Abercrombie & Fitch: Close to Home
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. found a very important ally in a firm less than 20 miles away from its New Albany, Ohio, headquarters.
October 25, 2017 at 07:31 PM
22 minute read
Robert Bostrom, GC of Abercrombie and Fitch.
Sometimes the choice of outside counsel boils down to which firm can cover your company in a distant jurisdiction that is unfamiliar to in-house attorneys. But Abercrombie & Fitch Co. found a very important ally in a firm less than 20 miles away from its New Albany, Ohio, headquarters.
Robert Bostrom, the company's GC, says that Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease is one of its go-to firms. Not only does Vorys have a deep understanding of retail, he says, but its close proximity to Abercrombie in the greater Columbus, Ohio, area allows the firm and the retailer to partner in unique ways.
For instance, law students of diverse backgrounds are eligible to apply each summer for a fellowship program where a student will “spend more of the summer at Vorys, but will also spend several weeks on assignment at Abercrombie working in their legal department,” according to the law firm's published response to a 2017 diversity survey.
Bostrom explains that Abercrombie has standards for all of its law firms to make sure firms are giving proper opportunities to employees regardless of race and gender, and it's easier to promulgate these standards given the company's long-standing relationship with Vorys.
For Abercrombie, outside counsel diversity is about more than a metric. Bostrom says such measurements can be “deceiving.” “If a firm has a certain percentage of employees of a diverse background but isn't giving them a lot of important work, that's not helping them,” he says. “Because Vorys is here, we can go beyond the numbers.”
Bostrom says Abercrombie turns to Vorys for “a broad range” of issues, including labor and employment and real estate. He says the firm has a “deep level of experience” in retail—also serving L Brands Inc., parent company to Victoria's Secret, Henri Bendel and Bath & Body Works, which is headquartered nearby.
“That's important to have in law firm selection, not just lawyers who know the law but know the law and their client.”
About half of Abercrombie's outside counsel work is divided between four firms, Vorys among them. Jones Day is the other most commonly used in the U.S., and Bostrom says the retailer turns to its lawyers for transactional, litigation and intellectual property matters.
Jones Day has an office in Columbus as well, but Abercrombie has a lot more ground to cover than just the Ohio area. The two other firms the retailer turns to the most work overseas.
Internationally, Abercrombie frequently taps Dentons and Baker McKenzie. The firms have been particularly helpful as Abercrombie has expanded in the Middle East—assisting the brand with real estate leasing and trademark protection. When Bostrom joined Abercrombie in 2014, he brought in Dentons because he'd heard the firm has “the best presence in the Middle East, especially in the retail business.” Dentons “has been a great addition to supplement our relationship globally with Baker McKenzie,” he says.
Robert Bostrom, GC of Abercrombie and Fitch.
Sometimes the choice of outside counsel boils down to which firm can cover your company in a distant jurisdiction that is unfamiliar to in-house attorneys. But
Robert Bostrom, the company's GC, says that
For instance, law students of diverse backgrounds are eligible to apply each summer for a fellowship program where a student will “spend more of the summer at Vorys, but will also spend several weeks on assignment at Abercrombie working in their legal department,” according to the law firm's published response to a 2017 diversity survey.
Bostrom explains that Abercrombie has standards for all of its law firms to make sure firms are giving proper opportunities to employees regardless of race and gender, and it's easier to promulgate these standards given the company's long-standing relationship with Vorys.
For Abercrombie, outside counsel diversity is about more than a metric. Bostrom says such measurements can be “deceiving.” “If a firm has a certain percentage of employees of a diverse background but isn't giving them a lot of important work, that's not helping them,” he says. “Because Vorys is here, we can go beyond the numbers.”
Bostrom says Abercrombie turns to Vorys for “a broad range” of issues, including labor and employment and real estate. He says the firm has a “deep level of experience” in retail—also serving
“That's important to have in law firm selection, not just lawyers who know the law but know the law and their client.”
About half of Abercrombie's outside counsel work is divided between four firms, Vorys among them.
Internationally, Abercrombie frequently taps
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllContract Software Unicorn Ironclad Hires Former Pinterest Lawyer as GC
2 minute readHow Amy Harris Leverages Diversity to Give UMB Financial a Competitive Edge
5 minute readAuditor Finds 'Significant Deficiency' in FTC Accounting to Tune of $7M
4 minute readDog Gone It, Target: Provider of Retailer's Mascot Dog Sues Over Contract Cancellation
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250