Features Corporate Counsel

“Get in the trunk,” Steve Sibner told his client after bailing him out of jail in the early morning hours of an especially memorable day back in 1986. It was one of the first pieces of legal advice that the young attorney gave to anyone, as he had only recently graduated from American University’s Washington […]

At a certain point in their careers, many attorneys find themselves at a crossroads. They’ve paid their dues in law firms and spent time working in large, corporate settings. Then, the job starts to feel like just that, a job. Such lawyers, a breed driven to do more, begin to look around, to question. Peter […]

“It’s all about supporting the business and the team,” is the natural response of Mark A. Smolik when asked what excites him about his role as general counsel and chief compliance officer of DHL’s supply chain operations in the Americas. “As a company, we go to great lengths to provide service excellence to our customers, […]

Patricia Levy is the first to admit that her career moves were not planned, not exactly. Early on, Levy knew she wanted to be a lawyer, and after law school she thought she’d found her place as a corporate attorney in a law firm. Thirty-two years later, giving an interview from her office with DRW, […]

When VHB was looking for a deputy general counsel in 2008, someone it could groom for the top spot, it emphasized a technical background. Someone well-versed in civil engineering might have been ideal. That wasn’t quite Khristopher M. Gregoire’s specialty, but one might have thought he was overqualified. For prior to graduating from the University […]

This past year, Denelle J. Waynick was at a conference when a woman she worked with 17 years earlier approached her. This fellow attorney recounted how, when she found herself pregnant and about to become a single parent, her initial reaction was apprehension. She feared her law firm’s reaction and even considered foregoing taking the […]

For decades, only cab drivers who purchased taxi medallions from their municipality were allowed to pick up passengers on the street. In 2013, New York City auctioned medallions for as much as $1.26 million; the city auctioned 200 medallions for $230 million that year. Now, with ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft, nearly anyone with […]

After almost 18 years with Keller Foundations LLC, David Peitsch is still one of the new people. Keller Foundations LLC is the North American division of global ground engineering and foundation services company Keller Group PLC. In the 18 years since Peitsch, chief legal officer and ethics & compliance officer, has been with the company, […]

Often the hardest part of using new software is getting users onboard, not choosing the program or plugging it in. That was the case when David Vetter told Tech Data Corporation’s legal team he was going to use a different “matter management system” to manage cases, draft letters and perform daily tasks. Vetter recalls the […]

Darryl Mitchell took an unusual path on his journey to become chief legal officer at elevator manufacturer Fujitec America Inc. After five years in sales, the Columbia University grad returned to school to earn his law degree from University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1993. From there, Mitchell spent six years at law firms […]