Modern Counsel #35

Abiman Rajadurai draws upon his basketball experience to promote teamwork, inclusion, and reciprocity at McDonald’s Corporation P44

Abiman Rajadurai shares how he builds a sense of belonging in his role at McDonald’s Corporation P44

Implement

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Although Christine Turcotte never set out to become a lawyer, the veteran lawyer is now flourishing as senior counsel of litigation at Phillips 66

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Maggie Mettler draws on her marketing experience as well as her time in private practice and in Silicon Valley to lead with passion at Yum! Brands

Feature

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Lauren Buford talks litigation, diversity, and culture shock in private practice and how that prepared her for the in-house role she has today at Walgreens

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Nicholas Murray draws upon personal experience to create equity for those with underrepresented backgrounds at Twilio

Lead

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As the first in-house employment lawyer at Nuro, Shweta Gera has a unique opportunity to build her team from the ground up as the company undergoes rapid growth

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John UyHam works on global mergers and acquisitions, navigating and negotiating across different cultures, while maintaining Coca-Cola’s core values

Robert Seale (Turcotte), Tyler Mallory (Buford), John Disney (UyHam)

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Pivot

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Stereotypically, men may be less likely than women to adjust a career path for family. But that precedent doesn’t apply to Matt Jubenville of Midland Credit Management.

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Carole Boelitz salutes her time in the military for instilling values that have guided her career as executive director of IP at Lenovo

Focus

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Jeffrey Harradine spent more than sixteen years in private practice before joining the hometown team he always admired: Xerox

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Rebecca Hussey embraces the excitement of each new challenge in her role as associate general counsel of government relations at Crown Castle

Evaluate

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Claire Battle uses past experiences and knowledge to lead a new generation as senior managing counsel at CNH Industrial

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Veteran securities attorney Paul Cellupica is doing more than protecting PIMCO—he’s also battling discrimination in the legal profession and beyond

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Empowerment is more than a

corporate buzzword. Instead, in today’s climate, the practice should be seen as a necessity for peak job performance, employee satisfaction and retention, fueling creativity, and more.

According to a recent meta-analysis appearing in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, empowering leaders had more productive employees. In fact, leaders who were perceived as empowering were more inclined to collaborate with others on decision-making tasks, which resulted in greater employee confidence and initiative in the workplace. Workers were also more likely to trust leaders who they perceived as empowering. Increased trust resulted in less uncertainty and a greater sense of safety, which encouraged employees to take risks, assume greater leadership roles, and take on new responsibilities.

In Modern Counsel’s fifth annual Empowerment issue, we highlight executives who have embodied extraordinary strength and confidence throughout their storied legal careers. They are passionate advocates for representation, focusing on a wide range of issues relating to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Leaders including Visa’s Denise Yee, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Isabela Lubert, Chime’s Sumit Mallick, and Twilio’s Nicholas Murray take a thoughtful approach to complex issues to ensure fair treatment in the workplace for their teams.

For cover star Abiman Rajadurai, building a sense of belonging as a top labor and employment lawyer at McDonald’s Corporation is personal. Born in India, the attorney moved to the US at the young age of two. His father’s job took him to several new midwestern cities, causing him to feel like an outsider. His interest in playing basketball ultimately helped Rajadurai learn about teamwork, inclusion, and reciprocity. Being part of a team gave him a sense of belonging, and he says that he uses many of the lessons he learned from the game in the work he does today.

“Sports brings people together because you have to work as one in pursuit of a common goal,” he reflects. “I’ve learned to find commonalities across differences in my life, and I bring the same approach to my career.”

Rajadurai and the other featured in-house counsel in this issue serve as wonderful examples of the importance and value of empowering employees. They are passionate about using their own personal and professional experiences to encourage their colleagues to thrive, ultimately serving as stewards for the next generation of diverse legal trailblazers.

Brittany Farb Gruber Managing Editor

Sheila Barabad Sarmiento

Celebrating legal leaders’ latest efforts and achievements, including transactions, expansions, negotiations, and inclusion initiatives

Into the Unknown

WAQAS DURRANI HAS CHARTED unknown territory for as long as he can remember. Sometimes, it was because he had to—like when he was three years old, and his family emigrated from Pakistan to the US in search of freedom of speech. And other times, it was by choice—such as when he earned his master’s degree in journalism after graduating law school. But no matter what, his purpose was clear: he wanted to shed light on the truth.

“It was very clear when I was growing up that journalists were restrained by the Pakistani government, and having a government control over media

By Marcos Chisholm

results in one story being put out,” Durrani says. “When you’re a close society like that, you don’t have access to information, so you want to have that one source of truth.”

Durrani figured out an important lesson early in his career: the journey to success is not a linear path. While his law school classmates became attorneys and launched legal careers, he was working to get his foot in the door at the New York Times and Washington Post as a journalist.

He joined an office supplies start-up as a contract attorney to pay the bills and ended up being immersed into

the world of M&A. Then the dot-com bubble hit. And after the start-up went public, it filed for bankruptcy.

So, Durrani returned home to Chicago to join Allstate as assistant counsel. “To be honest, I didn’t know much about insurance at the time, but I got the opportunity to work for great leaders,” he remembers.

Once Durrani landed this opportunity, he continued his dynamic career journey. From serving as an enterprise antitrust attorney handling government affairs to managing the legal affairs of every Allstate product as chief product attorney, he wore a number of hats in

Waqas Durrani figured out early on that the path to success didn’t have to be linear. His diverse array of experience shaped him into the leader he is today at USAA.

Waqas Durrani SVP of Enterprise Shared Services USAA

his sixteen years at the Fortune 500 insurance juggernaut. And some of the opportunities pushed him outside of his comfort zone.

“I’m naturally an introvert,” Durrani says. “So being responsible for walking into a room of strangers and building relationships is probably one of the scariest things anyone asked me to do.”

Durrani may be quiet by nature. However, his performance is anything but. The zigzags in his career helped him excel as a lawyer and a leader.

Just consider what he’s accomplished since joining USAA, a Fortune 500 organization that serves the military community as one of the nation’s leading financial services and insurance companies.

After he started in 2017 as an assistant vice president and managing attorney who focused on insurance, USAA tapped Durrani to oversee major M&A transactions, including a $1 billion deal with Victory Capital and a $1.8 billion deal with Charles Schwab. To accomplish this, he had to build an M&A legal team internally and lead USAA through uncharted territory. He already knew from stepping outside of his comfort zone in past roles how to turn challenges into opportunities.

What’s more impressive than Durrani’s résumé chops is that he’s the antithesis to the classic corporate lawyer stereotype. Sure, he can nerd out over a few technicalities and dives deep into the terms and conditions before parties sign on the dotted line. However, he fosters relationships across departments and emphasizes the importance of partnership and a solutions-oriented approach in the deal-making process.

“One of the things I used to joke with a partner I had is sometimes the legal department gets known as the department of no,” Durrani says. “My direction to my team is they’re not allowed to say no unless someone is looking

“My direction to my team is they’re not allowed to say no unless someone is looking to do something that’s a violation of the law . . . Our goal is to then be creative and figure out how to achieve the business’s goal while also managing any legal or compliance risk.”

to do something that’s a violation of the law. After that, we can’t say no. Our goal is to then be creative and figure out how to achieve the business’s goal while also managing any legal or compliance risk.”

His leadership and partnership expertise led to his recent promotion to senior vice president, leading USAA’s shared services team, which includes including technology and transactions, privacy and data security, labor and employment, and CFO counsel.

If you need more evidence that Durrani is more than just a legal gatekeeper, look no further than how he leads his team. When he encourages his employees to be themselves at work, he means it. Communication between him and his staff members is such an open two-way street that it gives a whole new meaning to servant leadership.

“There’s a lot of talk now about psychological safety. That’s something I’ve been talking for years,” Durrani says. “As leaders, we have challenges. Sometimes I’m very open about my own personal challenges.

“I think that was particularly important during the pandemic, and we were all kinds of in uncharted territory,” he continues. “We have our own personal struggles, and I encourage everyone to share those with each other and with the team. I think that’s really created a great dynamic.”

Christine Turcotte

Senior Counsel of Litigation Phillips 66

Robert Seale

Road to the Top

Although Christine Turcotte never set out to become a lawyer, she’s flourishing as senior counsel of litigation at Phillips 66

By Zach Baliva

AS SENIOR COUNSEL OF LITIGATION FOR Phillips 66, Christine Turcotte holds a top in-house role at a multinational energy company. The high-profile position affords her the opportunity to guide overall business strategy and contribute to a wide variety of matters, including complex commercial litigation, catastrophic disaster emergency responses, international arbitration, and issues related to federal energy regulation.

No law class, summer internship, training program, or professional development seminar can fully prepare someone to handle these nuanced proceedings in a specialized field. To find success, Turcotte charted her own course.

Turcotte entered the University of Florida on a premed track, but a business law elective piqued her interest. She explored a budding passion for the study of law by interning with the Florida State Attorney’s Office for the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Turcotte, then a sociology major, assisted in the penalty phase for “The Gainesville Ripper” Danny Rolling, who murdered five students in 1990. Rolling inspired the Scream franchise and died by lethal injection in 2006.

The experience gave the young Turcotte a look into many aspects of the court system. After completing her undergraduate studies, she briefly worked at an insurance company, followed by a two-year stint at a claims management firm in Florida, which added insight about the efforts of outside counsel and life at a law firm.

When a former colleague tried to leave the insurance company, a noncompete clause prevented his exit. Turcotte researched strategies for him to comply with the agreement, and the exercise solidified her interest in becoming a lawyer. She enrolled in Loyola University College of Law in her native New Orleans.

Turcotte’s circumstances forced her to take a nontraditional path. After successfully putting herself through undergrad and working on campus all four years, she left the insurance world to join a law firm allowing her to work as a law clerk by day and take courses by night. She finished law school in three years and stayed with the boutique firm.

“Being at a small firm with supportive partners was the perfect way to officially start my career, because they gave me immediate hands-on experience,” she says. In fact, Turcotte appeared in court right away. Sworn in on the spot, she acquired trial experience during her first year, all while starting a family.

As Turcotte progressed, she developed an interest in energy and maritime law. That meant a change was likely on the horizon. “If you want to practice oil and gas, all roads lead to Houston,” she says. She switched firms and states, moving to Texas to pursue new career goals.

After a decade spent honing her craft in energy litigation, and making partner at a respected Texas firm, Turcotte felt ready to make the leap in-house. In 2010, she took a job as senior counsel litigation

with ConocoPhillips. In 2012, its board of directors approved a spin-off of the downstream/midstream business to make Phillips 66 a standalone company. Turcotte became part of that legal team, assuming responsibility for a varied litigation docket, including some of the company’s highest profile matters.

At first, the legal team at Phillips 66 rushed to address a “hodgepodge” of issues across the US and Canada. Turcotte spent her first year adjusting to the new structure and earning the trust of the new management team by handling a diverse docket of environmental

matters, IP issues, maritime claims, and contract disputes. Along the way, she continued to inherit large, high-profile, multiyear matters. The diverse experience she built over her long career, earning her the nickname the “one-off queen,” allowed her to take the lead. “I’ve always leaned on my background and work ethic and try to heavily engage in my matters, both with my business clients and outside counsel,” she says.

The size and strength of Phillips 66 helps make that possible. The public company employs more than 13,000 employees and commands over

$100 billion in annual revenue. While her counterparts at smaller companies wear many hats, Turcotte solely focuses on managing litigation and takes an active role when partnering with outside firms. Turcotte cocounsels on every matter she handles, directing strategy, prepping witnesses, playing an active role in trials, and spearheading every major decision.

When ConocoPhillips spun off Phillips 66, Turcotte assumed responsibility for an ongoing international arbitration regarding the purchase of crude oil from PDVSA, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company. Her team successfully exercised a call option yielding the acquisition of a critical asset for zero dollars and the termination of the parties’ joint venture, followed by multiyear look-back arbitrations.

While maritime and admiralty cases once accounted for most of her work, those issues are less common at Phillips 66. Particularly as the company evolved into a diversified midstream and downstream business that purchases, processes, and ships crude oil and natural gas products, while also owning and operating pipelines. Thus, once again, she must stay open to the process of continuous learning. She now spends most of her time interacting with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on pipeline regulatory litigation.

As Phillips 66 and Turcotte head into the future, she’s continually reassessing strategy and looking at additional ways to add value. Turcotte successfully brought suit against other companies, such as enforcing a right of first refusal to acquire an asset, or more recently, pursuing reparations as a commercial shipper against pipeline owners.

“I expect this to become an important part of our overall strategy going

YOUR COUNSEL

forward, as we face increasing constraints on the energy sector and the attendant economic, political, and social pressures,” she predicts.

In many ways, Turcotte does what she’s always done by assessing the landscape and relying on her own instincts to carry her forward. Looking back, she says it was her clients, opposed to fellow lawyers, who helped her the most throughout her career.

“My internal business partners worked with me in an inclusive way to help me learn the energy industry and their specific business unit needs and goals so we could find creative ways to solve the problems that faced our company and generate value for our shareholders,” she explains.

For anyone seeking to follow in her footsteps, Turcotte’s advice is simple. “Hone your skills as a trial lawyer or practitioner,” she says. “I’m living proof that anyone can learn and adapt to a new industry or area of law, but you can’t learn how to be a good trial lawyer or in-house litigator in a book. You have to develop those skills over time, and by making a few mistakes along the way.”

That’s what Turcotte has done. And now, she’s at the top of her game in a volatile, complex, and interesting industry.

Glynn, Finley, Mortl, Hanlon & Friedenberg LLP:

“Christine is as tough as she is smart. She gets cases resolved, but when they need to be tried, she has no fear. She’s an enormous asset to her clients, and we love working with her.”

—Adam Friedenberg, Partner

Venable LLP:

“Venable celebrates Christine Turcotte. It has been an honor to work with Christine in the continuation of our long-standing partnership with Phillips 66. Venable proudly recognizes her accomplishments and contributions to Phillips 66’s success.”

—Steven Adducci and Dick Powers, Partners

We applaud Christine for her achievements and we are extremely proud of our partnership with Phillips 66.

Honored to work with Phillips 66

Adams and Reese is proud to be a partner with Phillips 66. We congratulate Christine Turcotte on the well-deserved recognition of her leadership.

Learn more at adamsandreese.com.

For the Love of the Game

College pitcher turned Chevron in-house counsel Zach Hughes on the overlaps between baseball and law

By Zach Baliva

ATTORNEYS ARE COMPETITIVE BY nature, and many like to brag about their worthwhile contributions and hard-earned accomplishments. Many can say they’ve won a major case or landed a big client. Some can point to a multimillion-dollar judgment. Although Zach Hughes can claim several kudos on that list, he’s also done something few other lawyers have done: he’s stared down a five-time Major League Baseball All-Star.

Hughes, who was raised in Houston, attended Vanderbilt University, where he studied speech communication and pitched for the Vanderbilt

Commodores. The first batter he faced in the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament during his freshman season was none other than the University of Tennessee’s Todd Helton, who went on to enjoy a seventeen-year career with the Colorado Rockies with a career batting average of .316, including a National League batting title in 2000. Hughes never made the big leagues, although he jokes that his earned run average (ERA) was twice as high as his GPA, but he enjoyed toeing the rubber across from the best competitors in college sports. “I’m grateful that I got to pitch in front of big crowds and face

future major leaguers,” he reflects. Even though a long career in baseball wasn’t in the cards, Hughes loved just being a part of the game—and that’s something he’s carried into his work as a lawyer.

ERA jokes aside, illness and injury contributed to the end of Hughes’s MLB dreams. He applied to law school, attended the University of Notre Dame, and returned to Houston as an associate in the Baker Botts litigation group in 2001.

Back at Vanderbilt, Hughes wasn’t a scholarship athlete or a recruited player. After being accepted and enrolling as a student at Vanderbilt, he went to an open tryout, talked his way onto the team, and let his performance earn him playing time. He took the same approach at Baker Botts. Hughes just wanted to be in the game, which for him meant he wanted to try cases. So, he volunteered early and often to take low value cases on an insurance defense docket—mostly car wreck cases. After a year on the job, he was already in the courtroom as a second chair. By his third year, he was trying $500,000 cases as a first-chair attorney. All told, Hughes tried about a dozen cases during his first eight years at Baker Botts.

In 2007, Hughes joined the firm’s pharmaceutical products liability practice group, where he put that valuable courtroom experience to use for larger clients. Before he made partner, he was deposing plaintiffs, working with experts, and playing a significant role in high stakes wrongful death cases regarding Merck’s Vioxx. Hughes developed a niche area in pharma products liability, made partner, and moved to New York to help the firm build its litigation practice in that office.

Ultimately, Hughes was ready for a new challenge and wanted to move his family back to Texas. That’s when he heard

Zach Hughes Senior Counsel, Upstream Law–North America Litigation Management Chevron

about a “large energy company” looking to hire a litigator in Houston. At first, Hughes dismissed the opportunity citing his lack of experience in the oil and gas industry. But when he decided to learn more about the job, he discovered that the company, Chevron, wasn’t looking for an oil and gas law expert and instead wanted someone with real courtroom experience in highstakes litigation. It was a perfect fit, and Hughes joined Chevron in 2013 as part of the team that manages domestic upstream litigation.

Today, Hughes operates as a playermanager. Most of his time is spent directing strategy and working with talented legal professionals at a variety of outside law firms. Together, they take cases as far as they need to go. “We settle when we need to settle, but we’re not afraid to try a case,” he says.

Recently, Hughes and his team worked on cases related to historic operations of Chevron and its legacy companies across Louisiana. He defended Chevron against landowners suing multiple operators for alleged environmental damage. These are often high stakes cases after the Louisiana Supreme Court’s 2003 Corbello decision affirmed a multimillion-dollar environmental award for the plaintiff against Shell.

Hughes says his team relies heavily on scientific experts to determine the environmental condition of these properties and the impact of Chevron’s historical operations. The legal team utilizes that information in its litigation risk analysis for each case.

“Sometimes remediation needs to happen, and Chevron accepts respon-

sibility for that,” he explains. “But we’re not going to pay millions of dollars to plaintiffs when Chevron is not responsible for the alleged damage and/or when we do not believe claimed remediation damages are necessary or will actually be used by plaintiffs to clean up the property.” That was the case in 2021, when Hughes’s team tried a case in Plaquemines Parish that resulted in a unanimous jury verdict awarding no damages to the plaintiff landowner beyond Chevron’s proposed remediation plan that state regulators had already approved, and Chevron had already agreed to pay for.

Although his successes as both a baseball player and a lawyer have most often been on defense, Hughes does occasionally enjoy playing offense. In 2016, Chevron—along with Shell and BP—obtained a $100 million judg-

ment against the US government for reimbursement of remediation costs incurred by oil companies at the McColl Site near Fullerton, California. That judgment was later affirmed by the Federal Circuit, along with a subsequent judgment for $2 million in additional reimbursable costs.

In 2022, Hughes led the Chevron effort in a bench trial that resulted in a 30 percent Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act allocation of past and future remediation costs to the US government arising from its ownership of land in and around the Questa Mine in northern New Mexico, as well as its activities that contributed to the development of the mine and the subsequent placement of the waste rock piles.

“Zach Hughes is in the top-tier of all in-house legal counsel with whom

“I’m grateful that I got to pitch in front of big crowds and face future major leaguers.”

Expertise Spotlight

Susman Godfrey is America’s premier litigation boutique. We have been named the number one litigation boutique in the nation for twelve consecutive years by Vault. In 2022, Benchmark Litigation named us Trial Firm of the Year and Texas Lawyer named us “Mid-Size Firm of the Year.” Our talented group of lawyers handle high-stakes litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants nationwide. We work on both sides of the docket so we know what our opposing counsel is thinking. With more than 150 trial lawyers in 4 offices from coast to coast, we handle the most challenging cases throughout the country. We offer a broad range of creative, flexible-fee structures, which align our and our clients’ interests. Because we often share risk with our clients, evaluating cases accurately is crucial, and we do it early and often.

I work. He is incredibly smart and perceptive, but being book smart only gets you in the door,” says Brian Melton, partner at Susman Godfrey LLP. “Zach is able to digest extremely complex information and boil it down to what really matters.

“Zach possesses the unique ability to stay intimately familiar with the details of our cases,” Melton continues, “yet still be able to step back ten thousand feet and look at the situation from the perspective of his boss, Chevron’s executives, and Chevron’s shareholders. Zach also cares deeply about each person who reports to him. Their respect shows in their interpersonal interactions, and they are motivated to work hard alongside him. He is the ultimate leader as well as a true team player.”

These days, Hughes is coaching his kids’ baseball teams. The experience has taught him something about how to work with his internal and external attorneys. “You can’t have nine shortstops and no pitchers if you want to win baseball games,” he says. At Chevron, he looks to find out what each person on his team does well and then put that person in the right position to maximize his or her success.

Hughes’s litigation teams are protecting Chevron and accomplishing its goals. And while Hughes manages a large docket of cases and doesn’t get to argue much in court anymore, he still loves working a case up for trial with his team and seeing it all the way through. “What can I say? I love being part of the action,” he says. Like many former pitchers, Hughes just can’t walk away from the game.

The PlayerCoach

Whether he’s on the soccer field or in the office, Tim Kinskey always strives to make contributions as both a leader and an employee at Overhead Door Corporation

By Zachary Brown

TIM KINSKEY EMBRACES HIS LOVE FOR coaching on and off the field.

The attorney’s life and career were enhanced after he saw a notice in the church bulletin. A local school soccer team needed a coach. Kinskey volunteered to fill the role even though he had never coached before and didn’t yet have children of his own. Not surprisingly, he flourished in the role and relished the chance to help individuals reach their full potential and come together to excel as a team.

He continued to coach over a dozen teams through the years and grew into an effective mentor and trainer. The lessons Kinskey learned on the field have directly impacted his work as a lawyer throughout his career, and his philosophy as a leader at Overhead Door Corporation.

The idea of the player-coach helped form the leadership philosophy that guides Kinskey in his current roles as vice president, general

counsel, and corporate secretary. “I like to think of myself as a legal player-manager who is ready to guide the team while still making meaningful contributions on the day-to-day,” he says.

Kinskey is the grateful recipient of effective professional training and input from dedicated mentors, and thus understands the value of visible and involved leaders. The Pennsylvania native was always interested in studying English, business, and law. He gravitated toward transactional legal work and practiced finance and real estate law as an associate at Parker Poe before taking an in-house role with Caterpillar (CAT) in 1996.

That marked the beginning of a long and important era in Kinskey’s career, as he ended up staying with the American Fortune 100 manufacturer for nearly twenty-five years. A strong corporate culture, varied professional opportunities, and the chance for continuous learning kept him engaged the whole time. “All CAT employees, including lawyers, always had the chance to develop new skills and new relationships, and that was important to me,” he explains.

During his time with Caterpillar, Kinskey studied Six Sigma, worked abroad in Germany and Switzerland, and earned his MBA at Vanderbilt University. Along the way, he more fully developed his own leadership style as he stepped into defined management roles. After leading mergers and acquisitions and divestments in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Kinskey spent the last decade of his tenure as chief M&A counsel for a team of ten professionals across four global offices. Together,

“My goal is to discover, apply, and recognize each individual’s unique talents and to orchestrate them into cooperative teamwork.”

they handled an annual portfolio of thirty to forty projects worth more than $1 billion. The work required him to adapt his style to match projects, situations, and people globally.

“Adaptive leadership is effective leadership,” the attorney says, adding that he leads from the front, shares risks and hardships, holds himself to high standards, stays consistent, and demonstrates loyalty and commitment.

In 2021, Kinskey joined Overhead Door for the chance to act as general counsel and have a direct and meaningful impact advising its top executives on all legal matters while guiding the legal team. “I’m taking what I learned from a quarter-century at a large, global manufacturer and applying it to help a smaller manufacturer with over one hundred years of innovation scale up and grow,” he says. The company makes and distributes residential and commercial doors and openers, including the Overhead Door, Wayne-Dalton, and Genie brands. The company has over five thousand global employees and is part of the larger Sanwa Holdings Corporation.

Although Kinskey is a transactional lawyer by training, he currently spends a lot of time on patent and trademark enforcement, litigation, and employment matters. The projects help him stay engaged, and his deep M&A experience helps him evaluate and manage risk in these and other areas as he communicates the broader vision to those on his team. “If you’re only managing people and not also fulfilling a legal

role, you’re not staying current,” he explains. “You won’t have much credibility with the people you’re leading because you’re not picking up the pen and actually writing things.”

Kinskey’s legal team of five lawyers handles a high volume of work. He incorporates lessons learned from the soccer field to lead them well. “I think of my team as a collection of superheroes,” he says. “Each one of them has special powers and complementary strengths. My goal is to discover, apply, and recognize each individual’s unique talents and to orchestrate them into cooperative teamwork. There’s no need for rivalries. Just like there are many stars in the sky, everyone on my team can shine.”

It’s all about good coaching from a true player-manager. Together, the lawyers at Overhead Door become a high-performing team capable of accomplishing more than any one individual could do alone.

Baker Botts LLP:

“Tim

—Paul

Cuomo, Partner

Baker Botts is pleased to recognize the achievements of Tim Kinskey and the entire team at Overhead Door

Dream Big

Adam West aims to uplift the company’s innovators through his intellectual property work at Altair

By Natalie Kochanov

MIDWAY THROUGH HIS SENIOR YEAR OF high school, Adam West was struggling to figure out his next step—so he turned to someone he trusted for advice.

“I asked my mom what I should do with my life,” West says. “And without hesitation, she gave me the answer that started me down the path I’m still on today. She said, ‘Adam, go and get an engineering degree, and if you want to go further, go to law school and become a patent attorney.’”

Taking his mother’s directive to heart, West went on to obtain two engineering degrees and a law degree. He now serves as senior counsel and director of intellectual property at multinational

technology company Altair, where he seeks to bolster the efforts of his innovator clients by leveraging his legal expertise and applying lessons from his own technical background.

His mother may have influenced his career trajectory, but West credits his father with motivating him to succeed. A phone company employee, his father put in hard hours working on outdoor lines, no matter the weather. “He was basically fearless when it came to work,” West says. “That really inspired me to stick with my plan.”

That plan saw West get his start at Landon IP, a provider of IP support services. After learning the basics of patent

West

Senior Counsel and Director of IP Altair

“I look for ways to help encourage the technical and innovation folks—the folks who are actually dreaming up the products of tomorrow that are going to generate revenue.”

Adam

research at Landon, West joined audio electronics company HARMAN International as a patent engineer. “The prospect there was to learn more and go further in IP,” he says. “Within a year of me being at HARMAN, they promoted me to patent attorney. It was one of the coolest roles that I could have asked for at that point in my life.”

Following HARMAN’s acquisition by another company, West accepted an IP attorney position at Visteon Corporation. He managed the global technology company’s patent portfolio while pursuing a master’s degree in engineering on the side. In addition to reinforcing his technical expertise, the degree ended up informing the future of his career as an IP attorney.

“I had to do a lot of simulation work using Altair software in one of my courses, and the professor had nothing but really good things to say

about not just the software, but the company in general,” West elaborates. “Then, out of nowhere, Altair sent me a message on LinkedIn to see if I was interested in applying for a role in their legal department.”

West came on board at Altair in September 2020. Since then, he has handled and advised on all IP-related matters— from copyrights, inventions, and trade secrets to acquisitions and licensing agreements. With regard to the latter, he has made it his mission to ensure that Altair’s interests are protected.

“We did a big initiative early on in my tenure to create a whole new OEM template that we’ve now rolled out to all of our different product lines and divisions,” he says. The new agreement template achieves a fairer balance of terms than previous iterations, such that Altair benefits from licensing deals as much as its partners do.

Open-source software has been another major area of focus for West. “The nature of open-source from the legal side is quite complex because it’s an offshoot of many other different areas of law,” he explains. “I’ve been able to develop some processes and programs to help educate the technical community and simplify what they should be doing in relation to the opensource initiative.”

Education and simplification are key components of West’s approach to IP at Altair—and goals he urges aspiring attorneys in the field to adopt. “I look for ways to help encourage the technical and innovation folks—the folks who are actually dreaming up the products of tomorrow that are going to generate revenue,” he says. “I try to remember that when they ask me a question, I need to answer that question, and then if they want to go further and explore

“I’ve taken a lot of the foundational pieces from my technical background and translated them over to my legal practice—for example, the ideas of researching, issuespotting, problem-solving, and adapting communications to my intended audience.”

some of the underlying rationale, we can do that.”

West strives to provide clear and direct counsel that will leave his clients feeling more confident and better informed. He developed this communication style as an undergraduate student in engineering, and it’s a technique that has stayed with him ever since.

“I’ve taken a lot of the foundational pieces from my technical background and translated them over to my legal practice—for example, the ideas of researching, issue-spotting, problem-solving, and adapting communications to my intended audience,” he confirms.

“Adam excels in his role at Altair by combining strong technical and legal expertise with an approachable leadership style,” says Matt Mowers, chief operating officer and shareholder at Quinn IP Law. “He encourages stakeholders to collaborate and build a comprehensive global IP portfolio protecting Altair’s current and future business interests. Adam is a great asset to outside counsel who support his work.”

Beyond his tips for interfacing with clients, West emphasizes the necessity of passion when it comes to finding a fulfilling and successful career in IP law. For his part, he thrives on the field’s challenges. More importantly, though, he never loses sight of his role’s purpose: to serve the innovators of Altair.

“They are asked to move mountains, and they need someone to support their efforts and guide them in the right direction,” West says of his business and technical clients. “They are the reason I’m fortunate enough to have my position, and I’m very thankful to be able to give my knowledge of the weird and complex field of IP back to them.”

for being recognized for his innovative leadership, commitment to integrity, and professional excellence.

Trademark with Heart

Maggie Mettler draws on her marketing experience as well as time in private practice and in Silicon Valley to lead with passion at Yum! Brands

By Brittany Farb Gruber

FROM AN EARLY AGE, MAGGIE METTLER dreamed of success. The Detroit native took immense pride in attending the University of Michigan Law School, and even more in the fact that she earned her JD while serving as executive notes editor of the law review.

“That was the first time I aspired to do something really big. Law school was the hardest challenge I’d tackled to date, but I felt so accomplished at the end, and that really set the tone for the rest of my career,” the attorney reflects. “It allowed me to be an advocate for myself and not shy away from things that were hard.”

Mettler joined Foley & Lardner LLP’s Detroit office as a litigation associate and quickly transitioned to the trademark practice group. She spent more than four years at the esteemed law firm before moving to Silicon Valley to join ServiceNow as senior corporate counsel.

Mettler served as the growing software company’s sole trademark and marketing counsel, overseeing risk associated with marketing and advertising collateral, licensing, and transactions. The experience, she says, was a major turning point in her career.

“I had lived in Michigan for all of my life, and the idea of trying something new was really exciting,” she explains. “That’s what led me to look for an in-house role in a place that was interesting to me, so Silicon Valley was the only place I targeted during my search. Being in the tech community was a total departure from my day-to-day in Detroit.”

However, when a recruiter contacted Mettler about an opportunity at Dallasbased Yum! Brands, she was intrigued to learn more about the quick-service restaurant company’s unique values and the organization’s family of approachable brands. “What sealed the deal for me

was the culture,” she says. Mettler joined Yum! Brands in April 2019 as director of legal for global brand protection.

“Culture is a word that’s thrown around a lot, but our leaders really care about the people on their teams,” she notes. “It’s not just about getting the work done. The priority [at Yum!] is on personal relationships, employee growth, and ensuring people feel happy at work. I don’t think that’s the case in all corporate environments.”

Mettler, along with her attorney counterpart Larisa Colton, oversee brand protection, from trademarks to domains to multifaceted enforcement programs, for iconic brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and the Habit Burger Grill. Mettler’s work includes managing an international portfolio of thousands of brand assets and advising on global clearance, prosecution, and brand risk mitigation. Her role requires her to draw upon her previous work with Foley & Lardner and ServiceNow as well as her experience as a marketer prior to attending law school.

“It is a privilege and invaluable experience to work with Maggie,” says Jin Nee Wong, partner at Malaysia-based Wong Jin Nee & Teo. “We worked on various cases, including a challenging trademark and trade dress infringement case that resulted in a fantastic outcome for Taco Bell. Maggie is clearly a business enabler.

“Her ability to balance her legal expertise with commercially savvy approaches is inspiring,” Nee Wong adds. “Her remarkable leadership style in motivating outside counsel to achieve best outcomes is unparalleled.”

During her tenure, the director has worked on a diverse array of projects spanning Yum! Brands’ entire portfolio. She is especially proud of her team’s creative enforcement strategies that encourage win-win outcomes for all parties involved.

In 2021, Yum! Brands was forced to send a cease-and-desist letter to the Canadian restaurant formerly known as “Taco Ding Dong.” The name was a clear riff on Taco Bell and infringed its trademarks. However, the letter was atypical.

“We knew we had to ask them to rebrand, but we did it in a really lighthearted, humorous way,”

Maggie Mettler Director of Legal, Global Brand Protection Yum! Brands

Mettler says. Her team worked closely with Yum! Brands’ Canadian counsel, who visited the restaurant for a meal so he could include his experience in the letter. “He wrote that the food was great and that we weren’t trying to cast any aspersions on the restaurant’s quality. Taco Bell also made a donation to a nonprofit that the restaurant supported.”

The restaurant was so moved by this approach, despite having to change its name, that it dedicated an Instagram post to the debacle.

“I think they were really shocked that a big brand would go about trademark enforcement in that way, and they were quite complimentary toward us,” Mettler adds. “This is a great example of how we really do think about who’s on the other side. We want our strategy to reflect [Yum!’s] culture and the fact that we care about people.”

Yum! Brands was especially sensitive to its legal approach during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw large and small restaurants alike struggle.

“Sensitivity is a huge factor in this job,” Mettler explains. “We are not just looking at a trademark application or a trademark infringement on a piece of paper; we are also considering the people behind the operation. Often, these are people who have no exposure to trademarks. We try to work with them and come up with a palatable solution that protects our rights, but also isn’t devastating to their business.”

Additional projects that Mettler has had a stamp on include Taco Bell’s global marketing campaigns like “Taco Swap” and “#ISEEATACO;” the relaunch of Pizza Hut’s 1990s classic ‘the Edge’ pizza as well as its Detroit-style pizza; the recapture of domain pizzahutfoundation.com to support the launch of the Pizza Hut Foundation in 2022; and the acquisition of Yum!’s newest restaurant brand, the Habit Burger Grill, which has been expanding internationally.

When it comes to choosing her favorite Yum! Brands’ restaurant, Mettler is torn. “That’s like choosing your favorite child,” she says, laughing. “I’m the kind of person who can always eat pizza, so for me, I would have to say Pizza Hut because there’s never a day when I’m going to say that I just don’t feel like pizza, especially Detroit-style pizza. That is a food that speaks to my soul.”

Wong Jin Nee & Teo (“WJNT”) is a boutique Intellectual Property and Technology specialist firm that provides a full spectrum, integrated, holistic, high quality and value-added services in IP portfolio creation, management, brand protection, enforcement, dispute resolution, government engagement, and commercialization and monetization. WJNT’s approach is to understand the clients’ needs, goals and corporate policies and to provide proactive, responsive and creative solutions to achieve the results sought in the most cost-e ective manner.

wjn@wjnt-law.com

www.wjnt-law.com

Marketer of Ideas

William Fawcett collaborates with his legal team to understand and meet business needs at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

By Natalie Kochanov

William Fawcett

General Counsel and Head of Legal–North America

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

AS REGIONAL HEAD OF LEGAL FOR North America and general counsel, William Fawcett sits squarely in the legal function of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), the multinational corporate insurance carrier that Fawcett sees as Allianz’s most entrepreneurial business unit. However, Fawcett’s day-to-day is as grounded in the business itself as it is in the law.

“Ninety percent of what I do is not law,” Fawcett confirms. “It’s about looking out for other people’s interests, but more importantly, it’s about marketing ideas and communicating.”

Fawcett brings his own entrepreneurial spirit to AGCS, in addition the technical acumen he’s acquired over the course of his decades-long career. Since joining the company in February 2022, he has initiated a mindset shift within the legal team to achieve greater internal cohesion, reinforce

relationships with the business and its clients, and empower individual contributors to shine in their current—and future—roles.

Fawcett got his start as a trial attorney specializing in complex white-collar crime cases. That early work ultimately landed him his first in-house position, at an insurance company he’d initially interacted with from the outside.

Moving in-house gave Fawcett a newfound appreciation for what was truly important to the business. “At each stage of my career, I’ve seen that you need to look outward, not inward,” he says. “One of the big misses I see with in-house counsel and even outside counsel is that they’re too introspective. They worry about what they’re doing, but there’s more to it than that.”

Fawcett continued to learn how best to serve the business in his subsequent in-house roles, three of which were at

start-ups. “I cofounded Europe’s first 100 percent digital insurance company, St. Bernard,” he says of one such company. “I was the CEO, meaning that for the first time, I went from being the true dispenser of legal advice and information to the true consumer.”

Through experiencing both sides of the equation, Fawcett developed the business-oriented legal approach that he now applies at AGCS. He expects his team members to understand how their roles connect to the overarching business and how all of the pieces of the business come together—part of a concept he picked up during his time in the US Marine Corps that he calls “the passed review.”

“I want my direct reports to know what my concerns and priorities are and then to go out and give the passed review to the people who work for them. Once you understand where you fit in

the larger picture, you can start making autonomous decisions and adding value,” Fawcett says. “You’ll never have to look for a client or a billable hour again if you understand what your client’s needs are, who their boss is, and who their stakeholders are.”

Since introducing the idea of the passed review, Fawcett has found his AGCS clients are more inclined to loop the legal team into their discussions. To keep moving in a positive direction, he urges his team to attend meetings within their assigned lines of business and to approach each situation with fresh eyes. “AGCS works with some of the biggest and best companies in the world, and we do things that no other insurance company can do,” he elaborates. “That requires us to think outside the box and question the way we do things.”

As a leader, Fawcett always puts his people first. He has broken down silos at AGCS to allow for clearer and more open communication, thereby fostering a greater sense of involvement across the legal team. “Not only do the folks working with me feel empowered but they also can see what their career path is,” he says. “These are generally bright people who like their job, and if you give them a little more insight so that they can self-direct, they take off running.”

Furthermore, Fawcett takes the time to identify the unique strengths of the team’s individual members—most of whom are not attorneys—and to listen to what they have to say. “I get great advice from my team. I don’t know the answers to everything, and I’m going to make mistakes, but they’ve all really stepped up to help me,” Fawcett emphasizes.

In time, Fawcett expects that all of AGCS will come to know the names of people like Robin Clover, Daphne Crockett, Ray Fisher, David Zeigler, and the many others who support him and the company on a daily basis. Until then, he plans to keep elevating their voices and praising their contributions. “If I could get everybody in my department promoted, that would be my greatest achievement,” he says.

Considering his clear dedication to his team and to AGCS as a business, Fawcett’s advice to fellow attorneys should come as no surprise. “Take

“Ninety percent of what I do is not law. It’s about looking out for other people’s interests, but more importantly, it’s about marketing ideas and communicating.”

whatever you want to do with law school and match it up with something that you’re interested in and passionate about,” he says.

“In my case, I love the connection between the business and the law, and I love coming up with new ideas or businesses.”

“Getting

to work with Will

has been phenomenal,” says Rob Hoffman, partner at DLA Piper.

“He’s a creative thinker and a dynamic leader who collaborates with my team, forming a brilliant partnership that achieves successful results for Allianz.”

Fawcett advocates building relationships early and often in your career, holding yourself accountable to a moral code, and never losing sight of how far you’ve come. “You have to be grateful every day for where you are and how you got here—and the people who got you here,” he says. “If you get involved with people, with things, and with your teams, everything else takes care of itself.”

Freeborn & Peters LLP:

“Will is the ideal client to work with. He hires counsel with the requisite skills and has a specific objective in mind. He clearly articulates exactly what the mission is and partners closely with his counsel to develop the strategy and reach the goal in an effective and efficient manner.”

—Joseph T. McCullough IV, Insurance/ Reinsurance Industry Practice Group Leader

McDowell Hetherington:

“William has unparalleled experience in the insurance industry and a keen business sense. In the time we have worked together, I have seen his leadership and innovative thinking strengthen the legal department and existing relationships.”

—Jodi Swick, Partner

THESE SEVEN IN-HOUSE COUNSEL DRAW UPON PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE FOR THE INDUSTRY

ABIMAN RAJADURAI SHARES WHAT IT TAKES TO THRIVE IN A LARGE GLOBAL COMPANY AND HOW HE BUILDS A SENSE OF BELONGING AS A TOP LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAWYER AT MCDONALD'S CORPORATION

So, he did what any analytical and methodical lawyer would do: he made a pros and cons list.

Pro: he would get to do more direct labor and employment work as part of an iconic global company. Con: he loved the variety of his job and the support from his partners in private practice. Pro: he could participate on the pro bono committee and advance DEI initiatives. Pro: he would be surrounded by top-level talent and a strong corporate culture. The pros ultimately outweighed the cons, and Rajadurai joined McDonald’s Corporation as senior counsel of global labor and employment law.

The move gave Rajadurai the chance to develop broad subject-matter expertise, collaborate closely with colleagues on a niche area of the law, and continue what has become an ongoing theme— connection. “I’ve learned to find commonalities across differences in my life, and I bring the same approach to my career,” he says.

Rajadurai was born in India but moved to the United States when he was just two years old. His father’s job took him to new homes in midwestern cities like South Bend, Indiana; Columbus, Indiana; Canton, Ohio; Bowling Green, Ohio; Ottawa, Illinois; and Jackson, Michigan. In all of these cities, Rajadurai had to endure feeling like an outsider. After earning undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan, Rajadurai moved to Phoenix before settling in Chicago.

During that time, an interest in basketball (he considered playing in college) helped teach Rajadurai more about teamwork, inclusion, and reciprocity. The sport helped the immigrant from a different social class find his voice and enjoy a sense of belonging. “Sports bring people together because you have to work as one in pursuit of a common goal,” he says, adding that the lessons he learned on the court as a student overlap into the work he does today.

Abiman Rajadurai was thriving as a senior associate at a major Chicago firm when Rafael Medina, an attorney at McDonald’s he had met three years prior, emailed him with a tempting in-house offer.

“I’VE LEARNED TO FIND COMMONALITIES ACROSS DIFFERENCES IN MY LIFE, AND I BRING THE SAME APPROACH TO MY CAREER.”

MCDONALD’S OPERATING COMPANY, AND SENIOR COUNSEL OF GLOBAL LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW

MCDONALD’S CORPORATION

ABIMAN RAJADURAI ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL

At McDonald’s, that work is varied, and Rajadurai sees that as another pro for his in-house role. Although he mainly focuses on labor and employment counseling matters, he rotates through various areas, and is now the lead on digital and technology projects that impact the workforce. He also assists on the company’s people strategy, including the employee experience and benefits and rewards programs. Last year, Rajadurai seized a growth opportunity by applying to serve as the assistant general counsel for corporate-owned restaurants in the United States.

In the digital and technology space, Rajadurai has been helping McDonald’s implement Meta’s business communication platform, known as Workplace. He and his team have connected with colleagues in privacy, marketing, and commercial groups to establish the necessary policies to eliminate or manage risk associated with using the new tool.

As he develops these policies and tools, Rajadurai lets his history of making connections lead the way. The skill helps him unite stakeholders who may have different needs, expectations, and desires. “Part of my role lies in finding a solution that works in the short term for some and in the long term for everyone,” he says.

When Rajadurai was an associate at Littler Mendelson, the firm selected him to participate in a career advocacy program for diverse associates, and he’s continued to unlock opportunities for others. At McDonald’s, Rajadurai joined the legal department’s DEI committee: since then, he’s led a team that developed “Empower,” a legal department supplier award that recognizes firms

that demonstrate and improve their own commitments to DEI.

Proskauer Rose LLP and FordHarrison LLP won the first Empower award in 2021, and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP and Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP were named as the most recent winners. Rajadurai says he looks forward to expanding and enriching the program.

“A thoughtful and creative lawyer, with experience both in private practice and in-house, Abiman is highly adept at crafting pragmatic legal solutions to complex employment issues,” says Jon Linas, labor and employment partner at Jones Day. “Beyond his legal acumen, we also greatly admire his dedication to advancing McDonald’s values of diversity, equity, and inclusion both in his work and in the community.”

DEI is just one of many ways Rajadurai looks to give back and build up his community. He works on pro bono asylum cases and also serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including the National Immigrant Justice Center and Merit School of Music.

Part of what motivates Rajadurai is his own life experience of missing out on or not being considered for opportunities due to being an immigrant and/or having limited means. While his family didn’t face intense persecution, he

understands how intimidating it can be for disadvantaged people to have a voice and feel heard and especially to find and pay for legal services.

Rajadurai enjoys these endeavors because they allow him to find new ways to build meaningful connections. He encourages other lawyers, both rookie and veteran, to do the same. “We all need to stay curious and stay engaged,” he explains. “When our goals align, we can really help, and when they don’t, we can address that in simple ways to find real solutions. It’s all about finding common ground.”

Proskauer Rose LLP:

“The experience Abiman Rajadurai has gained managing and counseling McDonald’s through some of its most important and complicated matters truly sets him apart from others in the industry. In addition, Abiman’s staunch advocacy and leadership at McDonald’s and in the greater legal community on issues surrounding diversity and inclusion is truly inspirational. I can think of no one more deserving of this recognition.”

—Nigel F. Telman, Partner

“ PART OF MY ROLE LIES IN FINDING A SOLUTION THAT WORKS IN THE SHORT TERM FOR SOME AND IN THE LONG TERM FOR EVERYONE .”

BRAZILIAN LAWYER ISABELA LUBERT TOOK A RISK WHEN SHE RESTARTED HER CAREER IN NEW YORK. NOW SHE’S LEADING A GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS AND REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT TEAM AT JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.

INVESTIGATIONS

REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT

ISABELA LUBERT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL –GOVERNMENT

AND

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.

Isabela Lubert was thriving as a lawyer in Brazil.

She completed an intensive five-year program to earn her degree and was investigating white collar and environmental crimes in a federal prosecutor’s office. But she had other ambitions that stemmed from an early age. At fifteen, she visited Louisiana as part of a high school exchange program. Then, she saw the classic American film Legally Blonde. These experiences inspired her dream to move to the United States and become a big city lawyer. To do so, she would have to restart her career.

That’s exactly what she did. At age thirty, Lubert moved from Brazil to the US to enroll in an LLM program at New York University School of Law. In Brazil, Lubert was an established and respected attorney working in a powerful office. In New York, she was an unknown student taking notes in the middle of a crowded lecture hall. When she wasn’t studying law, she was studying English. Although Lubert was already fluent in her second language, she needed to perfect her legal lexicon.

With the program complete, Lubert was ready to sit for the New York state bar exam. Despite taking the test in her second language and encountering some words she hadn’t yet learned, she passed on the first try.

It was a major milestone, but then, Lubert faced another obstacle. It was

2010, and the nation was still reeling from the Great Recession. Jobs were scarce, and foreign-trained attorneys like her faced an uphill battle. Lubert found herself looking for a job for up to eight hours per day. When she finally landed an interview at Jefferies, leaders at the well-known global investment banking firm told her she was overqualified for their entry-level opening. Lubert plead her case.

“I needed a stamp of approval in the United States,” she says. “I was willing to start from the bottom because I want to learn how everything works so I can run a team in this country someday.” She got the job.

The experienced entry-level lawyer found that the job came naturally. In fact, she was done with her work by noon each day and kept asking for more assignments and taking on new responsibilities. Jefferies promoted her every year as she built expertise in the financial services industry. In 2015, Lubert came to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lubert started as part of the banking giant’s government investigations and regulatory enforcement practice group where she engaged US agencies like the Department of Justice, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and others investigating the conduct of JPMorgan

Chase clients or employees. In 2022, Lubert became executive director and assistant general counsel within the group.

The cases Lubert and her colleagues work are better kept under the radar, and that’s by design. If they do their jobs well, the bank remains compliant and stays out of the newspaper. Instead of chasing headlines, she’s focused on getting assigned more complex cases and managing matters that represent potential risk. She’s most proud of being able to handle issues single handedly from start to finish.

Now, Lubert is supervising other attorneys and stepping into more complex leadership roles. As she does, she’s careful to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) causes and create an inclusive environment for her own team. “I’m

proud to be part of a company that sets DEI goals at the top, and we can have a true impact in the legal industry because we are such a big client,” she says, adding that her larger team has launched a diverse outside counsel initiative.

A decade ago, Lubert’s story was somewhat uncommon. She remembers competing for jobs with young candidates who enjoyed the privilege of pedigree. While she fought for every interview, they used big firm connections, and personal networks. “I want people to know that there is another path to the top,” she proclaims. “You can make it if you come from another country with a nontraditional background and put in the hard work.”

Lubert hopes that her own story will serve as inspiration for others to follow in her footsteps. To those

individuals, Lubert has simple words of advice. “Stay humble and be grateful,” she says.

That’s how Lubert got to where she is. She mastered the fundamentals of law, developed expertise, and demonstrated an ongoing willingness to learn something new every step of the way. Now, she is living her own version of the American dream.

Bradford Edwards & Varlack LLP:

“It’s a pleasure to work with clients with whom you can have real collaboration and partnership. Isabela fits the bill on all accounts—technically savvy on the law, focused on the commercial issues, and a great communicator. And she’s fun to work with!”

—Denver Edwards, Managing Partner

WilmerHale:

“Isabela is an outstanding attorney who provides keen legal advice and can deftly see around corners to protect JPMC’s best interests. She manages her legal teams in an extremely efficient, organized, and collaborative manner.”

—Ronald C. Machen, Partner & Cochair, White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice

“I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THERE IS ANOTHER PATH TO THE TOP. YOU CAN MAKE IT IF YOU COME FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY WITH A NONTRADITIONAL BACKGROUND AND PUT IN THE HARD WORK .”

WilmerHale extends our hearty congratulations to Isabela Lubert on this very well-deserved recognition.

We applaud the leadership and accomplishments of Isabela Lubert, Executive Director and Assistant General Counsel at JPMorgan Chase.

We are proud of our partnership with JPMorgan Chase and we look forward to continuing our work with Isabela and the Company.

Providing legal representation across a comprehensive range of practice areas that are critical to the success of our clients.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr llp

LAUREN BUFORD TALKS

LITIGATION, DIVERSITY, AND CULTURE SHOCK IN PRIVATE PRACTICE AND HOW THAT EXPERIENCE PREPARED HER FOR THE IN-HOUSE ROLE SHE HAS TODAY AT WALGREENS

LAUREN BUFORD, SENIOR COUNSEL TORT LITIGATION WALGREENS

“I’m not an adversarial person,” the senior counsel for tort litigation at Walgreens says. “It is not in my nature in any way, shape, or form.” Just like her practice, Buford’s outlook becomes clearer with context.

“I’ve always looked at my role with a more holistic perspective, rather than just a plaintiff and a defendant,” she explains. “I see myself as a problem solver, and, therefore, I need to consider what other cases might be similar. How does the state of the world impact this case, what is the venue, and who else has interests in this case? I try and maintain a perspective that doesn’t just exist in a vacuum.”

In a sea of lawyers, Buford is one in a million. But she’s used to it.

“I’m a Black, female attorney and I’m also a member of the LGBTQ+ community,” Buford says. “I know the number of people who look like me and have this identity are practically microscopic in law, but we are here.”

Buford grew up in California surrounded by diversity. As an undergrad at the University of Southern California, Buford comprised part of the school’s rowing team. There was very little diversity, but it didn’t faze Buford. She went on to attend law school at Indiana University. Yet again, representation wasn’t incredible, but Buford still blossomed.

“It wasn’t until I went into private practice that the culture shock really hit me,” she says.

WHO INSPIRED YOU?

Lauren Buford didn’t have a lawyer in her immediate family, but her mother’s first cousin can take some credit for her successful legal track record. The San Francisco-based public defender was an early inspiration for Buford, even if the teenager didn’t really understand the nuances of her casework.

“I was really drawn to her talking about the different issues and cases, as opposed to the specific subject matter,” Buford explains. “I was fourteen and really interested in her work, and I think it inspired me to better understand the legal system.”

Lauren Buford has a funny way of explaining her litigation approach.

EXPERTISE SPOTLIGHT

At Barnes & Thornburg, our clients have access to over eight hundred legal professionals throughout twenty-two offices in Boston; California; Delaware; Georgia; Illinois; Indiana; Michigan; Minnesota; New Jersey; New York; Ohio; Philadelphia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Salt Lake City; Texas; and Washington, DC. We bring forward a team of experienced product liability and mass tort litigators that is prepared to handle the many challenges presented by the complex and ever-evolving landscape of complex and consolidated litigations.

Barnes & Thornburg serves as global and national coordinating counsel for major manufacturers across the pharmaceutical and medical device, toxic tort, consumer product, technology, and retail sectors. We have defended Fortune 500 manufacturers in sophisticated product liability matters across nearly every industry, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, chemicals, appliances, automotive products, heavy industry, cosmetics, and consumer products, in single-plaintiff cases to ten thousandplus claim multidistrict litigations.

“Not private school, not the rowing team, not law school. Nothing really prepared me for that. It was like being thrown in the deep end and expected to swim.”

The year 2007 is a world apart from lawyers entering the firm world today. Buford’s class of associates was incredibly diverse, but there was significant disconnect between the incoming class and the firm’s leaders of color.

“You have to place this situation in the context of the time,” Buford explains. “Assimilation was really the only way for people of color to make headway in the working world for a very long time. As things have evolved, I don’t think my generation was ready to hear that. We wanted to be ourselves, and there was definitely some friction there.”

The differences between millennials and baby boomers have long been the subject of think pieces and magazine cover stories, but the way those differences have affected issues of diversity and inclusion bear far more examination. “The best way I heard it described is that diversity is being invited to the party, and inclusion is being asked to dance,” Buford says. “The generation before us had to fight hard just to get invited to the party, but that’s where things kind of stopped.”

The issue of identity and self is critical for Buford, as it was something she downplayed for so long in her life. She says she spent far more time figuring out her life, school, and career plans, as opposed to thinking more broadly about herself as a person.

That doesn’t mean her career has slowed in any regard. Buford traversed between firm work and in-house roles at Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Transit Authority. While working in private practice in 2020, Buford wrote an article, “The Law & This Moment,” for the Women's Bar Association of Illinois.

The reflection on the murder of George Floyd, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the trepidation experienced by Black lawyers drew the attention of Chicago’s Loyola University School of Law, who asked Buford to teach a class titled “Professional Identify Formation.” The course aims to help students recognize and eliminate personal bias, as well as build awareness regarding the criticality of diversity and inclusion to

professional development and the practice of law.

“I’m in the middle of year three, and it’s been amazing,” Buford says. “Everyone has some level of privilege, and this gives us all the opportunity to get down to the core of what that is and how your biases and privilege impact you and your decision making.”

Along with her adjunct duties, Buford joined Walgreens in September 2021, and she thinks this time, she’s in-house for good. “When I had to consider this job offer, I had to think about whether or not I was at peace with the idea of not handling day-to-day litigation, deposing people, and being at court every single day,” the lawyer admits. “I felt completely at peace with it. This feels like a whole new chapter of my career.”

That isn’t to say the transition has been without challenges. The multinational company employs more than 225,000 people. The work of the job is the easy part: discovery, strategy, record, review, and making

“THE GENERATION BEFORE US HAD TO FIGHT HARD JUST TO GET INVITED TO THE PARTY, BUT THAT’S WHERE THINGS KIND OF STOPPED.”

Where Experience Exceeds Expectations

determinations. The harder part is learning the ins and outs of such a large employer that continues its own transformation. “I’m learning new things about this company every day,” Buford says. “I don’t think that education is ever going to stop.”

Buford knows she’s unique in her identity, but it doesn't keep her from mentoring those around her. She always makes herself available for a phone call or casual conversation to help young lawyers or law students of color.

There might be no true preparation for the culture shock people of color face when entering a career in the law. However, Buford’s willingness to talk about it and shepherd others through their journeys ensures that transition is just a little easier for those coming after her.

Barnes & Thornburg LLP:

“Lauren’s vast and varied experience as a lawyer is immediately apparent. She navigates the complexities of her work with a sense of diligence, pragmatism, strategy, and humor. We’re honored to partner with her in defending Walgreens.”

—Kristen L. Richer, Partner

Johnson & Bell, Ltd:

“Lauren Buford adds years of experience as a trial lawyer to the Walgreens Tort Litigation team. Her experience gives Lauren the unique ability to evaluate complex cases and assist counsel with strategic decisions and trial strategy. We look forward to working with Lauren in the coming years.”

—John A. Childers, Shareholder

DENISE YEE CHALLENGES SOCIETAL NORMS AND EMBRACES INCLUSION AT VISA AS SHE PROTECTS ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST RECOGNIZABLE BRANDS

Similarly, no one expects Visa’s lead trademark and sponsorship lawyer to be a petite, high-pitched Asian woman. Denise Yee is used to being underestimated. But responding strategically to microaggressions has helped her excel in a competitive industry, build a strong team, and provide best-in-class support to one of the world’s most valuable brands.

Yee has exceeded expectations her entire life. At age seven, she was the only girl hitting golf balls on the driving range, where she often outdrove the boys. She also turned heads on the basketball court, where she held her own in competitive pick-up games.

As a fourth-generation Japanese American, the Los Angeles native and Northern California transplant grew up in a neighborhood where there were few minorities in her classroom. As an adult, Yee encounters daily misconceptions. She has been carded buying lottery tickets and

frequently receives emails addressed to “Dennis” or “Mr. Yee.” While attending industry conferences, people have commented on how well she speaks English or have asked if she is a junior associate in a law firm.

“Societal norms are programmed to underestimate someone like me,” she says. “But I turn these microaggressions into a competitive advantage.”

People are often surprised when they meet Yee face-to-face. They would say out loud, “Oh, you are female?” She has joined negotiations where the opposing party requested to speak with someone who is autho-

DENISE YEE VP AND ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL, BRAND, MARKETING & SPONSORSHIP LEGAL VISA

rized to negotiate on behalf of Visa. She calmly responded, “Yes, that’s me.” Their reactions have motivated her to do what she did as a young girl. “I want to prove their assumptions wrong and demonstrate that I earned my seat at the table,” she says.

Yee doesn’t shrink back from the opportunities to perform in a male dominated industry, and she credits Visa with giving her the chance to succeed. “People don’t expect

No one expects a 5-foot-2-inch Asian woman to play basketball or keep up with the boys on the golf course.

Meryl Abrenica-Lemke

someone who looks like me to be at the table representing Visa, but our leaders put me here so I can shine, support my ambitions, and further my career,” she says.

In 2011, Visa chose Yee to testify before the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary regarding “Targeting Websites Dedicated to Stealing American Intellectual Property.” And in 2018, Yee led the legal team negotiating Visa’s partnership with the International Olympic Committee through 2032. In 2020, she led the legal negotiation extending Visa’s relationship with the National Football League through the 2025 season.

Few other lawyers have more experience and legacy knowledge of the Visa brand. In 1999, after graduating from Santa Clara University School of Law, Yee went straight in-house and joined Visa before it was a publicly traded company.

There were just around six thousand employees at the time. Transactions were completed with magnetic stripe cards and carbon paper credit card imprinters were being phased out, and Yee was the only minority woman lawyer in the California office.

Since going public in 2008, Visa has completed several acquisitions and has grown exponentially. Today, the company employs over 21,500 and transactions are completed through contactless cards, mobile devices, and biometric technology. Visa’s legal department is led by a woman general counsel, Julie Rottenberg, and the US-based legal department is over half women. Additionally, according to company records as of September 30, 2021, Visa’s US-based workforce is 63 percent non-white.

As vice president and associate general counsel of brand, marketing, and sponsorship legal, Yee

leads a team of eight attorneys and legal professionals.

“Denise has done an amazing job protecting and enforcing rights in the Visa brand, one of the most famous brands in the world, for the past two decades,” says Michael McCue, IP Partner at Lewis Roca. “We have enjoyed every moment of working in partnership with Denise and admire her brilliance, passion, and dedication.”

Yee’s tiny-but-mighty team works on some big deals as Visa sponsors major sports events like the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, and the Super Bowl. It provides clearance advice, reviews ad copy and campaigns, advises on the legal aspects of promotions, and supports brand activations on the ground. As major events play out, someone from her team is providing real-time legal reviews on social media posts and real-time content capture.

“We take a lot of pride in sponsoring these wonderful iconic events that inspires and unites the world. These powerful opportunities help us leverage our value to clients, grow our business, and increase visibility of the Visa brand,” Yee says.

According to the organization’s annual report for fiscal year 2021, Visa is a leading payments company globally with $24 billion in revenue and over 164 billion processed transactions per year. It is also a thought leader in emerging technologies like blockchain, Internet of Things, and biometrics. But that also means the company has a target on its back. And

“SOCIETAL NORMS ARE PROGRAMMED TO UNDERESTIMATE SOMEONE LIKE ME. BUT I TURN THESE MICROAGGRESSIONS INTO A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE .”

the Visa brand and the company’s reputation are assets that must be protected.

“What we do and how we are perceived in the marketplace is driven by consumer trust, so it’s very important that my team protects and defends the Visa brand so we can maintain that trust in the marketplace,” Yee explains.

Although Visa continues to grow its revenues, Yee shares that the company is about more than dollars and cents. For example, the Visa Foundation was established to advance inclusive economies and create equitable and sustainable growth. In 2020, Visa reached its goal to bring digital payment accounts to 500 million unbanked or underserved people. In 2021, 85 percent of Visa employees volunteered in philanthropic programs. And Visa is committed to digitally enabling 50 million small and micro businesses by 2023.

After more than twenty years, Yee continues to enjoy a front row seat witnessing the evolution of payments, where Visa’s efforts continue to advance digital equity and drive positive change to society. “I have the opportunity to make a difference in the world through my work and my company,” she says. “And that makes me proud to be a part of the Visa family.”

Michael

Meng Zhong Intellectual Property Partner mzhong@lewisroca.com

Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP This material has been prepared for general advertising purposes only.

MORE THAN OUTSIDE COUNSEL, WE’RE TRUSTED PARTNERS.

J. McCue Intellectual Property Partner mmccue@lewisroca.com

We are honored to recognize Denise Yee for her stellar 23 year career with Visa.

We have been privileged to work with Denise on enforcing rights in the famous VISA brand for more than two decades.

It was then-GC Karyn Smith, and what she told Murray would fundamentally reshape his thoughts about the future.

“Employment lawyers, given our path, don’t typically go on to be general counsel,” Murray explains. “But Karyn called me and said, ‘You know that you can be a general counsel someday, right?’ It kind of blew me away. I really took a step back and realized that a lot of people from underrep -

NICHOLAS MURRAY

DRAWS UPON PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TO CREATE EQUITY FOR THOSE WITH UNDERREPRESENTED BACKGROUNDS AT TWILIO

resented backgrounds think they might not be meant for more because they’ve never seen someone that looks like them do it before.”

That was a year ago, and while Murray isn’t taking any active runs at the GC role at present, Twilio’s senior director, assistant general counsel, and global head of employment has continued to seek out new experiences while strengthening the company’s already

After a highpressure call that included Twilio’s general counsel, CEO, and CFO, Nicholas Murray received another call.

extensive commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Murray knows a thing or two about the importance of making people feel welcome, appreciated, and celebrated. The lawyer’s father is the son of an Indigenous American who was adopted by a white family, and his mother’s family emigrated from Italy. Murray also knew he was gay while growing up in a tiny town in northern Nevada, an isolating experience in an already isolated location.

Those experiences influenced Murray’s career trajectory. Impassioned by the people he saw fighting for others on television, he set out for law school—but at a significant disadvantage.

“I was one of the only people in my pretty large class who didn’t have a lawyer in the family or know any lawyers growing up,” Murray remembers. ”I know that it took a lot of very hard work and some extreme luck to get where I am. I’ve gotten support from some amazing people, and I want to be able to do the same.” At the same time, Murray makes one thing clear: “I don’t pretend that others haven’t had more difficult lives.”

Murray isn’t just a great employment lawyer; he’s a culture builder at Twilio. Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Murray worked with the organization to help establish Twilio as an anti-racist and, more globally, an anti-oppression company. He explains that Twilio has created a structure and architecture around these pillars and is driven by executives who truly understand that being an anti-racist organization is not a one-and-done effort.

AMERICA AS TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS

Nicholas Murray says he was greatly moved by author David Treuer’s piece in the New York Times entitled “Adrift Between My Parents’ Two Americas,” a recounting of what it’s like to grow up with both Native American and European heritage in the US. Murray has both an Indigenous American and Italian heritage, and says his own identity has been greatly shaped by the two competing narratives of what the idea of America can mean from those perspectives.

For his mother’s Italian side, America brought the promise and fortune of a new world. But it was different for his father’s Indigenous American family: Murray’s own grandfather was adopted by a white family and essentially cut off from his culture, a practice that was outlawed in the 1970s but is currently before the US Supreme Court. America, in many ways, is a wedge used to cut off those who were here prior to European emigration from their roots.

“A lot of us have to learn to navigate what it means to hold both of those identities in your hand at the same time,” Murray says. “I think it’s why I’m so committed to helping those from underrepresented backgrounds.”

Matt Armsby

NICHOLAS MURRAY SENIOR DIRECTOR AND ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL, GLOBAL HEAD OF EMPLOYMENT TWILIO

“What I love about my job is that I’ve been able to work closely with our chief diversity officer and our chief people officer to continue building on these principles,” Murray explains. “I’m incredibly motivated to investigate and advise on issues that impact underrepresented people. That effort starts with our CEO Jeff Lawson, who has created a culture here that impacts people in a way that it just doesn’t at other companies.”

When it comes to his day-to-day responsibilities, Murray admits that he’s occasionally referred to as “Captain No Fun” because of the approach he takes with issues such as compensation, conflicts of interest, pay equity, and other employment matters.

“I’m just really passionate about issues that impact people at such a direct level,” Murray says. “It’s been a through line of my career. And I think I’ve been able to build that passion into the DNA of Twilio. Every tech company loves to put their values on their website, but what sets us apart and keeps me excited is that everyone from our CEO down is focused on living those values in everything that we do. I wish it didn’t set us apart, but doing the right thing is really a differentiator for us.”

Doing the right thing became an incredibly gray concept during the COVID-19 era. Murray says this was likely the most challenging period that employment lawyers have ever faced, and that they worked around-the-clock to adapt to shifting guidelines and regulations

bakermckenzie.com

and try to craft consistent protocol while also respecting drastically different employee expectations across the globe.

But the experience further emboldened Murray’s confidence in his in-house skill set. That is significant because of just how committed he was to practicing at a law firm earlier in his career. “It took me time to realize that the things I am instinctually and naturally skilled at are exactly what’s needed in an in-house lawyer,” Murray reflects. “It felt like I was able to bring more of my strengths instead of trying to adapt, and this kind of work just feels right to me.”

For now, Murray works to connect the dots for those outside the legal department, bring clarity where it’s needed most, and embolden Twilio to lead the way when it comes to DEI and living its values.

“There continue to be structural barriers,” Murray says.

“But I hope people will find role models and really examine how they got to where they are. I truly believe you can get there too. And whatever I do, I hope people can see from my example that they can really achieve their dreams.”

We are delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate this recognition of Nick Murray and value his partnership at Twilio with us.

The only Chambers ranked Band 1 firm for Global Employment

ARUN THOMAS DEVELOPED A PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF INTEGRITY AND DUTY DURING HIS MULTIYEAR SERVICE IN THE ARMY JAG CORPS, WHICH HE BRINGS TO HIS CURRENT ROLE AT FEDEX GROUND

Serving his clients, serving his colleagues, and serving those affected by his work have been the cornerstones of his success as a lawyer.

“When you have that genuine care and concern for the success of others, that is what drives success on our litigation team and in other endeavors,” he says. Thomas manages a group of what he calls seasoned litigators who are exceptionally capable and have established tremendous track records by handling all manner of government-related investigations, litigations, and commercial disputes over the course of their careers.

Thomas’s father emmigrated from India and earned an MBA from Duquesne University. When he was a child, Thomas’s parents made it clear to him and his older sister that the United States was rife with opportunity for immigrants and citizens alike. Their optimism sparked his interest in the business world and American

capitalism. “That’s really where my focus and energy was,” Thomas remembers. “My dad was a teacher who taught economics and finance. I even took a few of his classes in high school.”

While his mother and father bestowed optimism, his older sister provided career inspiration. Following in her father’s footsteps, she earned a degree in business, but ultimately decided to pursue a law degree. “That gave me a view into law school, and it got me thinking about a legal career,” Thomas says. “My thought was that a legal degree would provide an opportunity to potentially participate in a career that melded both law and business.”

While attending Georgetown Law School, Thomas went skiing with a high school friend who was also pursuing a law degree. As they shared their plans for the future, his friend mentioned that he had interned with the US Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG). “He told me, ‘If you have any interest in litigation as a career, then you should consider the JAG Corps because there are great opportunities there for attorneys to handle litigation matters and take cases to trial early in your career as compared to private practice,’” Thomas recalls.

Not only did such a career path appeal to Thomas, it was also in accord with the feelings of gratitude his parents expressed toward the US. “It piqued my interest,” he adds.

With no military background in his family or personal service background, Thomas joined the Army directly after law school and immediately began trying his own docket of cases for the JAG Corps, a

At its core, the legal profession is about serving the client’s interests, effectively, ethically, and with integrity, says Arun Thomas, managing attorney of litigation at FedEx Ground.

EXPERTISE SPOTLIGHT

Renowned for simplifying the most complex matters, Bartlit Beck has achieved a remarkable record of courtroom victories in high-stakes, complex litigation since 1993. The firm’s successes include trial wins, victories on motions and appeals, and creative settlements across the gamut of commercial litigation, intellectual property, antitrust and unfair trade practices, breach of contract, shareholder disputes, and product liability. Bartlit Beck’s accolades, including being named the “2020 Trial Firm of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation, commend the firm’s commitment to clients and its reputation for excellence. In a survey conducted by consulting firm BTI of 350 in-house leaders, Bartlit Beck was identified as one of the top nine firms in the United States for “striking the utmost fear into the hearts of seasoned general counsel and legal decision makers.”

career move that would pay innumerable dividends in the future. “It gave me litigation experience in an early part of my career that wouldn’t have been available to me in other arenas or with other organizations,” Thomas says.

Thomas spent four years with the JAG Corps, shaping his law career and developing his personal legal philosophy and worldview. A lawyer’s job is not just to say “no,” but to contemplate a course of action and work creatively with the client to reach acceptable legal solutions, says Thomas. The JAG Corps, and the military in general, has a “hyper focus” on performing a set of duties with integrity and honor. “Those sensibilities were ingrained in me,” he says. “I learned how to be a professional, how to be a professional lawyer beyond just litigating cases, and what it takes to put a case together successfully for trial.”

“WHEN YOU HAVE THAT GENUINE CARE AND CONCERN FOR THE SUCCESS OF OTHERS, THAT IS WHAT DRIVES SUCCESS ON OUR LITIGATION TEAM AND IN OTHER ENDEAVORS.”

The most valuable skill he honed as a JAG Corps attorney, and one he’d later use in his role at FedEx Ground, is the ability to dispense legal advice to commanders within a larger organization whose goal is not necessarily focused on litigation. This laid the groundwork for his style and method of providing legal advice. “They needed practical, creative solutions from their lawyers, and it was a tremendous help in what I do today,” Thomas says.

Litigation skills aside, the military’s laser focus on teamwork impacted Thomas’s world view and provided him a greater appreciation for working on a team, serving others, and leading a team of litigators.

“These are principals and ideals that I started paying close attention to early in my career,” says Thomas.

After leaving the Army, Thomas spent fourteen years in private practice, litigating pharma and commercial cases for K&L Gates and then Eckert Seamans. “Arun and I have partnered in tough battles over the years, including sensitive and sweeping litigation where true collaboration is essential,” says Rebecca Weinstein Bacon, partner at Bartlit Beck LLP. “Arun’s unique legal insights, enthusiasm, and dedication make him a fantastic leader and attorney.”

Today, he applies these lessons learned as he works with the managing director of his group leading a team of accomplished litigation professionals representing FedEx Ground. “Our teams effectively handle a significant amount of work in-house,” he says. “Our teams litigate their own docket of cases and they do so frequently and successfully.”

His time as a soldier, litigating in private practice, and managing a team of litigation

professionals at FedEx Ground has taught Thomas one valuable lesson. “How you interact with people and how you treat them with respect is critically important,” Thomas says. Building positive working relationships, being curious and inquisitive, and learning new things have all brought the managing attorney a number of professional opportunities, for which he considers himself exceedingly fortunate.

“HOW YOU INTERACT WITH PEOPLE AND HOW YOU TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.”

ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL SUMIT MALLICK HELPS CHIME REMAIN ACCOUNTABLE TO ITS DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION STRATEGY

As a lawyer, whether at the US Department of Justice or a large law firm, the circles in which he operated comprised individuals who looked different than him and had different backgrounds.

“I found myself struggling at times to find my footing and my voice,” Mallick recalls. Throughout

As the son of immigrants, Sumit Mallick always yearned for a sense of belonging, and the comfort and confidence that come with it.

his career, Mallick’s goal focused on easing that struggle for individuals from underrepresented groups currently practicing law and those destined to enter the profession.

Mallick joined Chime as assistant general counsel in June 2020 and manages lawyers on the company’s product and payments, litigation, employment, law enforcement response, regulatory, and privacy and security legal teams—about twenty-five legal professionals in total. Mallick also tackles special projects designed to develop and scale Chime’s lawyers, while finding better ways to support the team’s business partners.

On one of those projects Mallick and a team of Chime lawyers drafted the legal team’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy. “We have an amazing team here at Chime that works to drive our DEI legal strategy,” Mallick says. The primary goal is to hold Chime’s legal team accountable to its DEI strategy, which is to hire and develop a diverse set of individuals, give back to the community through pro bono work, and hire outside firms mirroring the organization’s commitment to diversity.

To that end, the team identifies and recruits talented individuals from underrepresented groups and expands opportunities for underrepresented law students by partnering with the Diversity Lab, an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law. “I found that the ability to work in environments with lawyers from diverse back-

grounds ultimately produces better legal advice and outcomes,” Mallick explains, adding such an environment eliminates blind spots by allowing for multiple perspectives.

For example, Mallick may review marketing materials and, based on his personal set of life experiences and biases, sign off on those materials. On the other hand, a lawyer with a different background may question the material and highlight additional areas of reputational or regulatory risk.

Outside of his day job at Chime, Mallick sits on the N-Gen board of

the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, which pushes the legal profession toward change through scholarships, coaching, and the publication of industry data.

Since Mallick joined Chime, the San Francisco-based financial technology company has grown dramatically. Although not always a smooth ride, this growth has allowed him to onboard top-level talent with significant subject matter expertise. “[We can] provide more tailored, real-time, integrated advice to the business and our partners,” Mallick says. “That manifests itself

SUMIT MALLICK ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL CHIME

Courtesy of Stripe

Sumit Mallick

in an increase in product launch velocity, and allows us to serve our members, what we call our consumers, better.”

As it continues to grow, Chime is examining its role in the community to ensure it’s making a positive impact and bringing financial peace of mind to underrepresented groups through pro bono work.

Mallick boils his professional philosophy down to three important strategies, which he imparts to those he mentors. First, he says, “Be kind.” At its core, the law profession is adversarial, but he says, “Being kind and empathetic has made my career more rewarding and has hopefully made me more effective.”

Secondly, he urges those he mentors to find their voice, which makes them more authentic and ultimately better lawyers. Lastly, he preaches patience. Although it’s wise and natural to seek the next promotion or career opportunity, he believes, individuals learn valuable lessons at every career step. “Focus on mastering those and the next opportunity will come, and ultimately you’ll be better prepared for it,” he says.

Mallick strives to make the law profession more diverse and inclusive and realizes there’s work still to be done. “My objective is not only to help do what I can to make the profession more diverse and inclusive, but also energize and help those passionate about this work find a way to make an impact and a difference,” he says.

Davis Wright Tremaine:

“Sumit has built a remarkable career spanning law firms, government, and fintech. We’ve watched him assemble first-rate teams, lead with confidence, and promote diversity, all while moving fluidly from one challenging issue to the next.”

—Bradford Hardin, Cochair, Financial Services practice group

Jenner & Block:

“Sumit is a consummate leader. Thoughtful and generous, yet always focused on getting timely and solid results from outside counsel and his team. He is precisely the kind of client one hopes to work with.”

—Jeremy Creelan, Partner

We’re proud to honor our friend

An extraordinary FinTech lawyer and DEI leader.

Lead

Portraits of today’s top legal executives, the remarkable careers they have cultivated, and the management strategies and best practices they employ to succeed both individually and collaboratively

Finding the Heart of Robotics

As the first in-house employment lawyer at Nuro, Shweta Gera has a unique opportunity to build her team from the ground up as the company experiences rapid growth

By Billy Yost

Shweta Gera Deputy General Counsel, Employment Law Nuro Inc.

Michael Boren

WHEN SHWETA GERA JOINED NURO IN 2020, it was the early days of the pandemic, and the world went into lockdown. Through those early days, she operated knowing that it was a seismic shift when it came to fundamentals of the workplace and employee experiences. There was no playbook or precedent on how to tackle the unique questions that the pandemic brought, both in our professional and personal lives. The deputy general counsel and employment law expert at Nuro is no stranger to the evolving nature of employment law practice.

“In the last few years between the pandemic and the #MeToo movement, we’ve seen some watershed moments in employment law that have changed the practice forever,” Gera explains. “More and more companies are seeing the value of in-house employment lawyers and ensuring they become true partners to senior leadership. That partnership ensures creating and maintaining a supportive and meaningful culture within the workplace.”

Reshaping the workplace may sound like a herculean task, but it’s easy to see why Gera wound up at Nuro. She says that effort is made much easier by the clear vision presented by company founders Jiajun Zhu and Dave Ferguson. The company is on the forefront of using autonomous and robotic technology to make everyday life a little easier for everyone. Nuro is on its third generation of autonomous delivery vehicles, and counts Walmart, CVS, FedEx, and Domino’s as its partners.

But while its bright white and zeroemission vehicles may not have a human driver, the pulse of Nuro is still easy to find. The company was named one of “America’s Best Startup Employers” of 2022 by Forbes, and Gera says the cross-functional collaboration and proactive approach to serving people make the award well-deserved.

“Since my arrival, this company has pivoted and adapted workplace policies based on what was going on around us,” she says. “We’ve been able to counsel on everything from stay-at-home orders and mask mandates to broader issues like future of work initiatives. The culture here made my transition incredibly successful, and I feel like I’ve been able to make an impact since day one.”

Gera’s own adaptability, empathy and curiosity have deep roots. She emigrated to the US from India at age seventeen and got used to the uncertainty of learning a new culture, as well as a new way of life. Ambiguity is the enemy of most law practitioners, but it’s a space Gera has been operating in for her entire adult life.

“It’s important to keep pushing yourself outside your comfort zone to not stagnate,” the lawyer advises. She has evolved her own professional practice from doing securities and patent litigation at the start of her career to focusing on employment litigation, and then switching from a law firm practice to an in-house employment counseling practice.

“The willingness to just figure things out is a key to my practice now,” Gera explains.

“You have to lead with empathy and think more broadly than the strict legal answer to a problem.”

“You have to lead with empathy and think more broadly than the strict legal answer to a problem. You’ve got to put yourself in the other person's shoes and consider the wider company culture when advising the business on how to proceed on an employment-law related issue.”

As the first in-house employment lawyer at Nuro, Gera has had the opportunity to build her team from the ground up. The employment law team gets to operate at the forefront of shaping and maintaining an inclusive culture critical to Nuro’s long-term success.

The employment law team also has assumed employee investigations, traditionally a people team function. The deputy general counsel says that their work is best done proactively, whether it be training, counseling, or simply building relationships. Those relationships include partnering with the people function at Nuro on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Gera also helped redefine the idea of flexibility and work-life balance as it pertains to the future of work. “I care about this because it has impacted my decision to take opportunities in my career,” she explains. “I came to Nuro because I could see that this was the kind of organization that will support taking the time you need for your life outside of work.”

Gera says she stresses this idea emphatically to her team: to attend a little league baseball game, stay at home with a child, or simply take a breather from the everyday challenges of work. The lawyer lives this ideal in hopes her team will follow suit, and her own example creates a longer lasting and more meaningful relationship between employees and the company.

“It’s about outcomes, and the team can get there however they need to,” she says. “I think it builds trust and goodwill and empowers them to do their best work.”

Shweta is tremendous at anticipating issues and solving them before they become problems, across multiple subject matters. Her judgment is simply first rate.

We are thankful to work with Shweta and her growing team at Nuro.

Brian Johnsrud, Managing Partner, Menlo Park Office, Curley, Hurtgen & Johnsrud LLP

Hurtgen & Johnsrud llp

Heal the World

Hope Mehlman brings ESG excellence to Bank of the West’s mission-driven organization

By Billy Yost

THE HEBREW PHRASE TIKKUN OLAM MEANS everything to Hope Mehlman. The literal translation is “repairing the world,” but it has become synonymous with the ideals, values, and action of the social justice movement. Action, Mehlman says, is a key word, now more than ever.

“It’s great to have platitudes, but they don’t matter at all unless you can back it up,” the current general counsel and corporate secretary at Bank of the West and corporate secretary at BNP Paribas USA. Inc. explains. “That’s how I’ve always approached my work, and it’s something I’m very passionate about because of my desire to make the world a better place.”

Before examining just how deep Mehlman’s commitment to those ideals has played out both in her near-fifteen years with Birmingham-based Regions Bank and Bank of the West, where the GC came in 2020, it’s imperative to understand the early experience that helped shape the future leader and change agent.

Mehlman’s father, a Holocaust survivor, was helped by strangers during World War II, willing to put their lives on the line for human rights. When her father made his way to America to start a new life and raise a family, she bore witness to a man determined to pass on the humanity he had received.

“My father came here with nothing, but he was incredibly generous in everything that he did,” Mehlman explains. “During Thanksgiving, we would go to the supermarket and buy hundreds of turkeys and then drive them around to give them to people in need. In the winter, Dad would take off his hat and gloves if he saw someone on the street

who needed them. I wanted to be able to make that same kind of impact in my professional life.”

The lawyer has truly lived that legacy. The in-house counsel has used her role both as attorney and corporate secretary to challenge organizations to lean into environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, well before the wider adoption and attention garnered in the last five years.

Coming to the Bank of the West wasn’t an accident or happenstance. Mehlman had had her eye on the progressive company for a while. Bank of the West proudly displays its reputation on its website: “We are a local bank with a global outlook, with restrictive finance policies to help protect people and the planet, and we are led by one of the few women CEOs in the industry. We are the bank for a changing world,” its ESG page reads.

The company highlights its refusal to finance onshore or offshore Arctic

drilling; partnerships with organizations, like the Sustainable Ocean Alliance; and investment in diversity.

“The commitment here is clear and starts with our amazing CEO Nandita Bakhshi,” Mehlman explains. “I call her the ‘CEO of the people’ because I’ve never seen a leader who cares so much about her employees and her customers. She does things I’ve never seen a CEO do before and just lives her commitment to her people.”

In just under two years, Mehlman has made her own mark on both Bank of the West. Since being hired, Mehlman’s advocacy to diversify the board at Bank of the West has resulted in two women becoming chairs of committees.

“Hope is always a pleasure to work with,” says Jared Fishman, partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. “Her deep industry experience and, in particular, her focus on ESG matters, has been invaluable. She is a true team player, who works though an issue by

looking at it from every perspective and making sure all viewpoints are considered, while also keeping the company’s overall objectives a priority. There’s never a loose thread when she’s involved.”

The lawyer also has helped highlight the incredible diversity of Bakhshi’s team, including a video illustrating the ten different languages spoken by the leadership team. More broadly, Mehlman helped implement tiger teams—cross-functional teams designed to confront a specific challenge—of committed volunteers within the legal and regulatory relations departments, who can put their passion for ESG into action. The four teams focus on strengthening communities; encouraging the use of sustainable vendors; advancing sustainable practices; and cultivating diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environments. Their efforts have made significant headway in short order.

Hope Mehlman General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Bank of the West, BNP Paribas

One of the tiger teams collected over $170,000 in unclaimed funds from across the country that have been able to put back into the communities in which the bank operates. The teams also partnered with organizations close to their heart. Mehlman’s commitment to helping victims of human trafficking has been emboldened by her ability to seek training for bank associates to recognize those who might need help.

“Whatever causes people care about most, I want them to come to me so I can help make them happen,” Mehlman says. “Whatever you think might be a crazy idea probably isn’t so crazy.”

Mehlman’s seemingly boundless energy is best illustrated by her executive sponsorship of the Women’s Initiative at Bank of the West. The effort started with Mehlman literally requesting the names of women at the company of over nine thousand employees. She and a colleague reached out to women on the list, seek ideas to advance women in the company, concerns with their careers, or ambitions of development.

“I just looked at it like a wellness check,” Mehlman says.

“What are your struggles and challenges? How can we help you? I think that personal contact is incredibly important.”

“I just want people to try and think differently,” Mehlman says.

“Sometimes it just takes someone to push.” That hope and action is reflected in her faith, her father, and in the way that Mehlman lives every day.

Myself, Finally

Despite finding professional success, Alicia Dagosta spent a good chunk of her career feeling like a fish out of water. And she has finally found a home at Oportun.

By Billy Yost

ALICIA DAGOSTA DECIDED A CHANGE WAS in order. After twenty-three years of straitlaced and traditional professional dress, the vice president, assistant general counsel, and head of regulatory legal at Oportun finally felt ready to just be herself. “Being here finally made me feel like I could be the real me, and in this case, that meant being able to wear my Prince t-shirt to work and shaving half of my hair,” the lawyer says, laughing.

The trendy side cut, one much closer to the hairstyle she wore in her preprofessional years, is a celebration in and of itself. Her years spent rising up through firms

and large organizations like JPMorgan Chase brought a great deal of success, but the lawyer always felt like some part of her was being sacrificed in the process.

“Whether it was my experience in law school or in my previous roles, I’ve always felt a little bit like a fish out of water,” Dagosta admits. “It always seemed like there was a mold I was trying to fit myself into, and when I came here, I couldn’t believe there was a place like this where I could just be me, truly me.”

There’s no accounting for what feeling like one’s true self is worth in the workplace. And it’s a feeling Dagosta wants to

flow freely through her team. It’s not about a dress code, it’s about the kind of environment where regardless of one’s background or experience, their opinion is valued, respected, and allowed to compete in the marketplace of ideas. To the lawyer, and to anyone willing to take the time to read virtually any study on the subject, diversity of opinion and background makes an organization stronger.

“You just have to look at the people here to understand what is valued,” Dagosta says. “One of our core values is care, and that is truly exemplified every day at work. It may seem strange, but I notice it most in the way that we can disagree with each other about the decisions that we make. It’s not just about the bottom line and where the law intercedes. It’s always so apparent that people are looking at the bigger picture and considering the impact on employees and our customers. It’s such a different way of looking at things than I have seen in my career previously.”

Dagosta clearly remembers being told earlier in her career that she was too forthcoming with her emotions. In a vacuum, she says the advice is understandable, but in the situation,

Alicia Dagosta

VP, Assistant General Counsel, and Head of Regulatory Legal Oportun

the lawyer was being told to shut down the portion of her practice that is incredibly important for any in-house practitioner: humanity.

“You don’t need to let everyone know just how bad your day is,” Dagosta jokes. “But it’s perfectly okay to let the people around you know that you might be having a hard time and need a little extra help, or that you’re incredibly proud of your kid’s accomplishment. That’s part of being a human being, and I don’t think that needs to be turned off when you come to work.”

When it comes to acting in a position of leadership, Dagosta admits she’s never loved a hierarchy, or as she puts it, “being a boss.” While the lawyer says her husband would disagree with that statement, when it comes to her law practice, Dagosta has found comfort in Oportun’s much flatter organizational style.

The lawyer emphasizes that law is rarely black and white, and she requires her team to work collectively to find creative solutions in order to help Oportun grow. Dagosta says she’s experienced enough to know that fear or uncertainty rarely produces the best results, which is why her team is always encouraged to offer new ideas and approaches.

Dagosta is still actively working to break down barriers.

“The other day I had to call someone who was technically a number of levels down from my role, and I could hear that this colleague of mine was really nervous in speaking with a VP,” she recalls. “I can understand how that might be nerve-wracking, but I think it’s important to take the time to explain that I just wanted their expertise on a situation, and that I welcomed their feedback. The environment here is one that encourages people to speak up, and I want that felt on my team as much as anywhere else in the company.”

Dagosta may not be the traditional attorney. Her son turned her into an automotive enthusiast, and her family regularly enjoys car shows. While she has wanted to be a lawyer since the age of eight and loves what she does, if she ever decided to change careers, she’d be redecorating houses for families on HGTV. But all of these things make Alicia Dagosta who she is, and she isn’t afraid to let it inform the person she is at work. Because for the first time, Dagosta can be her whole self at Oportun.

“It’s always so apparent that people are looking at the bigger picture and considering the impact on employees and our customers.”

The Communicative Counselor

Michael Sochor prioritizes active listening and comprehensive communication to build in-house and client relationships at Forescout Technologies

By Rebecca Rakowitz

ALTHOUGH MICHAEL SOCHOR ALWAYS worked in jargon heavy fields, clear accessible communication has been a priority for the lawyer. It’s a career that started all the way back in high school when he designed web pages and configured networks for businesses. He ultimately took this passion for computer science and pursued an engineering degree, diving deeper into the technology field, before heading to law school.

“It’s a transition that has become more common over time,” Sochor says. “But it is definitely a big shift to go from the very binary world of engineering to the legal world where there are lots of shades of gray.”

For the engineer-turned-attorney, the great fit of patent prosecution allowed him to interact with new technologies every day. Plus, he had a leg up when it came to working with inventors.

“You can talk with clients about technologies, business problems, etc., more efficiently when you have some familiarity with their concepts,” he says. “This enables accelerating their explanations.”

His arsenal of technical, legal, and communicative expertise armed Sochor perfectly to assume the role of director of intellectual property at cybersecurity company Forescout Technologies. In his position, Sochor handles patent programs, trademark programs, domain names, open-source compliance, litigation, other IP-related, and technical legal matters.

Now in-house, he specializes in the cybersecurity sector, an exciting area with rapid growth and rife with innovation. Plus, the director gets to see things from the other side of the patent industry, coaching inventors on how to file and helping to predict roadblocks.

As the director navigates the scientific and legal worlds, it has always been important to him that people on both sides understand each other’s language, inventions, and business processes. He does this by asking and answering queries along the way. Inventors often have questions about patent applications, and he doesn’t let those get brushed aside. “They are very happy with complete answers, because sometimes they have been told ‘just don’t worry about it,’” he explains. “That’s of course frustrating to them, because they want to understand things very deeply.”

Timely response is key and imperative to building trust, getting people more familiar with the patent process, and making things more efficient down

the line. “Teaching them as you go builds on itself,” Sochor says. “Clients know why patents are the way they are, and that makes achieving goals even easier and protecting rights more effective.”

He practices reflective listening, repeating back what he heard in his own words to inventors and clients about their products. It’s an effort that once again establishes credibility and trust, and when he learns more about the inventions, it results in broader, more effective patents and trademarks.

With intentional listening and answering, he guides the legal team to work alongside business stakeholders, taking time to go through options and risks together and choose the best forward approach.

Michael Sochor Director of IP Forescout Technologies

He doesn’t want the legal department to be a black hole, where requests go in and never come back out. “The legal department should not a department of no,” he says. “The legal department should be a supportive partner to business teams and help the company thrive.”

Outside his day job at Forescout Technologies, Sochor guest lectures at the Santa Clara University School of Law in California on opensource compliance, a topic usually seen as difficult or amorphous, he says. It’s important to him that these lectures not be filled with theoreticals, but that his students be tasked with confronting real-world situations. “It gets more students engaged,” he believes. “You can see a light go on in people’s heads, and that practical application is something I wish I had gotten more of when I was in school.”

Whether in a classroom or boardroom, Sochor encourages his students to hone their speaking skills. It’s essential, he says, even in patent prosecution, a misnomer of a field that doesn’t involve arguing in court, but rather in front of the US Patent and Trademark Office. “Speaking is a great skill to develop,” he advises. “You need to do that wherever you are; whether it be speaking on your own behalf or, of course, giving presentations and explanations to businesses along the way.”

Winston & Strawn applauds Michael Sochor for his vision, leadership, and commitment to Forescout Technologies

“Speaking is a great skill to develop. You need to do that wherever you are; whether it be speaking on your own behalf or . . . giving presentations and explanations to businesses along the way.”

Dually Prepared

How a dual JD/MBA program prepared Lindsay Donn Mann for an in-house career at Charlotte Tilbury Beauty

By Zachary Brown

CHARLOTTE TILBURY BEAUTY (CTB) is growing. The cosmetics and skincare brand launched by the renowned make-up artist in 2013 soon expanded into fragrance and recently partnered with Puig. The alliance will take CTB into the 150 countries where the Spanish fashion and fragrance company is already well established.

It’s a competitive space, and Charlotte Tilbury Beauty relies on experts to help navigate the path, manage risk, and advise its leaders as they execute an important strategy.

Lindsay Donn Mann is a veteran lawyer with years of experience handling various legal issues for brands like Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Speedo, and Chaps by Ralph Lauren. As associate vice president and legal counsel, she serves as CTB’s first North American attorney reporting directly to global general counsel Ashleigh Hegarty in the UK.

Recently, Modern Counsel asked Donn Mann to share the latest regarding legal at Charlotte Tilbury Beauty and how a joint JD/MBA has helped her rise to the top of her industry.

I know you’ve been very purposeful in you forged your career path. What made you want to earn your JD and MBA at the same time? When I started as a 1L at Rutgers, the law firms that were recruiting were asking me what kind of law I wanted to practice, and there were so many options. As a 1L, I didn’t really have an answer and I knew I needed to reflect more about how I wanted to make an impact. The JD/MBA program seemed like a good way to do that as an in-house attorney.

What did you think it would allow you to accomplish?

I knew it would give me that business acumen in addition to legal training so I could read and understand balance statements or balance sheets and be able to collaborate more fully with other department heads like CEOs and CFOs and VPs of marketing. I realized it would give me that full look into how corporate organizations work and how all of the pieces interact.

So going in-house was on your radar from the start, but your career began in firms. Why?

Well, I did a summer at Cole Schotz and started rotating through various departments. I was working for various clients, but the clients I had were companies that didn’t have in-house teams, and my training allowed me to step in and play that role. Using my dual degree and helping these clients paved the

way for me to reach that goal I had of working directly inside a company.

Did you find that there were benefits associated with starting at a firm?

For me there definitely were. I represented a small beverage brand that Coca-Cola made a large minority investment in, and it was great to be part of that deal. I got to experience a lot of things first-hand.

What were some other milestones or turning points for you?

I had a second goal. It wasn’t just in-house. I also wanted to be at a creative, brand-heavy company in beauty or fashion. My mentors and advisors started telling me to get more IP experience, so I went back for my LLM at the Cardozo School of Law, and it was a great experience.

How did that help you most?

I had professors who were GCs of fashion brands, and I learned so much from them. It led to my first in-house role, and after a couple of years I became legal counsel for the parent company of some household names in apparel.

What brought you Charlotte Tilbury Beauty?

My previous brands had been around for decades or even centuries and it was really exciting to come to this founder-led, young company that has new consumers discovering it every day.

“Using my dual degree and helping these clients paved the way for me to reach that goal I had of working directly inside a company.”

Does that change your approach?

Well, we have to build a strong consumer base and brand loyalty. There is a lot of work to be done in terms of setting up new businesses and preparing for growth. It’s fast-paced

What other legal issues are you on the look-out for?

It’s a bit of everything: contracts, influencer agreements, IP, and general legal matters. We always have new products coming out, and I get to use all of that training we talked about before.

How does your status as the only North America attorney impact your role?

I see it as a great opportunity. I get to support the region, work closely with our local leaders, and have a voice in the global approach as we grow the function over time.

What advice do you have for people considering dual degree programs?

I’ve found it very helpful in what I do, and working in a corporate department with clients that don’t have their own internal team really helped prepare me, too. Don’t overlook that as one viable path to take.

We are thrilled to congratulate Lindsay Donn Mann, AVP, Head of Legal, North America at Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, on this well-deserved recognition of her prowess and accomplishments.

Pat terson Belknap

With 200 lawyers based in New York City, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP delivers a full range of services in litigation and commercial law.

For more information, please visit www.pbwt.com.

—Joshua Kipnees, Partner

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP: “Lindsay is a dynamo. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of trademark law and tremendous instincts. She has quickly gained the faith and admiration of her client, and has greatly impressed our team at Patterson Belknap.”

“I had professors who were GCs of fashion brands, and I learned so much from them.”

Ready for Rebound

Thomas Yaegers has diligently prepared Marriott Vacations Worldwide to lead in the time-share space

By Zachary Brown

WITH INFLATION, INSTABILITY IN EUROPE, THE ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and social unrest in the United States, those working in the hospitality, vacation, and real estate fields are navigating challenging times. That’s especially true for someone like Thomas Yaegers.

Yaegers serves as the vice president and senior counsel of litigation, compliance, and privacy at Marriott Vacations Worldwide. He leverages his many years in commercial litigation to solve complex business disputes, manage risk, and chart a path forward—even in the midst of volatility and uncertainty.

It’s a high-stakes affair. The timeshare company serves more than 700,000 owners at 120 resorts. The publicly traded company founded in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and headquartered in Orlando, Florida has more than 10,000 employees, and its consolidated vacation ownership contract sales totalled almost $1.4 billion for 2021. Its well-known brands include Marriott Vacation Club, St. Regis Residence Club, Interval International, Aqua-Aston Hospitality, and others.

Yaegers graduated from the University of Florida and Stetson University College of Law. He spent twelve years at Akerman before joining Marriott Vacations Worldwide in 2018. Then, the

company was still adjusting to life after the 2016 acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. The behemoth $13 billion deal made Marriott the largest hotel chain in the world with thirty brands, 5,800 properties, and 1.1 million rooms in 110 countries.

Marriott employees worked to unite loyalty programs and internal processes as legal teams helped onboard employees and oversee all necessary aspects of the integration. Leaders spoke about how the move would benefit consumers. “We’ve got an ability to offer just that much more choice. A choice in locations, a choice in the kind of hotel, a choice in the amount a customer needs to spend,” Marriott’s then-CEO Arne Sorenson told the Associated Press in an interview.

While big deals bring choice to the consumer, they bring something else to the corporation—scrutiny.

Although neither the US Department of Justice nor the US Federal Trade Commission challenged the merger, Yaegers and his colleagues have to maintain good relationships with regulators and ensure all business practices are compliant in all jurisdictions worldwide. He’s also always busy reviewing active litigation and keeping up with changing data protection and privacy laws.

In March 2022, Marriott announced plans to close a corporate office in Moscow and pause all investments in Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine. “We deplore the loss of life, widespread impacts to millions of innocent civilians, and the humanitarian disaster in Ukraine. We strongly support

those working towards peace and an end to the needless suffering,” the company said in a statement.

As the conflict rolled into its fourth month, Marriott updated its stance. In June, the company suspended all operations in Russia, where it had been active for twenty-five years. In doing so, Marriott remained committed to taking care of its associates in the region. It helped many transfer the jobs to other countries and gave $1 million in internal disaster relief funds to workers and their families. The money was tagged for resettlement assistance, medicine, and legal aid.

World events aren’t the only issues keeping legal teams at Marriott Vacations Worldwide busy. Timeshares are known to attract a heavy litigation docket.

In recent years, members of a class action asserted that Marriott’s points program was designed to trick customers into paying closing costs and other fees without ever receiving the real estate they were led to believe they would own. Plaintiffs accused Marriott of changing and disputing the value of points and asked the court to do away with the program and return buyers’ fees and costs. A racketeering charge would have tripled damages. The case was dismissed, and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed that decision in 2020.

Investors and company leaders are confident moving forward as world conditions are expected to improve. Marriott Vacations Worldwide is rolling out new programs as industry insiders saw leisure travel spend would reach $1.7 trillion by 2027.

An International Focus

John UyHam works on global mergers and acquisitions, navigating and negotiating across different cultures, while maintaining Coca-Cola’s core values

By Russ Klettke

GROWING UP IN MICHIGAN AS THE son of ethnic Chinese immigrants from the Philippines, John UyHam became accustomed to navigating multiple cultures from a young age. “Both at home and when traveling internationally to visit relatives, I constantly shifted between different influences from midwestern American, Chinese, Filipino, and Canadian,” he says.

This global exposure helped UyHam in his work as lawyer for the Coca-Cola Company, one of America’s most definitively international companies. It first expanded outside the

US in 1896 (to Canada), and products bearing the company’s trademarks are now sold in more than two hundred countries and territories. With the company since 2007, UyHam currently serves as the senior legal counsel and head of mergers and acquisitions and strategic transactions.

The Coca-Cola Company’s offerings extend well beyond sparkling soft drinks. In addition to its portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands, the company has hydration, sports, coffee, and tea brands, like Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BOD -

YARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Gold Peak, and Ayataka. The company’s nutrition, juice, dairy, and plant-based beverage brands include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife, and AdeS. Coca-Cola’s products reach consumers throughout the world in large part through a global network of independent bottling partners.

UyHam and his team oversee the acquisitions, joint ventures, and investments that brought many of these brands (and others) into the Coca-Cola portfolio. In particular, he led the legal work on the acquisitions

Senior Legal Counsel and Head of M&A & Strategic Transactions

John UyHam

The Coca-Cola Company

John Disney

of fairlife, BODYARMOR , and Coca-Cola’s investment in Monster Energy. Working on transactions across six continents for CocaCola, his experience at the company truly has been international.

It’s easy to see how UyHam's international background helps him in this work. It may also explain why he embraces understanding the cultural aspects around doing business in places such as Dubai, New Delhi, Rio, Shanghai, and Warsaw. “It’s fun to do transactions in different places,” he says. “Working with different legal systems and across various business and social cultures is exciting and keeps the work fresh.” Having grown up hearing Chinese and Tagalog at home, UyHam also developed a real interest in foreign languages, he says, explaining that he tries to at least learn to say “hello” and “thank you” in the local language wherever he travels. “It shows respect and creates connection.”

While the business locales are different, one thing is constant for Coca-Cola’s lawyers: the company’s motto, “Refresh the world. Make a difference.” UyHam says, “Our brand is more than the drink in the bottle. It stands for our company’s values and is about where we fit into the communities we serve. And we have to respond to the issues that are important in these communities, including water security; waste and recycling; climate change; and diversity, equity and inclusion [DEI].”

With DEI a major focus for UyHam, he led the legal department’s diversity efforts from 2017 to 2021. In addition to working with Coca-Cola’s outside counsel to

“Our brand is more than the drink in the bottle. It stands for our company’s values and is about where we fit into the communities we serve.”

We are proud to work with John UyHam

and the talented team at Coca-Cola.

Congratulations to John on his achievements and his recognition by Modern Counsel.

increase the representation of diverse attorneys, particularly at the partner and firm management levels, the Coca-Cola legal team also promoted work with minorityand women-owned firms through its Legal Diversity Link networking event. This event brings together attorneys from these firms to connect with in-house counsel from Coca-Cola and other companies.

“Working to advance DEI within a global organization is very nuanced,” UyHam says, “A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work, because as we connected with our organization, we are mindful that diversity means different things in different places. The focus could be on gender, religion, or schools to which a person has access.”

UyHam lives in Atlanta, Coca-Cola’s hometown, where the struggle for racial equality has a long history. “I’ve been so encouraged by how our team has stepped forward on these issues,” he says. During the summer of 2020 in the aftermath of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, the legal team reached out to the Georgia state legislature urging for the passage of a state hate crimes law. On a personal level, he says that after the string of deadly shootings of Asian-Americans in Atlanta happened

in spring 2021, “Many colleagues reached out to me to ask how we were doing, and it really helped me during a horrible time for our community.”

In UyHam’s fifteen years working at Coca-Cola, he’s made a strong impression on colleagues, both within and outside of the company. “I’ve worked with John for over a decade, across all types of M&A and finance transactions, and have always been impressed that regardless of the situation, John has the ability to quickly analyze and distill complex situations down to the most efficient path to achieve his strategic goals,” says Jeff Baglio, managing partner at DLA Piper.

Tihir Sarkar, partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, agrees. “John works really hard to bring a sense of calm to the most difficult of situations to create a collaborative, supportive, and inclusive environment for all those involved to meaningfully contribute,” he notes.

For junior in-house lawyers, UyHam’s key advice is, “Don’t silo yourself as a lawyer; be a partner. Your value to the company should be more than just advising on technical legal issues.” He says attorneys need to be attuned to the broader business strategies, objectives, and tactics. “You

“Working to advance DEI within a global organization is very nuanced. A one-sizefits-all approach doesn’t work . . . we are mindful that diversity means different things in different places.”

Saluting his success.

DLA Piper is proud to recognize the accomplishments of John UyHam and The Coca-Cola Company. We salute your strategic vision and commitment to delivering exceptional solutions that improve business success.

ALWAYS BETTER, THANKS TO YOU.

have to understand the business rationale for what you are working on,” he adds. “You can’t just focus on the execution. Know the why, the goals, and the impact on operations. This broader understanding will really help you evaluate acceptable risk.”

Getting this exposure, UyHam explains, involves networking with the people who have authority and expertise—in tax, treasury, accounting, marketing, etc.— to help you see the big picture. “You need exposure to a robust team of people to successfully execute a transaction,” he says. “I enjoy getting to know people, so that helps.”

In other words, for UyHam it’s about bringing together people from all over the world, with different backgrounds, experiences, and insights and seeing what a group like that can accomplish.

Mayer Brown LLP:

“I have worked with John for years on deals for Coca-Cola. He is a first-rate lawyer and strategic thinker and is highly regarded internally.  John is a true leader. We congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition.”

—Martha McGarry, Partner and Coleader of Mayer Brown’s Global M&A practice

©2022 McDermott Will & Emery. For a complete list of entities visit mwe.com/legalnotices. This may be considered attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Pivot

Showcasing prominent in-house attorneys who capably adapt to changes in their companies, industries, and personal and professional lives to carve out new paths through imagination and reinvention

Legal Expert by Day, Family Man by Early Evening

Stereotypically, men may be less likely than women to adjust a career path for family. But that precedent doesn’t apply to Matt Jubenville of Midland Credit Management.

By P. Ellen Lose

Matt Jubenville Senior Director of Legal Affairs & Litigation Midland Credit Management

THROUGHOUT MATT JUBENVILLE’S WINDING career path, one thing has remained constant: work hard, but prioritize family.

Seven years ago, just after he and his wife welcomed their first child, Jubenville faced a fork in the road: either continue to work long hours at a traditional firm, or find an in-house position that provided a better work/life balance. After interviewing at several companies, he made the decision to jump to a litigation management position at Midland Credit Management. For Jubenville, the mid-size financial services company focused on debt buying and debt collection was the perfect fit predominantly due to its culture, which valued hard work, but also time outside the office.

It was a sudden move that he did not necessarily expect, but an obvious choice for him once his first daughter was born. That said, the unexpected was nothing new to the senior director of legal affairs and litigation as his path to Midland was a winding one.

Jubenville studied molecular biology as an undergraduate, then went on to law school with interests in patent law, trademark, and copyright. Eventually, he realized that to be competitive in the world of patent law, he would likely need a PhD in molecular sciences. He decided against that path, and pivoted to a different interest: securities law and securities litigation.

He represented clients in securities litigation for a decade. And while the job enabled him to hone and polish his litigation skills, he observed many successful attorneys in the field having to prioritize work over family. “I certainly understand the mentality of working eighty hours per week and being ‘on call’ at all hours to get ahead. In fact, that mentality was right for me earlier in my career,” Jubenville reflects. “Ultimately, though, I decided that the trade-off wasn’t quite worth it.”

At Midland, Jubenville and his team of three attorneys and five paralegals operate as an extended family as they defend the company.

The team sees a high volume of various litigation-related matters, including subpoenas, demand letters, arbitrations, individual and class action lawsuits, and regulatory enforcement actions. Yet, they still find time for birthdays, happy hours, and non-workrelated banter. Making sure they stay connected personally is a necessary balancer when consistently dealing with company litigation.

Throughout his tenure at Midland, Jubenville and his team have experienced more high-profile litigation than he expected would occur at a mid-sized company.

“Given our size in the broader landscape of financial services companies, I thought that my days of being involved in impactful cases at the appellate court or supreme court level might be behind me,” he says. “But since I’ve been here, we’ve had numerous cases travel to state and federal appellate courts, and

one US Supreme Court case decided in our favor. That’s in addition to the myriad of cases that have had an effect on our company that have been litigated by others. There has been a plethora of high-profile litigation activity, which really keeps things interesting.”

Jubenville also is proud of how his company treats its consumers. He notes that Midland is the first in the industry to have a Consumer Bill of Rights that codifies the company’s commitment to treating consumers fairly and transparently. Among other things, the company doesn’t collect from active-duty servicemembers or those experiencing temporary or permanent hardships. Using the tenets of the Consumer Bill of Rights as a guide, Jubenville and his team ensure the family-focused culture that brought him to Midland can be felt by all.

Since joining Midland, Jubenville and his wife have welcomed two additional children, making balancing

personal and professional life even more challenging. But his pivot to in-house work makes it possible for Jubenville to continue to enjoy every minute of it all.

Dykema Gossett PLLC:

“Matt is brilliant and hard-working. He also is authentic and genuinely passionate about the law. Working with Matt makes you a better lawyer— and person.”

—Ted Seitz, Member

Holland & Knight LLP:

“Matt has a unique skill-set. He is a talented, responsive, creative and effective lawyer who brings tremendous value to Midland and has been a pleasure to work with.“

—Cory Eichhorn, Partner

Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP:

“Matt is a stellar example of what all in-house counsel should aspire to be. He combines a keen legal intellect with a hard-nosed understanding of the realities of the regulatory world and sensitivity to the business needs of his client.”

—Siran S. Faulders, Partner

The diversity of our practice areas enables us to provide a broad range of legal services to businesses of all sizes, including Fortune 500 companies, private and public entities, companies from throughout the nancial services, construction, and real estate industries, large and emerging high-technology corporations, and individual entrepreneurs. Our size and full-service sta allow us to tailor our services to each client and to handle e ciently and e ectively matters of varying complexity including large, multifaceted matters.

619.231.0303 | swsslaw.com

We proudly support a creative and dynamic leader, Matt Jubenville, for his many accomplishments at Midland Credit Management Together we are honored to provide legal solutions that help Midland connect with consumers every day to help resolve their consumer lending obligations.

Karen Castaño

Litigation and IP: Languages of Love

Benjamin Setnick helps grow the legal team at Match Group by implementing internal policy, recruiting talent, and pulling back extensive outside counsel spends

By Billy Yost

BENJAMIN SETNICK IS A BORN LITIGATOR.

It’s not just that he loves an argument (he does), but he also loves the promise of the process: the solving of a problem. “I really enjoy resolving disputes, to my core,” the senior counsel of IP and litigation at Match Group explains. “Every dispute is a chance to find a solution. It just never gets old.”

Many a lawyer mentions the impact of the 172-episode and eight season run of LA Law, the first show to bring law firm drama to the homes of millions across the US. For Setnick, a seventh grader at the time, it wasn’t the

All-Consuming, All-Relaxing

Benjamin Setnick loves the law because it’s allconsuming, but outside the office, his recreational time has to be able to compete with a job that could be taking up all of his waking hours.

“I have to find activities that completely fill my brain, so I don’t think you’d probably consider them relaxing,” the lawyer says, laughing. He’s right. Setnick is a licensed pilot and certified scuba diver. On the weekends, he’ll even tow gliders aloft with an airplane, a skill that demands absolute attention to detail.

“There’s no capacity to think about that problem from yesterday or the upcoming project,” Setnick explains. “Everything else just melts away, and I love just going to that different place of focus.”

womanizing exploits of Corbin Bernsen’s Arnie Becker or the equally on-par romantic antics of Jimmy Smits’ portrayal of Victor Sifuentes that were so impressive.

Instead, Setnick found inspiration in the aged Richard Dystart’s stalwart of wisdom and leadership, Leland McKenzie. “Whenever the other lawyers had unsolvable problems, they’d go to Leland. He just had all the answers,” Setnick fondly recalls.

Oddly enough, Setnick would vie for a position on the set of a fictional law firm far before stepping foot inside a real one. Prior to going to law school, Setnick worked on film sets as an independent grip and electrician for movies, such as John Travolta’s Michael , Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan’s Courage Under Fire, and a whole host of independent films.

Prior to and while attending law school, Setnick spent nearly ten years in IT consulting, information security, and network engineering, working for startups, telecom companies, and a Fortune 500 homebuilder. His time in the industry spanned both the dot-com boom and bust.

The work was interesting, but Setnick knew he wanted something else for his life. Fortunately, Southern Methodist University had just reinstated its night law school program, and with former White House Counsel Harriet Miers as an alum. Setnick began taking classes at night, while working full time before transitioning to become a full-time student.

Benjamin Setnick Director and Senior Counsel, IP & Litigation Match Group

“I really enjoy resolving disputes, to my core. Every dispute is a chance to find a solution. It just never gets old.”

The lawyer’s strong IP background is the result of his first firm job. Setnick’s tech background equated to patent litigation potential, at least to the lawyers he worked with. “They said, ‘You understand this stuff, so come work with us,’” he remembers. “I didn’t even take patents in law school.”

Setnick had to reach out to one of his law school professors to learn which book to read to brush up on the subject. But it worked out. Patent litigation gave way to trademark, copyright, and trade secret law, and a successful law career since 2008.

Coming to Match Group provided Setnick the opportunity to put all of his skills to use, in a role that was created, more or less, just for him.

“I was the first litigation counsel hired under my boss,” Setnick explains. “I’ve been able to bring my IP specialty to the table, because it’s not something that really existed within the company previously. While we still retain outside counsel, we’ve been able to bring some significant talent inside the company. Now, we can use our outside counsel as more of a guided missile for IP matters.”

Since 2018, Setnick has helped evolve the Match Group legal team in conjunction with Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel Jeanette Teckman, implementing internal policy, recruiting talent (including Senior Trademark Paralegal Cynthia Armstrong), and pulling back on some extensive outside counsel spends.

Karen Castaño

“Our goals focus on increasing our internal expertise and continuing to integrate with the business,” Setnick says. “We want to continue to build those important relationships and, at the same time, strengthen our policies and IP education with our businesspeople, engineers, and product designers.

In conjunction with Match Group’s marketing and product professionals, Setnick says the goal is to support the ones actually creating the IP by nurturing, protecting, and understanding the marketability of the intellectual property that’s at the foundation of Match Group’s innovative services.

The journey of an IP lawyer tends to have twists and turns, but Setnick says this is something to be celebrated. He doesn’t consider his time spent in film or tech as inhibiting his expertise in the slightest. It’s quite the opposite.

“I don’t look at any of my experience as wasted time,” he reflects. “Whatever you go through on your way to law school, it’s a benefit. It will all contribute to who you are and how you practice. You don’t have to be one of those people who always knew they wanted to be a lawyer. That’s just one path, and don’t worry if yours doesn’t look the same.”

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP:

“We have been fortunate to work on several different litigation and transactional matters guided by Ben. He quickly identifies the overall objective and understands what is required on a dayto-day basis to achieve that objective. He sizes up key issues and effectively works with the business team and outside counsel to achieve a practical solution for his client.”

—Robert Greeson, Head of Technology and Communications, Media and Entertainment, United States; and Partner, Dallas

Barker Brettell:

“With his robust knowledge of IP law, Ben champions a strategic, commercially astute, and collaborative environment within his team. As external counsel he is great to work with: tenacious, creative, and pragmatic.”

—Rosalyn Newsome, Partner

to Match Group.

Law around the world nortonrosefulbright.com

Norton Rose Fulbright joins Modern Counsel in recognizing Benjamin Setnick for his exceptional contributions

Change Agent

Carole Boelitz salutes her time in the military for instilling values that have guided her career as executive director of IP at Lenovo

By Donald Liebenson

EMPLOYERS READILY PRAISE VETERANS for their discipline, ability to take direction, and commitment to teamwork. But there is one benefit to coming to the corporate space from the military that doesn’t get a lot of play. It makes you fearless, says Carole Boelitz, executive director of intellectual property at Seattle-based Lenovo.

Earlier in her career, she recalls, “I was briefing executives at Microsoft. Everyone was nervous, but I was not. Someone asked me why I wasn’t scared, because some executives could be pretty direct in their feedback. And I responded with ‘what are they going to do, yell at me? I’ve survived that.

Are they going to tell me to drop and give them twenty push-ups? Done that too.’”

Boelitz’s career took off when she attended the Air Force Academy. She was inspired by a special semester of electronics in high school, as well as a class to obtain a private pilot’s license. “The teacher told the class that he’d been teaching the class for five years and no one had ever aced one of his tests,” Boelitz says. “Challenge accepted. I aced the first exam and every exam after. He gifted me a flight computer.”

The clincher came when her teacher brought into class an issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine. Featured

Carole Boelitz Executive Director of IP Lenovo

on the cover was a Boeing plane, which the teacher said his son, an aeronautical engineer, had worked on. “That piqued my interest,” Boelitz remembers. “I thought it would be really cool to work on a plane.”

So it wasn’t tremendous leap for Boelitz to think that “it would be cool to be an astronaut,” she says. She applied to Purdue (known as “the cradle of astronauts,” with twenty-seven among its alums), as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she earned a full-ride scholarship. Her guidance counselor suggested she apply to the Air Force Academy, and she became the first from her town to get in. “It was an honor,” she says.

When medical issues dashed her dreams of being an astronaut, Boelitz resolved, “if I can’t fly them, then I’ll design them” and earned an aerospace degree. “I loved it,” she says. “It was math, computers, structures, a little bit of everything.”

She attended MIT for graduate school, where she met her husband, Fred, who was on the same scholarship program. They have been married thirty years. He is presently head of autonomy at Blue Origin. “He’s the one who launches and lands the rockets,” Boelitz says.

After two years at MIT, Boelitz was stationed at Kirkland Air Force Base. It was the time of President Ronald Reagan and his Strategic Defense Initiative. “I worked

Expertise Spotlight

FIG.1 Patents is proud to work with industry and thought leaders like Carole Boelitz and Lenovo.

FIG.1 was founded in 2021 as a boutique IP law firm with the goal to put patents first. The firm invests in people, tech, and infrastructure needed to prepare and prosecute high-quality patents for high-tech clients.

After only its first year, FIG.1 was ranked by Patent Bots in the top 10 for patent quality among firms with at least 250 issued patents.

And FIG.1 aspires to grow. In addition to seeking new clients and rock-star practitioners continually, FIG.1’s growth efforts include developing new patent practitioners from the ground up. For example, FIG.1 maintains robust undergraduate internship and law school clerkship programs that have seen multiple participants transition to professional positions in patent law. Further, FIG.1 provides a Diversity in Technology & IP Law Scholarship and Internship, which awards incoming student scholarship aid and collaborative training with both FIG. 1 and clients.

FIG.1’s patent attorneys have extensive experience in patent drafting, prosecution, and patent asset evaluation, as well as technical backgrounds in numerous technical areas, including electrical engineering, computer engineering and science, mechanical engineering, and biomedical engineering.

“IP is what gets me up in the morning happy to go to work.”

research and development,” she says. “My last couple of years I worked on GPS, which is now in your car, your phone, and your watch. I have a very odd, specialized knowledge of nickel cadmium batteries.”

With Reagan poised to leave office after two terms, Boelitz questioned whether her aerospace gig would be viable in the long term. Her husband remarked that she’d be a good lawyer and suggested she attend law school. She got into Harvard Law School.

It was the late 1990s and the dot-com boom. “I was interested in entrepreneurial business and fell in love with patent law,” she says. “It’s like opera. Some people love it and some people just see it as a form of law and don’t want to be a part of it.”

Boelitz has benefited throughout her career from mentorship. When

she was an associate at Boston-based Wolf Greenfield & Sacks, she gave birth to her son in the first year with the firm. “A partner said to have as many kids as I can, that I would never regret it, and the firm would support me,” she says.

Boelitz joined consumer electronics company Lenovo just over two years ago. After a decade with Microsoft and six years with a couple start-ups, she calls Lenovo “the best of both worlds.” Her job allows her to focus on IP licensing, as well as portfolio management worldwide. “I get to work with the business, finance, and discuss strategies meeting challenges with patent offices around the world.”

She continues, “IP is what gets me up in the morning happy to go to work. By definition, it’s always novel. Every new invention is something new to be

explored and celebrated. It’s like being the OB-GYN of attorneys. You get to be there when something is created. It’s an awesome experience that I would never give up.”

At Lenovo, Boelitz also is focused on change management, a natural fit for someone who went from aerospace engineering to being a lawyer, and moving from Boston to Seattle. “Change is hard,” she says. “But people realize the value of change very quickly, and then the trust for more change accelerates. That becomes the culture.”

External partners also are especially important in Boelitz’s in-house legal role. “Several of us at FIG. 1 have collaborated with Carole in various capacities over more than fifteen years and have repeatedly benefited from her focused and innovative approach,” says Chris Culberson, partner at FIG. 1

“Everyone has a unique perspective, and I want to bring that to the teams I work with in the inventor community.”

Patents. “She brings the full breadth of her extensive education and experience to each project.”

“We are fortunate to work with Carole Boelitz to serve Lenovo’s patent interests in the Greater China region,” add C. V. Chen, Daisy Wang, Scott Lin, Kai Huang, and Jason Chuang of Lee and Li in Taiwan and Lee and Li-Leaven in Beijing. “Her professional experience, wisdom, and strategic talent are highly recognized by our team. She is supportive and always brings to us the proactive inputs.”

Boelitz praises Lenovo for prioritizing inclusion and diversity metrics. “Not all companies do that,” she says. “I’ve always been an advocate for more diversity in the industry. This is a pipeline problem. We need more girls in STEM in middle school. I can’t control that. What I could do was mentor people in my kids’ school.”

In 2020, Lenovo created a Product Diversity Office to monitor whether Lenovo products were developed according to diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Lenovo also is a founding pledgee of the Increasing Diversity in Innovation Pledge.

The company recently published its metrics as a first step in addressing the issue of underrepresented inventors and facilitating more participation in the innovation ecosystem so that all people and ideas have an opportunity for success. “Everyone has a unique perspective, and I want to bring that to the profession and to the teams I work with in the inventor community,” Boelitz says. “Diverse teams make more creative solutions, which can only lead to more valuable patents.”

She adds jokingly, “So you see, I’m not completely altruistic.”

Diversity and support are perhaps the two strongest values instilled in Boelitz

We proudly recognize Carole Boelitz.

We are honored to serve as a trusted extension of Lenovo's patent strategy team.

An e ective strategist. A collaborative colleague.

during her time in the Air Force.

“I had great leaders and mentors,” she recalls. “A colonel took me along to a meeting in Boston. It was the company where I did my fellowship and met my husband. We sat down at the meeting table and the vice president of engineering said, ‘Carole, why don’t you go get us some coffee?’ My face flushed. I was twenty-three years old. The colonel looked him in the eye and said, ‘I think you should have someone else get the coffee. Carole is here to evaluate your performance.”

“It’s always good to have allies,” she says. “It taught me that I had a role to play and that I was valued.”

Greater China Patent Services – Lee and Li &

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James Barker Deputy General Counsel Bungie

Game Plan

Bungie is known for creating one of the most iconic first-person shooters of all time. Deputy GC James Barker protects the studio that powers its franchise.

By Zachary Brown

TO HIS COLLEAGUES, HE’S SIMPLY JAMES, BUT in the expansive online gaming worlds they create, he’s also JAMS#8441. As members of his fireteam embark on their cooperative mission to vanquish foes and level up in the first-person shooter, they often talk about strategy. Little do they know that JAMS is James Barker, Bungie’s deputy general counsel, in charge of managing intellectual property for the hit game Destiny 2. It’s a job for which Barker is uniquely suited.

Barker was born in Texas and raised on a horse ranch by his two moms. One raised and trained Arabian horses, the other was among the pioneering women in high tech, with a career that spanned from IBM in the sixties to Intel in the 2010s. “Both badasses,” Barker says. As an only child, he roamed the family’s acreage or gamed on an MS-DOS computer.

Barker’s family eventually moved to Oregon, where he became an avid outdoorsman. He obtained his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University and his master’s at the University of Washington. He planned a career in alternative energy research until the post-recession sequesters of 2010 set back the industry. Instead of chasing one of the scarce openings at a national lab, Barker risked a career pivot. He crammed for two weeks, took the last available LSAT of 2010, and enrolled at the University of Washington to earn his JD and focus on intellectual property.

“I may have stumbled into law because a research PI once told me that I had ‘the attention span of a patent attorney,’” he says.

In 2020, after six years spent immersed in IP law at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, Barker joined Bungie, an American video game

company. He brought a specialist’s attention to existing IP litigation, and order to Bungie’s various IP portfolios, but in so doing found a much wider variety of projects.

Alex Seropian and Jason Jones founded the video game studio in 1991, and today it is most well-known for developing titles like Myth, Halo, and Destiny. With tens of millions of active accounts, Destiny 2 is one of the ten most popular massively multiplayer online games and a leader in the genre of live service games.

IP plays a major role in Bungie’s ongoing growth as the company explores new products and markets, and continues to expand beyond its Bellevue, Washington headquarters. In July 2022, Bungie and Sony finalized a deal to bring Bungie into the Sony ecosystem.

Bungie is expanding its headcount to accommodate the growth. Since Barker started, the company has added over four hundred full-time employees; yet it still manages to maintain and improve upon the strong and aspirational culture that it is known for throughout the industry. “We believe teams are stronger than heroes, and that means we promote fairness and inclusion,” he says. “We want to do what’s right by our employees, fans, and community of creators.”

Barker’s role at Bungie is to protect the organization, its people, and its mission. That mission does not end with safeguarding the portfolio of intellectual property rights that power each beloved Bungie title. Soon after he was hired, Barker and Bungie started laying the groundwork for a litigation campaign against companies that profit from violating the player experience. Bungie has, for example, filed six

lawsuits since 2021 targeting companies engaged in selling cheat software, some in partnership with peer companies like Riot and Ubisoft.

“This is a great use of resources,” he explains. “Defending the integrity of the player experience and supporting our community is an easy decision for Bungie to make, and we will do much more of this.” The program he helped design to address this ongoing issue is

intended to become more efficient, cost effective, and repeatable over time so that it can become a template to protect Bungie and its community of players well into the future.

Managing the work at Bungie is a high-volume affair, and at the time of writing, Barker was one of just two in-house lawyers at the company. He relies on trusted outside firms and an in-house team of legal professionals that

Barker calls “the best in the industry.” “Any good lawyer will tell you that paralegals teach them something about their work each-and-every day,” he says. “Knowing that I often can’t be the expert, I trust my colleagues and the people we hire. I just try to keep the big picture in mind and make sure that what we do aligns with our values and meets Bungie’s needs.”

These days it has gotten harder for Barker to find time to play the games he helps protect. But he has managed to log about 1,500 hours in Destiny 2 over the last two years with his family, members of Bungie’s legal team, and even Bungie’s outside counsel (many of whom come together over Destiny 2 in their off-hours).

He enjoys serving as a tour guide for new lights, and he appreciates the ringers who pull him through the endgame. Barker’s boss, General Counsel Don McGowan, runs out front to tank damage for the fireteam just as he does for Bungie. Barker’s wife, career public defender Pooja Vaddadi (currently running for Municipal Court Judge in Seattle), plays Hunter. JAMS, in contrast, mains a Warlock, saying, “Someone’s got to keep my Titans and Hunters alive.”

We are honored to work with James Barker and Bungie as they continue to create worlds that inspire friendship and connection.

millernash.com

Miller Nash LLP balances a unique blend of tradition and innovation to meet the evolving needs of our clients, our people, and the communities we serve.

“We believe teams are stronger than heroes, and that means we promote fairness and inclusion. We want to do what’s right by our employees, fans, and community of creators.”

The Winding Road

Jennifer Schott may not have planned to become an in-house leader, but today she is thriving at ITW as general counsel

By Zach Baliva

CATERPILLAR, STANLEY BLACK & DECKER, and Whirlpool are household names in the United States. But another industrial company is flying under the radar and leading in the space. Launched by a group of investors in 1912, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has grown into a Fortune 200 global organization with 19,300 patents, 45,000 employees in 52 countries, and $14.5 billion in annual revenue.

Jennifer Schott joined ITW in 2021. As senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary, she’s responsible for advising on all legal matters and helping the business execute on ITW’s enterprise strategy and reach its strategic goals.

ITW grew steadily through acquisitions, received its first patent in 1916, and went public in the 1970s. ITW now has a diverse portfolio of seven market-leading segments that include automotive, construction, and food equipment.

Like ITW, Schott has taken an unexpected journey to the top. The veteran in-house attorney

Jennifer Schott SVP, General Counsel, and Secretary

Courtesy of Jennifer Schott

and trusted advisor with two decades of experience was once an antitrust expert and big firm litigator. “In retrospect, my career looks well planned. However, it really happened by accident. I thought I would be a litigator for life,” she reflects. “Keeping an open mind and being willing to grow and learn guided my career journey.”

Schott was born and raised in Illinois and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois before enrolling at Chicago-Kent College of Law. She spent five years in Chicago-area law firms doing complex trial work and deepening her knowledge of antitrust laws.

However, by the time Schott was a sixth-year associate on the partner track, she started rethinking her career goals. She was conflicted. “An in-house position was tempting, but I didn’t want to give up my antitrust work. I enjoyed learning deeply about an industry and business,” she explains. A role at Discover Financial Services turned out to be the perfect fit.

In 2003, Schott joined the financial services company as the second in-house litigator, where she continued to litigate complex matters and handled the noteworthy Discover v. Visa antitrust case that brought a $2 billion settlement. She also developed strategy, managed internal investigations, supervised outside counsel, and led teams.

After nearly ten years, Schott’s general counsel asked her to serve as her chief of staff. “I had reservations,” Schott recalls. “I liked litigation and was hesitant to step into areas that I knew little about—like corporate secretarial work, operations, and budget planning. However, I also liked challenges and saw the opportunity to expand my skill set.”

That started a new era in which Schott worked alongside the general counsel, began working with boards, and helped stand up a legal operations function. After her chief of staff role, she was chosen to lead Discover’s Public Company team and was responsible for advising management and the board on securities, governance, employee benefits, executive compensation, and capital markets transactions.

Although Schott was not a securities, compensation, or benefits lawyer, the experience taught her how to leverage her unique experience and judgment, issue spot, and lead a strong team of subject-matter experts.

By 2019, Schott was working as Discover’s vice president and assistant general counsel, when she received a call from Caterpillar (CAT). The large equipment manufacturer needed

someone to lead a large global team supporting the governance, securities, mergers and acquisitions, government affairs, and tax teams, as well as advising CAT’s finance and insurance company.

Schott admits she was intimidated to take on a role that was bigger in size and scope, but says she only had to reflect back on other pivotal moments in her career to gain the necessary confidence. “Thinking about other times I ventured into new areas, gave me the courage to take on this challenge and continue to discover what I am capable of,” she says.

Schott’s stint with Caterpillar before joining ITW was relatively brief, but she says she developed “in dog years” as part of its team, especially helping to navigate the pandemic. Expanding her areas of responsibility and functioning within legal and financial executive

“Working at ITW has been like finding a hidden treasure in my backyard, and I am practicing law how I had always envisioned. The legal department and business work together as true partners.”

Jones Day is proud of our partnership with Jennifer Schott and Illinois Tool Works, our shared culture of collaboration, and our mutual commitment to delivering superior solutions and value to the clients and customers we serve around the globe.

Why Jones Day? A true partnership based on communication, collaboration, conviction, and talent across specialties and jurisdictions.

leadership groups rounded out her experience and prepared her to lead an entire department as general counsel.

That’s when ITW came calling. In 2021, the organization needed someone to lead a legal function in its decentralized and entrepreneurial business model. For Schott, the opportunity represented a departure from the highly matrixed and centralized worlds of CAT and Discover.

ITW has developed a proprietary business model, which is a powerful set of strategic, operational, and cultural practices that business units deploy to maximize performance. Leaders in each business unit come to Schott and her legal colleagues to solve unique needs. As an Illinois native and resident, Schott is happy to have found a new home that suits her well. “Working at ITW has been like finding a hidden treasure in my backyard, and I am practicing law how I had always envisioned,” she says. “The legal department and business work together as true partners.”

Schott is continuing to evolve the department that was once a “deal machine” that helped finish dozens of acquisitions each year. In 2013, ITW announced a new enterprise strategy focused on organic growth. It divested commodities and rationalized the business, which forced legal to realign. Today, the global legal team has lawyers in the US, Europe, and Asia and has teams of commercial, intellectual property, governance, litigation, and compliance lawyers.

“Jenn has made a significant impact at ITW from the day she walked in the door,” says Michael Conway, litigation partner at Jones Day. “She has demonstrated an impressive ability to master a diverse and complex set of business and legal issues and, just as importantly, fit seamlessly within ITW’s unique corporate culture.”

Things are looking bright as ITW moves into the post pandemic era. In late 2022, the company announced total revenue of $4 billion for its most recent quarter, which is 10 percent better than the same three-month period of the previous year. The company will continue to grow and develop—and Schott plans to do the same.

AN

ARROW IN THE QUIVER

Jeffrey Harradine spent more than sixteen years in private practice before joining the hometown team he always admired: Xerox

by billy yost

IT WAS ONLY ONE YEAR, BUT AN experience that informed Jeffrey Harradine’s entire legal practice: as a clerk for the late Franklin S. Van Antwerpen of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Harradine’s charge was no small task.

“I had the benefit of working for a judge who demanded that we treat every single case as if it was the most important case of our lives,” Harradine remembers. “To Judge Van Antwerpen, every case was critically important to someone, so we had to get it right, every time. He instilled in all of us the importance of reaching the correct answer under law, whether it took us hours, days, or even weeks to get there.”

He continues, “I’ve taken that mindset with me to every case that I’ve worked on and every in-house duty. When I am engaged, my work has to be my best effort and right because it is important to someone.”

Harradine’s path in-house differs greatly from most others. In fact, he spent more than sixteen years in private practice, first as an associate at Clifford Chance in New York City, and then an associate and partner at Ward, Greenberg, Heller, & Reidy in Rochester, before joining Xerox’s Office of General Counsel.

So why go in-house at all?

“I joined the Xerox team because I thought I could provide value, and I wanted to add important new arrows to my quiver,” the senior managing counsel of litigation and employment explains. “I wanted to learn a business from the inside and see exciting engineering and science. Although I’ve only been here a relatively short time, I’ve encountered

Jeffrey Harradine Senior Managing Counsel, Litigation & Employment Xerox

“I’VE ENCOUNTERED INCREDIBLE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SUPPORTIVE AND HELPED EDUCATE ME ON THE FASCINATING PARTS OF OUR BUSINESS.”

Hometown Hero

Jeffrey Harradine just wants to inspire one person. That’s enough. “If this job can be done by a kid from Brockport, New York, it can be done by you, too, if you just apply yourself,” the attorney says. That’s not a slight on his hometown; indeed, his high school class produced a number of physicians, entrepreneurs, teachers, and engineers. But his gratitude to those who guided him in his formative years is why Harradine dedicates significant time to making his hometown the best it can be.

Serving on the Brockport Central School District Board of Education since 2017 (and as its vice president since 2018), Harradine oversees the school he attended and where his children are now enrolled. He also serves as a trustee for the Western Monroe Historical Society and acts as director for the Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Foundation, which provides support for higher education, medical research, and the performing arts.

incredible people who have been supportive and helped educate me on the fascinating parts of our business.”

But Harradine’s history with Xerox goes much deeper. The company’s extensive ties in his community mean a lot to the attorney, who grew up twenty minutes west of Xerox Tower in Rochester. Even as a child, Harradine remembers hearing about Xerox rolling out the latest technology; not to mention the number of interesting people he met who just happened to have some tie to the company. He is proud that many of the crucial technologies we use every day were born at Xerox and Xerox PARC.

“I think for anyone that has a remote understanding of the history of [Xerox], coming here was too alluring an opportunity to pass up,” Harradine remembers. “I couldn’t help but admire this place, even as a kid.”

Harradine admits he never imagined he would go in-house, even five years ago. He observes that law schools rarely introduce students to the idea of working as an enabler for a business as opposed to a billable powerhouse acting as outside counsel; an encoding that can be hard to shake off. However, as time went on, Harradine felt convinced there were many interesting experiences to learn and grow from working on the other side of the attorney-client relationship.

The sophistication of Xerox’s legal team helped the transition in-house, as did the range of complex litigation matters Harradine led as a firm attorney touching on corporate governance, labor and employment law, UCC and contract breaches,

MAKING AN IMPACT

and intellectual property. But that doesn’t mean it’s been an easy go.

“The challenge coming into a role like this is learning how to jump into a project or a case, do productive work, and move to the next activity on a faster cycle than most people do in private practice,” he explains. “I’m usually not in the nitty gritty now, but work on strategy for a number of different matters and counseling projects on any given day. I want to make sure I am a positive influence on an engagement before I move on to do the same on the next.”

Harradine says cultivating that speed and efficiency is likely a skill he will work to perfect for the remainder of his career. And that’s exactly why he moved in-house. On a typical day, he could be in a courtroom or a deposition, providing counseling on any number of legal issues across North America on breaks, then return to the office (sometimes a quick trip in our increasingly virtual world) to strategize on a complex litigation, before moving on to support HR as part of his employment function.

“I’m never, ever bored here,” Harradine says, laughing. “And that is a great thing to say about any job.”

A VALUED PARTNER

We congratulate our friend and client, Jeff Harradine of Xerox, on his outstanding career and continuing achievements.

We are proud of our collaboration with Jeff and Xerox on their path to success.

We congratulate Jeffrey Harradine, Senior Managing Counsel at Xerox Corporation, on his accomplishments and recognition.

We are proud to partner with Jeff in the pursuit of innovation and excellence. More than just nationwide expertise in labor and employment law, Kullman has Next-Level Know-How SM .

1300 Clinton Square, Rochester, NY nixonpeabody.com | @NixonPeabodyLLP

SMALL BUSINESS

Jim Marinello lays the legal groundwork for Gateway Merchant Banking to reach the next level of success

by natalie kochanov

JIM MARINELLO GOT THE REAL

estate bug during his college years, as the US rebounded from a period of economic decline. His interest solidified while in law school, and he has followed it ever since, including in his current role at Gateway Merchant Banking.

Gateway, a real estate investment company owned by two African American principals, primarily focuses on investing in and developing large-scale rental housing across the US. Part of its competitive advantage includes sourcing off-market joint ventures with owners with excess land. The company’s first big success came through a complicated land assemblage that included Howard University and Washington, DC’s Shaw neighborhood.

As Gateway’s chief legal officer, Marinello advises the organization on not only its current ventures, but also the paths open to it moving forward. Meanwhile, in his time outside the office, he leverages his experience in the field to uplift other small busi-

nesses and inspire the next generation of change-making entrepreneurs.

After graduating from New York University School of Law, Marinello spent four years in private practice before moving in-house. He got his start in the financial services industry as an assistant corporate counsel at TIAA, where he led the first real estate insurance company separate account. He then went on to do the same thing as vice president and corporate counsel at Prudential Financial.

“My career was all leading up to what I wanted to do for Gateway,” Marinello relects. “I was looking for a smaller shop, where I could focus solely on developing a system for the delivery of legal advice that would be a combination of in-house and outside counsel, as well as consistent, efficient, and responsive to the business needs of the team.”

The team at Gateway, Marinello emphasizes, is as dynamic as it gets. His job adapts the experience he acquired advising large companies

to suit the trajectory of a smaller business. “I try to make sure that their structures are crystal clear, not just to the involved parties, but to any third parties that are going to be looking at them,” he says. “Gateway wants to grow into a full-service real estate merchant banking company, so I also dedicate some time toward advising them on what their opportunities are and what the company will look like five years from now.”

In the short-term, Gateway will be moving ahead on a project Marinello nurtured from its inception. “It’s a project in Maryland not too far from a transit station,” he clarifies. “To date, it couldn’t have gone more smoothly in terms of identifying the sources of capital and getting everything ready for the next phase, which will be construction.”

Marinello keeps busy with external projects, as well. He volunteers with SCORE Mentors Northwest New Jersey, an organization offering guidance to small businesses. “As a certified mentor, I have multiple

Jim Marinello Chief Legal Officer Gateway Merchant Banking

Susan Conover Marinello

small businesses assigned to me that I meet with on either a weekly or a monthly basis. I listen without judgment, get a good understanding of their goals, and try to develop with them a roadmap for achieving those goals,” he elaborates.

Marinello’s involvement with SCORE also includes serving as a subject matter expert, presenting to small business owners and fellow mentors on educational topics and best practices, and mentoring high school students to compete in business and entrepreneurship competitions.

When it comes to other real estate attorneys, Marinello urges them to consider their career options carefully. “For anybody thinking about making the jump from a law firm to the financial services world in-house, I would recommend they do their diligence,” he says. “Going in-house is a great way to continue to practice law in a meaningful manner, yet stretch into being a contributor to a corporate environment.”

Marinello embraces the challenges of in-house practice along with its rewards. His path to Gateway may have been decades in the making, but he wouldn’t change a thing.

“Both TIAA and Prudential had a strong commitment to social justice and supporting minority-owned businesses. To get the opportunity, after thirty years in-house, to be chief legal officer of an African American-owned merchant banking firm—it’s almost like I wrote the script myself,” Marinello says. “This role is everything I’ve wanted it to be.”

“MY CAREER WAS ALL LEADING UP TO WHAT I WANTED TO DO FOR GATEWAY.”

THE

OF EQUITY AND ESG

Eurazeo continues to demonstrate metric-based commitment to representation and ESG

by will grant WITH OVER $ 30 BILLION IN ASSETS, 530 portfolio companies, and 360 private equity, private debt, and real asset experts across the globe, Eurazeo has made a name for itself as one of the premier European private equity companies. And its footprint is expanding. With plans of buildout into North America and Asia, Eurazeo is hoping to continue seeking out technology, healthcare, financial, and other sectors that are poised for growth.

Shari Miller General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, North America Eurazeo

Eurazeo’s expansion has been noticed for all the right reasons. In September 2022, the company was named the “International General Partner of the Year” by the Private Equity Women Investor Network, an annual award given to a partner “committed to transforming the private equity industry by supporting increased gender diversity and female leadership.”

“Increasing gender diversity both within Eurazeo and the broader private equity industry is one of our top priorities with our O+ Initiative, along with sustainability,” Virginie Morgon, CEO of Eurazeo, said in a statement. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished to date, but there is more to do. At Eurazeo, we don’t cut corners and we are committed to responsible growth, investing with purpose, and contributing meaningfully along the journey to equality and equity.”

Eurazeo’s commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dates back to 2008, when the company decided to take a metric-driven approach to increase its representation, environmental efforts, and other governance initiatives.

Morgon was recently highlighted by Financial News, not only for being named Eurazeo’s first female CEO, but her commitment to ESG on the whole. As broader calls for regulation and claims of greenwashing have become more prevalent in the private equity space, the CEO is determined to demonstrate her company’s commitment with action and metrics. “You don’t have ten people doing this in your organization, across the board, and then elevate your ESG director to partner level because you want to look fashionable,” Morgon told Financial News. “You show your team, your partners inside the firm, that this is serious.”

congratulates SHARI MILLER

General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, North America on her accomplishments and recognition by Modern Counsel

Beijing

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www.gibsondunn.com

Eurazeo has linked 15 percent of its partners and managing directors’ bonuses with ESG targets. The company has also pledged to become carbon neutral by 2040. Morgon admitted that it was more difficult to build a case for ESG just a few years back. Building a strong business case was key. Productivity, efficiency, and savings were all upsides of embracing broader ESG goals.

Another key female executive at Eurazeo, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of North America Shari Miller, credits her relationships for her success—a quality that she is especially proud of. Miller brings extensive in-house and private practice experience to her role Eurazeo, which shapes how she practices today as she focuses on Eurazeo’s US presence and leading the organizations’ compliance program.

While Eurazeo remains on the front lines of all things ESG and DEI, the company has certainly encountered challenges. The pandemic and worldwide shutdown created an environment where unforeseen and unthinkable challenges were suddenly all too real. The war in Ukraine has only made the landscape more precarious. “The challenge is not knowing what we have ahead of us,” Morgon told Financial News. “Significant disruption, decoupling between geographies, probably the US and Europe with the recent acceleration related to the war in Ukraine in Europe.”

But that hasn’t kept business from moving forward as Eurazeo secured $550 million in fundraising in March 2022. Economic uncertainty is omnipresent, but Eurazeo continues to make wise investments both in its portfolio and its people, ensuring an ability to weather the storm, come what may.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP: “Shari is smart, hardworking, and has a deep understanding of private equity and deal making. She brings a practical business sense and an upbeat and positive attitude that makes her a delight to work with.”

—Steve

Shoemate, Partner

KEEP THE

Rebecca Hussey embraces the excitement of each new challenge in her role as associate general counsel of government relations at Crown Castle

by billy yost

COMING

Rebecca Hussey

Associate General Counsel, Government Relations Crown Castle

Courtesy of Rebecca Hussey

CONSIDERING ALL STAKEHOLDERS IS a critical virtue of successful in-house practice. But when it comes to Rebecca Hussey’s purview, the challenge seems exponentially more difficult.

Hussey, associate general counsel of government relations at Crown Castle, supports an incredible ecosystem of shared communications infrastructure throughout the US, including over 40,000 cell towers, 115,000 small cells on air or under contract, and 85,000 miles of fiber.

Those towers and small cells act as hubs for voice and data signals for wireless carriers, internet service providers, broadcast companies, cable, utilities, public safety organizations, and more. Each one can accommodate numerous customers with varied interests from across those different industries.

“This job is unique because our company has a number of different business lines under our shared communications infrastructure platform,” Hussey explains. “As in any business, there are occasionally competing interests at stake. My role provides opportunities to help those interests coalesce and to advocate for policies that positively impact our business as a whole and bring more connectivity to communities across the country. The work is often difficult, and the expectations I have for myself are ambitious. But I am consistently energized by taking on new challenges.”

In her role, the AGC and her team work in concert with government affairs, public affairs, and public policy professionals to support deployment of the company’s shared communications infrastructure. Hussey’s team serves as subject-matter experts in Crown Castle’s advocacy at the Federal Communications

Commission and state public utility commissions. They also support the company’s legislative efforts to secure the ability to deploy communications infrastructure in a timely, economical, and predictable way.

“We look to create partnerships with stakeholders, including municipalities, utilities, communities, and beyond,” Hussey says with a smile. “We take a great deal of pride in our ability to find common ground and create beneficial solutions for all stakeholders as we connect communities.”

The AGC has negotiated her position with just as much efficacy. Hussey served as counsel for Lightower Fiber Networks, a company acquired by Crown Castle in 2017. Her continued success on both sides of an acquisition speaks to her own leadership and mastery of her role. But you’ll never get that story from her.

“In terms of leadership, I really view myself as a pacesetter,” she says. “I’m not sure if I set out with that intention, but I’ve had so many great mentors that were pacesetters that I found myself always wanting to keep up. They’ve motivated me to continually evolve professionally and personally, so that I’m ready to take on any challenge.”

Hussey continue, “My clients also rely on me to stay in lockstep with their efforts to meet deliverables, so that if hurdles arise, we’re able to timely scale them together. At some point along the line, I suppose I started setting the pace for my own team. My expectations of them are high, but they keep up—and, in many cases, they outpace me, which is what every good leader hopes for.”

Hussey’s connection to Crown Castle’s core values, the “B3s”—be real, be

accountable, and be an owner—means that they consistently are at play in how she approaches matters and interacts with others. “I strive day in and day out to promote accountability and good company stewardship and learn from failures and successes alike. But the value that comes most naturally for me is being real. Hopefully my clients and colleagues find my approach refreshing,” she says. “If you can’t have a frank conversation with an attorney, who can you have one with?”

The AGC’s approach and trajectory are worth noting. Out of law school,

she landed a clerkship with the Honorable Matthew W. McFarland, formerly of Ohio’s Fourth District Court of Appeals, now judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. She would go on to roles with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, as well as the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, where she acted as an attorney examiner and administrative law judge. Hussey went into private practice for five years before going in-house in 2015.

There seems to be something special about Hussey’s team. At a recent outing with team members,

“IN TERMS OF LEADERSHIP, I REALLY VIEW MYSELF AS A PACESETTER.”

Courtesy of Rebecca Hussey

clients, and colleagues leading up to an industry conference, a third party asked how the colleagues knew each other. He mentioned that he thought they were college or childhood friends. “When we told him and his partner that we worked together, his partner asked if she could come with work us, because we seemed to be having so much fun,” she remembers. “We’re extremely fortunate that we enjoy each other’s company, whether we’re taking on work-related issues or a relishing a day away.”

Hussey says she approaches Crown Castle’s outside counsel relationships in much the same way as her in-house relationships. The AGC says she views outside counsel as an extension of her team, emphasizing that each stakeholder has a meaningful role to play in the company’s efforts.

“Our outside counsel enrich so much of our work with their significant experience,” she explains. As experts in our fields of interest who also understand our business model, they often anticipate our concerns and sensitivities and work hand in hand with us to position us for success.”

What continues to motivate her? As always, it’s the challenge.

“I love being able to take on new challenges and drive results for my clients, my company, and our customers,” she says. “Serving as a valued business partner is critically important to me. And whether the issues I’m approaching are small or big, I try and take something positive away from the experience.”

Dan Connelly’s legal career has taken him from Houston to China and back again, all the way to HMH—a young company with a bright future

by natalie kochanov

WHEN HE BECAME AN ATTORNEY, DAN Connelly was following in the footsteps of his father, a former litigator and longtime judge. For a long time, however, Connelly had resisted going down the same path.

“I was not one of those people who went directly from college to law school,” Connelly says. “I graduated from the University of Texas Film School. I didn’t always know that I wanted to be a lawyer, and I took a circuitous path to where I am now.”

For Connelly, that “where” is HMH, an oil and gas industry equipment, services, and technology company owned equally

by Baker Hughes and Akastor. After working for Baker Hughes on the M&A transaction that created HMH, Connelly opted to jump to the spin-off. Today, as senior vice president and general counsel of pressure control systems, he applies the cumulative expertise from his years of law firm and in-house practice, all while discovering for himself what it truly means to be an effective GC.

Upon college graduation, Connelly cut his teeth as a public health investigator for the City of Houston. Once he finally reconsidered a career in law, he pursued his JD at South Texas College

James Daniel “Dan” Connelly

SVP and General Counsel of Pressure Control Systems

of Law Houston before accepting a federal clerkship for the chief judge of the Eastern District of Texas. He joined the international M&A team at Vinson & Elkins one year later, during a period of intense growth for the firm. “I had an interest in living overseas and practicing international law, so when we opened offices in Asia, I lobbied for a transfer to the Beijing office,” he says. “One of the throughlines in my story is a passion for international work.”

Recently, that passion landed Connelly an appointment as New Zealand Honorary Consul-General for Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma—a title that he has held since 2014. It motivated him to continue living abroad even after jumping from Vinson & Elkins to leading the corporate section of Norwegian law firm Wikborg Rein in Shanghai. However, it wasn’t long before he answered a new call: going in-house.

The decision brought Connelly to GE Oil & Gas, back in Houston. “Supporting a business and learning the basic skills of becoming an effective general counsel is a very different skill than working for clients in a law firm. GE had such an excellent, robust legal department and is where that journey began for me,” he says.

“You have to pay attention to so many different aspects impacting the business and remain aligned with leadership,” he continues. “You need to do the hard work and understand the financials, learn the engineering behind the products and how they perform—it makes you a valuable partner and an effective counselor when you can intelligently assess risks.”

In his nine years at GE and Baker Hughes, which GE had acquired in 2017, Connelly increased the scope of his responsibilities as well as his proximity

HMH

White & Case congratulates

to the business. Still, he admits that his current role came with its own learning curve. “You inhabit so many roles at a small or mid-sized company,” Connelly explains. “You get involved in every part of the business and see things you’d never be exposed to at a large company like Baker Hughes or GE. It’s really satisfying to roll up your sleeves and have a direct impact.”

As part of a leaner team, Connelly finds himself handling a daily mash-up of disparate matters, from setting up HMH’s insurance program to supporting HR to drafting corporate and environment, social, and governance policy. “My philosophy is that there’s nothing outside the remit of legal,” he says. “If running a compliant business is truly one of the business’s key goals, legal and compliance need to be involved in everything that’s happening.”

Connelly is proud to lead a diverse—and global— legal team at HMH. In interactions within his team and across the company, he seeks to embody openness and approachability. “I try to approach strategy and leadership creatively and with an inclusive and curious mind,” he says. “I want to help my team succeed, grow their careers, take on as much responsibility as they can handle, and just have fun.”

At the same time, Connelly remains fully aware of the energy industry’s importance, especially in an era of ongoing global unrest and economic uncertainty. “Energy is a key part of national security, the global economy, and any meaningful conversation about the environment,” he says. “We at HMH are honored to be playing a critical role. When HMH was formed, one of our stated goals is organic and inorganic growth. I’m here to help the business development team identify possible acquisitions, support those M&A activities, and grow HMH into a large company with a truly global reach.”

White & Case:

“I have had the privilege to work with Dan for nearly twenty years, in the US and overseas. Dan is the epitome of a global energy lawyer and his deep experience sets him apart.”

—Christopher Richardson, Partner

Evaluate

A look at the logistical challenges, evolving regulations, industry shifts, and cultural concerns outside the office that lawyers must analyze and navigate to manage their impact inside the office

Down to a Science

Cut from the cloth of Neil DeGrasse

Tyson and Carl Sagan, LeKeisha Suggs thrives at the intersection between science and law in her role at Schaeffler

By Marcos Chisholm

THERE ARE KIDS WHO PLAY WITH DOLLS AND action figures. And then there are future MENSA candidates who ask their parents for a telescope on Christmas.

LeKeisha Suggs gravitated more toward the latter. Not that she ever cared about applying to join a high-IQ society, but she was smart enough to question the world around her like a scientist. Every day was her own episode of How It’s Made? where she formed a hypothesis and experimented to find the answers. The more she tested the boundaries of her knowledge, the more amazed she was by each discovery.

“Every time that I would look at something, I would always sit there and say to myself, ‘Well, how does this work? How can I break this down from a problem perspective to actually work on solutions?’” she remembers.

Suggs continues, “Sitting on the plane, I’m looking out the window and everyone else is thinking about their destination or what they’re going to do once there. I’m sitting there tapping my parents. I’m asking them, ‘What are those flaps that are opening on the wing?’ or ‘What’s that noise?’ I’m hearing the wheels retracting and thinking, ‘How is it possible?’”

Fast-forward to Suggs’s college years, and her astronomically high levels of curiosity started to pay off. Not only did she study aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan, but she also landed an internship with NASA. She went from wishing for a telescope under her family’s Christmas tree to working on a real-life telescope in the James Webb Space Telescope program. Then, just as she found the perfect launching pad for her post-graduate career to take off, she

unearthed a new world of opportunity when she met with patent attorneys at NASA and learned about their careers.

“It just seemed like such a great integration of two sides of my personality, where I still can be involved in the science aspect of being around the latest innovations and technology, but kind of come at it from a different direction,” Suggs says.

For the first time ever, she got a grasp of how dynamic science careers are. She learned you can leave a lasting impact on STEM organizations without wearing a white lab coat. Behind the scenes, there were experts in intellectual property law who shared the same affinity for science and innovation that she had.

Once she graduated from the University of Michigan, she shifted her focus toward becoming

LeKeisha Suggs Senior Patent Attorney and Manager, IP Operations Schaeffler Group USA Inc.

a patent attorney and enrolled in Western Michigan University’s Cooley Law School.

During a summer clerkship at Brooks Kushman PC, Suggs held most of the same responsibilities as an IP lawyer. From counseling clients and drafting patent applications to getting wrapped up in pro bono cases, she fully immersed herself in her work and left no stone unturned. Her impact was so immediate that the IP law firm hired her on a full-time basis for her final year of law school.

After she earned her JD and passed the Michigan bar exam, Suggs was promoted to patent attorney. But five years as an associate flew by, and she questioned whether pursuing the partnership route was worth it. “I really wanted to have a broader perspective and have a seat at the table where I could engage in those IP strategy dialogues and be a part of the business decision-making process,” she reflects.

Suggs yearned to arrive at the intersection of science and law like those patent attorneys at NASA had. So when Schaeffler offered her the chance to be a patent attorney in its IP department for the Americas, she didn’t need to think twice before joining the global automotive and industrial supplier.

“It finally felt like I was forging that path for myself and finding balance between my curiosity as an academic and my passion for science,” she explains. “[I wanted] to understand the bigger picture, and not just the discrete parts that make up the whole.”

While the attorney scored a personal victory upon returning to an established STEM organization, she hit the ground running with a start-up mentality. She joined a team with just five patent attorneys and began managing a technology portfolio while balancing oversight of the company’s outside counsel. Because Schaeffler files its own patent applications for over 50 percent of their matters, Suggs realized the global manufacturing group would need another legal mind to develop processes and structure to support its teams in over fifty countries.

The only problem? Schaeffler wasn’t hiring one to make this happen.

Suggs checked Schaeffler’s internal job board. Still, there was no luck.

Instead of playing the waiting game until Schaeffler searched for another patent attorney, she decided to play chess (not checkers). She bet on herself and proposed a new role that would allow her to spearhead new processes and procedures for all aspects of IP operations at Schaeffler. And before she knew it, she was named senior patent attorney and manager of IP operations.

Ever since carving out her own role in 2019, Suggs has doubled down on a collaborative leadership approach and forged stronger relationships with global teams at Schaeffler. Thanks in part to initiatives she coined, including a six-hundred-page IP operations manual and team training sessions, employees who once hesitated to work

“I really wanted to have a broader perspective and have a seat at the table where I could engage in those IP strategy dialogues and be a part of the business decisionmaking process.”

together became more aligned than ever. Schaeffler’s IP processes in the Americas are flowing more seamlessly with the rest of its global counterparts than they did three years ago.

“I think it really has helped strengthen us from where we were at a few years ago to where we stand now as a very strong, independent IP department that still has close alignment with our global partners,” Suggs says. “I use the word ‘partners’ because that’s not something that comes overnight, or something that’s just by default. It’s something that comes from years of taking the proactive steps to develop those relationships.”

Leave it to Suggs to show us what it means for women to never settle for less in the workplace. Thanks to her efforts, Schaeffler filed more than 1,800 patent applications globally in 2021; had she never spoken up, that number might have been lower.

“Don’t feel pressured or expected to follow a traditional path for your career. Be confident to create your own opportunity where one does not currently exist,” Suggs advises. “Let your curiosity drive you and be willing to forge your own path that is uniquely you.”

Strength at Every Step

Globally recognized clients count on Venable’s Intellectual Property Group to safeguard their most valuable assets. We work across borders and around the world to increase the value of your portfolio. Delivering the quality of an IP boutique, backed by the experience of an Am Law 100 firm, Venable’s team provides creative solutions to the toughest challenges.

Venable LLP:

“Working alongside LeKeisha has been a continuously rewarding experience. Her collaborative approach and insights into complex issues make it a pleasure to work on Schaeffler Group projects.

I’m proud to count her among my clients.”

—Justin Oliver, Partner

In the Eye of the Storm

Seth Fier is no stranger to high-intensity situations. The VP of law and litigation relies on his calm demeanor as he helps Revlon navigate changing and challenging market dynamics.

By Brittany Farb Gruber

SETH FIER DOESN’T GET FLUSTERED.

In fact, he thrives in moments of crisis and finds comfort in high-stress situations. Perhaps that’s what makes him most qualified to lead at Revlon.

The vice president of law and litigation joined the cosmetics giant in June 2021 as the company continued to navigate uncertainty due to the COVID19 pandemic and pressures on the global supply chain. In early 2022, the

general counsel who hired Fier left the company. Fier remained unfazed, even as Revlon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which occurred, coincidentally, on his one-year anniversary with the company.

“The changing dynamics in the market and the macroeconomic challenges we are navigating have provided a great opportunity for me to expand my knowledge base and responsibili-

ties and undoubtedly accelerated my growth as an in-house attorney,” Fier says. “Everything we are currently working through has helped me better understand the big picture and the world beyond just disputes and see the company in terms of overall strategy and finances.”

The VP isn’t new to intense situations. Fier came to Revlon following a fifteen-year stint at Proskauer Rose LLP,

Litigation Revlon

Seth Fier VP of Law &

where he practiced white collar defense, commercial litigation, internal and regulatory investigations, and sports-related matters. During his tenure, Fier represented corporate and individual clients in matters related to accountant and auditor liability, complex commercial and M&A disputes, bank fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, securities fraud, embezzlement, mortgage fraud, insider trading, grand larceny, and antitrust allegations.

“As a young associate, I sat at the table with the NHL Commissioner helping debrief him on our findings in a highprofile investigation, sat at the table with a senior Marsh executive facing serious criminal allegations, and a little while later found myself sitting at the table with a former CFO of Lehman Brothers facing scrutiny arising out of the 2008 financial crisis,” Fier remembers.

The seasoned legal professional was ready for just about anything once he got to Revlon. His diverse experience has already helped Revlon navigate its bankruptcy filing. “I quarterbacked a lot of the prep and filing for Chapter 11 partly because I had experience through my client work at Proskauer,” Fier says. “I’ve worked on bankruptcy matters from the litigation side. I obviously have dealt with courts and filings before. I’ve counseled clients through crises, and my experience was a valuable tool— along with our outside advisors—to help get us to the place where we needed to be.”

Technical knowledge isn’t the only asset Fier brings to Revlon’s lean legal team. His knack for breaking down issues and thoroughly explaining legal processes has served the entire organization well. “It all comes down to the messaging and

“To build trust and confidence with clients, it’s important to provide them practical explanations and guidance so that they feel empowered in situations that may very well be foreign to them.”

communications,” he explains. “When I talk with internal clients, whether they be on the business, accounting, or IT side, I put things into non-legal terms.”

The VP adds, “To build trust and confidence with clients, it’s important to provide them practical explanations and guidance so that they feel empowered in situations that may very well be foreign to them.”

In addition to his private practice experience, Fier credits his mentors, as well as his own commitment to seeking them out, with helping him develop into the lawyer he is today. “I always believed that calling someone a mentor or being a mentee by name doesn’t necessarily mean a lot, unless you really invest in a relationship and you are willing to take in the advice and seek out the opportunity,” he says. “As a mentee, I absorbed what made sense to me and what I could take in terms of what fit into my professional development as a lawyer.”

Fier, who deferred law school for several years to work in the accounting and financial industries, also advises young attorneys to develop themselves as professionals and get as much real-world experience as possible. “Understand what goes into being a professional,” he recommends. “At the end of the day, you have to be well rounded and practical, but you also need to develop the emotional intelligence to enable you to anticipate, understand, and respond to your clients’ needs and concerns.”

Calmness and pragmatism are perhaps Fier’s greatest assets as he helps Revlon navigate current challenges. The seasoned attorney is proud to work for the ninety-year-old cosmetics giant. “Revlon is a great name, and we have a portfolio of iconic brands,” he says.

A Steadfast Leader

Paul, Weiss salutes Seth Fier, VP of Law and Li�ga�on at Revlon, for his trusted leadership and judgment.

Paul, Weiss, Ri�ind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a firm of about 1,000 lawyers who provide innova�ve and effec�ve solu�ons to many of the world’s largest and most important public and private corpora�ons, asset managers and financial ins�tu�ons, and clients in need of pro bono assistance.

paulweiss.com

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

IP Protection That’s Out of This World

A look into the robust strategy that’s helped Mars evolve from chocolate, candy, and gum to become one of the largest companies in the United States

By Zachary Brown

PATENT NUMBER: 11419586—

sampling device with ejectable compartment. Patent number: 11406115—heat resistant confections. Patent number: 11395478—markers for determining the biological age of a dog. Patent number: 11363828— palatable beverages and compositions with cocoa extract. Patent number: D901129—confectionery piece.

These are all recent patents assigned to Mars Incorporated, the large company most well known for products like Mars bars, M&M’s, Snickers, Twix, Orbit gum, and other popular candies. But Mars is much more than a candy and gum company. The organization founded more than one hundred years ago in Tacoma,

Washington, makes everything from pasta to ready-made meals to pet food. It also is the largest pet nutrition and veterinary services provider on the planet.

Today, the global food and veterinary care provider is headquartered in Virginia: it employs about 140,000 staff and brings in around $40 billion in annual sales. Research and development, technology, and a robust trademark and patent portfolio power everything the company does. Mars received its first patent in 1947 and has since registered a grand total of 5,669 patent applications with bodies like the US Patent and Trademark Office, European Patent Office, and World Intellectual Property Organization.

Rebecca Barnett spent nearly eight years inside the company starting in 2015, eventually serving as assistant general counsel of IP, patents, and technology for Mars Corporate, Mars Food, and a life sciences division known as Mars Edge. For much of that time, she focused on efforts in quality food production, sustainability, and supporting the Mars pet care division as it transitioned from traditional pet foods and products to pet services businesses. The pet care division already owned the Banfield Pet Hospital chain when it bought BluePearl Veterinary Partners in 2015. It later acquired VCA in the US and the Linnaeus Group in the UK.

Mars’ various legal functions remain versatile and provide advice in quickly

developing areas of technology and law as the company continues to evolve. That’s one part of her experience at Mars Barnett enjoys most.

“My favorite days at Mars include meeting with Mars associates to discuss their exciting and innovative ideas and providing legal support in an effort to build our intellectual property portfolio, which covers some of the world’s best-loved pet food brands and also the world’s largest veterinary health group,” she told the Nashville Business Journal in 2019.

These efforts (and overall IP assets like patents, trade secrets, and copyrights) remain critical to the ongoing success of the entire organization, as Mars pours time, money, and human capital into products and innovation. Its lawyers vigorously defend and protect these assets to generate maximum profits and business growth. IP counsel and other lawyers within the department understand Mars’ strategy and are prepared to identify novel inventions so emerging methods and technologies are protected, implemented, leveraged, monetized, and defended with proper partnerships and agreements in place as necessary.

This has been part of the Mars vision for many years. “We’re powered by science and the desire to be bold in order to create a better world for us all, today,” the company states on its website. It may have started when Frank Mars began making buttercream candy from his simple home kitchen, but now the company aims to address climate change, make positive impacts on pet nutrition and behavior, and find new ways to feed people around the world.

In 2017, Mars announced the Mars Sustainable in a Generation Plan, a multibillion-dollar initiative designed to reduce the company’s environmental footprint, pursue net-zero emissions, support farmers, nourish well-being, and build stronger communities where people and pets are healthy. Mars is addressing how it sources cocoa and other raw materials, fishes for pet food ingredients, enacts a supply chain, and does business in a post-pandemic environment.

Additionally, Mars Wrigley is investing $1 billion in a new cocoa supply chain model anchored by smallholder farmers. It also uses renewable energy to produce all M&M’s. Similar efforts extend throughout the entire organization. “Our plan is built on what is right, not what is easy—it is science-based and in support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals,” said Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer Barry Parkin in a press release.

Strong IP protections enable these efforts and strengthen the company as it moves forward, and the potential is massive. Associates at Mars Petcare, Wrigley, Food, and Edge work together tirelessly to build what the company calls “Better food today. A better world tomorrow.”

Baker Botts LLP:

“I have had the pleasure of working with Becca over the years. I could not be happier for her welldeserved recognition. I look forward to continuing our partnership for years to come.”

—Sandra Lee, Partner

The ProblemSolver

CLAIRE BATTLE DESCRIBES HER CAREER trajectory as nonlinear. After graduating with a degree in social policy, she felt unsure of her next move, but one thing was for certain.

Claire Battle uses past experiences and knowledge to lead a new generation as senior managing counsel at CNH Industrial

By Giovanni Perry

“I was debating whether to continue on in academia or do something else, and at the end of the day, I didn’t want to be in the ivory tower; I wanted to solve problems,” she recalls. Many years later, after joining CNH Industrial as senior managing counsel of North America litigation and supply chain, that’s exactly what Battle does.

The lawyer describes herself as a precocious child with a penchant for avid reading. Before long, her nights watching the occasional episode of Crossfire with her dad blossomed into a multifaceted legal career, and Battle’s responsibilities now include managing product liability matters, commercial disputes, and labor and employment issues, as well as being responsible for all commercial contracts, M&A, and strategic alliances. Not to mention a bevy of other obligations.

Prior to joining CNH Industrial, Battle spent eleven-plus years at ArcelorMittal

USA, where she wore a number of hats such as legal and senior counsel and assistant general counsel. “I was very early in my career, and it was quite the baptism by fire, but I learned that I really did enjoy having a seat at that table [with company decision-makers],” she reflects.

Battle adds that while she admires her former colleagues (subject matter experts and niche practitioners) at ArcelorMittal, she found that she enjoyed being a generalist. “I enjoy getting to have that variety in my day— then also being able to zoom out and have a broader enterprise view of the company,” Battle says.

When asked what attracted her to join CNH Industrial in 2020, Battle describes the company’s storied history. “You go back to Jerome Increase Case back in the 1800s, coming up with the some of the early threshing machines and the historic brands that have led into other product lines,” she marvels. “It’s been exciting to learn about a new industry after spending more than a decade in steel and to come to a company that literally operates in 180 countries worldwide and with a really foundational history—particularly on the agricultural side.”

Battle believes that EQ is as important as IQ, especially when working in-house and especially when it comes to communication. “Bottom-line it. Make sure your analysis is something that can be read on a small screen, or it might not get read at all,” she says. Diplomacy is also key. “You will have to surmise the risk of a proposed course of action, but you don’t want to be viewed as the ‘department of no.’ So, you need

Claire Battle Senior Managing Counsel, North America Litigation & Supply Chain CNH Industrial

to have that diplomacy, choose your battles wisely, make sure you’re transparently communicating, recognize when it’s a business decision at the end of the day, and know when to be more flexible.”

Crediting her mentors for her current experience and success, Battle now seeks to give back in turn. In addition to honing her skills with a leadership coach and participating in mastermind coaching sessions with other women attorneys, she mentors first-year attorneys through the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism’s 2Civility program. She also participates in mentoring and leadership development programs via the iGlow group for women at CNH.

Battle advises young attorneys to network and seek out mentors early on. “Although it’s intimidating at first, really seek out those one-on-ones,” she says. “Try to grab a coffee with a senior associate or partner if you’re at a firm or other stakeholders or business partners if you’re in-house. Even better, make friends with the paralegal, who can tell you what’s really going on and how things actually get done.”

Not done yet, Battle remains excited about her future. “Now that I’ve found my sea legs at CNH, I’ve built relationships and found my footing with my responsibilities within the company,” she says. “It’s exciting to work for a company that’s growing, and we’ve got a CEO with a very distinct vision for how we grow. It’s been nice to see all that we’ve done. I look forward to continuing to build on that.”

“Try to grab a coffee with a senior associate or partner . . . Even better, make friends with the paralegal, who can tell you what’s really going on and how things actually get done.”

Executing a Homegrown Strategy

Organic growth and acquisitions are propelling AVEVA forward. Dev Batta created the IP strategy to take the ambitious company into the future.

By Zach Baliva

AS A LEADER IN INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE, AVEVA leverages its comprehensive technology portfolio to help more than twenty thousand clients automate processes, increase performance, and drive efficiencies. In 2018, the company acquired the industrial software business Schneider Electric (SE). Although SE became a majority shareholder in AVEVA, its in-house IP team (complete with patent and trademark professionals) was not part of the transaction. Veteran

IP counsel Dev Batta came on board to build a new IP program to power and protect the growing company.

To establish a function that could keep pace with AVEVA without driving costs up, the chief IP counsel had to rely on his years of experience in private practice as well as his background in engineering and computer science. “All I had learned in the preceding decade and [through] my academic background had led up to this moment and prepared me to do exactly what AVEVA

needed to build its intellectual property program from the ground up,” he says.

Batta, who was raised in Virginia, exhibited an early interest in math, science, and computers. He took advanced placement classes in high school, scored an 800 on the math portion of the SAT, and attended the University of Virginia. In order to proceed to the school’s emerging and popular computer science program, Batta was required to apply. Batta’s performance won him a spot and started what has become a trend in his career. “I’m at my best when I’m around really smart people who push and drive me to be at the top of my game,” he explains.

Upon graduation, Batta worked as a programmer. He enjoyed the tasks assigned to him but was left unfulfilled. A thirst for more and a passion for con-

tinuing education led him to enroll at the George Washington University Law School and specialize in IP.

About ten years in private practice gave Batta a deep foundation and a wealth of experience he could draw upon at AVEVA when he joined the organization as it finalized the critical deal with SE. “As the first in-house IP attorney here, I realized I could really shape the process and the entire division,” he says. “I wasn’t brought here to fix an existing program but to figure out what to put in place to make things work best for this specific company.”

Batta first focused on raising internal awareness about the importance of IP protection. That culture already existed among the US part of the company that came from SE, but was less prevalent among the legacy AVEVA team in the UK. He identified key allies

in the heads of marketing and research and development and won vocal support from members of his executive leadership team. Before long, Batta’s colleagues company-wide understood the need to protect their innovations in the US and abroad.

For the first year of his tenure, Batta worked with little more than this key internal support to handle all emerging IP on his own. Then, he was able to hire a paralegal, and later, a contract attorney and patent attorney. Today, he leads an agile team of four and manages AVEVA’s insurance program.

In March 2021, AVEVA acquired OSIsoft, a leading name in real-time services related to software and industrial data. The move gave AVEVA a bigger Internet of Things portfolio and added approximately fifteen thousand employees to the organization.

With volumes and complexities increasing, Batta plans to streamline operations to keep his team nimble and responsive. He’s working closely with Anaqua, a company that provides IP asset management services and solutions. Its trademarked PATTSY WAVE docketing software removes redundancies, improves accuracy, and mitigates risk.

Batta says his IP strategy is based on protecting the AVEVA name and growing the brand. “As your brand grows, you see more small companies pop up and try to trade on your name, and it’s important to prevent that,” he explains.

AVEVA, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is part of the FTSE 100 Index, has dozens of products that over 90 percent of the top companies in twelve industrial sectors use. Software and novel technologies drive each of those products, and Batta’s team works behind the scenes to identify which underlying technologies should be protected first.

Batta and his colleagues are turning heads and making headlines. The company is partnering with universities to create new STEM curricula, hosting industry summits, and expanding its portfolio. The future is bright for AVEVA, and Batta will ensure his team keeps the company protected.

Greenberg Traurig:

“Congratulations to Dev Batta on the recognition of his legal accomplishments and contributions to AVEVA. Dev is an incredible legal mind and an inspiration to many. It’s an honor to call him a client and friend.”

—Jerry Fellows, Shareholder

“As your brand grows, you see more small companies pop up and try to trade on your name, and it’s important to prevent that.”

Committed to the Cause

In his dual role at PIMCO, veteran securities attorney Paul Cellupica is doing more than protecting the investment firm—he’s also battling discrimination in the legal profession and beyond

By Zach Baliva

HE’S WORKED AT THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Commission (SEC) twice, been part of a major Capitol Hill firm, and served as a senior in-house lawyer at a pair of Fortune 100 financial services companies. Now, as executive vice president and deputy general counsel with oversight of US regulatory matters at PIMCO, Paul Cellupica is concerned with securities, risk, and commodities regulations that affect the leading investment management firm. He’s also concerned with battling one issue that he’s seen throughout his life and career: discrimination.

Cellupica’s ancestors are from Isola del Liri, a small village outside of Rome. His

After four years as a law firm associate, Cellupica joined the SEC for the first time in 1996, in what he describes as a career- and life-altering move. He entered the agency as a staff attorney and was able to work on major enforcement matters including a well-known insider trading case and Sarbanes-Oxley implementation.

As Cellupica moved through firms and the government, he saw discrimination rear its head in various instances, and his interest in promoting equality continued during his later stints in lead roles at top financial services companies. Oftentimes, the intolerance was around sexual orientation and related issues. Cellupica was

grandfather emigrated from Italy to the United States with a fifth-grade education and experienced various injustices and biases upon his arrival. His experiences of discrimination without the necessary language skills and education to advocate for equal treatment motivated Cellupica to study law.

First, the young student enrolled at Harvard University to study government; he stayed in Cambridge for law school. It was the 1980s, when movies like Wall Street were popular. Although the securities markets were hot, headline abuses emerged. These events caught Cellupica’s attention. “It’s fascinating to see how legal and regulatory incentives change and influence business strategy,” he says, adding that these factors pushed him more directly into corporate law and finance.

a strong advocate for New York State’s freedom to marry bill and has continued to battle for equality and champion LGBTQ+ causes.

“I’ve heard comments in meeting rooms in my career when people assumed there are no LGBTQ+ people present, and that needed and needs to change,” he says. “A lot of that type of change can be driven by lawyers.”

Cellupica supported efforts in state legislatures and courts to advance marriage equality. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the freedom to marry bill into law in June 2011. The US Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry in June 2015.

PIMCO hired Cellupica in 2021. In addition to overseeing the organization’s interactions with regulators in the US,

“It’s fascinating to see how legal and regulatory incentives change and influence business strategy.”

Executive Vice President & Deputy General Counsel

Expertise Spotlight

Debevoise & Plimpton is home to one of the premier securities practices in the country. With almost one hundred years of combined experience at the highest levels of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, we have an unparalleled, comprehensive understanding of the regulatory, compliance, and enforcement issues that impact investment advisers, broker-dealers, and other regulated entities.

Debevoise is a top law firm with marketleading practices, a global perspective, and strong New York roots. Our clients look to us to bring a distinctively high degree of quality, intensity, and creativity to resolve legal challenges effectively and cost-efficiently. Deep partner commitment, industry experience, and a strategic approach enable us to bring clear commercial judgment to every matter. We draw on the strength of our culture and structure to deliver the best of our firm to every client through true collaboration.

he stays current with shifting international activities, regulatory requirements, market developments, and anything with the potential to impact PIMCO’s business operations or impede its ability to fulfill a fiduciary duty to its clients.

As Cellupica settles into a relatively new role, he’s enhancing policies and procedures to protect the business as it grows. The attorney with an eclectic background is also leveraging his financial knowledge as PIMCO expands its Alternatives business, which includes hedge funds and other private funds, in a challenging market. His time with the SEC is also proving to be a major asset, as Cellupica is able to see issues from multiple points of view, anticipate what the agency might want or do, and prepare PIMCO to implement the new rules they are likely to adopt.

“Paul Cellupica uniquely combines the perspectives of a regulatory insider and an industry veteran,” says Michael Doherty, partner in the asset management practice at Ropes & Gray LLP. “He leads a talented, smart, inclusive, and forward-thinking team. Ropes & Gray is proud to work with Paul and PIMCO, and to share in their success.”

“With his deep background knowledge of the SEC and asset management regulation, Paul fills his new role at PIMCO superbly,” adds Robert Kaplan, partner at Debevoise & Plimpton. “Insightful and deliberative, with both business and regulatory savvy, he strategically evaluates alternatives and brings a collaborative approach to finding solutions.”

Cellupica has interacted with PIMCO from within the SEC and says he knew it as a place that would honor his interests in DEI and provide a supportive, nondiscriminatory environment for all of its employees.

Paul Cellupica

EVP and Deputy General Counsel, US Regulatory PIMCO

“I’m here in part because I want to be in a place where peoples’ backgrounds are valued, and it’s important for leaders and managers to create inclusive environments that bring out the best in people.”

Anticipating opportunities, creating solutions

It’s been roughly thirty years since Cellupica started his career and twelve since New York State enacted its freedom to marry law. He’s still advocating for LGBTQ+ rights by participating with groups like Lambda Legal. Cellupica also works to build a sense of fairness and inclusion in his department and at PIMCO as a whole.

Today, PIMCO has several employee resource groups and other programs designed to promote inclusion and diversity. One such group, PIMCO Pride, unites employees of different sexual orientations, gender identities, or gender expressions.

“Paul is a gentleman who always respects whomever he works and interacts with,” reflects Eric Dinallo, partner at Debevoise & Plimpton. “I have always marveled at his successful consensusoriented management style driven, frankly, by his tremendous intellect but leavened with a self-effacing demeanor. He speaks convincingly in complete, fully edited paragraphs—but without any arrogance or showmanship. A true model of a counselor.”

Valuing diverse perspectives helps PIMCO maintain its leadership in fixed income and ensures better outcomes and long-term success for employees and clients alike. The organization manages assets for corporations, pension funds, banks, individual investors, and more. It currently has about $1.82 trillion in assets under management.

“I’m here in part because I want to be in a place where peoples’ backgrounds are valued, and it’s important for leaders and managers to create inclusive environments that bring out the best in people,” Cellupica says.

Dechert LLP:

“I have known Paul both as a regulator and as a client. His defining professional qualities—intelligence, knowledge, focus, judgment, and good humor—serve him well in both roles. It is a real privilege to work with Paul.”

—Douglas Dick, Partner

As a leading global law firm with crossdisciplinary, multijurisdictional practices in 22 offices around the world, Dechert delivers practical commercial insight and comprehensive legal solutions wherever you do business. dechert.com

Worth the Risk

Gideon Hart could have pursued a career in academia, but an openness to change shifted his trajectory. Today, he holds a senior legal position at KeyBank.

By Frederick Jerant

PARLAYING A DEGREE IN HISTORY AND economics into a senior legal position within the banking industry isn’t as unusual as it may sound, says Gideon Hart, senior vice president and assistant general counsel at Cleveland-based KeyBank.

“Studying history was fun for me,” he says, “but there are a finite number of jobs in that field. Fortunately, that degree honed my writing and analytical skills— both of which are in demand in other business areas.”

During and after his studies at Columbia Law School, Hart rounded out his classroom education with several research assistant posts, and he also held clerkships at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio.

“Those clerkships exposed me to many types of cases,” he remembers. “I especially liked the ones with regulatory or administrative aspects—the government on one side, a private party on the other.”

After his clerkships, Hart joined WilmerHale’s government regulatory practice, where he worked on cases involving banking and financial regulations. That wasn’t exactly intentional, Hart explains. But his background in litigation was beneficial to other team members, and he found himself drawn into one case after another, all of which built up his experience in banking law.

It was a good fit for him. Many of the skills he developed as a history major transferred readily to the practice of law. “I had to figure out legal questions by gathering

information, studying existing law, analyzing all of it, and then writing a memo with my view of the answer. It was actually a lot like writing a history term paper or article,” he says.

However, after nearly six years with the firm, Hart was ready for new challenges. “Life at a big law firm can be tiring and unpredictable,” he says. “My wife and I were ready to have kids, and we wanted something with more regular schedules.”

Going in-house had plenty of appeal, so Hart and his wife began examining their options. “I wanted to go to a decently sized bank,” Hart says. “Not as large as the very biggest banks, for example, but one that was large enough to have a level of sophistication and complexity in its regulatory issues.”

They also narrowed their search to certain cities, including Cleveland, his wife’s hometown, and Philadelphia, near his own childhood roots. To his surprise, Cleveland made the final cut. “It was the smallest city on our list, and I didn’t expect it to have a job that fit my target parameters,” he says.

Within a few weeks of applying to join KeyBank, Hart was on brought on board. The move drastically changed his work environment. “When you work at a law firm, the other lawyers will often understand exactly what you’re talking about,” Hart explains. “In-house, I work with numerous non-lawyers. I think one of my strengths as an attorney is explaining legal concepts to nonlawyers and banking regulations to non-bank regulatory people so that they are able to fully understand the issue we are talking about.”

Hart is a hands-on advisor, one who’s responsive to his business clients’ needs. He also prefers being involved at the outset of a project. “In early

stages, we can troubleshoot issues to avoid problems and usually develop several workable options,” he explains. “Conversely, if a client waits too long to bring us in, there may be only one solution.”

Because KeyBank is federally chartered as a national bank, it’s obligated to follow federal banking regulations.

But, because it also operates nationwide, Hart encounters many scenarios where more localized laws come into play. “That can get challenging and complex,” he says. “Does a particular state law conflict with federal law? Is it preempted by federal law? Should KeyBank comply with both? There aren’t always simple answers.”

Gideon Hart SVP and Assistant General Counsel KeyBank

Expertise Spotlight

The Banking Group at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP advises global and regional banks and other financial institutions on the gamut of regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters, including Volcker Rule matters for the United States and foreign banks, foreign bank regulation, anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance and enforcement issues, Dodd-Frank Act reform, M&A-related regulation, matters involving fintech/banktech and cryptocurrency, and industry-wide advocacy efforts.

Our team includes lawyers who have held senior positions at regulatory and enforcement agencies and have advocated and negotiated with regulators in the US, United Kingdom, Federal Reserve, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Justice, New York Department of Financial Services, and with state attorneys general. Our nuanced understanding of the regulatory terrain, combined with the firm’s strong litigation and transactional resources, gives us the ability to handle the most esoteric technical issues, manage critical enforcement and compliance challenges in today’s dynamic regulatory environment, and lead complex and sophisticated transactions.

Debevoise is a premier law firm with market-leading practices, a global perspective, and strong New York roots. Our clients look to us to bring a distinctively high degree of quality, intensity, and creativity to resolve legal challenges effectively and cost efficiently.

Hart also notes that KeyBank is an active participant in the development of affordable housing and that he is also the primary support attorney for this business area. “There’s an acute need for this type of construction,” he says. “It can often be difficult to put together this type of financing, but KeyBank has a talented team that is one of the leaders in the space.”

KeyBank often issues loans while simultaneously making an equity investment in the development. “These homes are offered at below-market rates, and the cost of raw materials escalates—so it gets expensive to construct an apartment building,” Hart adds. “KeyBank’s investment provides the developer with additional capital, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credits help to finance the investment.”

Outside of KeyBank, Hart has developed a strong reputation as a skilled legal adviser to his clients and partners. “Gideon always impresses with the breadth of his knowledge in counseling a multifaceted financial institution like KeyBank,” says Greg Lyons, partner at Debevoise & Plimpton. “He also is skilled in engaging with internal and external parties to ensure his business is receiving the best advice in pursuing objectives.”

Hart’s journey from studying history to serving as corporate counsel was influenced by his willingness to survey the landscape—and he recommends that other up-and-comers do the same. “I enjoy mentoring younger attorneys, and I always tell them to stay flexible and be open-minded so they can recognize opportunities as they arise,” he says. “I was fortunate to work at a larger law firm and had some latitude to try different areas within the practice to get a sense of what I liked and didn’t like.”

He continues, “When I started my career, I knew nothing about banking laws or regulations, and it’s certainly not the kind of work I anticipated doing after I finished law school. In fact, I didn’t even really know that practice area even existed. Now, I’m becoming an expert in the field, and that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been willing to give it a try.”

Debevoise congratulates Gideon Hart on his well-deserved recognition in Modern Counsel and is proud to partner with KeyBank’s legal team.

debevoise.com

People & Companies

James Barker P132

Bungie

Rebecca Barrett P170

Mars

Dev Batta P175 AVEVA

Claire Battle P172 CNH Industrial

Carole Boelitz P124

Lenovo

Lauren Buford P60 Walgreens

Kristen L. Richer Partner Barnes & Thornburg LLP 310.284.3896

kristen.richer@btlaw.com

Kristen counsels and defends clients in virtually all manners of consumer-driven litigation, including pharmaceutical and medical device, product liability, mass torts, and consumer class actions.

Paul Cellupica P178 PIMCO

Robert Kaplan Partner Debevoise & Plimpton LLP 202.383.8060 rbkaplan@debevoise.com

Robert Kaplan counsels clients on a broad range of securities-related regulatory compliance and enforcement issues, including those involving requirements affecting SEC-registered investment advisers.

James Daniel Connelly P158 HMH

Alicia Dagosta P93 Oportun

Waqas Durrani P10 USAA

William Fawcett P36

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

Seth Fier P166

Revlon

Shweta Gera P86

Nuro

Jeffrey Harradine P142

Xerox

Gideon Hart P188 KeyBank

Greg Lyons Partner and Co-Chair, Financial Institutions Group Debevoise & Plimpton LLP 212.909.6566

glyons@debevoise.com

Greg advises financial institutions, private equity sponsors and other and entities that invest in financial institutions on the full range of regulatory, transactional and examination matters.

Zach Hughes P20

Chevron

Brian Melton Partner

Susman Godfrey

713.653.7825

bmelton@susmangodfrey.com

Brian Melton is a nationally recognized lead trial lawyer who regularly tries and wins bet-the-company cases for both plaintiffs and defendants.

Rebecca Hussey P153

Crown Castle

Matt Jubenville P112

Midland Credit Management

Tim Kinskey P25

Overhead Door Corporation

Isabela Lubert P54

JPMorgan Chase

Sumit Mallick P82

Chime

Lindsey Donn Mann P99

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty

Jim Marinello P146

Gateway Merchant Banking

Hope Mehlman P90

Bank of the West, BNP Paribas

Maggie Mettler P32

Yum! Brands

Shari Miller P149

Eurazeo

Nicholas Murray P72

Twilio

Abiman Rajadurai P44

McDonald’s

Jennifer Schott P136

ITW

Benjamin Setnick P118

Match Group

Michael Sochor P96

Forescout Technologies

LeKeisha Suggs P162

Schaeffler Group

Arun Thomas P77

FedEx Ground

Rebecca Weinstein Bacon

Partner

Bartlit Beck LLP

312.494.4458

rweinstein.bacon@bartlitbeck.com

Rebecca Weinstein Bacon tries and litigates complex cases, including commercial disputes, pharmaceutical product liability, large-scale employment, antitrust, and consumer class action lawsuits.

Christine Turcotte P14

Phillips 66

John UyHam P104

Coca-Cola Company

Adam West P28

Altair

Thomas Yaegers P102

Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Denise Yee P68

Visa

LEARN MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE COMPANIES FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE OF MODERN COUNSEL

EVERYONE’S LOVIN’ IT

There are more McDonald’s restaurant locations than hospitals in the United States—14,350 versus 10,660. In fact, the only US state capital without a McDonald’s is Montpelier, Vermont.

EXHAUSTION ELIMINATOR

When Coca-Cola was first invented by pharmacist John S. Pemberton in 1886, it was marketed as a nerve tonic to relieve exhaustion.

SPREAD THE LOVE

Considered the original online dating destination, Match. com launched in 1995 as a desktop website. Today, it is thirteen brands strong, with two thousand employees in twenty offices worldwide.

STAY HOME, STAY SAFE

Nuro markets its robots as more nimble, narrower, and better able to prioritize the well-being of other road users compared to actual human delivery drivers. In fact, according to independent research from Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, zero-occupant vehicle design can reduce the risk of death in a crash by nearly 60 percent.

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PASSION FOR INNOVATION BENCHMARK US

Quinn IP Law takes pride in their long-standing reputation as a forward-thinking law intellectual property law firm focused on quality over billable hours. Quality, timeliness, and fixed-fee pricing are primary reasons why we are trusted by some of the world’s most prolific and innovative international companies, institutions, and universities, ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies.

“BENCHMARK US” is more than a marketing slogan. Benchmark our abilities and achievements against our competition to understand why clients select Quinn IP Law for patent and trademark procurement and prosecution, anti-counterfeiting and brand protection, IP monetization and global IP portfolio management services.

TECHNICAL AREAS OF EXPERTISE