General Counsel. I get asked all the time, what does that mean? I describe it as a cross between traffic cop, family physician and paramedic. I represented a major auto racing organization, with 50,000 members, for 25 years. I have represented a motorcycle racing organization with 5,000 members for over 20 years, since its formation. I represent a Korean high tech company in its US operations. I have represented a variety of construction companies, small manufacturers, limited liability companies and sole proprietors. In short, pretty much every type of entity.
What do I do? You name it. From contract to complex litigation. From insurance coverage to trademarks (one client owned over 50 registered trademarks). I have litigated cases in Florida, New York, Texas, Minnesota, California and Colorado. I have handled negotiations that went on for days with some of the major figures in American industry. I have been involved in deals in the beginning, in the middle when I took over from someone else or, too commonly, at the end when problems have arisen and there is panic in the air. What do we do!?
But, that’s the fun and the challenge. Identify the problem, find a solution. Generally negotiations work but the variety of courts listed suggests, not always. Sometimes the “traffic cop” requires finding a varieties of experts or attorney specialists and pointing them in the right direction; monitoring their efforts and their billings but hopefully not “herding cats”, though sometimes it feels like that.
