgetown University.

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111 West Monroe Street Chicago, IL 60603 stacee.hasenbalg@harrisbank.com

9855 Woods Drive Skokie, IL 60077 vbailey@randmcnally.com generaL CounSeL • Corporate governance matters, business strategy, risk mitigation, technology and corporate transactions, and intellectual property, e-commerce, transportation, telematics, and employment law issues Valeria Bailey is General Counsel at Rand McNally, serving on the executive team responsible for transforming the company into a leading provider of navigational and transportation services. She provides guidance in corporate law, IP matters, and business strategy. Previously, she was an attorney with Accenture, structuring complex agreements for sophisticated technology consulting projects, and served as corporate counsel at LaSalle Bank and Bank of America. Ms. Bailey began her legal career at DLA Piper and Seyfarth Shaw. She holds degrees in Political Science, Psychology, and Spanish from Southern Methodist University and a JD from Tulane University, cum laude, with a focus in international law. Ms. Bailey works with the Ladder Up Tax Assistance Program, the iDay at Accenture high school program, and the Evanston yMCA youth programs. She grew up in Germany, speaks four languages, and enjoys spending time with her family, skiing with them in the Alps whenever possible.

500 South Main Street, Suite 400 Orange, CA 92646 tara.cowell@stjoe.org

VP/aSSoCiate generaL CounSeL • Health; Corporate; Transactional; Clinical Research; Tax Exempt Tara Cowell has more than ten years of experience providing legal services in healthcare, transactional, clinical research and tax exempt matters, including a wide range of contracts, ensuring corporate compliance, consulting on business transactions, conducting organizational investigations, and audits.

all award recipients / illinois 2011 Category: top Corporate Counsel

Category: top Compliance Counsel

Category: top Corporate Counsel

Scott depta DELL

Bill eggleston REPUBLIC SERVICES, INC.

david Fein CONSTELLATION ENERGy

One Dell Way, MS RR1-33 Round Rock, TX 78682 homesd@msn.com

18500 North Allied Way Phoenix, AZ 85054 beggleston@republicservices.com

550 West Washington Boulevard, Suite 300 Chicago, IL 60661 david.fein@constellation.com

LegaL direCtor • Software licensing, commercial transactions, general corporate matters, and mergers and acquisitions

ViCe PreSident & dePuty generaL CounSeL • Corporate, securities, governance, compliance, litigation, environmental

ViCe PreSident, energy PoLiCy • Energy Law and Regulation; Government Relations

Scott J. Depta is Legal Director for Dell, based at the company’s global headquarters in Round Rock, Texas. He currently advises the Enterprise Solutions Group with respect to software and hardware procurement and other commercial matters. He has also advised Dell with respect to general corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions and securities law compliance and disclosure. Prior to joining Dell in 2002, Mr. Depta served as Assistant General Counsel to Wingcast, LLC, a Ford and QUALCOMM joint venture based in San Diego, California. He spent the early years of his legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New york City, and at Latham & Watkins in San Diego, California. He also served as Supply Officer on a fast-attack submarine based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Bill Eggleston is responsible for all types of legal matters for Republic’s Midwestern Region, and is also responsible for the company’s SEC filings.

Previously he was a Director and Shareholder at Fennemore Craig, P.C., a 180-lawyer, full service law firm with offices in Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. Following law school, he was a Law Clerk to the Honorable Frank X. Gordon, Jr., Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. Mr. Eggleston holds a JD from the Arizona State University College of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude, and a BS in Purchasing and Materials Management from Arizona State University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Children’s Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies, Inc., a non-profit school and therapy center for children with special needs.

David Fein is Vice President of Energy Policy for Constellation Energy and has nearly 20 years experience in the legal, regulatory, policy, and commercial aspects of the energy industry. He directs Constellation’s statelevel regulatory and legislative activities for its competitive retail, wholesale, power generation, and global commodities businesses. He regularly testifies before state public service commissions and state legislatures. Mr. Fein is also a frequent speaker at industry events. He is President of the Retail Energy Supply Association, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Regulatory Policy Studies at Illinois State University. He was previously part of Constellation’s legal team, and spent five and a half years at DLA Piper, LLP and four and a half years at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

He holds a JD from DePaul University, College of Law and a BA in Political Science and Behavioral Science & Law from the University of Wisconsin.

Category: top Corporate Counsel

Category: top Corporate Counsel

Category: top Corporate Counsel

Melinda Hensel INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL 150

tracy Kocourek ACCENTURE

tricia Meyer RELIANCE GLOBALCOM

161 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60601 tracy.w.kocourek@accenture.com

6140 Joliet Road Countryside, IL 60525 mhensel@local150.org

200 S. Wacker Drive, Ste. 1350 Chicago, IL 60606? tmeyer@meyerlawgroup.com

aSSoCiate generaL CounSeL • Labor, employment, employee benefits, real estate, and business

Senior LegaL CounSeL • Technology Transactions, Software Licensing, Outsourcing, Systems Integration, Intellectual Property, Data Privacy and Strategic Alliances

• Information Technology, Telecommunications, Commercial Transactions and Corporate

Melinda Hensel is an Associate General Counsel at International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, AFL-CIO, Legal Department. In that role, she advises the Union on administrative policy and procedure, real estate, organizing campaigns, and picketing matters, represents the Union before the National Labor Relations Board in representational and unfair labor practice cases, and appears in grievance arbitration. She also represents the Union in state and federal courts in LM RDA Section 301 and 303 lawsuits, and contract and real estate matters. In addition, she represents the Midwest Operating Engineers Fringe Benefit Funds in ERISA collection actions. She holds a JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law, and BA in Political Science from Syracuse University. Melinda enjoys spending time with her family, weight training and Pilates, golf, gardening and reading.

Tracy Kocourek serves as the North America Legal Lead for Accenture Software, providing counsel to executive leadership on the day-to-day operations of the business and manages a team of attorneys who support the transactions between Accenture Software and its customers. Previously, she served for four years as a complex transaction attorney negotiating and managing global client contracts in the areas of management consulting, systems integration, and outsourcing. Prior to joining Accenture, Ms. Kocourek served as a transactional attorney to LaSalle Bank JP Morgan Chase, where her areas of expertise primarily included commercial lending, securitizations, mortgage servicing, and regulatory compliance. She serves in leadership roles for several mentoring, corporate citizenship, and diversity and inclusion programs which reflect her personal commitment to give back to the community. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a JD from IIT -Chicago Kent College of Law.

Tricia Meyer has extensive experience in the information technology, telecommunication, and financial services industries, counseling buyers and sellers in the United States and internationally. She has negotiated numerous complex, multi-million dollar contracts and has a thorough understanding of licensing, ownership, and data privacy issues. Tricia has also represented several start ups and small and midsized businesses, including a fast growing softwareas-a-service consulting firm, a leading provider of innovative technology and telecommunication products and services to the hospitality industry, and a new media technology company that creates premium content on behalf of premium brands. Ms. Meyer is an entrepreneur and is genuinely interested in helping other entrepreneurs, serving as a mentor for several organizations and volunteering for a non-profit organization. She received her BA from St. Ambrose University and her JD from John Marshall Law School.

Category: top Corporate Counsel

Category: top Corporate Counsel

Category: top Corporate Counsel

andrew Porter SCHATZ DEVELOPMENT, LLC

Sophia ruffolo BMO FINANCIAL GROUP

timothy Verrilli NXT CAPITAL, LLC

111 W. Monroe Street, 21E Chicago, IL 60603 sophia.ruffolo@harrisbank.com

610 North Fairbanks Court, Third Floor, Chicago,IL 60611 aporter@schatzdevelopment.com

191 North Wacker Drive, Suite 1200 Chicago, IL 60606-1615 Tim.Verrilli@nxtcapital.com

generaL CounSeL • Litigation, Real Estate Transactions

ViCe PreSident and Senior CounSeL • Trust and Estate administration, investment and litigation matters, family office services, corporate transactions, trust regulatory matters

Managing direCtor • Commercial Real Estate; Commercial Finance

Before joining Schatz Development as General Counsel, Andrew Porter worked for 15 years as a commercial litigator in New york and Chicago, primarily defending financial institutions against securities and consumer fraud class actions. He has tried cases in state and federal courts and industry arbitration venues and is presently a member of the bars of the Illinois Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Andrew earned a BS in Biology, cum laude, from the University of Michigan in 1985 and, after briefly attending medical school at George Washington University, graduated with a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1990. Following law school, he served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable James C. Cacheris in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Sophia Ruffolo is Vice President and Senior Counsel at BMO Financial Group. In that role, she addresses a wide variety of legal issues that arise in the context of fiduciary administration, investments, and litigation, as well as family office services. She also provides the legal support for corporate transactional matters, trust charter formations and entity mergers. Before joining BMO Financial Group, in 2009, Ms. Ruffolo was in private practice at Sidley Austin LLP, where she specialized in estate planning and corporate transactions. She earned her JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, cum laude, in 1999. She is the vice-chair of the Metro Board of Metropolitan Family Services, liaison to the Legal Aid Society, and chair of the Friends of the Family committee that hosts field trips for the children of the MFS Midway Center.

Timothy Verrilli is Managing Director at NXT Capital, LLC where he is responsible for the closing and management of commercial real estate investments. His experience spans over 20 years as an attorney and a leader in commercial real estate finance. Previously, he was the National Portfolio Manager for Merrill Lynch Capital Real Estate Finance, where he also served as in-house counsel. Prior to Merrill, he served as Vice President and Managing Attorney for Heller Financial Real Estate Finance, and as a senior in-house counsel at the Zurich Kemper Life Insurance Companies, restructuring commercial real estate investments. Mr. Verrilli began his career as an associate at the Chicago law firms of Gottlieb & Schwartz and at the predecessor firm to DLA Piper LLP. He earned a BA in Economics from Northwestern University and a JD, cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

29

all award recipients / illinois 2011 Category: top Corporate Counsel

Category: top Corporate Counsel

Category: top general Counsel

Michael Watters CATHOLIC HEALTH INITIATIVES

Sarah Weersing ACCENTURE LLP

Janice L. Block KAPLAN, INC.

2603 Woods Trail North Burnsville, MN 55306 mikewatters@catholichealth.net

225 West Wacker Drive 8th Floor Chicago, IL 60606 jblock@kaplan.edu

CorPorate CounSeL • Health Care

direCtor oF LegaL SerViCeS - M&a • Mergers & Acquisitions; Joint Ventures; Complex Corporate Transactions

generaL CounSeL and CHieF CoMPLianCe oFFiCer • Global legal, regulatory and compliance functions

Michael Watters is Corporate Counsel for Catholic Health Initiatives in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has supported a wide range of hospitals, from rural critical access hospitals to large metropolitan facilities. His experience enables him to in furnish practical legal and business advice to his hospital clients. Prior to joining CHI twelve years ago, Mr. Watters practiced at the law firm of Baker & Daniels ( in Indianapolis ). He is married and has seven children.

Sarah Weersing is the Director of Legal Services, Mergers & Acquisitions for Accenture LLP. She and her team are responsible for legal support of Accenture’s acquisition and joint venture transactions globally. Prior to joining Accenture, she was an associate at DLA Piper LLP, where she focused on M&A as well as general corporate and commercial transactional matters as a member of the Corporate practice group. Ms. Weersing holds a JD from Boston College Law School, an MBA from the Carroll Graduate School of Management (Boston College), and a BS from Northwestern University.

Janice Block joined Kaplan in 2006 as the general counsel and chief compliance officer of its higher education division, and was promoted to these roles for Kaplan, Inc. in 2011. In addition to leading a team of lawyers covering transactional work, contracts, employment and intellectual property matters, and litigation, she has focused on developing a robust regulatory and compliance framework throughout the organization. Prior to joining Kaplan, Ms. Block was the general counsel and corporate secretary for Career Education Corporation. She also served as regional counsel for Microsoft Corporation. She was previously a partner and attorney in the Chicago office of several law firms, including Greenberg Traurig, Seyfarth Shaw, and Kirkland & Ellis. Her legal experience includes nearly 25 years of litigation, transactional, intellectual property, corporate governance, regulatory, policy, and compliance experience. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University, and a law degree from Columbia University.

Category: top general Counsel

Category: top general Counsel

Category: top general Counsel

Paulette dodson SARA LEE CORPORATION

Carla garfinkle DONLEN CORPORATION

robert guttman ULTA SALON

3500 Lacey Road Downers Grove 60515

2315 Sanders Road Northbrook, IL 60062 cgarfinkle@donlen.com

1000 Remington Boulevard, Suite 120 Bolingbrook, IL 60440 rguttman@ulta.com

generaL CounSeL and CorPorate SeCretary • Contracts; Litigation; Dispute Resolution; Antitrust; Regulatory Compliance

generaL CounSeL • General Counsel of finance company. Finance; Corporate; Labor; Litigation; Compliance; Intellectual Property

SVP, generaL CounSeL & SeCretary • Legal, corporate governance and regulatory affairs & real estate law function

Paulette Dodson is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Sara Lee Corporation and was previously chief counsel of Sara Lee Corporation’s North American Operations.

She is the lead legal advisor and strategist to the North American business heads and leads a team of lawyers who are tasked with providing broad-based legal support. She is chair of the Sara Lee’s Minority Forum, an employee affinity group focused on the success of the company’s diverse employees. Ms. Dodson joined Sara Lee Corporation in January 2007 after fourteen years with Tribune Company, where she was Assistant General Counsel, Publishing, and responsible for managing legal affairs for the operating units of the publishing business across the United States. She also served as general counsel to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, and the Daily Press in Virginia. She currently serves as secretary of the board of directors for the Chicago Bar Foundation and on the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms. A native of St. Andrew, Jamaica (West Indies), Ms. Dodson earned her bachelor’s degree from City College of New york and her law degree from Cornell Law School.

Carla Garfinkle is General Counsel of Donlen Corporation, a fleet management company that recently became a subsidiary of the Hertz Corporation. She oversees all legal matters, and is also involved in strategic initiatives and senior management of the company. Ms. Garfinkle was previously a finance and securitization attorney at Skadden, Arps., and later joined the growing securitization practice at Katten, Muchin. Ms. Garfinkle graduated magna cum laude from University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she served as an editor of the Law Review.

Robert S. Guttman has been Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. (“Ulta”) since August 2007. Mr. Guttman is Ulta’s first General Counsel and created the company’s legal function, leading the legal effort for both the Company’s successful IPO in October 2007 and its secondary offering in June 2010. Mr. Guttman is responsible for all legal, corporate governance and regulatory affairs of Ulta, including its real estate law function, and is a member of company’s executive management team. In 2011 he also served as interim head of the Ulta HR function. Prior to joining Ulta, Mr. Guttman was Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of The Reynolds and Reynolds Company, and served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of CCC Information Services, Inc. Prior to that time, Mr. Guttman was an Associate General Counsel with Sears, Roebuck and Co., having served in various positions as a lawyer with Sears from 1986 to 2000, and was in private practice from 1981 to 1986. Mr. Guttman is a graduate of The John Marshall Law School and holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of Illinois. He is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel. Mr. Guttman, a father of three children, is a triathlete and Ironman finisher, and enjoys travel, cooking, mixology, music, and reading.

Category: top general Counsel

Category: top general Counsel

Category: top general Counsel

nick Helmer FRIEDMAN PROPERTIES, LTD.

Fred Langtry BANNER APARTMENTS, LLC

Susan Lichtenstein HILL-ROM

350 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654 nhelmer@friedmanproperties.com

30

161 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60601 sarah.a.weersing@accenture.com

500 Skokie Boulevard, Suite 600 Northbrook, IL 60062 fred.langtry@bannerapartments.com

180 North Stetson Chicago, IL 60601 laurel.lesch@hill-rom.com

generaL CounSeL • Finance, corporate law, commercial real estate, risk management, debt restructuring and project development

generaL CounSeL • Primarily real estate, securities, and corporate

SVPSenior ViCe PreSident, CorPorate aFFairS CHieF LegaL oFFiCer • Health Care

As General Counsel for Friedman Properties, Mr. Helmer is integrally involved in all aspects of the company’s day-to-day business and legal operations, from financing and development to leasing, human resources and government relations. A graduate of Indiana University and The John Marshall Law School, Mr. Helmer has specialized in corporate and commercial real estate law for more than 16 years, including many years at the predecessor firm of DLA Piper as well as affiliated companies of Inland Real Estate Corporation.

When not guiding the company through troubled waters Mr. Helmer is an avid gardener, a gourmet cook, and practices yoga every morning at sunrise.

Fred Langtry is the General Counsel of Banner Apartments, LLC, a multifamily real estate investment and development enterprise. Prior to joining Banner in 2002, he was a Senior Attorney for Equity Office Properties Trust, then the nation’s largest office REIT, where he handled real estate acquisitions and dispositions, corporate investments, strategic alliances, and REIT tax matters. Prior to that time, he was an attorney with Rosenberg & Liebentritt, P.C., where he specialized in real estate and securities transactions. He received his law degree from DePaul University in 1993 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1989.

Susan R. Lichtenstein is Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Legal Officer of Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. She is globally responsible for all quality assurance and regulatory affairs for the company (including operational responsibility for quality in six plants around the world), government affairs, legal affairs, corporate communications and corporate support services. Susan’s career has spanned corporate, government, and private law practice. Prior to joining Hill-Rom, she in was the Corporate Vice President and General Counsel of Baxter International Inc., General Counsel to the governor of Illinois, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for both Ameritech Corporation and Tellabs, Inc., and served as Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago. Susan serves on the boards of numerous civic and philanthropic organizations, including RUSH University Medical Center, Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute and the Midwest Region of the AntiDefamation League. Susan received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota and a law degree from Northwestern University Law School.

all award recipients / illinois 2011 Category: top general Counsel

Category: top general Counsel

Category: top general Counsel

nancy Paridy REHABILITATION INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

dale Pierson INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL 150, AFL-CIO

Matthew revord POTBELLy SANDWICH WORKS

345 East Superior Street Chicago, IL 60611 nparidy@ric.org

Senior ViCe PreSident, generaL CounSeL & goVernMent aFFairS/CorPorate SeCretary • Health care, corporate and litigation Nancy E. Paridy, JD, LLM , joined RIC in 1995. As a member of the executive management team at RIC, Ms. Paridy oversees the Institute’s broad range of legal issues, including health law, litigation, employment law, relationships and management agreements, tax, fraud and abuse, regulatory interpretation and guidance, intellectual property, research, operations, government relations, compliance, and insurance. She also oversees its government and community affairs and board functions. Prior to RIC, Ms. Paridy practiced law in the areas of litigation and corporate healthcare as a partner at Rooks, Pitts and Poust, (now Dykema Gossett) as well as at Ungaretti and Harris.

Ms. Paridy received her law degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago- Kent College of Law, and earned her Master of Laws in Health Law from Loyola University.

generaL CounSeL • Labor, employment, ERISA, contract and business

6140 Joliet Road Countryside, IL 60525 dpierson@local150.org

Dale D. Pierson has been General Counsel to the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, AFL-CIO, since 2002. Prior to that time he was a partner in a Chicago law firm representing labor unions, fringe benefit trust funds, and individual workers. In 1995 and 1999 he represented the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 77, in its negotiations for collective bargaining agreements with the City of Chicago. In 2010, he helped coordinate the legal strategy that led to the successful strike by operating engineers and laborers in the Chicago area. Mr. Pierson earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in History from Northern Illinois University and his JD from Northwestern University. In his free time Dale enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, tennis and reading.

222 Merchandise Mart Plaza Chicago, IL 60654 matt.revord@potbelly.com Senior ViCe PreSident, generaL CounSeL and SeCretary • Mergers and Acquisitions, International Development, Contracts, Corporate Governance, Franchise, Employment Matthew Revord graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1985.

After a year working in management for General Motors, he attended the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, Illinois. He joined the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis in 1989, where his practice included both litigation and corporate (primarily in private equity). He has worked with several Chicago -based companies in his career, including as Deputy General Counsel of Brunswick Corporation and General Counsel of Brunswick New Technologies, Inc. He also has been Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Potbelly Sandwich Works since January 2007. Matt leads the legal function for Potbelly, as well as international development with stores now open in Dubai and Kuwait. His favorite Potbelly lunch is the Italian, Zapps chips, and an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.

Category: top general Counsel

Category: top general Counsel

Category: top general Counsel

Jonathan romick GEM REALTy CAPITAL, INC.

Beth Sprecher Brooks BROOKS INLAND REAL ESTATE CORPORATION

Kurt Stepaniak KONE INC.

900 North Michigan, Ave., Chicago, IL 60611 jromick@gemrc.com

4225 Naperville Rd., Lisle, IL 60532 kurt.stepaniak@kone.com

2901 Butterfield Road Oak Brook, IL 60523 bbrooks@inlandrealestate.com

generaL CounSeL & CCo • Fund Formation, Real Estate, Advisers Act

Senior VP & generaL CounSeL • Commercial Real Estate/General Corporate

Senior ViCe PreSident, LaW & aCQuiSitionS • Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Trade Rgulation, Litigation

Mr. Romick joined GEM in 2006 and is the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of GEM Realty Securities and GEM Realty Properties.

Prior to joining GEM , Mr. Romick was a lawyer in the Real Estate Practice Group at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP and at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Mr. Romick graduated with honors with a BS in Accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997, and his JD magna cum laude from the University of Illinois, College of Law in 2002. Mr. Romick also is a Certified Public Accountant.

Beth Sprecher Brooks is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Inland Real Estate Corporation, a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the Chicago area. Prior to joining Inland in 2002 she was Senior Counsel with Shefsky & Froelich, Ltd., where she practiced commercial real estate law.

She has also held in-house positions with White Hen Pantry, Inc. and Jewel Companies, Inc. She received her JD from Northwestern University School of Law and her BA from Georgetown University.

Kurt Stepaniak has been the Senior Vice President, Law & Acquisitions for KONE Americas since joining KONE in 1997. He also serves as KONE’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining KONE, Mr. Stepaniak was the General Counsel for AlliedSignal Braking Systems in South Bend, Indiana. Mr. Stepaniak first joined AlliedSignal in 1990, where he engaged in a general corporate practice, which included serving as the company’s Managing Attorney for Latin American Operations from 1991- to 1996. Mr. Stepaniak began his in-house career in 1986 as an attorney with Masco Corporation in Taylor, Michigan, and clerked for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan from 1984 to 1986. He graduated from Wayne State University Law School magna cum laude in 1984, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Order of the Coif, and Phi Alpha Theta.

& International

Category: top intellectual Property Counsel

Category: top Litigation Counsel

Category: top Litigation Counsel

anthony Curtis VERIZON

Cynthia abbott MOTOROLA MOBILITy, INC.

robyn alexander SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION

1515 East Woodfield Road Schaumburg, IL 60173 anthony.curtis@verizon.com

600 North US Highway 45 Libertyville, IL 60048 cynthia.abbott@motorola.com

3333 Beverly Drive, BC-130B Hoffman Estates, IL 60614 Robyn.alexander@searshc.com

Patent CounSeL • Patent

Senior Litigation CounSeL • Litigation

aSSiStant generaL CounSeL - reaL eState • Commercial Real Estate

Tony Curtis is a Patent Counsel at Verizon. He has assisted in all patent -related matters for Verizon Wireless, including portfolio management, licensing, counseled internal clients in patent matters and internal/external business interactions, opinions, and overseeing outside counsel in all patent preparation and prosecution matters. Most recently, he was a Senior Patent Operations Counsel at Motorola, where he was in charge of several patent portfolios, provided guidance for business with regard to these portfolios, and prepared and prosecuted patent applications (including overseeing outside counsel) in the US and overseas. Before joining Motorola he was an associate at Brinks, Hofer, Gilson and Lione. He holds BS degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering from MIT, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Princeton, and an MS in Physics and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois. He enjoys playing sports with his children and is an avid bridge player and Life Master.

Cynthia Photos Abbott is responsible for managing all commercial litigation at Motorola Mobility, Inc. She also provides advice to risk management on a wide array of insurance issues, including D&O insurance. She held a similar litigation management role at Motorola, Inc., prior to the divestiture of Motorola Mobility from Motorola, Inc. in 2011. Before joining Motorola she was a partner at the law firm of Katten Muchin & Rosenman, where she litigated complex commercial cases. Ms. Abbott graduated from Northwestern University, School of Law, where she was an editor on the Journal of International Law and Business, and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. While at Katten and Motorola, Ms. Abbott was active in various organizations created to further the success of women in the business and legal world. She has also served on not -for -profit boards in Chicago and its suburbs.

Robyn Alexander is Assistant General Counsel - Commercial Real Estate at Sears Holdings Corporation, and is an experienced commercial real estate attorney specializing in acquisitions, dispositions, condemnation, leasing, redevelopment, development, oil and gas leasing, fuel center leasing, joint ventures, asset management, risk management, and litigation management.

She also manages the condemnation group and negotiates all condemnation matters for the SHC real estate portfolio. Previously she was a commercial real estate and municipal finance associate at Pugh, Jones and Johnson, where she negotiated commercial leases and represented municipalities and underwriters in municipal bond deals. She holds a JD from the University of Dayton School of Law and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley.

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

31

all award recipients / illinois 2011 Category: top real estate Counsel

Category: top real estate Counsel

Category: top real estate Counsel

Kal gibron SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATIONS

James Henegan BRIDGESTONE RETAIL OPERATIONS, LLC

Jason Maxwell HINES

3333 Beverly Road Hoffman Estates, IL 60179 james.gibron@searshc.com

333 East Lake Street Bloomingdale, IL 60108 jhenegan@bfrc.com

2800 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 4800 Houston, TX 77056 jason_maxwell@hines.com

ViCe PreSident oF reaL eState LaW & aSSet ManageMent • Real Estate, commercial contracts, eminent domain, landlord/tenant and litigation

Senior CounSeL • Real Estate

CorPorate CounSeL • General Counsel; Real Estate, REITs, Public and Private Company Corporate Governance

Kal Gibron is the Vice President of Real Estate Law & Asset Management for Sears Holdings Corporation, where he manages the delivery of legal services to Sears Holdings’ Real Estate Business Unit, and the asset management and real estate strategy functions for the combined Sears and Kmart real estate portfolio. He earned his JD degree cum laude from the University of Notre Dame Law School and his BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Gibron has been active in pro bono and community service. In 2009 he was named the Exelon Outstanding Corporate Counsel by the Chicago Bar Foundation, and he is the founder of the Shamrock Shave, an event that has raised over $110,000 for the needy in the community and pediatric cancer research.

James Henegan is the Senior Real Estate Counsel at Bridgestone Retail Operations, where he works on Bridgestone’s self-development of new stores and purchasing or ground leasing the land for new construction. He spent thirteen years in private practice at two Chicago law firms, handling a wide variety of real estate transactions and representing landlords, tenants, developers, home builders, and pension funds. He also spent nine in -house at Sears and four years at Joseph Freed & Associates. Mr. Henegan worked on new store deals, leasing and later sale of the Sears Tower, development of the Prairie Stone Office Park, and the disposition and redevelopment of Sears’ old corporate headquarters at Homan and Arthington. He served as special counsel to Sears Home Stores business - Dealer Stores; Sears Hardware; Homelife; and Contract Sales.

Jason Maxwell serves as sole in-house attorney at Hines, one of the largest real estate organizations in the world, with offices in 108 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $23.4 billion. Mr. Maxwell primarily serves the legal needs of Hines’ largest private and public funds: the US Core Office Fund, Hines REIT and Hines Global REIT. Since his arrival at Hines in June 2006 he has led the legal negotiation and successful acquisition or disposition of 71 Class A office, logistics, and other projects totaling $7.3 billion in the U.S., Russia, Brazil, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He also oversees the corporate governance activities for the funds’ boards and provides counsel with respect to the funds’ ongoing portfolio management matters. Prior to joining Hines he was a Corporate and Securities Partner at Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP.

Category: top real estate Counsel

Category: top real estate Counsel

Category: top real estate Counsel

tim Peters PROLOGIS, INC.

Susan Scalzo SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION

Brian Shally CHEVRON CORPORATION

4545 Airport Way Denver, Colorado 80239 tpeters@prologis.com

3333 Beverly Road, BC-112B Hoffman Estates, IL 60107 susan.scalzo@searshc.com

6001 Bollinger Canyon San Ramon, CA 94583-2324 shbj@chevron.com

FirSt ViCe PreSident and CorPorate CounSeL • Real Estate, Corporate, Finance and Development

aSSiStant generaL CounSeL • Commercial Real Estate

Senior CounSeL • Real Estate, Contracts and Environmental

Tim Peters is First Vice President and Corporate Counsel of Prologis, Inc., the leading global provider of industrial real estate. In this capacity, he is jointly responsible for Prologis’s general legal oversight, corporate governance and representation, including Prologis’s corporate and real estate acquisition, disposition and financing transactions in North America. Previously, Tim was a real estate associate with the law firm of Jacobs, Chase, Frick, Kleinkopf & Kelley in Denver, Colorado, where he focused on resort development and financing transactions for a publicly traded client. Tim originally began his career with the law firm of Lathrop & Gage in Kansas City, Missouri, as a member of its Real Estate and Financial Institutions group. Tim holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where he graduated cum laude, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Missouri, where he graduated summa cum laude, with honors.

Susan Scalzo joined Sears Holdings in August 2006. In her role as Assistant General Counsel within the Real Estate Department, she works closely with her internal clients on all aspects of Sears real estate matters, including leasing, disposition and acquisition, condemnation, and asset management.

Prior to joining Sears, she was in-house counsel at Lennar Corporation, a large residential home builder which acquired Concord Homes and Summit Homes as part of Lennar’s entry into the Illinois real estate market.

Brian Shally is Senior Counsel for Chevron Corporation in San Ramon, California. He specializes in real estate law, applying that expertise in the early stages of his career to the acquisition and development of mineral interests. For the last 25-plus years, his responsibilities have involved real estate acquisition, development, management, and disposition, often with properties that are environmentally impacted and require knowledge of environmental regulations. He has been involved with commercial, industrial, office, and residential projects, including the development and operation of golf courses. He has also worked on the disposition of a real estate portfolio valued in the hundreds of millions. He holds a JD from John F. Kennedy University and a BS in Business Administration from Saint Mary’s College. He enjoys travel, mystery novels and classic automobiles.

Category: top real estate Counsel

Marianne Simonini SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION

3333 Beverly Road Hoffman Estates, IL 60179 Marianne.Simonini@searshc.com CounSeL-reaL eState • Commercial, Retail and Non-retail real estate Marianne Simonini is Counsel-Real Estate at Sears Holdings Corporation in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, where she supports all commercial, retail, and nonretail owned and leased real estate. Previously, she was an associate attorney at Dean & Simonini Associates, a general practice law firm concentrating in real estate, probate, personal injury, and civil litigation. Ms. Simonini holds a JD from Loyola University School of Law and a BS in Political Science from Northern Illinois University. She enjoys an active lifestyle and devotes much of her spare time to raising chickens and tending to her dog, Jasmine.

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Stahl Cowen would Stahl Cowen would like to congratulate our client and colleague, Beth Brooks of Inland Real Estate Stahl Cowen would like to congratulate our client and colleague, Beth Brooks of Inland Real Estate Corporation on her Corporation on her First Chair award. Beth’s legal acumen, determination and leadership are Corporation on her First Chair award. Beth’s legal acumen, determination and leadership are unparalleled and sh unparalleled and she is a well deserved award recipient. Congratulations Beth! unparalleled and she is a well deserved award recipient. Congratulations Beth!

Celebrating our 10th Celebrating our 10th year, Stahl Cowen serves the legal needs of businesses and individuals in Illinois Celebrating our 10th year, Stahl Cowen serves the legal needs of businesses and individuals in Illinois and throughout the and throughout the United States, with an emphasis on corporate, securities, tax, real estate, and throughout the United States, with an emphasis on corporate, securities, tax, real estate, bankruptcy and rest bankruptcy and restructuring, commercial litigation, estate planning, wealth preservation, banking and bankruptcy and restructuring, commercial litigation, estate planning, wealth preservation, banking and finance, and govern finance, and government and public sector services. We also now serve clients internationally, with finance, and government and public sector services. We also now serve clients internationally, with particular emphasis particular emphasis on India and also the Pacific Rim through our Shanghai office. For more information particular emphasis on India and also the Pacific Rim through our Shanghai office. For more information visit us at www.stah visit us at www.stahlcowen.com. visit us at www.stahlcowen.com.

Our Chicago Office i Our Chicago Office is located at 55 W. Monroe Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60603. Phone: 312‐641‐ Our Chicago Office is located at 55 W. Monroe Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60603. Phone: 312‐641‐ 0060.

0060.

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all award recipients / illinois 2011 Category: top real estate Counsel

Category: top in-House Legal department

Category: top in-House Legal department

John Wooton CORNERSTONE REAL ESTATE ADVISERS

SearS Holdings Corporation

KaPLan Higher education

150 South Wacker Drive, Suite 350 Chicago, IL 60606 woots@cornerstoneadvisers.com ViCe PreSident and aSSoCiate generaL CounSeL • Commercial Real Estate John Wooton is Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers. Located in the Chicago regional office, his duties include overseeing the closing of all of the debt and equity transactions sourced from the Chicago office and managing the legal aspects of the office’s equity portfolio. Previously he was Counsel to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, handling securities and real estate transactions from the Springfield, Massachusetts home office. He has a BA from the Broad School of Business at Michigan State University and a JD from Boston University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in both Massachusetts and Illinois.

3333 Beverly Drive, BC-130B Hoffman Estates, IL 60614

The Legal Business Unit of Sears Holdings strives to deliver results-oriented, commercially practical, prompt, user-friendly, efficient and cost-effective legal services to all business units that will ensure compliance with applicable law and regulations and the Company’s policies and enhance stockholder value. The Legal Business Unit carefully monitors legal developments that might impact the Company’s businesses, thoroughly analyzes risks, zealously defends the Company’s interests, and proactively takes other necessary actions that are advisable to protect the Company’s assets and minimize the risks of loss. The Legal Business Unit will act, when necessary, as the Company’s “watchdog.”

225 West Wacker Drive 8th Floor Chicago, IL 60606 The in-house legal team at Kaplan, Inc. provides legal, regulatory and compliance expertise to the Kaplan portfolio of companies, in the United States as well as internationally. Our attorneys are both practical and intellectual: they need to be, to advise a large-scale enterprise (the annual revenues of Kaplan, Inc. exceed $2 billion) subject to the complex, everchanging laws and regulations that apply to the education sector around the world.

Our guiding principles are teamwork and exceptional client service. Our office environment can be described as hard work, occasionally interrupted by laughter. We like each other and our jobs -- and we believe in our clients’ goal of becoming the world’s leading educator.

Salutes Janice Block

General Counsel at Kaplan Inc. and Recipient of the 2011 First Chair Top General Counsel Award and the outstanding

Legal Department

Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville is a Washington, DC-based law firm that focuses on healthcare, education and the law of tax-exempt organizations.

1501 M STREET, NW  SEVENTH FLOOR  WASHINGTON, DC 20005 PH 202.466.6550  FX 202.785.1756  WWW.PPSV.COM

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

33

Celebrating Innovation “The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams.”

-W. Arthur Porter

Innovation. In business, it’s a virtue. In a legal department, it can make the difference between breakeven and breakthrough. The attorneys of Ungaretti & Harris congratulate the First Chair Award recipients, who are recognized for their innovation, hard work and contributions to the legal profession.

Like our in-house colleagues, we at Ungaretti & Harris know the value of innovation. We go beyond simply handling legal matters: we look for creative ways to provide better outcomes, create stronger relationships, and provide breakthrough value.

The qualities recognized by the First Chair Awards are also at the heart of our firm’s culture. We are proud to sponsor the First Chair Awards and celebrate the achievements of our in-house colleagues.

www.uhlaw.com

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Finance

Pay Close Attention to Financial Reporting About Litigation T

he Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) has issued several proposals that would require companies to include expanded disclosures about potential losses from litigation and other contingencies.

These proposals were in response to concerns raised by investors and other users of financial statements that the existing rules do not provide adequate and timely information to assist them in assessing the likelihood, timing, and magnitude of potential losses. The original proposal was issued in June 2008, but was criticized by preparers of financial statements as costly and requiring judgments that are more predictive and speculative in nature rather than factual. In response to the criticism the FASB continued its study of disclosure requirements, which culminated in a July 2010 revised proposal that contained fewer additional disclosure requirements. This proposal originally was to have been effective for calendar year end companies in 2010, but the implementation was delayed and is being reconsidered by the FASB.

T

he additional disclosures proposed by the FASB include qualitative and quantitative information about loss contingencies to enable financial statement users to understand all of the following:

• • •

The nature of the loss contingencies

Their potential magnitude

Their potential timing (if known)

S

pecifically, the current proposal would require disclosure of publicly available quantitative information (such as the claim amount for asserted litigation contingencies), other relevant non-privileged information, and, in some cases, information about possible recoveries from insurance and other sources. Furthermore, a public entity would be required to provide tabular reconciliations, by class, of recognized (accrued) loss contingencies that present the activity in the account during the reporting period. This table would show what is commonly referred to as a “roll-forward”, which consists of the accrual as of the beginning of the year, amounts paid during the year, additional amount accrued or reversed, and the ending accrual balance. Additionally, this proposal also requires the disclosure of certain remote loss contingencies, which are not required to be disclosed under the existing standards.

C

ompanies and other parties raised significant

concerns about the proposed changes which caused the FASB to decide that a final standard would not be effective for 2010. The FASB staff will be working with the SEC and PCAOB to understand their efforts in addressing investor

Authors: Steven F. Stanton and Michael J. McConnell

concerns about these disclosures through increased focus on compliance with existing rules. The FASB will also be reviewing registrants’ filings to determine if those efforts have resulted in improved disclosures about loss contingencies. The FASB plans future re-deliberation of this proposal. Even though no new requirements have been implemented, the debate has put more focus on the topic and thus companies should give close attention to their disclosures and compliance with the existing rules.

T

he SEC has expressed concern about the

sufficiency and clarity of litigation disclosures made by companies under the current standards. The SEC staff have indicated that they plan to look closely at disclosures companies have been making, both in their financial statements and within the Legal Proceedings section of periodic filings to assess whether the disclosures comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) and the requirements of Regulation S-K, Item 103. In public speeches members of the SEC staff have stated that they may question lack of historical disclosure when material settlements are disclosed in future periods. In addition to questioning disclosure prior to material settlements, the SEC staff also sent “Dear CFO” letters to publicly traded companies with potential contingencies related to mortgage loan repurchase demands asking them to “provide clear and transparent disclosure regarding your obligations relating to the various representations and warranties that you made” and to “consider providing a roll-forward of this reserve presenting separate amounts for increases in the reserve due to changes in estimates and new loan sales and decreases attributable to utilizations/realization of losses”.

This increased focus on contingencies raises the prospect that external auditors and users of financial statements will give this area more scrutiny than may have occurred in the past. You should also anticipate that plaintiff’s attorneys, both those with active cases against your company and the securities class action bar, will be closely reading your disclosures.

T

he existing accounting and disclosure rules for

loss contingencies have been in place for decades and are enumerated in FASB Accounting Standards Codification Topic 450 - Contingencies (ASC 450), formerly Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 5, Accounting for Contingencies. When there are potential losses that could be material to the company’s financial statements, management needs to assess whether the likelihood of loss is remote, reasonably possible or probable, as defined in ASC 450 .

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

I

f a company is a party to litigation where it believes the likelihood of a material loss is remote no accrual of the loss is needed and no disclosure is required. At the other end of the spectrum, if the likelihood of material loss is probable, an estimate of the loss needs to be accrued by a charge to income. For probable contingencies consideration should be given to disclosing the nature and the amount of the accrual in the notes to the financial statements and, where applicable, an indication that it is at least reasonably possible that a change in the estimate could occur.

F

or matters where the likelihood of loss is deemed

to be reasonably possible, no accrual is recorded, but disclosures should be made about the nature of the contingency and an estimate of the possible range of loss or a statement that such an estimate cannot be made. The SEC staff has noted that they are seeing a lack of disclosure regarding these types of reasonably possible loss contingencies and is concerned that some companies may be too readily taking the position that a reasonable estimate of the loss cannot be made in order to avoid disclosing that information. The SEC staff has stated in recent speeches that the existing standards require disclosure of the loss, or range of loss, if it can be reasonably estimated, but does not require that the estimate of the loss be determined with precision.

C

ompanies face a difficult balancing act in drafting

loss contingency disclosures. On one hand, they need to comply with accounting rules and SEC reporting requirements, and need to provide full and fair disclosure for investors. However, estimating the likelihood of litigation losses is often a subjective and predictive affair, and doing so with precision can be difficult or impossible, especially in the early stages of litigation. Negative consequences can flow not only from understating the likelihood of a loss, but also from over or underestimating the potential amount of loss. Given that the estimates of both likelihood and amount are inherently subjective and imprecise, the inclusion of an estimate or a range of loss may unintentionally suggest a level of reliability that could be construed to be misleading.

C

ompanies should also be wary of disclosing

confidential information, including strategy or assessments about litigation, to outside auditors or in public filings. Public filings are, of course, available to

35

Finance opposing parties, so the company’s position in ongoing litigation can be harmed if legal strategy is revealed and settlement negotiations can be affected by disclosure of an estimated loss amount. Auditors are considered outside parties, so companies should also be mindful of the dangers of arguably waiving attorney client privilege or work product protections.

Furthermore, company counsel should be familiar with the 35-year-old “treaty” between auditors and attorneys embodied by the 1975 American Bar Association “Statement of Policy Regarding Lawyers’ Responses to Auditors’ Requests for Information,” which discusses the protection of attorney client privilege and largely sets the structure for dialogue between auditors and lawyers.

M

anagement and directors should be sure

they are well informed about litigation and other contingencies and understand the process their companies use to determine the accounting and disclosures for litigation and other loss contingencies while being careful not to undermine the litigation position. We suggest the following:

•

•

•

•

Ensure that the company has effective processes and controls for identifying and evaluating loss contingencies; Make inquiries of in-house counsel, outside counsel and external auditors about potentially material loss contingencies. For particularly significant matters, management and directors should consider having status reports at each board meeting; Focus closely on these disclosures when reading drafts of public filings, especially on disclosures of reasonably possible loss contingencies where loss amounts are not reasonably estimable and thus amounts are not disclosed; and, Be sure you are satisfied that the company is striking the right balance between complying with the accounting rules, the desire to provide full and transparent information to the investing public while not jeopardizing attorney-client privilege or damaging the company’s competitive or litigation position.

This article was published in an abbreviated format. The unabbreviated version is available at www.navigant.com.

Our best wishes for continued success.

McDermott Will & Emery is proud to support First Chair and their mission to bring together a community of accomplished attorneys in private practice with their talented in-house peers in order to recognize achievement.

We warmly congratulate Tony Curtis and Elliot Molk on being First Chair Award Recipients.

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36

Careers

Don’t Jump!

(At least not until you read this article) Author: Jennifer Levin

I was reading an article recently that revealed law firm billing rates, which continued to rise throughout the recession, are expected to continue on their upward trajectory for the foreseeable future despite intense pressure on corporate legal departments to control outside legal spend. What might amaze members of the in-house community is that many partners at BigLaw firms have very little say with respect to their billing rate structures and billing rate increases are generally dictated to even the most seasoned partners. This creates an almost constant conundrum for private practice attorneys: How can I continue to develop (and keep) my client base at these increased rates?

As the President of Nate and Dot Consulting and Recruiting, LLC (www.nateanddot.com) I am confronted with this question on a regular basis.

My firm consults with numerous partners at BigLaw firms to help them increase their books of business.

I usually answer the question with another question: Are you on the right platform?

I am regularly met with a puzzled face and no response to that question.

Practicing on the right platform is a key driver for the success of most attorneys in a law firm environment. The right platform will meet three basic requirements. If you are on the right platform, then more likely than not, you will have:

1. stability to set billing rates that work for your client base; 2. attorneys who can expertly support your clients needs; and 3. a compensation structure that rewards your performance in accordance with market standards.

The prevailing idea that an attorney must sacrifice quality of legal services for lower rates is simply untrue. As the economy changed and the recession dragged on, more and more highly pedigreed, expertly trained, and experienced attorneys from name-brand BigLaw firms have left

BigLaw for mega-regional and one-office middlemarket law firms. There has never been a better time to work with former BigLaw attorneys and reduce the cost to your client at the same time.

Equally untrue, is the idea that BigLaw pays higher salaries and that a move will necessitate a compensation reduction. The reality is that the vast majority of partners who have left BigLaw over the past five years have actually increased their salaries.

Essentially, while many firms have acquired offices from Dubai to Sacramento and from Dallas to Moscow, they have also dramatically increased their overhead. These enhanced costs have lead to a direct reduction in all but the most prominent attorneys’ compensation.

Kaye Scholer congratulates the 2012 First Chair Award Recipients

www.kayescholer.com Chicago | Frankfurt | London | Los Angeles | Palo Alto | New York | Shanghai | Washington, DC | West Palm Beach

Copyright 4-2012, Kaye Scholer, LLP. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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37

Careers

Count on Us. Count on More.

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Overhead is not the only issue. Many experienced attorneys built a practice and grew up at a platform that has grown from a local firm to an international firm over the last two decades.

Often, the platform that an attorney started on bears no resemblance to the platform at which the attorney practices today. The value I provide for many of my clients is to help them understand today’s market and align their practice with a more advantageous platform.

For sake of illustrating these three attributes of the right platform, let’s suppose Partner A has been at his firm for the past 20 years. Over that period of time the firm has grown by 2,000 lawyers and now has offices around the world. As a result of his firm’s growth, his billable rate has gone up from $650 to $775 in the past few years. Partner A has over $2MM in business originations each year and all of his clients are middle market businesses located in the Midwest, which was the typical firm client before it became a member of BigLaw. Partner A is getting push-back from his clients on the rate increase.

On the other hand, let’s suppose Partner B is at the same firm as Partner A and they started in the same year at the firm. Partner B has developed a large international practice in a niche practice area. Like Partner A, Partner B’s billable rate has gone up from $650 to $775 in the past few years.

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ILLINOIS

Partner B has over $2MM in originations each year and all of his clients are large international businesses.

In this scenario, Partner B appears to be on the right platform. Partner B’s practice requires attorneys in international offices. If Partner B was on a platform that did not have international offices where his client needed work performed he would lose those originations to a local foreign counsel that his client would need to hire for certain projects. Moreover, Partner B’s client base is comprised of large companies that are prepared to absorb high legal fees for the type of work performed by Partner B at a BigLaw firm.

On the other hand, Partner A is likely no longer on the right platform. While he grew up at his firm, it no longer follows same business model.

Partner A has no use for the international offices (or the large overhead) of his newly BigLaw firm.

Partner A should likely move to a firm with offices in the key Midwest areas where his clients do regular business and reduce his billing rate back to $650 or lower. Partner A’s $2MM in originations will be worth much more to a regional law firm that has absorbed talent over the last five years and could better service Partner A’s middle market client base.

MICHIGAN

WASHINGTON DC

If, after reading this, you think you resemble Partner A or you feel that your current platform is not meeting the three key requirements that I discussed here, there are a wide range of considerations to think about before deciding if your current firm is the right home for you and platform for your career.

For an individual consultation to discuss your career in the strictest of confidences, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at jennifersara@ nateanddot.com or 312-420-6322.

Fitness

Legal Training:

7 Tips For A Great 30-

Minute Workout

Author: Kurt Rawlins

You walk through the front door at 9:00 p.m., stressed and exhausted from a long day of work. You throw your bag on the couch, slowly slip off your shoes, and sit down to grab a bite. You’d love to eat dinner with your spouse and kids, but the kids are asleep and your spouse ate two hours ago. It’s been one of those days where you question whether you have enough gas in the tank to pick up a fork. After a quick nibble, though, you’re back to work. After all, the contract has to be done by tomorrow morning, and you know you might not sleep much tonight.

Sound familiar? Even if your day isn’t quite the same, there’s a very good chance you’re busier than most people. It’s no secret lawyers work long hours – including irregular hours and weekends. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 33% of full-time lawyers work 50 or more hours per week.

When work consumes a lot of your time, you absolutely have to be efficient outside of it. You have to ask yourself, do I really have time to attend a 90-minute hot yoga class or 75-minute spin class? Maybe you do, and that’s great. But there are more efficient ways to get the results you want. Enter the 30-minute workout.

Short workouts are effective, and there’s proof. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2000 had two different groups of people do the same volume of resistance training. The first group did

the entire workout in one day, while the other group spread the workout over three days. All participants were experienced trainees. The workout consisted of three sets; Group One did all three sets one day per week, while Group Two did one set three days per week. Group One, on average, gained four pounds of muscle, while Group Two gained more than double that at nine pounds.

Also Group One achieved only 62 percent of the strength improvements of Group Two.

So who cares? You should. The take home here is that short, frequent workouts are infinitely more effective than long, infrequent routines. And there’s a good chance you have plenty of time. Get to the gym, work your tail off for 30 minutes, and then leave. The results will follow.

Now you’re probably thinking, ”Great, but how am I supposed to get a real workout in 30 minutes? I can barely finish in an hour.” I’ve come up with a quick list of tips to help you achieve great results in virtually no time.

“If you find yourself lacking energy, if your clothes are

fitting a little tighter, or if you are just tired of looking down at your stomach and hating life, remember those precious 30 minutes. They can make a HUGE difference.”

Check this out: 1. Stop going to the drinking fountain so often. I promise you won’t die of thirst. Get a quick sip before your workout and maybe one between circuits, but that’s it. The drinking fountain is one of the best ways to saunter slowly around the gym and waste time. And if you don’t already do it or haven’t already thought about it – bring your own water!

Pia Norman Thompson and

Gould & Ratner LLP are pleased to honor all of the

2011 First Chair Recipients

2. Quit talking to your gym friends during workouts. My favorite scene is the bench press, where 4-5 guys will just hang around the bench and do 5 sets each but take 10 minutes of rest between sets. I’m always curious whether they notice they look exactly the same as they did 5 years ago. One of the best ways to avoid gym banter is the iPod. It’s a clear sign you’re in the zone and don’t want anyone interrupting your workout. Combine this with limiting eye contact with other gym patrons, and you have a formula for a quick, effective workout.

3. Time your rest periods. You’d be surprised how fast 30 seconds or 1 minute goes. I can’t stress this enough. Use your watch, or the stopwatch on your smartphone. You simply cannot take long rest periods and get an effective workout. If you’re doing a circuit, you only need 15-30 seconds between exercises. Strength work still only merits 90-120 seconds of rest.

4. Make your sets count. Most if not all of your exercises should be highcalorie burn, multi-joint exercises. Think push-ups, presses, rows, pull-ups, pulldowns, squats, deadlifts, lunges, step-ups, and their variations. Core work should include planks, side planks, and some low ab work like pelvic tilts. Ditch the bicep curls, tricep extensions, and lateral raises.

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE 4816-6858-5743, v. 1

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Fitness

5. Quit counting reps. Instead, time your work and rest periods.

One great combination is 30 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest, or a “30-10”. For more advanced trainees, 45-15 or 60-15 workouts are very challenging. There are several ways to design your circuit. You can pick 2-3 exercises, do 2-3 rounds, and then move on to a new circuit. You can also design a large circuit of 8-10 exercises, do the entire sequence once, and then repeat.

Here’s an example: Squat for 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds then into…

Push-ups for 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds, then into…

TRX row for 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds… for 3 rounds Next circuit: Weighted step-up Plank Overhead press

Congratulations to Janice Block and Kaplan Inc.

6. Do a descending ladder. This is incredibly simple yet effective.

Choose one upper body exercise and one lower body exercise.

Start with 12 reps of one exercise, followed by 12 reps of the other, with no rest in between. Now go back to the first exercise and do 11 reps, followed by 11 reps of the other – again with no rest in between. Do this all the way until you reach 1 rep. Depending on the exercises, I’ve seen ladders completed in less than 4 minutes.

You could feasibly do one ladder followed by 8-10 minutes of core work, followed by another ladder. Be careful, though. Ladders are brutally effective but can also cause incredible soreness! Use them sparingly as a switch -up to your standard workout.

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7. Keep cardio short and intense.

Everyone has heard of intervals, but most people do not know how to do them for fat loss. The simplest combination is 1 minute fast alternating with 2 minutes slow. Fast means about 80-90% of your top sprinting speed, and slow means a fairly easy pace to catch your breath. The best machines for intervals are the treadmill and stationary bike.

The elliptical and stairclimber are fine, but not ideal. DO NOT use the “interval” setting on the machine you are using. This will give you random periods of intensity and will not help with fat loss. If you do an interval correctly, you should be fairly wiped out after 25 minutes, which is when you should stop. If you can continue after 25 minutes, then the next time you do an interval you need to either increase your speed or shorten your slow period to 90 seconds.

I hope these tips help you on your quest for fitness and health in a time-consuming world.

About the Author: Kurt Rawlins is a fitness professional, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Certified Sports Nutritionist, and author. Visit his website at www. kurtrawlinsfitness.com to sign up for his free e-newsletter with valuable fitness and nutrition tips.

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Washington, D.C. www.dowlohnes.com/education

Atlanta, GA

Serving the higher education community for more than 30 years.

Fashion

A Working Wardrobe

Authors: hope katz and jenelle chalmers

“You want to use your wardrobe to portray professionalism and intelligence.”

The age old question, “What should I wear today?” rears its ugly head time and time again. Putting together the appropriate work wardrobe is no small feat.

Just when you think you have it down, the seasons change, your boss invites you to dinner, or your department announces an impromptu cocktail party, and you’re back to square one with nothing to wear. With over twenty years of combined experience tackling this question day after day, we wanted to impart the wisdom we’ve gained from practicing at large law firms and now as in-house counsel.

The Basics

Many of you reading this article are in-house counsel or a partner in a law firm, so presumably you have been practicing for a few years and already have a basic work wardrobe. Nonetheless, if morning after morning you find yourself staring at your closet full of clothes with a feeling of despair, then you need to re-evaluate and acquire some go-to pieces that are comfortable, look great, and don’t require a lot of effort.

Nothing screams corporate chic more than a black shift dress (think a LBD for work). A sleeveless or cap sleeve version provides versatility; you can wear it with a button-down shirt underneath for a more formal look, or with a cardigan on top to soften it up or add a pop of color. For the winter months, top it with a blazer and add thick tights. For summer, all you need with it is a chic set of heels. Adding a belt is another way to bring in color or add a unique look to your ensemble. A black shift is also a great transition piece for those days when you are going from the office straight to a cocktail hour, dinner with colleagues, or an evening social event. This dress may be considered an investment piece that will last for years to come. However, you do not need to spend a lot of money to look like you did. Fit is the most important, so it is worth trying several styles to see what complements your shape the best.

Next, don’t underestimate the utility of a well-fitting white button down. We’re sure this isn’t the first time you’ve seen the white button down listed as an essential, but it’s well worth repeating. In fact, we recommend having a few in your closet from which you can choose.

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

A crisp white button-down provides limitless options and looks good on just about any body type. Tucked into skirts or pants, it’s a no brainer for more formal occasions like court appearances or client meetings.

For those work occasions when you have a bit more flexibility, consider wearing a longer version (along the lines of a tunic), belted, with straight leg pants or with a few buttons open showing a chunky pearl or statement necklace. You can even borrow from your husband’s closet and replace the wrist buttons with knotted cuff links. The key is finding a shape that works well with your body type and avoiding those that look too boxy.

Blazers tend to go in and out of fashion when it comes to haute couture, but they are always en vogue for lawyers. We’re not talking about the kind that match your suit pants, but stand-alone pieces that provide you with versatility. A black tuxedo blazer looks good with just about anything. Try pairing one with a soft-textured shirt and pencil skirt for a more formal, put together look, or with a thin cashmere sweater and jeans for casual Fridays. A knitted or corduroy blazer has a nice preppy appeal. And who doesn’t love a great set of elbow patches? If you’re lucky enough to have a casual day at work here and there, then these blazers are excellent pairings. A gray blazer is also a good staple and will be easy to wear with all those black pants in your closet. Rather than wear a white shirt underneath, opt for a pastel color to liven things up.

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Fashion

Cross-Over

Managing two separate wardrobes, one for work and one for personal life, is time consuming and expensive. It is important to find work pieces that can easily be transitioned to a dinner out with friends or a weekend brunch, and the tie-front blouse is just the piece. You couldn’t flip through a fashion magazine this past winter without seeing this throwback. Tied up and tucked into a pencil skirt, it looks professional yet feminine for work. Tucked into flared jeans with heels, or untucked with black pencil pants, it’s two great weekend looks in one. We’ve already seen some coveted versions in bright colors, pastels and polka dots for the spring season.

The maxi skirt is another one of our favorites.

We recommend a knit flowy version for the remaining winter months. This comfortable piece can easily be transformed into corporate attire by adding a fitted blazer on top with flats or loafers (no heels, please).

They key to making the maxi skirt transition for work is to consider proportions and not wear anything that is too baggy or chunky on top. For the spring, we are seeing many different versions of the maxi skirt, most notably a knife -pleated version which looks great with a classic cardigan or silky blouse. Transitioning these skirts into wearable weekend pieces is as easy as finding a fitted tee and great belt.

Faux Pas

We couldn’t write an article about what to wear to work without discussing what not to wear. As a general rule, be cautious about wearing head-to-toe snug fitting clothes. You want to use your wardrobe to portray professionalism and intelligence and not flaunt your other assets; that’s what the weekend is for. But we’re not suggesting you wear frumpy clothes. Fitted pieces are flattering and appropirate when they are set off with the right counterpart. If you’re wearing a tighter fitting pencil skirt, set it off with a boxier jacket on top or a silky looser-fitting blouse. A shrunken blazer is corporate chic when paired with a straight leg (that is not too tight), wide leg flowing pants, or a fuller skirt. And it goes without saying that showing any cleavage or mid-drift is out. If that’s news to you, you may have already set off alarms with HR.

! s n o i t a l u t a r g Con Greenberg Traurig would like to congratulate all of this year’s First Chair Award Recipients. We are proud to support First Chair in its mission to unite attorneys in private practice with their in-house peers through the common goals of networking and recognizing the accomplishments of the best and brightest in the legal profession.

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Shoes can make or break an outfit and should never be taken for granted. Even if you are on a limited budget, your shoes should be wellmaintained and appropriate with your outfit. A pair of worn shoes can ruin the whole look that you spent so much time putting together, and a clunky shoe can destroy a sleek looking outfit.

With summer only a few months away, we’d be remiss to leave out the number one work offender-- the sandal. We challenge anyone to show us a lawyer who has pulled this off. If you just can’t resist showing your co-workers your perfectly polished toenails, try a peep toe as an alternative. A good rule of thumb is that if your toes are exposed, then your heels should be covered, and vise versa. Unless you are an attorney working for Vogue or a fashion house (and if you are, we are so jealous!), sandals should not be worn in the workplace, period.

We don’t expect that this one article will provide you with all of your wardrobe answers but we hope this helped get you on the right track if you weren’t already there.

• •

About the Authors: Hope Katz is Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Hitachi Consulting Corporation, the global business and IT consulting company of Hitachi, Ltd. Jenelle Chalmers is Assistant General Counsel at Gogo LLC, a leader of in-flight connectivity and a pioneer of wireless in-flight digital entertainment solutions.

42

Fashion

Author: JOSH GLAZOV

Clothes make the man “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Mark Twain said it over 100 years ago. What you wear is your packaging. It signals a lot about you. It shouldn’t. But it does. Ask yourself: will you get a different reaction to a Tiffany solitaire presented in a No. 10 envelope instead of a robin egg blue box with a white ribbon? Here are the basics and a launch beyond.

Basic Traditional Business

Basic Business Casual

•

•

Dark solid suit. Start with navy blue or gray in 100% worsted wool. What the little black dress is to a woman, the solid dark suit is to a man. You can wear it to the counsel table, an interview, Congressional testimony, or a friend’s wedding. After you acquire this basic piece, add suits in lighter shades and different colors, such as tan for the summer. Pinstripes are the best way to ease into patterns.

•

White or light blue solid dress shirt. Start with a standard point collar, or add sophistication with an English cutaway collar. Reserve button-downs for more casual wear. Again, stripes are your best way to add pattern, particularly pencil stripes. Then it’s multicolored stripes and checks and the more pronounced checks like block and gingham. And more colors: ecru, pink, lavender, and yellows.

•

Silk necktie. Start with solids in burgundy and blue. Then branch out into other colors and patterns. Use the traditional four-in hand knot. It’s easy to tie and always looks good.

•

Shoes, Belt, and Socks. The rule is: with your suit wear lace-up shoes. The black captoe balmoral/oxford is the most traditional and most appropriate. But that ancient tradition has lately yielded, so that brown and oxblood shoes, and shoes perforated with brouging, are fine with your suits, too. The color of your belt should approximate your shoes -- black with black, brown with brown. And if the color of your socks must approximate your trousers or your shoes, approximating your trousers is the more flattering.

Odd Jackets. The blue blazer is classic and versatile. There are few things that this solid blue jacket doesn’t complement.

Traditional blazers have metal buttons, but that can be a bit much.

It’s nothing for your tailor to re-button this jacket.

•

Shirts. Button-downs in light blue, ecru, and pink oxford cloth will keep you looking good. We find white a little too sharp and a little too fraternity row for the workplace. Add colors and patterns as mentioned above. But in a casual environment, you can be bolder with each. And don’t forget turtlenecks.

•

Knitwear. Start with a blue and a gray sweater, either crew or v-neck. Both work well. Just ensure that they aren’t too baggy.

Sweater vest v-necks complement a casual ensemble and can add an extra layer on cold days. But if you’re concerned about looking outdated, wear them only with your jacket on.

•

Solid Gray Flannels Trousers. These are classic and superversatile. Dress them up with a dark odd jacket or down with a v-neck sweater or an oxford cloth button-down shirt. Then add on blues, browns, greens, and other materials like gabardine, worsted wool, corduroy, and linen for the summer

•

Shoes. Your options for casual shoes are many. All the mainstay colors work – black, brown, and burgundy through brown – and burgundy suggests more casual. Styles available include derbies/ bluchers, monkstraps, and all sorts of slip-ons: tassel loafers (a/k/a lawyer shoes), mocs, and horsebits. And when it comes to taking shoes casual with elegance, nothing beats suede.

“Save your black suit for night clubs and funerals.”

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43

Fashion

Duane Morris is prouD to sponsor

First Chair

Duane Morris LLP, a full-service law firm with more than 700 attorneys in offices across the United States and around the world, offers innovative solutions to the legal and business challenges presented by today’s evolving global markets.

For more information, please contact: Brian p. Kerwin, Partner P: 312.499.6737 | bpkerwin@duanemorris.com rachael G. pontiKes, Partner P: 312.499.6757 | rgpontikes@duanemorris.com

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Tailoring

A good tailor is indispensable, but to maximize what a tailor can do you need to know what you want. Here are some things to remember:

•

Collar. The collar of your jacket should fit snugly around the collar of your shirt with no gap showing between the two. At the back of your neck, your shirt collar should rise about half an inch above your jacket collar.

Waist. Ready-to-wear jackets are usually made too wide in the middle to accommodate both larger and more slender physiques.

Ask the tailor to suppress the waist for a more fitted and more flattering silhouette.

Sleeves. Adjust your jacket sleeve so a quarter to a half of an inch of your shirt cuff shows out the bottom.

Seat and Legs. Trouser fit should allow you too stand, walk, and sit without discomfort and without being too baggy or saggy.

Trouser Cuff. How much of a break to have where the trouser meets the shoe, and whether to cuff trouser bottoms or leave them plain, are matters best left to personal preference. But whatever you prefer, ensure you aren’t walking about with pools of material down about your ankles.

•

• • •

www.duanemorris.com

Stray Remarks

•

Blue and gray are neutral and foundation colors. Starting with pieces in each--suits, jackets, trousers--you can build and add allowing you to leverage a modest closet into a manifold wardrobe.

Blue with gray, and gray with blue, are also a perennially superlative combinations.

• • •

Save your black suit for night clubs and funerals.

Keep your shirt lighter than your suit and your necktie, unless you’re trying to look like a gangster.

Avoid shiny neckties during the day, “novelty” ties (e.g., logos, flowers, cartoon characters), and big knots, especially when knotted too loosely. Solid ties work well with shirts that have a lot of pattern.

“Want to know if a guy is well dressed? Look down,” said Esquire’s George Frazier. That is, wear well -made shoes with classic style.

If they have elongated, pointy, or boxy toes (the ones that look like a duck’s bill), don’t wear them. And keep your shoes well polished and maintained at all times.

•

Learning More Developing your style is about learning the rules. Mastering your style is learning how to break them. To learn more try:

•

Books: Dressing the Man by Allan Flusser, Gentleman by Bernhard Roetzel, and The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men’s Style by Nicholas Antongiovanni.

•

Blogs: The archives of A Suitable Wardrobe and Permanent Style.

About the Author: Joshua Glazov is a partner in the Construction Law Practice Group at Much Shelist. His full biography is available at www.muchshelist.com.

44

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Nate & Dot Consulting/Recruiting, LLC 333 West North Avenue Suite 257 Chicago, IL 60610 P: 312-420-6322 E: jennifersara@nateanddot.com www.nateanddot.com

“Next to excellence is the appreciation of it.”

Dykema salutes all of this year’s First Chair Award winners. We celebrate your ingenuity, hard work and commitment to being the best.

We’re particularly honored to work closely with several First Chair Award recipients…

• Robyn Alexander, J. Kal Gibron, Susan Scalzo, Marianne Simonini—Sears Holdings Corporation • Nancy Paridy—Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago • Kurt Stepaniak—KONE Inc. • Maria Scherer—Ares Management (formerly Wrightwood Capital) • John Wooton—Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, Inc. ...and so many other First Chair Award winners from clients such as Bridgestone Firestone, Chevron Corporation, Cole Taylor Bank, Constellation NewEnergy, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., BMO Harris, Loyola University Health System, Motorola Mobility, Inc., Navistar, Potbelly Sandwich Works, St. Joseph Health System and Verizon Wireless.

With such exemplary names celebrated in this year’s First Chair Awards, we are proud to be known by the company we keep.

Celebrating excellence. Dykema delivers.

www.dykema.com California | Illinois | Michigan | North Carolina | Texas | Washington, D.C. © 2012 Dykema Gossett PLLC Attorney Advertising

UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

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UNITING LEGAL COMMUNITIES TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE

AWARDS EVENT

08.29.12 CHICAGO For more information about the event please go to

www.firstchairawards.com 48

The Highest Marks.

Drinker Biddle congratulates our friends at Kaplan Higher Education for their continued excellence and recognition.

Top In-House Legal Department Top General Counsel Award, Janice Block Rising Star Award, Lisa Seilheimer

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