ACC today named Reese Arrowsmith, VP, head of legal operations, Campbell Soup Company as the first-ever chair of ACC Legal Operations.
WASHINGTON (April 5, 2017) -- The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), a global legal association representing more than 42,000 in-house counsel in 85 countries, today named Reese Arrowsmith, VP, head of legal operations, Campbell Soup Company as the first-ever chair of ACC Legal Operations.
ACC Legal Operations, the membership section created by the association in March 2015 to support the burgeoning position of legal operations executive, has grown by 40 percent since its kick-off conference. The membership section includes nine interest/industry groups and seven regional groups, including in Europe, the first group outside of the United States.
As chair, Arrowsmith's priorities are to develop a foundational tool kit for the legal operations function and to ensure that ACC Legal Operations continues to provide strong ongoing education, such as the annual ACC Legal Operations Conference. The work extends to educating general counsel about best practices in setting up the legal operations function and providing law department management resources.
"My goals for ACC Legal Operations are driven by the needs of our energized, collaborative membership and our desire to push forward change in the legal industry," Arrowsmith said. "The field is quickly evolving, and our members want to stay in front of and shape the trends."
Prior to Campbell Soup Company, Arrowsmith previously established and led legal operations at Lincoln Financial. His background also includes serving on the professional services team of a legal software company and working in management consulting, where he focused on client strategies for the office of the general counsel. Arrowsmith has the backing of a vice-chair, Sowmyan Ranganathan, senior director, legal operations, AbbVie, who will take over as chair in 18 months.
"As we recognize the second anniversary of ACC Legal Operations as a key membership sector, we have the opportunity to take stock of the powerful contributions legal operations professionals add to the practice of corporate law," said Veta T. Richardson, ACC president and CEO. "We are thrilled to announce Reese as chair and know he will be instrumental in further connecting the general counsel and legal operations communities to yield even greater success for corporate law departments."
Arrowsmith will speak in June at the third annual ACC Legal Operations Conference, themed "Accelerating Innovation in Legal Services." This year's conference adds an additional, third track of programming, features a capstone session on design thinking, and includes a series of "shark tanks" on emerging technology. The conference commences with a one-day bootcamp for legal operations leaders in the early stages of establishing the legal operations function within their law departments, a highlight of last year's programming returning for another year.
For more information on the ACC Legal Operations Conference, visit www.acc.com/legalops/event/lo2017/, and for more information on ACC Legal Operations, visit www.acc.com/legalops/.
About ACC: ACC is a global legal association that promotes the common professional and business interests of in-house counsel who work for corporations, associations and other private-sector organizations through information, education, networking opportunities and advocacy initiatives. With more than 40,000 members in 85 countries, employed by over 10,000 organizations, ACC connects its members to the people and resources necessary for both personal and professional growth. By in-house counsel, for in-house counsel.® For more information, visit www.acc.com and follow ACC on Twitter: @ACCinhouse.