Features

It was an offer that other established lawyers might have quickly accepted. After all, a common complaint at today’s firms is the pressure of having to rack up 2,000 billable hours annually, moving from case to case without seeing the long-term impact of one’s counsel. But J. Ammon Smartt seemed comfortable enough under those conditions […]

It looked like an email from the boss. It had the same address and asked for information you’ve provided before—files or information vital to closing a deal or even a funds transfer request. So you dropped what you’re doing and responded, quickly attaching files and hitting send, showing again how you can shift priorities in […]

Sometimes to chase down a dream you have to pack your bags, hop on a plane and fly to a new opportunity. Jacquie Katzel is getting pretty good at that. From escaping political strife in Jamaica as a child—to finding sanctuary in Canada, the United States and the halls of Harvard—she’s found opportunity once again, […]

Whenever Jaime Orvañanos visits one of his company’s far-flung offices, he always takes time to look around. Throughout the space, he sees architects and graphic designers, writers and engineers. Some work collaboratively; others on their own. The verve seems contagious; the air alive with ideas. Then it’s off to the next city, to Buenos Aires […]

When someone thinks of illegal activity in Mexico, drug cartels usually come to mind. But for Jaime Oscar Bustamante Miranda, it’s the many illegal practices in the labor subcontracting industry that keep him up at night. Bustamante is the legal director for Mexico and Central America at Manpower Group, the third-largest staffing firm in the […]

A 2019 report by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute concluded the average commuter wastes 54 hours per year in traffic delays—more than a weekend, if you count the hours spent sleeping. Jaimes Sher knows all about this. For decades, he had the same routine. His alarm would go off, he’d shower, get dressed, and rush […]

For sports fans around the world, the mobile-phone revolution has ushered in a new age of instant-update convenience. Even if you forgot to DVR the big game, second-by-second stats and scores are never more than a swipe or two away, whether you’re waiting for coffee or headed to a friend’s for dinner—so long as you’re […]

It’s abundant, whether captured from decomposing garbage or cows. Harvesting biogas, which is converted into renewable natural gas, or RNG, provides an ever-growing source of energy for electricity and transportation, and it has provided a bounty of legal learning for James “Jamie” Wallace. “In capturing the methane, which is a primary component of biogas, we’re […]

Sometimes the people behind the scenes of a corporate spinoff can step into a more prominent role even if they weren’t directly involved in the run-up. That’s seemed the case with James Camire and the expanded responsibilities he’s taken on at Vecna since last June. An associate general counsel since 2016, he wasn’t at the […]

There can be advantages to being the office rookie, and for James Cargas, among them was once being tucked in a corner of a Congressional office—away from the action and hubbub, but right next to the busy fax machine. That’s how he learned that Speaker Jim Wright was preparing to resign in 1989, days before […]