Career Paths in Internal Corporate Legal Practice
When asked what qualities they most value
His professional certifications include
for four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Mr.
in attorneys interested in pursuing similar
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified
Rabalais earned a bachelor’s degree from
career paths, compliance professionals and
Information Privacy Manager (CIPM),
Texas A&M University, and a law degree
Symposium authors recounted their own
Certified Information Privacy Professional
from the University of Houston.
career paths. The following ten tips represent
(CIPP/US), and Certified Compliance and
a portion of frequent answers gleaned from
Ethics Professional.
that discussion.
“Any volunteering we can do to get training, to
“Some of the skills that I think are important
help review somebody else’s policy, or, frankly,
for a privacy attorney? I think you have to be
“The real key is you have to hustle. There are so
to do something else that somebody else doesn’t
willing to constantly learn and adjust to the
many great opportunities out there. Grab a cup
want to do—that goes a long way in the eyes of
changing laws, which may happen every day,
of coffee, try for that scholarship, or even look
someone who has to delegate a compliance task”
the changes in technology, the change in data
into a policy that no one wants to touch. That
(Ryan Rabalais).
uses, etc. You have to be willing to kind of step
will really pay off” (Steven Gyeszly).
Ryan Rabalais is the Ethics & Compliance
Steven Gyeszly is Chief Compliance
at Bechtel Oil, Gas, & Chemicals and is
Counsel for Marathon Oil, an independent
the former the Vice President and Chief
exploration and production company
Compliance Officer of Rowan Companies.
operating on four continents. In this
In this capacity, he is responsible for
role, he oversees the company’s corporate
the company’s Compliance Program—
compliance and ethics organization.
principally dealing with anti-corruption
His office partners with operations and
efforts, internal investigations, and ensuring
other corporate functions to lead the
sound international business practices. Mr.
development, implementation, maintenance,
Rabalais has spent his career working as a
Wendell Bartnick is an associate in Reed
and enhancement of a pragmatic corporate
lawyer in the oil field for publicly traded
Smith’s IP, Tech & Data Group. He has a
compliance program. Prior to joining
companies with international operations,
computer science background and extensive
Marathon Oil, Mr. Gyeszly was the Director
primarily in legal compliance and operation
experience advising on privacy, data
of the Office of Global Compliance for a
support roles. Before coming to Rowan
protection, technology, and e-commerce
multi-national energy services company
Companies, he served as Chief Compliance
matters. Mr. Bartnick provides advice to
and an Associate in the International
Officer of Paragon Offshore, prior to which
public and private clients in various industries
Litigation and Arbitration section at a
he worked for Noble Drilling, BHP Billiton,
on regulatory compliance, technology-related
global law firm. He also serves on the Board
and Baker Hughes. As a lawyer, Mr. Rabalais
transactions, and data breach response efforts.
of Directors at Birkman International. Mr.
has primarily worked in Houston, Texas, in
Mr. Bartnick earned his J.D. at George
Gyeszly holds a bachelor’s degree in business
addition to holding positions in Caracas,
Mason University in 2008, graduating magna
administration from Texas A&M University.
Venezuela, and Perth, Australia. After serving
cum laude.
1.
Hustle.
2.
Be willing to constantly evolve, learn, and adjust.
out of your comfort zone to do this kind of work. You’re not going to see much of the same kinds of things, so having some basic knowledge about technology is helpful. If not, don’t be afraid to just sort of step in and learn. Virtually every question having to do with privacy really comes down to what you are doing with data. I think those two big things can help you have a leg up, or at least to do a good job” (Wendell Bartnick).
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Currents 24.1 2020
