CORPORATE COUNSEL AWARDS 2014 The Los Angeles Business Journal presents
29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/24/2014 October 27, 2014 10:18 AM Page 29 Advertising Supplement The Los Angeles Business Journal presents CORPORATE COUNSEL AWARDS 2014 Presenting Sponsors Platinum Sponsors Gold Sponsors AECOM Bame Public Relations Clyde & Co. e-Stet Fernald Law Group LLP Fisher & Phillips LLP Guthy|Renker Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP Keesal, Young & Logan Loeb & Loeb LLP Moss Adams LLP Pillsbury Scheper Kim & Harris LLP USI of Southern California Insurance Services, Inc. This special advertising supplement did not involve the reporting or editing staff of the Los Angeles Business Journal. 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/24/2014 10:19 AM Page 30 30 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Publisher’s Letter W to our fifth annual Los Angeles Business Journal Corporate Counsel Awards special supplement, in which we celebrate the outstanding work performed by the remarkable individuals and teams of attorneys that form the in-house counsels for our leading businesses here in Los Angeles. In the following pages we hope to shed some additional light on some of the premier examples of corporate counsel working among us today. These are the finalists and honorees we singled out for exceptional legal skill and achievement across the full spectrum of in-house responsibility, exemplary leadership as evidenced by the highest professional and ethical standards, and for contributions to the Los Angeles community at large. Our celebration of these examples of excellence took place at our Corporate Counsel Awards luncheon and awards ceremony on Tuesday, October 21st at the JW Marriott at LA Live. The list of prestige finalists – each an example of excellence in the field corporate counsel – made it particularly difficult to arrive at the honorees. Eight honorees are announced in this section in different categories – “Public Company Corporate Counsel (>$1 Billion),” “Public Company Corporate Counsel (<$1 ELCOME Billion),” “Private Company Corporate Counsel (>$500 Million),” “Private Company Corporate Counsel ($100-$499 Million),” “Private Company Corporate Counsel (<$100 Million),” “Non-Profit Corporate Counsel,” “Government/Municipal/Public Sector Corporate Counsel,” and “Corporate Counsel Rising Star.” We applaud each of the finalists and honorees – all of whom are described in these pages. It should be noted that each of the finalists and honorees featured in these pages has played a key role, not only in the success of their companies, but in the success of the Los Angeles financial community as a whole. So to all the great legal experts profiled in this volume we say thank you! We hope you enjoy this special section, which contains some unique insights on what exactly it means to be a Corporate Counsel in today’s business climate. Best regards, Matthew A. Toledo President and Publisher THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS CONGR ATUL ATE SANTIAGO FERNANDEZ 2014 CORPORATE COUNSEL AWARD WINNER WE’RE PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND HONORED TO HAVE YOU AS A MEMBER OF THE DODGER FAMILY 29 57_CorpCounsel_Awards.qxp OCTOBER 27, 2014 10/22/2014 11:16 AM Page 31 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 31 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 5:58 PM Page 32 32 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Honorees PUBLIC COMPANY (>$1 BILLION) CORPORATE COUNSEL DAVID GAN CO-GENERAL COUNSEL AECOM D Gan is Co-General Counsel of AECOM, a NYSE-listed global infrastructure and engineering company headquartered in Los Angeles. After the completion of its recently announced acquisition of URS Corporation, AECOM will be the largest publicly traded company headquartered in the City of Los Angeles. In his role, Gan oversees corporate and transaction legal matters, including AECOM Board matters, mergers and acquisitions, ethics and compliance and labor and employment. To achieve success in this role in a global company where half of the employees are outside of the Americas, Gan has combined strong substantive legal knowledge, strong business acumen and judgment and a sensitivity and cultural appreciation for the dynamics of a global business and workforce. Gan’s efforts have been an integral part in the spectacular growth of AECOM since 2006 when he joined the company. In that time, AECOM has grown from approximately $3.5 billion in revenue and 25,000 employees to, after the URS transaction, over $20 billion in revenue and 95,000 employees. Since 2006, AECOM has acquired dozens of companies with Gan often playing a lead role in negotiations and formation of trust and respect with target company principals and employees, which is critical in acquisitions of professional services businesses where the assets are the people. Under Gan’s oversight, AECOM’s Ethics and Compliance group has continued to provide strong guidance and support to a business that operates on every continent. This includes continued recognition by third parties of its ethics and compliance programs such as designation by Ethisphere Institute as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. AVID PUBLIC COMPANY (<$1 BILLION) CORPORATE COUNSEL JOHN HOLLAND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL WESCO AIRCRAFT HOLDINGS, INC. J Holland is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Wesco Aircraft Holdings based in Valencia. With over 500 employees in the Los Angeles area and 2,700 employees worldwide, Wesco’s global footprint extends to 81 locations in 19 countries. Based on its current run rate of nearly $2 billion in annual revenue, Wesco is one of the world’s largest providers of comprehensive supply chain management services to the global aerospace industry. When he joined Wesco as its first general counsel in 2010 (after serving as a partner at Latham & Watkins’ Washington DC office), the company did not have any in-house lawyers and was privately owned. Holland immediately went to work to prepare the company for a possible IPO or sale and to implement a variety of company-wide policies and initiatives. These initiatives included overhauling the company’s contract review process and procedures, working with the company’s finance and accounting teams to establish Sarbanes-Oxley compliant internal controls and procedures, taking over the oversight of and revamping the company’s FCPA, Dodd-Frank and trade compliance programs, establishing a securities regulation compliance program, and managing and protecting the company’s intellectual property portfolio across its global footprint, among other tasks. In 2011, Holland led a team of over a dozen lawyers through the IPO process, and the company successfully completed its $315 million IPO and listed on the NYSE that July. Since then, Wesco has been extremely active in the public markets, having completed three separate secondary offerings. Holland led all legal aspects of these transactions as well. OHN OCTOBER 27, 2014 29 57_CorpCounsel_Awards.qxp 10/22/2014 11:16 AM Page 33 OCTOBER 27, 2014 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 33 What’s emerging regarding legal salary and other trends? Cut to the chase with the 2015 Salary Guide. Download now at UREHUWKDOÁHJDOFRPVDODU\FHQWHU. /RV$QJHOHV 6)LJXHURD6W 6XLWH :HVWZRRG :LOVKLUH%OYG 6XLWH UREHUWKDOÁHJDOFRP 5REHUW+DOI/HJDO$Q(TXDO2SSRUWXQLW\(PSOR\HU0)'9 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 5:58 PM Page 34 34 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Honorees PRIVATE COMPANY (>$500 MILLION) CORPORATE COUNSEL CHRISTINE MIRABEL SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL WORLD OIL CORP. F OR more than two decades, Christine Mirabel has successfully led the World Oil companies through a myriad of challenging and complex legal, legislative and regulatory issues. World Oil Corp. and its affiliates own and operate the largest recycling company in California for used motor oil and antifreeze. At its Compton refinery, World produces low-sulfur shipping fuel and other recycled products that reduce carbon footprints in the Los Angeles Harbor and other areas. Mirabel has served as General Counsel for the company for 23 years. Her long tenure with the organization’s diversified businesses has required her to maintain an expertise in many areas of law, including environmental compliance and litigation, land use, finance, real estate, corporate transactions, competition, insurance and employment. She approaches challenges with a depth of experience in her company, the industry and the legal landscape that is truly exceptional. For example, in 2012, the shareholders of World Oil Corp. and its affiliates became engaged in multiple disputes, which led to a series of complex and highly contentious litigations that lasted until this year. The litigations stemmed from a forensic investigation headed by Mirabel that discovered certain transactions involving World Oil affiliated entities. Mirabel was responsible for coordinating the activities of Company counsel, as well as counsel to each of the majority shareholders over the course of numerous court appearances, and multiple mediation and arbitration proceedings. Mirabel supervised these proceedings to successful conclusions resulting in buyouts of the dissenting minority shareholders and a complex recapitalization of the Company. AECOM congratulates David Gan 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal Corporate Counsel winner for a Public Company with Revenue above $1 Billion. David is Senior Vice President, Legal at AECOM (NYSE: ACM) where he has contributed greatly to the company’s growth and success. AECOM is the largest company headquartered in the city of Los Angles with approximately $20 billion in annual revenue and 100,000 employees. It takes strong legal management and innovative programs to support our world-class operations that are the hallmarks of AECOM’s industry leadership, driving results for our clients, Above, left: AECOM provided program management and expansion master planning for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Above: Architecture, construction administration, security and interior design for LEED Gold-certified Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) headquarters. Left: Lead JV design partner for six-mile, eight-station design-build Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension. employees and partners. AECOM thanks David and the talented Legal team for their dedication to AECOM and commitment to delivering excellence. www.aecom.com AECOM was awarded the World’s Most Ethical Company designation by the Ethisphere Institute for the fourth consecutive year in 2014. 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/22/2014 3:07 PM Page 35 OCTOBER 27, 2014 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 35 LW.com Latham & Watkins is proud to support the Los Angeles Business Journal 2014 Corporate Counsel Awards &RQJUDWXODWLRQVWRWKLV\HDU¶VQRPLQHHVDQG¿QDOLVWV :HVDOXWH\RXIRU\RXUVRXQGDQGYDOXDEOHOHDGHUVKLS $EX'KDEL 'VVHOGRUI 0LODQ 5RPH %DUFHORQD )UDQNIXUW 0RVFRZ 6DQ'LHJR Beijing +DPEXUJ 0XQLFK 6DQ)UDQFLVFR Boston Hong Kong 1HZ-HUVH\ 6KDQJKDL %UXVVHOV +RXVWRQ 1HZ<RUN 6LOLFRQ9DOOH\ Chicago /RQGRQ 2UDQJH&RXQW\ 6LQJDSRUH 'RKD /RV$QJHOHV 3DULV 7RN\R 'XEDL 0DGULG 5L\DGK :DVKLQJWRQ'& ,QDVVRFLDWLRQZLWKWKH/DZ2I¿FHRI6DOPDQ0$O6XGDLUL 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 5:59 PM Page 36 36 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Honorees PRIVATE COMPANY ($100-$499 MILLION) CORPORATE COUNSEL SANTIAGO FERNANDEZ SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL LOS ANGELES DODGERS LLC I February of 1983, while still an associate with the law firm of Latham & Watkins, Santiago Fernandez began a one-year assignment as Resident Counsel for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The assignment became a fulltime job when Fernandez joined the Dodgers as General Counsel on June 1, 1984. Since then, Fernandez has been responsible for overseeing all of the team’s legal affairs. For over 30 years, Fernandez has worked closely with the organization’s departments in practically every aspect of the team’s operations. His duties have included negotiating and drafting contracts with the team’s broadcasting partners, concessionaires, sponsors, and players, licensing the team’s marks and other intellectual property, leasing the stadium for concerts, films, and other non-baseball events, and supervising all litigation. Since 2010, Fernandez has also overseen the organization’s Human Resources Department. Fernandez has worked on matters ranging from the establishment of the Dodgers’ baseball academy in the Dominican Republic in 1986, to the relocation of the Dodgers’ spring training facility from its longtime home in Vero Beach, Florida, to Camelback Ranch, the state-of the-art training complex that was inaugurated in Glendale, Arizona, in 2008. From the outset, Fernandez has represented the organization in litigation and regulatory matters, has supervised the handling of personal injury and workers compensation claims by the team’s insurance carriers and outside defense counsel, and has assisted players in legal matters. Fernandez has worked with the team and other MLB clubs to enact – and, in some cases, has helped draft – legislation beneficial to the Dodgers and the sport of baseball at large. N As an accounting firm, we love numbers. Here are a few of our favorites. 101 Years in business 10 ϐ 96 Countries served 4.8 Staff to partner ratio 33 Industries served (Through Praxity, AISBL) Certified Public Accountants | Business Consultants (310) 477-0450 W W W. M O S S A D A M S . C O M Acumen. Agility. Answers. 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp OCTOBER 27, 2014 10/22/2014 3:07 PM Page 37 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 37 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 5:59 PM Page 38 38 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Honorees PRIVATE COMPANY (<$100 MILLION) CORPORATE COUNSEL STEPHANIE BLACKMAN GENERAL COUNSEL GUTHY-RENKER LLC S TEPHANIE Blackman is the epitome of a “General Counsel.” She graduated from law school 27 years ago and worked for seven years in private practice, developing general litigation and transactional skills. After seven years, she went “in-house” to become the second lawyer at Guthy-Renker LLP. At the time, Guthy-Renker was a small “mom and pop” operation with limited sales in California and limited operations. Over the ensuing 20 years, the Company grew into the world’s largest international direct marketing juggernaut that distributes products in 68 countries. It is widely regarded as inventing “the infomercial,” and, over the ensuing years, acquired a remarkable staple of products that it markets direct to consumers. It distributes Proactiv, the world’s leading acne treatment regimen, along with a host of other cosmetics and consumer goods. Over the course of her 20 years with Guthy-Renker, the scope and nature of the legal challenges the company has faced has grown exponentially. In addition to overseeing an array of IP related areas, including trademark, licensing and copyright, Blackman oversees compliance with a myriad of complex consumer protection laws. She also oversees acquisitions, regulatory compliance and all litigation matters. Blackman is also responsible for supervising Guthy-Renker’s lawyers stationed around the world. She became fluent in regulations in foreign jurisdictions and has hired counsel to staff the company’s offices in Sweden, London, Japan and elsewhere. She is also an extremely well-regarded “partner” for outside counsel based upon her collaborative style, her easy sense of humor, and her tremendous appreciation for the hard work performed on the company’s behalf of outside counsel. LOEB & LOEB LLP congratulates all of the 2014 finalists for Corporate Counsel Awards Los Angeles New York Chicago Nashville Washington, DC Beijing Hong Kong www.loeb.com 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp OCTOBER 27, 2014 10/23/2014 1:32 PM Page 39 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 39 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 5:59 PM Page 40 40 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Honorees NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION CORPORATE COUNSEL ELIZABETH BLUESTEIN VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL PUBLIC COUNSEL E LIZABETH “Liz” Bluestein is the Vice President and General Counsel of Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono law office. In this role, she is responsible for supervising and coordinating all of the operational work of Public Counsel’s various legal programs and ensuring that the organization fully complies with all applicable corporate, legal and ethical requirements. Through her tireless dedication to each and every Public Counsel department, project and staff member, Public Counsel is able to assist over 30,000 children, youth, families, and community organizations every year by providing free legal services that change people’s futures. Bluestein believes deeply in Public Counsel’s mission to eliminate economic injustice and will leave no stone unturned in fighting to protect the health of her organization as well as the rights of the thousands of clients it serves. Whether it is a sensitive labor and employment issue affecting the future and morale of a Public Counsel employee, or a corporate governance matter for a non-profit client that provides millions of dollars of free medical services to vulnerable families in Southeast Los Angeles, Bluestein takes the time to patiently understand the perspectives and needs of everyone she serves while compassionately developing solutions that promote all of her clients’ objectives. The complexity of Bluestein’s duties is underscored by the fact that Public Counsel has nine separate and robust law projects, covering a broad range of practice areas and legal issues. Bluestein has consistently made sure all of these programs provide legal advice of the highest quality, and that they do so with the integrity and attentiveness to ethical responsibilities that the profession demands. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Pepper Hamilton is proud to support the 2014 Corporate Counsel Awards and congratulates all nominees. Partner Pamela S. Palmer specially salutes Liz Greenwood, Jennifer Painter, Tammy Brandt, and Mary Kasper. Skadden congratulates all of the Corporate Counsel Awards finalists and proudly supports the Los Angeles Business Journal www.pepperlaw.com Los Angeles 350 South Grand Avenue | Two California Plaza | Suite 3400 Los Angeles, California 90071-3427 Orange County Suite 1200 | 4 Park Plaza Irvine, California 92614-2524 Beijing | Boston | Brussels | Chicago | Frankfurt | Hong Kong | Houston | London Los Angeles | Moscow | Munich | New York | Palo Alto | Paris | São Paulo | Seoul Shanghai | Singapore | Sydney | Tokyo | Toronto | Washington, D.C. | Wilmington 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp OCTOBER 27, 2014 10/23/2014 11:29 AM Page 41 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 41 Nice work, Mary! Congratulations to Mary Kasper on being named a finalist for the 4th Annual Corporate Counsel Awards. The entire Fresh & Easy team is proud of you and your achievements! 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 5:59 PM Page 42 42 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Honorees GOVERNMENT/MUNICIPAL/PUBLIC SECTOR CORPORATE COUNSEL DAVID HOLMQUIST GENERAL COUNSEL LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT S INCE 2009, David Holmquist has been the General Counsel of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest school district in California and the second largest in the U.S. With an operating budget of over $6 billion, LAUSD provides educational services to over 600,000 students and employs over 60,000 employees in the Los Angeles area. In the last five years, Holmquist has led the Office of General Counsel (OGC) through the most challenging economic times in public education in recent history. Like the rest of the school district, the OGC endured drastic budget cuts while maintaining an excellent level of legal service. Under his leadership, the OGC has taken on more responsibilities while cutting its legal expenditures. In addition to providing day-to-day legal advice and support to the Board of Education, the Superintendent and senior executives, Holmquist oversees four legal practice groups (i.e., Facilities, Labor & Employment, Business & Government, and Education Legal Services) that handle over 1,000 legal matters at any given time. Among his many skills and talents, Holmquist is able to think through complex legal issues to find solutions while managing stakeholders with varying interests in a political environment. He is able to maintain a positive outlook and determination to overcome insurmountable odds. By surrounding himself with the best legal talent, he can summon a small team necessary to craft potential options for whatever challenge facing the District at the time. Many of his clients attribute his success to his innate ability to engender trust and confidence. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP | www.pillsburylaw.com 725 South Figueroa Street, Suite 2800 | Los Angeles, CA 90017-5406 | +1.213.488.7100 Abu Dhabi • Austin • Beijing • Houston • London • Los Angeles • Nashville • New York • Northern Virginia • Palm Beach Sacramento • San Diego • San Diego North County • San Francisco • Shanghai • Silicon Valley • Tokyo • Washington, DC INDUSTRY LEADERS VISIONARIES UP AND COMERS These are our clients. They’re big on the future. SO ARE WE. Pillsbury is proud to sponsor the 2014 Corporate Counsel Awards. Our congratulations to all of the “big on the future” nominees. OCTOBER 27, 2014 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:00 PM Page 43 OCTOBER 27, 2014 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 43 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Honorees CORPORATE COUNSEL RISING STAR CRAIG LEVINE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL COUNSEL AND SECRETARY WASH MULTIFAMILY LAUNDRY SYSTEMS, LLC A expert in mergers and acquisition transactions, corporate finance, securities law, and contractual matters, Craig Levine serves as WASH’s Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. In 2013, Levine successfully made the transition from outside counsel with the Los Angeles-based law firm of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, LLP, to take the reigns as WASH’s in-house general counsel and is now an integral part of the company’s senior management team. WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems is a provider of outsourced laundry equipment for multifamily housing properties including apartment complexes, condos, college and university residence halls, and military bases throughout the U.S. and Canada. Levine joined WASH at a time of tremendous growth and in the middle of the Company’s global expansion. In fact, over the past five years, WASH has doubled in size through a series of 9 successful mergers, acquisitions and integrations. Levine’s efforts both as general counsel and in his time with Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, LLP, have been vital to the organization’s corporate expansion efforts. In total, Levine has negotiated and closed more than $700 million in transactions for WASH since 2008. In addition to his mergers and acquisition work, Levine is now overseeing all legal operations in both the United States and Canada and is responsible for cross-border and contractual aspects of the business. During his tenure at WASH, Levine has consolidated the legal department for North American operations by wearing multiple hats and replacing WASH’s long-time general counsel in the U.S. N Congratulations! Stephanie Blackman Guthy | Renker & all of the Outstanding Scheper Kim & Harris LLP proudly supports the LABJ 2014 Corporate Counsel Awards and congratulates our friends John Thornton, John Kedeshian, Jennifer Painter, as well as all the 2014 nominees. 2014 Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists. www.scheperkim.com www.Venable.com 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:00 PM Page 44 44 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists BRYAN ADEL SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL DINEEQUITY, INC. BRYAN Adel joined DineEquity over four years ago. His major responsibility was to lead DineEquity’s legal function with responsibility for all legal matters relating to the company’s operations, including securities, litigation corporate governance, risk management and public reporting/regulatory compliance. He quickly realized a need for streamlined legal services and set into action a strategic plan of integrating the legal departments of two iconic brands, IHOP and Applebee’s (DineEquity acquired Applebee’s in 2007). Adel achieved this by organizing the legal department into three big groups: franchising and international, litigation and compliance, and transactions. The integration completely restructured the legal process for DineEquity where every DineEquity lawyer now worked on both IHOP and Applebee’s matters, minimizing the amount of legal work that was outsourced and therefore drastically reducing legal expenses for DineEquity. The new structure was also well received by the DineEquity legal team. This year’s esteemed Corporate Counsel of the Year finalists are arranged below alphabetically by last name. Congratulations to all of the finalists for your extraordinary work on behalf of your organizations! KATHERINE ADKINS VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL COUNSEL AND SECRETARY TOYOTA FINANCIAL SERVICES AT Toyota Financial Services (TFS), where Katherine Adkins serves as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, she oversees the Legal, Enterprise Compliance, and Internal Audit Departments. Adkins, a strong advocate for women in leadership, is also a strong supporter of leveraging creativity and innovation to solve business problems. She has been instrumental in linking those concepts to companywide diversity and inclusion programs that foster a culture of creativity for all Toyota associates. This approach has proven successful as she and her leadership teamwork to help build a compliance capability and culture at TFS to better serve customers in an increased regulatory environment. Under her leadership, TFS is proactively building a robust Compliance Management System (CMS) that touches every area of the business and drives business accountability. TFS’ CMS includes updated policies and procedures, issue tracking, stronger vendor management, and technology solutions, among other things. When You Need Direction Buchalter Nemer Ǧ ϐ ǡ ǡ Ǥ www.buchalter.com 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/24/2014 10:21 AM Page 45 OCTOBER 27, 2014 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 45 SCOTT BARLOW VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL CONVERSANT, INC. KRIS CHEH BECK SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL CITYVIEW CARY BERGER GENERAL COUNSEL MAKER STUDIOS SCOTT Barlow has served as Vice President and General Counsel of Conversant since 2001. For roughly a decade prior to that, Barlow served as General Counsel and Secretary for Mediaplex, Inc. and then ValueClick, Inc. His responsibilities throughout this period have been allencompassing. He has served not only as the chief legal officer of each of these companies, but he also has served as a key member of each company’s management team. Barlow deftly navigated the complex array of issues for which the general counsel of a large public company must be fluent, ranging from the securities laws and public disclosures, to myriad acquisitions and other M&A activities, to labor issues, to litigation management. As Conversant and its predecessors grew, Barlow managed the creation and development of Conversant’s worldwide legal department. Barlow’s role in team-building for that department and training and nurturing a diverse group of all-purpose advisors for the company has been consistently impressive. KRIS Cheh Beck joined CityView in early 2011 as General Counsel and Senior Vice President. She is a great technical attorney who also maintains a pragmatic businessperson’s perspective. She believes in intelligent assessments of complex business risks, both at the corporate level and at the dayto-day operational level, to improve business returns rather than simply focusing on risk avoidance. She views herself as an active business partner for her internal clients, and her accomplishments reflect her approach. Since joining CityView, she built the firm’s legal department from ground up – initially serving as the firm’s only in-house attorney, guiding the firm’s legal infrastructure as CityView, a real estate private equity firm, emerged from one of the most dramatic real estate market contractions in history. In less than four years, however, Beck oversaw an addition of over $350 million in new institutional capital commitment at the firm as well as over $700 million in investment acquisitions in overall leveraged cost basis. CARY Berger currently serves as General Counsel of Maker Studios, a next-generation media and technology company and the world’s largest network of online video content for millennials. Berger joined Maker in September 2013 and leads legal and governmental affairs at the Culver Citybased company. Though he has been at Maker just over a year, his accomplishments are many and he has spearheaded several strategic partnerships and significant transactions since joining the company. Chief among his accomplishments at Maker, Berger represented the company in its sale to Disney Enterprises, Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) in May 2014, a landmark deal worth up to $950 million. Disney’s acquisition of Maker was viewed as a watershed moment for the online video space and game changing for the entertainment industry—bringing together two of the top leaders in entertainment. The deal gives Maker access to the most popular content and franchises in the universe and puts Disney in the center of the rapidly growing online video industry. JMBM is proud to support the Los Angeles Business Journal 2014 Corporate Counsel Awards Congratulations to Craig Levine, General Counsel for WASH Multi-Family Laundry Systems LLC Winner, Corporate Counsel Rising Star 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:02 PM Page 46 46 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists TAMMY BRANDT CHIEF M&A & ALLIANCE COUNSEL COMPUTER SCIENCES CORPORATION SUSAN CLEARY VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL INDEPENDENT FILM & TELEVISION ALLIANCE GAIL COOPER VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL INDEPENDENT FILM & TELEVISION ALLIANCE TAMMY Brandt is an active member of Broads Circle and was most recently the General Counsel at ServiceMesh, Inc. before they were acquired by Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) in November of 2013. Brandt was a senior member of the executive management team and an active supporter of the technology community in LA. She is in charge of Mergers and Acquisitions, Alliances and the Strategic Business Units (cloud, cyber and big data) at CSC. Brandt is uniquely qualified in that she is a seasoned lawyer but also a senior-level executive that understands how to grow a business. At ServiceMesh, not only did she oversee all legal affairs, but also was heavily involved in operations and responsible for human resources. She spent a great deal of her time on international expansion issues and helping ServiceMesh sustain its growth through a Series A round of financing and ultimately through the liquidity event with CSC. SUSAN Cleary is an instrumental part of the Los Angeles headquartered Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), the non-profit trade association for which she has served for the last 16 years, currently as Vice President and General Counsel. Having worked her entire career in the film and television industry, Cleary has seen significant changes in the industry over the years, both positive and negative, stemming from factors such as new and constantly evolving technology, the economy, marketplace access, rapid growth and threat of online theft, and media consolidation. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is Cleary’s energy and passion for her work. As General Counsel, Cleary leads a five-person inhouse legal team, which manages the Alliance’s legal and corporate affairs, including IFTA’s trade show the American Film Market. Her knowledge and long-standing experience in protecting the intellectual property of creators provides IFTA and its Members tremendous benefit, especially as new business models encompassing online distribution are developed and online theft poses a greater threat than ever. Already an accomplished attorney at the time, Gail Cooper chose to make a change in her career and was appointed General Counsel of Pasadena City College in August 2011. On a daily basis, she handles widely varied matters under almost every area of law. Her job functions span serving as legal advisor and parliamentarian to the seven member publicly elected Board of Trustees, education law, labor, employment, redistricting, Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)/unfair practice charge hearings, conflict of interest laws, ADA issues, disciplinary hearings (employees and students), grievance arbitrations, contract review and negotiations, grade appeals, police department issues, immigration law, public notice laws, public records laws, Board policy review, grant and subgrant agreements, affiliation agreements, consortium agreements, articulation agreements, compensation, tax, insurance coverage and defense litigation, and many other tasks. Amazingly, she has mastered all of them. She has achieved immense success on behalf of the College, and plays a key role in its growth and success. Clyde & Co congratulates the finalists of Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2014 Corporate Counsel Awards especially our friend Diane Sinclair, Valero Companies 39 offices across 6 continents www.clydeco.com 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp OCTOBER 27, 2014 10/22/2014 3:08 PM Page 47 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 47 WASH Congratulates Craig Levine! Winner of the Rising Star Award An expert in mergers and acquisition transactions, corporate finance, securities law, and contractual matters, Craig is an integral part of WASH’s senior management team. In his tenure with WASH, Craig has streamlined the company’s multi-national legal operations and has served a vital role in corporate expansion efforts. We celebrate Craig for all of his achievements and extend our congratulations to the other Los Angeles Business Journal Corporate Counsel of the Year nominees and winners. www.washlaundry.com 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:03 PM Page 48 48 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists DUNCAN CRABTREE-IRELAND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER & GENERAL COUNSEL SAG-AFTRA MARSHALL CRODDY PRESIDENT CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION ALEXIS DUGDALE COUNSEL URS CORPORATION DUNCAN CrabtreeIreland is chief operating officer and general counsel of SAGAFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), responsible for cross-organizational accountability and all legal affairs and strategy, and for oversight of the organization’s legal, government affairs and public policy, international, governance, financial assurances, talent agency relations, EEO/diversity, and foreign royalties departments. He also oversees the legal aspects of collective bargaining and contract enforcement for all SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreements. On behalf of SAG-AFTRA, he serves as a member of the boards of the SAG-Producers Pension and Health Plans, SoundExchange, and the SAGAFTRA and Industry Sound Recordings Digital Distribution Fund, and as co-chair of the AFM & SAGAFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund. He is a delegate to the International Federation of Actors (FIA). Previously, Crabtree-Ireland served as Screen Actors Guild's deputy national executive director and general counsel, and as a deputy district attorney for the County of Los Angeles. MARSHALL Croddy became President of Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) in February 2013 after previously serving as Vice President. He is an attorney and has been a member of the State Bar of California since 1976. Croddy is a nationally recognized leader in the field of law-related and civics education. CRF is a non-profit, non-partisan, community-based organization dedicated to educating America's young people about the importance of civic participation in a democratic society. Under the guidance of a Board of Directors chosen from the worlds of law, business, government, education, the media, and the community, CRF develops, produces, and distributes programs and materials to teachers throughout California and the nation. In the area of program design and implementation, Croddy has helped create numerous educational programs for Constitutional Rights Foundation, including Active Citizenship Today, utilized as a curricular model around the nation and adopted as part of various states’ social studies standards; Civic Action Project; and the 1991 Southern California Educational Celebration of the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights. AS counsel for URS, Alexis Dugdale brings a sense of small-town loyalty to a big corporation. URS Corporation is an engineering, construction and technical services organization that offers services through a network of offices across the U.S. and in more than 40 countries, providing these services to a broad range of clients. Dugdale’s warm rapport with his colleagues does not take away from the meticulous and thorough legal work he performs daily. URS’ work is focused in four key market sectors: federal, infrastructure, power, and industrial and commercial. Dugdale manages litigation for URS and, alongside its engineers, he reviews and edits contracts that impact the operations of the company. He worked for several years as a construction attorney in a nationally recognized boutique firm prior to arriving at URS, and that experience laid the foundation for his current work. His knowledge of the construction business helps him to protect URS’ business interests and has earned him the respect of his colleagues from both sides of the table. JONATHAN ENDMAN CORPORATE COUNSEL ACCOUNT CONTROL TECHNOLOGY, INC. ADAM FRIEDMAN DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & SENIOR LEGAL COUNSEL E-STET SAM GOLDBERG COUNSEL THE MOBILE MAJORITY IN just over a year since he was promoted to the role of General Counsel of Account Control Technology, Inc. (ACT), Jonathan Endman has had a dramatic impact on the financial services company and its place within the Los Angeles community. His intelligence, accessibility, versatility and ability to distill complex legal matters into understandable concepts have made him essential. Endman joined ACT in 2013 with just over 10 years of litigation and arbitration experience. As ACT’s staff attorney, he has contributed legal insights related to the company’s rapid expansion over the past 1.5 years. He was instrumental in helping establish Account Control Technology Holdings, Inc., which enabled ACT to expand through acquisitions while minimizing legal risks. He reviewed and advised on all legal ramifications of ACT Holdings’ May 2014 acquisition of Convergent Resources Holdings, Inc., a complex, 9-figure transaction requiring the raising of debt to finance the deal. The completed acquisition in effect expanded ACT’s number of offices from five to 21 and its employee base from 750 to 3,900. ADAM Friedman joined the e-Stet team in 2014 and currently works as the Director of Corporate Solutions for Southern California and Senior Legal Counsel. He helps clients craft custom data solutions to streamline data management and empower in-house counsel through the use of cutting edge hardware and software. He also heads organization of e-Stet’s events, providing the corporate legal community with informative, exciting, and unique events that explore the different ways technology and innovation change the future. He also helps develop e-Stet’s long-term growth strategy and offers counsel on various legal matters as they arise. Prior to joining e-Stet, Friedman practiced law in San Diego, with Feuerstein & Murphy, LLP and handled appellate work for Jayne Kelly, Esq. in San Francisco, where he prevailed in his very first case before the First District Court of Appeal. Friedman is excited to bring his knowledge of law and the legal process to help e-Stet better serve attorneys. SAM Goldberg, counsel and co-founder at The Mobile Majority (formerly PaeDae) consistently sets an example of leadership and professional excellence within his company and community. In his role at The Mobile Majority, Goldberg is intimately involved in the day-to-day affairs of a rapidly growing start up, in the quickly expanding and evolving advertising technology industry. Given the unique nature of The Mobile Majority’s technology and business model, Goldberg also focuses on protecting the company’s intellectual property, which consists of a suite of proprietary technology tools. He is uniquely positioned to do so, given his extensive experience with patent litigation at his previous firm. Additionally, he ensures the company adheres to the highest standards of self-regulation, especially regarding consumer privacy, in an industry where legal mandates are still fairly minimal and companies must exercise their own discretion to determine how to treat consumer information. 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:03 PM Page 49 OCTOBER 27, 2014 ELIZABETH GREENWOOD GENERAL COUNSEL & CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER TENNENBAUM CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC ELIZABETH Greenwood has served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC (TCP), a leading alternative investment manager, since 2008 and as a member of TCP’s executive team since 2007. She also serves as Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary for the TCP’s managed-funds. Greenwood has in-depth knowledge of and primary responsibility for compliance with the multitude of laws, rules and regulations applicable to managers and funds, as well as a thorough appreciation for the current regulatory and market environment impacting the investment industry. Greenwood joined TCP just prior to the financial crisis. She played an integral role in guiding the Firm through the crisis and in helping the firm to adapt to the new world that followed the financial crisis. Greenwood has worked tirelessly to ensure that TCP complies with its legal obligations and meets its investors’ expectations. Ms. Greenwood is particularly adept at collaborating with senior executive teams to craft and implement policies and procedures that further the firm’s business goals. AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 49 LISA HARRINGTON VICE PRESIDENT & ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL NBCUNIVERSAL, DIGITAL DIVISION LISA Hatton Harrington is Vice President and Associate General Counsel at NBCUniversal, Digital Division. She is the head of legal and business affairs for the digital and e-commerce properties including Fandango, Movies.com, Movie Clips, Fandango marketing, Fandango Loyalty Solutions, Quantum Rewards, Hollywood Movie Money, and NBCU Digital Entertainment. Harrington oversees a team of nine lawyers, and promotes a flexible work schedule for the legal team to support a healthy work-life balance. On an ongoing basis, she performs a wide variety of legal work in diverse areas such as intellectual property, social media, new media, merchandising, advertising and marketing, e-commerce, sweepstakes and promotions, regulatory and compliance matters, mobile and developing technologies, and much more. Recently, she has worked in close collaboration with outside counsel to prepare the company’s FTC consent decree and has spearheaded overhauling the company’s privacy policy. She is a member of the senior management team and advises on matters relating to the company’s digital technologies and strategic partnerships. MARY KASPER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL COUNSEL & SECRETARY FRESH & EASY, LLC WITH over 25 years representing grocery stores, Mary Kasper brings tailored legal skill and creative expertise to Fresh & Easy. She works with a proven network of external counsel to find practical, costeffective and sustainable solutions to the complex legal and business matters that affect the industry. She is a “consigliere” to our CEO and executive team, and actively partner in strategic business decisions to drive the company forward. Her favorite compliment from a colleague remains “You’re so approachable for a lawyer!” Kasper is actively involved in business development, strategic partnerships and capital transactions. Mary works “shoulder to shoulder” with he executive colleagues and cross-functional teams to rebuild the business, with over 4,000 employees, 167 stores, a distribution center, and three manufacturing facilities. The business was sold as a going concern in late November 2013 to an affiliate of The Yucaipa Companies. Kasper continues to lead the business’ Risk Management and Government Relations teams. YEAH! e-stet.com 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:04 PM Page 50 50 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists JOHN H. KEDESHIAN SENIOR LEGAL DIRECTOR YAHOO! INC. JOHN H. Kedeshian has been with Yahoo! Inc. for over six years and currently serves as Senior Legal Director. During that time, Kedeshian has worked on a variety of legal issues for Yahoo! and has continuously demonstrated his commitment to counsel business, technical, and executive clients on general corporate, business, and finance matters with a focus on collaborative, proactive, and creative problem-solving to achieve successful outcomes and risk mitigation strategies across all business functions. Kedeshian and his team at Yahoo! handle a broad array of deals, matters and issues, including search partnerships, broadband partnerships, mobile partnerships, and social media partnerships, which total approximately $2.5B in annual gross revenue. The Yahoo! Legal Department recently recognized Kedeshian with its Legal Eagle Award for his exemplification of the department’s beliefs and his meaningful contributions to the company. In addition, Kedeshian was recently selected to participate in the Yahoo! Legal Department’s Global Legal Program – an inter-office exchange program that allowed him to work in Yahoo!’s London office. ERIC LARDIERE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, SECRETARY & GENERAL COUNSEL MEGGITT-USA, INC. ERIC Lardiere is Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of MeggittUSA, Inc., the holding company for all Meggitt companies in the United States. Meggitt-USA is a subsidiary of Meggitt PLC, which is primarily an aerospace and defense engineering and manufacturing firm. Far from being a “hands-off” General Counsel when it comes to working with outside counsel, Lardiere works right in the trenches alongside them, from the investigation and analysis stages of potential litigation, pretrial preparation, on through and at trial. His exceptional insight and prescient guidance has been uniformly outstanding. Whether it be an environmental issue, an unfair competition/trade secret claim, a copyright or misappropriation problem, an employment law issue, a regulatory matter, or a contract claim, Lardiere’s broad base of experience and practical approach to problem resolution, whether it be through settlement or through trial, provides those who work with and for him the benefit of his substantial expertise and analysis. ADAM MURRAY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR INNER CITY LAW CENTER AN expert on both housing and homelessness, Adam Murray has developed and promoted innovative public policies that reduce homelessness and lead to safe, healthy and affordable housing. Recognized nationally as a leader on housing and homelessness issues, in his seven years as Inner City Law Center’s Executive Director, Murray has expertly guided ICLC’s transformation from an organization of five attorneys operating with a $1.4 million budget to an organization of 40 staff, including 20 attorneys, with a $3.4 million budget. Murray has led ICLC in expanding or developing groundbreaking programs that provide essential legal services to improve the lives, health, and prospects of individuals and families here in Los Angeles. The only provider of legal services on Skid Row, ICLC combats slum housing while developing strategies to end homelessness. Last year alone, Murray led ICLC to helping over 300 homeless veterans to recover over $2 million in VA benefits, obtain greater access to VA healthcare, and move from the streets into stable, safe, and affordable long-term housing. We congratulate our General Counsel, our leader & our friend Stephanie|Blackman No one works harder nor cares more. We are privileged to work with you and for you. – from your friends & colleagues at Guthy-Renker Transamerican Auto Parts Worldwide, LLC, is proud of Darren’s recognition as a Finalist in the 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards. Darren perfectly represents the core values of TAP and is a great contributor to the success of the company. Congratulations! 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:04 PM Page 51 OCTOBER 27, 2014 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 51 ANGEL NEVAREZ SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL JULES AND ASSOCIATES, INC. BETTY NORDWIND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HARRIETT BUHAI CENTER FOR FAMILY LAW ANGEL E. Nevarez joined Jules and Associates, Inc. (JAA) as General Counsel and a Senior Vice President in 2009. He is also General Counsel to VDS, an affiliate of JAA. JAA is one of the largest privately owned equipment leasing companies in the United States. Nevarez is tasked with strengthening JAA’s internal risk assessment processes and with facilitating and driving its more complicated transactions. Always conscious of JAA’s entrepreneurial and business-minded/profit driven approach, he has had to be nimble and provide balanced (business and legal) solutions to various issues. His decisions are sound and always mindful of improving margins. More specifically, his impact on JAA has been to decrease turnaround time with respect to contract negotiations (while providing smart and responsive input), manage general litigation and legal matters. Moreover, he actively involves himself in the daily administrative and operational challenges and opportunities inherent to JAA as a corporation and business (e.g., organizational processes, human resources, accounting issues and marketing concerns). FOR over forty years, Betty L. Nordwind has dedicated her career to providing legal services to those who lack the resources to find other counsel. In January 1987, she began her tenure at the Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law in Los Angeles, where she has been the Executive Director for 27 years. The Center provides family law services and education to very lowincome residents of Los Angeles County. The Center’s mission is to protect victims of domestic violence and improve the well being of children living in poverty. Nordwind leads 19 staff members, over 300 volunteers and has grown the annual operating budget to over $1,400,000. Under her tutelage, the Center has provided legal assistance to over 25,000 indigent clients and many thousands more through community education programs and telephone referrals, has trained hundreds of lawyers and law students, filed several significant lawsuits, engaged in other advocacy directed to eliminating barriers to the courts and undertaken legislative efforts to change child support laws and practices in California and Los Angeles. JENNIFER PAINTER VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL COUNSEL & SECRETARY ON ASSIGNMENT SINCE joining On Assignment as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary in June 2013, Jennifer Painter has worked tirelessly to ensure that company policies and practices are scrupulously in line with the law and support the company’s interests. Her area of responsibility covers not only the On Assignment corporate entity, but also the company’s several divisions with a total of 141 offices throughout North America and Europe. Locally, Painter leads a five-member team, comprised of herself, an assistant general counsel, a corporate compliance manager, a legal administrator and a corporate paralegal. She also carries responsibility for advising the company’s several divisional legal teams that report to her on a dotted-line basis. With such a large purview, each day provides Painter with new and unexpected challenges, whether she is counseling various business functions or working to diminish and manage risk at the corporate level. The past year has provided her with many opportunities to shine – putting her West Point education and US Army Corps of Engineers leadership experience to excellent use. 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:04 PM Page 52 52 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists GUTHRIE PATERSON GENERAL COUNSEL TRACE3, INC. ROBERT RADER GENERAL COUNSEL OVATION LLC BRIAN ROSS VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL EDGECAST NETWORKS, INC. GUTHRIE Paterson serves as General Counsel for Trace3, a leading Business Transformation Partner providing technology solutions for Fortune 1000 clients across the United States. He has a broad range of responsibilities at Trace3 – covering legal, operational, finance and corporate development efforts for the company. In this role he has helped scale Trace3 from $110 million revenue and 100 employees in 2010 to $400+ million revenue and 300+ employees in 2013. Paterson provides actionable counsel to Trace3's executive team and business lines – empowering such groups to grow and scale while simultaneously reducing the company's overall risk profile. Previously, he served as General Counsel for Comtex News Network, a leading provider of online real-time news, content and proprietary trading solutions, and LaGarde Capital, an affiliated hedge fund utilizing Comtex's proprietary trading solutions. Prior to Comtex and LaGarde, he was a senior corporate attorney in the New York and Los Angeles offices of Jones Day, an international law firm. ROB Rader is a highly experienced General Counsel with 18 years of general counsel and business affairs experience for highgrowth digital media companies, multi-billion dollar media companies and retailers, and major and boutique law firms, including over $7 billion of M&A and financings. Presently, Rader is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Ovation TV, America’s only cable network dedicated to the arts. The independent network based in Santa Monica is distributed to more than 50 million subscribers on major cable and satellite platforms across the country, including Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse. Rader joined Ovation in 2013 as the first in-house attorney at the company. He is responsible for all business and legal matters, including production, distribution, marketing, litigation, intellectual property, real estate, corporate and human resources. Most importantly, throughout his work and civic activities, Rader evidences a commitment to service, the community and the arts. . BRIAN Ross has built a reputation as an excellent lawyer who keeps his finger on the pulse of the rapidly changing world of technology law. His roles not only require thorough understanding of technology law, they also require detailed familiarity with technology services, solutions, and processes. Where both the law and the technology are changing quickly, a tremendous amount of agility and intellect is required to be successful and to serve the organization well. Ross joined EdgeCast when it was a young startup, and helped grow and manage the legal team for the organization as the company experienced explosive growth. Due to the nature of the EdgeCast organization and its services, Ross tackled a very wide variety of issues. His flexibility and understanding of the rapidly evolving world of technology law helped him serve EdgeCast well on countless issues of major import to the company. CONGRATULATIONS TO SCOTT BARLOW Vice President & General Counsel of Conversant, Inc. We work to undertand you – Your business, your clients, your risks and your needs. For being recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a 2014 FINALIST! A leader in middle-market employee benefits, property casualty and retirement planning consulting services, USI offers tremendous geographic and business diversity with more than 4,000 professionals in over 140 U.S. offices serving every state. JOHN ERNSTER AND YOUR FRIENDS AT ERNSTER LAW OFFICES, P.C. We rely on professional expertise and proprietary resources to identify issues and solutions for improving our clients’ profitability, cash flow, balance sheet liquidity and related financial values. 70 South Lake Avenue, Suite 750 Pasadena, CA 91101 626-844-8800 USI Insurance Services 21600 Oxnard St., 8th Floor, Woodland Hills, CA 91367 Ph: 818.251.3000 | www.usi.biz Areas of Focus: SPECIALIZING IN TRANSPORTATION, BUSINESS, CONSTRUCTION, AND TRUST LITIGATION, AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:04 PM Page 53 OCTOBER 27, 2014 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 53 DARREN SALVIN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL TAP WORLDWIDE LLC SALVIN was the first in-house attorney to be hired at TransAmerican Auto Parts (TAP). Until 2012, when TAP Worldwide hired a second in-house attorney to assist, Salvin solely presided over an ever-growing slate of legal matters for TransAmerican, and then TAP Worldwide. The legal department at TAP Worldwide headquarters in Compton, California is literally a one-stop shop for every conceivable legal issue faced by an international manufacturer, distributor and retailer. Salvin oversaw the development of TransAmerican's initial employee handbook and related HR policies and has been responsible for every iteration since that time. Salvin is also directly responsible for innumerable compliance issues that range from MAP pricing policies, to California Air Resource Board compliance, to ADA, Proposition 65, and FMVSS testing. He also has direct responsibility for all of TAP Worldwide’s insurance needs, as well as all of its real property acquisition and leasing, and until very recently directly managed TAP Worldwide’s litigation. SUSAN SANDLER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL FOREST LAWN MEMORIAL-PARK ASSOCIATION FERNANDA SCHMID GENERAL COUNSEL CORNERSTONE RESEARCH SUSAN Rule Sandler has served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association since June 2005. Sandler is a skilled lawyer with a keen business sense and strategic outlook, with expertise in corporate law, employment policies, and compliance programs. She is a key member of Forest Lawn’s sixperson Executive Committee, and is involved in virtually every major decision affecting the company. Since her arrival at Forest Lawn, Sandler has embraced Forest Lawn’s mission to help fulfill a significant need and provide an important public benefit to the community. In addition to providing a beautiful park-like setting for families to visit and remember loved ones, Forest Lawn hosts educational programs, patriotic celebrations, religious events, graduations, lectures, and art exhibits. She furthers Forest Lawn’s mission of service to the community and protects its interests through her leadership. Sandler has also been instrumental in furthering Forest Lawn’s growth over the past several years, working on the acquisition, build-out, licensing, and launching of five of Forest Lawn’s locations. FERNANDA Schmid is an exemplary inhouse counsel who has made significant contributions in her in-house counsel roles at LECG, LLC and Cornerstone Research. She is intelligent and resourceful in her approach to legal problems, highly skilled at navigating difficult corporate challenges, pragmatic, innovative, and very well respected. After ten years in private practice, Schmid was approached by LECG, LLC with an invitation to fill its Associate General Counsel position. As second to the General Counsel in a department of only three attorneys, Schmid was instrumental in guiding the company through a challenging reorganization necessitated by the severe global economic downturn in 2008. Among her many more recent accomplishments at Cornerstone Research include legal oversight for expansion into the Midwest with the opening of a Chicago office last year and expansion into the global market with the opening of a London office on September 1, 2014. The company has grown to 500 employees and eight offices with Schmid as the sole member of the legal department. The Attorneys at Fisher & Phillips LLP Congratulate Adam Weiss at Cornerstone on Demand for his selection as a Finalist for the 2014 Corporate Counsel Awards. The experienced labor and employment lawyers serving California are honored to work with Adam Weiss. Fisher & Phillips attorneys help clients with employment contracts, wage and hour law, harassment and discrimination, labor relations, unfair competition, immigration and employee benefits. Clients benefit from our practical solutions to workplace issues. The firm’s Los Angeles attorneys, along with more than 300 lawyers in 31 offices across the country, offer the breadth and depth of labor and employment experience employers need today. Let us show you what we can do. Representing employers nationally in labor, employment, civil rights, employee benefits, and immigration matters 2050 Main Street • Suite 1000 Irvine, CA 92614 Phone: (949) 851-2424 444 South Flower Street • Suite 1590 Los Angeles, CA 90071 Phone: (213) 330-4500 4747 Executive Drive • Suite 1000 San Diego, CA 92121 Phone: (858) 597-9600 One Embarcadero Center • Suite 2050 San Francisco, CA 94111 Phone: (415) 490-9000 www.laborlawyers.com Atlanta Baltimore Boston Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Columbia Columbus Dallas Denver Fort Lauderdale Gulfport Houston Irvine Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Louisville Memphis New England New Jersey New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Portland San Antonio San Diego San Francisco Tampa Washington, DC 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/24/2014 10:21 AM Page 54 54 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists CAROL SCHWAB CITY ATTORNEY/CITY PROSECUTOR CITY OF CULVER CITY DIANE SINCLAIR SPECIAL COUNSEL VALERO COMPANIES PETER STECKELMAN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS & LEGAL AFFAIRS THE TENNIS CHANNEL, INC CAROL Schwab has served the City of Culver City as its inhouse City Attorney and City Prosecutor for the past 16 years. She was promoted, after holding the position of Deputy City Attorney for 11 years. As City Attorney, Schwab’s legal guidance has been an integral part of the ability of multiple City Councils to adopt numerous laws and policies needed to implement Culver City’s vision for economic growth, improved quality-of-life programs and ongoing services. It required extensive use of redevelopment and planning tools, expansion of transit, including the Expo Line, support for the schools, responsible sustainability practices and maintenance of top-ranked Police, Fire, and other Departments to protect residents and businesses. As the most senior member of the City’s executive management team, City Attorney Carol Schwab has been an important ingredient in this progress. As City Prosecutor, she also helps coordinate law enforcement services that support business infrastructure in Culver City, as well as improved quality of neighborhoods. DIANE Sinclair has over 25 years of experience as corporate counsel for a large independent oil refining company Valero, with responsibilities in environmental, antitrust, contract negotiations, counseling for employment matters, insurance and litigation. For the past 20 years, her responsibilities have been the legal interface with regulatory and government agencies. Sinclair actively participates in company-wide refinery compliance assurance consistent with OSHA and environmental law and regulations including the Clean Air Act, RCRA, and OSHA-Process Safety Management. Licensed to practice in both the states of Texas and California, she is viewed as the corporation’s legal expert in California environmental law with direct responsibility for both Valero refineries in Benicia and Wilmington. Over the years she has taken the lead in developing environmental regulatory management and audit programs, supervised participation in DOJ/EPA/State Agency investigations of refinery compliance with environmental laws, facilitated successful decisions in several binding arbitrations regarding petroleum contracts, settlement of pipeline tariff issues before the FERC and successful in defending an antitrust lawsuit and a separate breach of contract action. PETER Steckelman is Tennis Channel’s senior vice president of business and legal affairs. He comes to the network with more than 15 years of experience in major corporate business affairs practice. Working in the network's Los Angeles headquarters, Steckelman manages all business and legal affairs activities. This includes content licensing, programming, tournament production matters, intellectual property oversight, distribution and athlete names and likenesses. He also serves as Tennis Channel's senior in-house legal affairs advisor. In addition to being responsible for legal aspects associated with the network's various brand platforms, Steckelman works closely with Tennis Channel executive teams to maintain transactional contract precedent, coordinate network and licensed footage use, manage sweepstakes, ensure broadband media distribution and synchronize the network's overall distribution through its affiliates. Among his accomplishments include handling and concluding major tournament media rights negotiations and as well as successfully negotiating Tennis Channel network carriage agreements while working closely with senior executives in a team approach collaborative manner. CONGRATULATIONS TO Darren M. Salvin Executive Vice President & General Counsel TAP Worldwide LLC For being recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a 2014 Finalist! From your friends and colleagues at Fernald Law Group Good for you. At Goodmans, we know that good people make all the difference. That’s why we’re pleased to celebrate the 2014 Corporate Counsel Awards and the outstanding talent and achievements of Craig Levine, Executive Vice-President, General Counsel & Secretary of WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems, LLC. Our sincere congratulations to all of this year’s finalists. 510 W 6th St. Suite 700 Los Angeles, CA 90014 Tel: 323-410-0320 fernaldlawgroup.com 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:05 PM Page 55 OCTOBER 27, 2014 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 55 JOHN THORNTON DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL MARCUS & MILLICHAP JIM VIECELI SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL PABST BREWING COMPANY JOHN T. Thornton has dedicated his life and his exemplary 34 -year career to the care, service, and betterment of his family, his community, and his clients. In 1986, John started a successful 24year run with the corporate legal department of what was then known as Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate (now, CBRE). His successes at CBRE did not go unnoticed. In 2010, Thornton was recruited by the country's largest real estate investment sales brokerage firm, Marcus & Millichap, to head up its litigation department on a national basis. In less than four years he has been instrumental in reducing Marcus & Millichap's national litigation defense caseload and expenses by over 40%, and leading the firm in recovering over $9M in fees and other forms of compensation, while managing and training an inhouse staff of attorneys. In the same span of time he has fostered a significant level of trust and confidence among management throughout the country, based upon his high degree of commitment, loyalty, competence, and results. JIM Vieceli is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Pabst Brewing Company, where he works with the board of directors, the executive management team and all divisions of the company overseeing the legal and regulatory matters for the company. Vieceli is young, bright and energetic and can step back and provide practical real world business savvy solutions to complex problems. Those characteristics combined with, and made more effective by, his broad and diverse practice experience both in the US and internationally make him an outstanding General Counsel. He works extremely well with outside counsel, giving concrete direction and clearly setting expectations, but always willing to adjust and consider changes in circumstances and input from outside counsel. He is very effective in using outside counsel and appreciative of their skills and expertise. He makes sure they have the room and resources to provide effective practical representation, while at the same time making sure that outside counsel knows the scope and objectives of the engagement. BRIAN HANCOCK WATERS MANAGING PARTNER, GENERAL COUNSEL & CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER LOGICA CAPITAL ADVISERS, LLC BRIAN Hancock Waters’ title is Managing Partner, General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer, and in that role he controls the legal affairs and legal budget of the company. As a practical matter, he performs many of the functions more typically performed by a Chief Operating Officer and in some instances by a Chief Financial Officer. Waters is involved in all key aspects of the company's operations from the traditional legal functions to dealing with human resources and employment issues. Among the other responsibilities that he handles as part of his role at the company are directing all legal aspects related to the operations of the company and each of its funds; handling, or otherwise being involved in all contract negotiations and drafts all key legal documents; and managing the activities of internal counsel and outside legal counsels. Oversees regulatory compliance issues, including SEC and federal/state regulations. He also advises executive management, structures funds, and prepares strategic plans, among other responsibilities. ® Forest Lawn congratulates Susan Sandler on her nomination for Corporate Counsel of the Year Glendale FD 656 · Hollywood Hills FD 904 · Cypress FD 1051 · Covina Hills FD 1150 · Long Beach FD 1151 · Arcadia FD 2186 City of Industry FD 2121 · Cathedral City FD 1847 · Coachella FD 640 · Indio FD 967 · Douglass & Zook , Monrovia FD 221 FOREST LAWN MEMORIAL-PARKS & MORTUARIES 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 6:05 PM Page 56 56 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 27, 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists ADAM WEISS VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND GENERAL COUNSEL CORNERSTONE ONDEMAND ADAM Weiss joined Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD) in May 2006 when the employee population was nearing 50 and the need to bring legal support in house became necessary. He came from a law firm and had not had prior experience working in house for another corporation. Based on his contributions to date, CSOD’s executive team would be the first to say that he has been the best possible General Counsel the company could hire. Over the eight years that followed, the company has grown to well over 1100 employees globally. Its product is used by over 1,800 clients worldwide, spanning more than 15.5 million users. Weiss scrutinizes every deal to ensure that the company’s best interests are always well protected and that deals are fair for clients. It is not uncommon for him to actively engage with clients as deals come to a close. This is just as true for the largest multi-million dollar deals as it is for CSOD’s smallest contracts with vendors and its in house wellness program. ADAM WERGELES CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER & SECRETARY REACHLOCAL, INC. LAURA ZEIGLER PRINCIPAL, FIDUCIARY COUNSEL BESSEMER TRUST ADAM Wergeles is the General Counsel and Secretary of ReachLocal, Inc., a Los Angeles-based online media company serving small and medium sized businesses. In his capacity as chief legal officer, he is responsible for worldwide legal affairs, including securities compliance, IP strategy, data protection, litigation, risk management, and business transactions. He is also responsible for corporate governance matters, and acts as corporate secretary. His role also involves advising on wide-ranging issues relating to the expansion of ReachLocal’s product suite and territorial reach, as well as all other matters facing a growing, innovative company operating in an evolving and competitive industry. Wergeles exemplifies the best qualities of a general counsel for a growing tech company – he is thoughtful and prudent in managing legal risk in a manner that achieves his client’s business objectives. In addition to his legal acumen, he has strong business skills. With a deep understanding of the company’s product lines and technology, and keen business judgment, he is a trusted advisor to senior management. IN Laura Zeigler's role as Fiduciary Counsel, she is tasked with risk management for the firm’s trust relationships as well as working with trust beneficiaries on their objectives. Her creativity in this area has been key. Most corporate fiduciaries approach beneficiaries as adversaries. Zeigler views them as allies and as having common goals. The key is to find the common goals and facilitate their objectives in an appropriate manner. She really excels here. She works with the investment team and other Bessemer teams to come up with the best and most efficient strategy. Zeigler also serves as a liaison with the compliance team for all trust compliance matters. Currently she is working with groundbreaking technology with compliance that will automate trust procedures to defeat possible problem areas in the trust administration. Zeigler’s colleagues say that she is a model of excellence and integrity in her dealings with clients, her leadership role in the firm and outside of the firm You’ve got our back, so we can have theirS. 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal Corporate Counsel Award Winner Congratulations to David R. Holmquist General Counsel of the Los Angeles Unified School District Public Counsel is a force for good in the lives of children, families and our whole community. Congratulations to our exceptional General Counsel Elizabeth Bluestein, Corporate Counsel Award Honoree. Your leadership has greatly helped change the lives of the children of Los Angeles for the better! www.publiccounsel.org 29 57_corpcounsel_awards.qxp 10/23/2014 OCTOBER 27, 2014 6:06 PM Page 57 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 57 At the Event Over 500 attendees were on hand for the Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Awards luncheon at the JW Marriott at LA Live.
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