In-house Legal

In-House Legal returns with new host Randy Milch, the executive vice president and strategic policy advisor to the chair and CEO for Verizon Communications. Formerly the general counsel for Verizon, Randy has worked nearly his entire legal career in the telecom industry. In this episode of In-House Legal, Legal Talk Network producer Laurence Colletti interviews host Randy Milch as he takes the reigns of the show. Together, they discuss Randy’s path to becoming Verizon’s GC, the importance of having talented attorneys on your team, and the challenges faced in regulatory environments. In addition, they talk about the cost of patent trolls, the necessity of support staff, and relentlessly weathering pressure and uncertainty. Tune in to hear what Randy’s plans are for the show’s future as well as his advice for in-house legal departments. Randy Milch is the executive vice president and strategic policy advisor to the chair and CEO for Verizon Communications. Prior to that, he was the company’s executive vice pres

“I don’t measure my relevance or success by the number of people who report to me.” -Mark Chandler As senior vice president and general counsel at Cisco, Mark Chandler has increased the efficiency and overall success of the legal department while dealing with non-practicing entities (patent trolls) and questions of security, privacy, and surveillance between the U.S. and Europe. His experiences in international business relationship building and working directly with sales departments has given him the skills to develop an in-house legal department that truly focuses on efficiency. In this rebroadcasted episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Mark Chandler about his path to general counsel at Cisco, how living and working in Europe helped him achieve success in a multinational company, and how he approaches the challenges he’s faced. The first half of the podcast follows Mark’s journey after law school, working in-house at the hard disk manufacturing company Maxtor and then transitioning to Strata

As we all know, the internet continually disrupts society on a global scale. It has become a platform for the international exchange of ideas and, more importantly, brought hundreds of millions of people out of extreme poverty. But with this disruptive platform comes challenges of safety and security, access to information, and censorship within multiple legal systems. How can we appropriately apply the legal standards and expectations from every country in the world to the internet which is, by nature, an international platform? In this republished episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Google Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kent Walker about his path to general counsel of Google and the current legal challenges the multinational technology company faces. Walker examines internet disruption and censorship and talks about how Google approaches the legal balance between personal privacy and the government’s need for access to information. Walker begins by talking about his path through t

As wonderful a product as Uber is, part of what makes it successful are the lawyers working behind the scenes. In this episode of In-House Legal, host Randy Milch talks to Salle Yoo, Uber’s General Counsel, about the state of Uber’s legal department today, what they expect from their lawyers, and how lawyers sometimes must leave their comfort zones to seize new opportunities. They also discuss handling crazy growth rates, as well as past and future Uber products. They conclude with thoughts on privacy and how the company is working to incorporate it into their services. Salle Yoo is General Counsel of Uber, the world renowned app-based ride hailing service. Prior to that, she was litigation partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP where she represented energy, telecommunications, and technology firms, as General Counsel, ensures that Uber can rapidly expand its global presence and sustain long-term growth in existing markets.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In law firms there is often a gap between young, emerging lawyers and seasoned veterans. Jeffrey Jackson, chief legal officer at State Farm, has seen first hand that there are long-term benefits to closing this gap. In this episode of In-House Legal, he talks to host Randy Milch about investing in mentoring programs and building communities in which budding lawyers feel free to ask questions and speak their minds. According to Jeffrey, law professionals who put effort into personal relationships will strengthen their reputation and build trust with their clients while also providing young lawyers a safe space to grow. Jeffrey Jackson is the chief legal officer at State Farm and has been with the company for more than 28 years. His specialty is in trial law and corporate governance, but in his former role as general counsel, Jackson oversaw all facets of State Farm’s legal department. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As new lawyers enter the legal marketplace it can be challenging trying to decide which job opportunities are best to gain the professional experience needed to advance one’s career. In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch talks with CVS Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel Thomas Moriarty about his current role, his occupational journey, and whether the experience of working for a law firm is vital for attorneys striving to be in-house counsel. Thomas Moriarty is Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel for CVS Health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a naturally competitive person, Laureen Seeger thrived throughout her career as a litigator. After law school, she clerked and was offered a job in the Atlanta-based law firm of Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP. In the South during the 1980s, there were virtually no women in courtrooms and she had to fight hard for first chair privileges. 14 years later, she went in-house and eventually became general counsel at McKesson, a massive healthcare supplies provider. Now she is general counsel of American Express in another highly regulated industry requiring strong cybersecurity measures. So what advice does she have to offer from her experience as GC for these two major companies? In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Laureen Seeger about her path to AMEX, industry regulation and cybersecurity, and the importance of brand trust. It is important, she says, for small- and medium-sized firms to invest in security measures, which often involves educating staff on encryption and best practices. Se

As we all know, the internet continually disrupts society on a global scale. It has become a platform for the international exchange of ideas and, more importantly, brought hundreds of millions of people out of extreme poverty. But with this disruptive platform comes challenges of safety and security, access to information, and censorship within multiple legal systems. How can we appropriately apply the legal standards and expectations from every country in the world to the internet which is, by nature, an international platform? In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Google Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kent Walker about his path to general counsel of Google and the current legal challenges the multinational technology company faces. Walker examines internet disruption and censorship and talks about how Google approaches the legal balance between personal privacy and the government’s need for access to information. Walker begins by talking about his path through the U.S. Atto

“I don’t measure my relevance or success by the number of people who report to me.” -Mark Chandler As senior vice president and general counsel at Cisco, Mark Chandler has increased the efficiency and overall success of the legal department while dealing with non-practicing entities (patent trolls) and questions of security, privacy, and surveillance between the U.S. and Europe. His experiences in international business relationship building and working directly with sales departments has given him the skills to develop an in-house legal department that truly focuses on efficiency. In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Mark Chandler about his path to general counsel at Cisco, how living and working in Europe helped him achieve success in a multinational company, and how he approaches the challenges he’s faced. The first half of the podcast follows Mark’s journey after law school, working in-house at the hard disk manufacturing company Maxtor and then transitioning to StrataCom, an IT ser

In this episode of In-House Legal, Yahoo General Counsel Ron Bell joins host Randy Milch for a conversation about national security vs. online privacy. For companies that provide access to online content worldwide there can be a fine line between freedom of expression and unlawful content. Just because something is legal in the U.S. does not mean that it’s allowed in other countries. And furthermore, if something is lawful does that mean a company has to provide access to it? In addition to providing access to content, Randy asks Ron about his path to Yahoo, which had some interesting stops along the way. Originally starting as an associate at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Illinois, Ron set his sites on Silicon Valley fairly early in his career. Without being licensed in California or even an available position to apply for, Ron asked for a meeting at Apple Computer, Inc. As it turned out, a position opened during his visit and he was hired shortly after. Tune in to hear more about his story and what it t

Ivan Fong, senior vice president for legal affairs and general counsel of 3M Company, started in an unusual place for an attorney: as a chemical engineer with undergraduate and graduate degrees from MIT. He attended Stanford Law School and subsequently built a distinguished career from a big law partnership to senior in-house positions in some of America’s finest legal departments. These positions were all punctuated by stints of public service at the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. But what advice does he have to offer lawyers looking to build a successful in-house career? In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Fong about the course of his legal career, how his time in public service set him up to go in-house at General Electric, and how he charted his course internally at such a big company. Topics include: Fong’s decision to switch from engineering to legal Clerkships for Judge Abner J. Mikva and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Why he started in big law a

Despite not being 100% sure of her desired practice area when she graduated from Harvard Law School, Deirdre Stanley, now general counsel of Thomson Reuters, was certain of two things: she wanted to work in business and wanted to do so in New York City. During her tenure in Biglaw doing mergers and acquisitions, Deirdre found her calling working alongside in-house counsels. She realized that in order to advance, she would need to diversify her experience, so when the opportunity to head business development at USA Network came up, she took it. That off-path experience eventually paved the way for an offer from Thomson Reuters to head their legal department. In this episode of In-House Legal, host Randy Milch interviews Deirdre Stanley about her path to the top. Together, they discuss her background, pivotal decisions along the way, and how being interested in multiple disciplines is the key to high level positions. Tune in to hear her advice for lawyers in today’s market and about her daily duties to maint

David Leitch is no stranger to crisis. During his career, he was chief counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration during the September 11th terrorist attacks where he was responsible for closing the skies to commercial flights, recruiting qualified Air Marshals, and turning airport security over to TSA. In addition, he was Ford Motor Company’s group vice president and general counsel during the auto industry bailout, when the survival of vital suppliers and General Motors was in doubt. Fortunately, his in-and-out government employment armed him with the tools to manage the legal affairs of our country’s largest and most important institutions during critical times. In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews David Leitch about his career path, crisis management, and leadership. Tune in to hear his opinions about GM’s bailout and bankruptcy as well as facilitating an ethical company culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill Ide’s resume is packed with impressive positions, not the least of which includes ABA President and general counsel of Monsanto. In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Bill Ide about his career path, the decisions he made along the way, and what it truly takes to be a leader in the legal industry. In-house lawyers can gain insight from his experience with corporate governance and the future of the profession as a whole. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Randy Milch interviews Shahdadi about his path to general counsel at Tumblr and the legal and nonlegal issues he regularly encounters at the digital publishing giant. Shahdadi discusses how social media controls the public arena, copyright and trademark regulations for user-generated content sites, and the ways in which Tumblr works to balance freedom of speech, government restrictions, and user safety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Michael Fricklas about his path to becoming general counsel of Viacom, his specific interest in technology law, and what it’s like to be general counsel in a company owned by lawyers. Fricklas also discusses the copyright infringement lawsuit between Viacom and YouTube, how he managed the corporation’s public reputation during that time, and what he predicts for the future of cybersecurity in law firms and corporate legal departments. Tune in for an inside look at how the digital age has influenced the job of general counsel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Louise Parent about her ambitious path to general counsel of AMEX, how she successfully dealt with AMEX’s battle with Visa and Mastercard in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America, and how the role of general counsel has changed since 1993. She discusses how she started in state legislative affairs but migrated to typical corporate practice by taking on more complicated tasks as available. Parent then decided to become general counsel of a subsidiary, at best a lateral move. In that position, however, she learned to show value to the sales process as a lawyer, she learned how to work with an executive team, and was confronted with a wide variety of legal issues. After discussing the litigation with Visa and Mastercard, Parent then reveals how technology and regulation has changed the role of a general counsel. It is now imperative to become involved in the business as a whole, be familiar with the global legal climate, and understand the expectations of r

The public and private sectors are equally struggling with cyber security issues. Despite the development of innovative problem-solving technologies and systems, many small, medium, and large companies are still at great risk of a cyber attack. In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Peter Beshar, executive vice president and general counsel of Marsh & McLennan, about his path to becoming general counsel and how businesses should approach the issue of cyber security. Beshar discusses cyber security risks and how they affect the private and public sectors. He explains Enterprise Risk Management (ERM): technological innovations coupled with cyber insurance which drives and modifies people’s behavior. Additionally, he says, the government should interact with private businesses to share cyber threat indicators and provide widespread information about preventing cyber attacks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of In-House Legal, Randy Milch interviews Mark Roellig, General Counsel of MassMutual, about the skills lawyers need to go in-house or become a general counsel, how to properly manage an in-house team of attorneys, and why diversity is important in business. Roellig explains that lawyers seeking a general counsel job need to gain legal experience above and beyond their current position in addition to the knowledge of business, communication, and other non-legal skills. He discusses how to choose the right team of employees, make sure your department adds value to the company, and the proper way to achieve success with diversity. Tune in to learn how to lead a corporate legal department successfully. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In-House Legal returns with new host Randy Milch, the executive vice president and strategic policy advisor to the chair and CEO for Verizon Communications. Formerly the general counsel for Verizon, Randy has worked nearly his entire legal career in the telecom industry. In this episode of In-House Legal, Legal Talk Network producer Laurence Colletti interviews host Randy Milch as he takes the reigns of the show. Together, they discuss Randy’s path to becoming Verizon’s GC, the importance of having talented attorneys on your team, and the challenges faced in regulatory environments. In addition, they talk about the cost of patent trolls, the necessity of support staff, and relentlessly weathering pressure and uncertainty. Tune in to hear what Randy’s plans are for the show’s future as well as his advice for in-house legal departments. Randy Milch is the executive vice president and strategic policy advisor to the chair and CEO for Verizon Communications. Prior to that, he was the company’s executive vice pres