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Rich Baer, the chief legal officer and chief administrative officer of Liberty Media Corporation, is one of four in-house attorneys working for the company. In a recent interview, he said he encourages his fellow lawyers to become involved in more business-facing initiatives. To drive that point home, most of the attorneys in the small legal department have lateral roles and interface with the business on a daily basis.

"Our corporate secretary is also running HR day to day," Baer said as an example.

He said there are a number of ways for in-house attorneys to earn a seat at the table of a company's leadership team.

"Really effective lawyers can help the company communicate more effectively. Lawyers are great writers and they're great oral advocates. They can use that skill set to help business people articulate strategies," Baer said. "I also think that there is a lot of intellectual capital that gets trapped within a company just because the employees aren't to effectively communicate that."

Baer said he always asks his team to work with the client on more than just handling a lawsuit or the language of a contract.

"Help them when they're putting together business presentations. Help them make that more effective using your forensic skills as a lawyer," Baer said.

What do you do to help members of your legal team get recognition from the business side of your corporation? Let me know by emailing me at [email protected].

What's Happening

Including Mental Wellness In The RFP

A year after 3M signed onto the American Bar Association's mental health initiative, it has incorporated mental health into its requests for proposals process with outside counsel. 3M now asks potential law firms if they have signed the ABA's pledge and what specific actions they take to promote well-being and mental health among lawyers and other professionals at the firm.

Maureen Harms, 3M's association general counsel and managing counsel, said the company thought that if they did not formalize the process there would be little progress in helping improve the mental health of attorneys.

"For us, [it's] putting it as a priority and putting the proper resources to it," Harms said.

Harms said the reason why there are few in-house well-being programs is because in-house leaders may not have experience in getting such an initiative up and running.

While 3M is the only company that has implemented the ABA's mental health initiative into its RFP process, other companies that signed on have implemented their own methods in the efforts to improve attorney mental health.

In 2017, Cummin's Inc. developed its own mental health and wellness program, which incorporates eight pillars of well-being: relational, mental, emotional, financial, physical, spiritual, professional and community. Barclays, U.S. Bank and VMware Inc. also have mental health and well-being programs in place.

Speaking Out

Peter Bragdon took an interesting path to becoming the general counsel of Columbia Sportswear Co. Starting professionally as a journalist, he later worked as chief of staff for Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski from 2003 to 2004 during a leave of absence from Columbia. Now the top lawyer at the sportswear company, he is not shy about discussing why he thinks the president's policies are harmful. He spoke with Corporate Counsel last week and below are highlights from that conversation.

➤ The importance of transparency. Bragdon said if he were hired at another company, then he would not speak out on these issues. At Columbia, he and the CEO have a similar view on the importance of the press. "Global engagement is everything—we sell in more than 90 countries—and feel it's important that people understand the importance of that so we try to shape the public dialogue when we can," Bragdon said.

➤ Outspoken on Trump tariffs. Bragdon said he is outspoken about Trump's tariffs because the company already faces a 37.5% tariff on some of its products. He said those tariffs will only result in customers having to pay higher prices for those products.

➤ GCs play an important role in communications. Bragdon said a GC who wants to become involved in a company's public message should understand the company's role, if there is one, in shaping public policy. He said not all companies want to deliver a public message beyond marketing. However, companies that would like to play a role in shaping public policy should look to their GCs to help shape the message.

What I've Been Reading

Kerry W. Kircher, the former general counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives, said in an opinion piece in The Atlantic that President Donald Trump has set himself apart from his predecessors by resisting congressional oversight. "In the space of just a few months, Trump has declared war on the House's investigation of the executive branch," Kircher said. He said the House should keep fighting to enforce its committees' subpoenas.

In a Q&A with New England In-House, Daniel P. Olohan, general counsel of MAPFRE Insurance, said since moving in-house he has been able to better focus on the client's larger plans, rather than being laser-focused on a certain piece of litigation. He also said at MAPFRE he prefers to use outside counsel sparingly, but he does bring outside counsel in for significant corporate transactions.

In an interview with Business Insider, Stanley Sporkin, the former general counsel of the CIA, said in an interview that companies should begin adopting an ombudsman program. He said companies should adopt that program in conjunction with its normal tip hotline. Sporkin said the program he runs at BP America was developed not only to receive information from people but also to stay on top of safety issues.

Don't Miss

Monday, Sept. 23 to Tuesday, Sept. 24 – American Property Casualty Insurance Association will be hosting the National General Counsel Conference at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel in Baltimore. Speakers include Elizabeth Brodeur, corporate counsel and director legal and regulatory compliance at Safety Insurance; Laura Lazarczyk, chief legal officer of Zurich North America; and Claire Howard, general counsel at American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

Wednesday, Sept. 25 to Thursday, Sept. 26 – Corporate Counsel will be hosting its annual General Counsel Conference at the New York Marriott Marquis. Speakers this year include Peter Gyr, global general counsel of wealth management at JP Morgan Wealth Management; Graham Luce, general counsel at BJ's Wholesale Club; and Megan Ryan, general counsel at NuHealth.

Monday, Oct. 14 to Wednesday, Oct. 16 – The Minority Corporate Counsel Association will be hosting its Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference in New York at the New York Hilton Midtown. The MCCA will host a Diversity Gala on the last night of the conference at the American Museum of Natural History.

On The Move

✦ National Lacrosse League ✦ Jessica Berman has been made deputy commissioner of the league, becoming the first female commissioner of any sports league. She previously served as the deputy general counsel of the National Hockey League and told Corporate Counsel in an interview that she credits her 15 years as a sports lawyer and past four years as a sports business executive for her success.

✦ Jobcase ✦ Ben Berman was named general counsel of the social media platform and online job marketplace. Berman previously worked in-house as senior counsel at Orbitz and in 2009 began working for Kayak.com, where he became general counsel in 2014. Berman begins in new role in September and will be based in Boston.

✦ American Portfolios Financial Services ✦ Craig Vollono has been made the chief legal officer of the private financial services firm. He replaces the firm's general counsel Frank Tauches Jr., who will be retiring later this year. Vollono previously worked as an in-house attorney for United Bank of Switzerland AG.