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Eleanor Lacey looks to impact her company in more ways than just legal. She considers herself a strong advocate for family friendly policies. After working in-house for over 30 years, she reflected on why she loves being a general counsel.

Today, Allison Despard is the general counsel of labor and employment in the Asia Pacific region for Honeywell International, Inc., an American conglomerate that produces all kinds of products — from home thermostats to fluorine chemicals to turbo engines — and sells them to individuals, governments, and large corporations.

As more companies look to expand overseas, more global GCs confront tougher decisions for how to manage expansion while mitigating risk.

Given the significant financial benefits tempting whistleblowers, and the knowledge that a whistleblower could thwart the benefits of cooperation, companies are increasingly incentivized to self-report violations of the law.

Not having a government investigation end in a tragedy is largely contingent on planning, preparing, and executing a plan of action. In-house and outside counsel must have a cohesive objective and should work together to set the stage well before the investigators appear on the scene.

In-house counsel can greatly improve the arbitration process by providing a broader scope of review than allowed domestically by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) (and many similar state statutes), or internationally by the New York Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

The solutions to cross-border legal problems do not always lie with seeking legal relief. Rather, one needs to think multidimensionally about the legal challenges that global organizations face, and also holistically about potential solutions — which may not be legally driven at all.

The gray areas, and navigating through them, are what Patrick Kong finds most interesting about his job. As general counsel and head of compliance for Chubb, the world’s largest publicly traded insurer, he is constantly looking for gray areas and figuring out the best way forward.

When an organization is blind to where its data resides and what is in it, it becomes impossible both to meet preservation obligations and comply with GDPR’s guidelines to protect and delete sensitive data. By understanding the full scope of the data, counsel can begin to assess the legal requirements involved with it.

When Ellis joined CP in 2015, he was told that the world he was about enter was fast-paced, exciting, and, most importantly, efficient. Under Harrison’s leadership, the company’s corporate culture prioritized answering to its shareholders, cutting extraneous clutter, and paving a clear pathway to success.

If you ask Chan about his legal career, he will tell you that his journey from firm to global in-house counsel was a result of “jumping at the opportunity.”

Raj Barot has studied, worked, and lived all over the world. Currently managing director and general counsel at Agile Counsel, Barot has spent the majority of the last 10 years working and living in Singapore, Bangkok, and Mumbai. However, if you ask him where he's from, the lawyer/entrepreneur will claim the San Francisco Bay Area as home.

A day in the life of Edward T. Paulis III, VP & Assistant General Counsel at Zurich North America in Owings Mills, Maryland.

As in-house lawyers, we often focus on helping our clients put deals together. When negotiating agreements to document these deals, we must think ahead about how to measure success, what might go wrong, and what happens next. A key component of “what happens next” should include a plan for ending the relationship in an orderly manner.

In this article we explore some of the new diversification opportunities available to certain oil producing countries in the Middle East as a result of decreasing oil prices. Opportunities such as diversifying income sources, diversifying energy sources, private-public partnerships, and the promotion of entrepreneurship, all of which foretell the future ingredients of the economies of such countries.

The prudent course would be for companies to get ahead of the curve now, understand what the potential implications may be as a result of the law, and begin long-term planning to ensure company compliance does not fall short when their competitors run ahead of the field.

"People hear the word ‘boards’ and they make many assumptions. Many of them are simply false,” says Aileen Casanave, deputy general counsel at Jiff, Inc.

Someone once described a traditional legal career as a predictable, well-known path that generations of lawyers take. A deviation from it is frowned upon and can be legal career suicide. Thus, many lawyers miss all the scenic routes!

The Court of Justice of the EU recently ruled that the current US-EU Safe Harbor Certification Program is no longer a valid method for ensuring adequate privacy protection of data transfers between the United States and the European Union.

In 2015, Emily Ward, vice president and deputy general counsel at PayPal, was busy. Her itinerary included helping lead aspects of PayPal's separation from eBay, aiding PayPal's transition as its own company, organizing ChIPs' global event in Washington DC, remaining active in her professional and personal communities, and even adopting a child.

Why should lawyers consider joining startups? “Because it’s hair-raising fun! You feel like you’re on the precipice of a cliff and guzzling from the fire hose most of the time,” Suzy Fulton, vice president of operations and general counsel at Appspace, colorfully answers.

Silicon Valley has its own undeniably unique culture, immortalized in the media as innovation-driven and fast-paced.

Becoming an executive at a high-powered company is a major achievement requiring an “eyes wide open” approach to your career.

Writing the weekly ACC Docket column has been an incredibly rewarding experience in many ways.

Jill Hoffman, the co-founder, former general counsel, and CEO of Qorkz Wine, believes that more women should take the leap into local government.

Linda Mayer has served as an executive or board member with several privately-owned companies. Mayer has a deep understanding of consumer behavior and how to strategize to meet market demand.

As I have discussed in numerous posts, I love startups. They are vibrant places, full of learning and growth opportunities. Startups challenge everyone involved — including those in the legal department.

David Hirschfield, legal director for Galliard Homes in the United Kingdom (London’s largest private housebuilder), and recently honored as a Rising Star at the European Counsel Awards 2016, comes from a family of lawyers, and says he was exposed to legal discussions from an early age.

A globalized economy demands business leaders with an international mindset. At ACC’s Global General Counsel Summit, in-house leaders will have the opportunity to learn from their peers and make cross-border connections.

As the senior labor relations, compliance, and business principle manager for Nestlé in Portugal, Joana Guerra is constantly called upon to ensure company compliance with changing labor standards.