Dylan Pollack – Deloitte Global

For Dylan Pollack, working as an in-house lawyer and leading the employment law department he built is similar to when he is bowling or teeing it up at one of the New York area golf courses he plays when he gets the chance.

Dylan Pollack | Deloitte Global | Managing Director, Assistant General Counsel, Lead Counsel, Employment Law Department

“You can bowl a strike or hit a great drive, but you have to immediately get your mind ready for the next frame or shot,” Pollack tells Vanguard during an interview in early October. “It is the same as an in-house employment lawyer. I might handle a very sensitive personnel matter for an executive or guide my team through a settlement matter, but the minute that’s solved, and usually before that, something else is coming down the pike.”

As the managing director, assistant general counsel and lead counsel for the Deloitte Global employment law department, Pollack has carved out an impressive niche at the intersection of employment law and organizational leadership.

Deloitte is the brand under which approximately 460,000 dedicated people in independent firms worldwide come together to provide a broad range of leading professional services to select clients. Deloitte provides industry-leading audit and assurance, tax and legal, consulting, financial advisory, and risk advisory services to nearly 90 percent of the Fortune Global 500 and thousands of private companies in over 150 countries worldwide.

Unlike Deloitte’s ”Member Firms,” Deloitte Global does not provide direct client service. Instead, it leverages an international workforce to provide certain support services to the Deloitte network’s client-facing firms. Deloitte Global had long had an in-house legal function, focusing on IP, litigation and transactional law, but Pollack was hired to build a preeminent employment law department that could handle the needs of an expanding and increasingly complex workforce.

A divergent path

Since stepping into his role in May 2019, Pollack has driven the development of Deloitte Global’s employment law function, creating a sophisticated, proactive, and high-impact department that serves Deloitte Global and coordinates with the Deloitte network at large. This position, which he describes as “exactly what I was looking for,” marked the realization of an ambition he had nurtured for years: building, leading and managing an employment law practice within a corporate structure.

Pollack’s journey to Deloitte Global began after nearly a decade at Credit Suisse, where he first worked as an in-house employment lawyer during the 2008 financial crisis. There, he gained invaluable experience and established himself as an agile, solution-oriented attorney who thrived in high-stakes environments. However, 10 years later, Pollack felt he had outgrown his position. While he cherished his time at Credit Suisse, the scope of his role was primarily U.S.-focused, limiting his broader aspirations.

“I loved the work,” he recalls, “but I wanted something more expansive, something international.”

This desire to stretch professionally, plus an entrepreneurial spirit, led Pollack to envision an opportunity where he could build and lead an employment law department where one had not existed before but still within a sophisticated corporate environment.

“I had been thinking about it for years,” he shares. “I felt ready to start something from the ground up.”

Pollack’s opportunity arrived when he received a call from a colleague about a vacancy at Deloitte Global. Until then, Deloitte Global had never had an in-house employment lawyer, relying on non-employment lawyers or outside counsel for employment matters. Pollack eagerly embraced this opportunity.

Pollack notes that ”Deloitte Global had grown to the point where people knew it needed in-house employment law support, but the role was unclear beyond that.”

“At the same time, I had a clear concept of what I thought this department should look like,” he explains.

However, Pollack’s journey into the role was not straightforward. After a final-round interview, Deloitte Global initially chose another candidate. While disappointing, Pollack remained optimistic, and some months later, Deloitte called him back with an offer. Pollack eagerly accepted and requested six months to acclimate to the organization and outline a plan for the new department.

Building the ELD

Upon starting, Pollack quickly transformed Deloitte Global’s approach to employment law. He was immediately tasked with navigating the complex employment issues that Deloitte Global encounters in the dozens of countries in which it operates. At the same time, one of the first things Pollack did was brand his function the “Employment Law Department” (or “ELD”), even though, at first, it was a “department” of just one.

“We’re talking about an international function,” Pollack explains, “supporting Deloitte Global directly and coordinating with Deloitte’s Member Firms worldwide on issues that impact the Deloitte brand.” Pollack continues, “I felt strongly that to do my job effectively, the function had to both be high performing and perceived to be high performing. And I knew that effective marketing—starting with our name—would be key to that.”

Deloitte Global supported his efforts, allowing Pollack to build his team with systems and technology, as well as strategic hiring.

The timing proved fortuitous for both Pollack and Deloitte Global. Eight months after he joined, the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the corporate landscape. Various social movements and developments further thrust employment law into the spotlight. With Deloitte Global suddenly facing novel and pressing employment questions around remote work, health policies, employee speech and social media, Pollack’s role became indispensable.

Deloitte’s structure also allowed Pollack to advance effectiveness across the organization’s employment practices. As part of the supporting entity for the Deloitte network, Pollack’s team facilitates consistency, promotes leading practices, and coordinates across the globe. To that end, in 2021, Pollack launched the Deloitte Employment Lawyers Forum (or “DELF”), where Deloitte’s lead employment lawyers worldwide meet, network, and share strategies. At the same time, Pollack has methodically built the foundation of Deloitte Global’s employment law practice, establishing robust practices for everything from hiring and separations to internal investigations to strategic decision-making on engaging outside counsel. Today, he and his team handle employment, compliance, ethics, and regulatory matters, working with a streamlined approach that prioritizes efficiency and quality.

“Leadership is largely about mutual respect,” he says. “I learn as much from my team as they learn from me, and I’m energized by leading and inspiring others.”

Pollack’s management style, which he describes as being informed by openness, optimism and a sense of humor, reflects his belief in the importance of mental health and collegiality in a high-performance field where skill, responsiveness and strategic thinking are table stakes. This approach encourages Pollack’s team to tackle issues proactively before they escalate in significance and risk.

Curious about the workplace

Pollack’s career trajectory has been shaped by his long-held fascination with the employer-employee relationship. He studied this topic as an undergraduate at Cornell, which led him to pursue it during law school. His interest in labor and employment law is driven by a desire to understand work’s psychological and practical complexities, which he sees as universal.

“Almost everyone has a job, wants a job, or employs people,” he explains. “The employer-employee relationship is a defining aspect of life.”

With an extensive background in big law, Pollack began his legal career at Proskauer Rose, a renowned firm where he honed his skills and laid the groundwork for his future in-house roles. Reflecting on his years at Proskauer, he fondly recalls the intensity and camaraderie.

“At Proskauer, you’re working a lot, but if you like – and respect – the people, it makes it worth it.” Those early experiences provided the rigorous training he would later leverage in his roles at Credit Suisse and Deloitte Global.

Today, Pollack is an influential figure at Deloitte Global and a respected voice in the wider legal community, where he engages in outside speaking and educational initiatives for organizations that train new and experienced attorneys, human resources leaders, and other executives. Pollack also conceived and led Deloitte Global’s in-house legal internship program for first-year law students. His commitment to cultivating the next generation of legal talent reflects his lifelong passion for the law and a desire to contribute meaningfully to the profession.

In every respect, Pollack’s career embodies the values of resilience, adaptability, and vision. From building an international employment law practice to fostering a collaborative team culture, he has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to his craft and his colleagues. As he looks to the future, Pollack remains as enthusiastic as ever, deeply committed to Deloitte Global’s mission and the people who make it all possible.