When Elisa Garcia stepped into the top legal role at Macy's Inc. two years ago, she called it kismet. She had been leading the legal function at Office Depot Inc. for nine years when she was approached by a recruiter for Macy's just as she was working on a deal that would have merged Office Depot with Staples Inc. “The merger was not consummated,” Garcia says, “but my move to Macy's was.” Now she leads a team of 50 attorneys and 40 paralegals and support staff at the New York-based retail chain.

Garcia spoke to reporter Stephanie Forshee about why Macy's holds a special place in her heart.

Corporate Counsel: How did you land at Macy's?

Elisa Garcia: Macy's is a special company—it's America's department store. My dad worked for A&S in Brooklyn for many years before he passed away when I was 19, so I spent many hours shopping and seeing the behind-the-scenes workings of a big department store. Macy's acquired A&S some years ago, so I guess you can say I have come full circle.

CC: What's your favorite part of your job?

EG: Every day I learn more about our business. How our fashion office predicts trends, how our merchants buy and have products manufactured just for Macy's, how we get the product from overseas, or from our vendors into our distribution facilities and on the racks, or to your front door, how we price and promote so that you and I can choose from thousands of products—it is incredibly complex and exciting.

CC: Were there any surprises you encountered?

EG: I was surprised by the tenure of my legal team, particularly the lawyers. The average tenure is more than 15 years, with a few hitting 25 years.

CC: What are your biggest milestones at Macy's?

EG: I restructured the team to ensure close information sharing with and among my leadership team. I am a proponent of sharing as much information as I can from my management team meetings and encouraging my team to cascade information further. The more the legal team knows about what the business is planning, the better prepared we are to help them get the business objectives accomplished.

I have been here less than two years, but we have meaningfully reduced our total legal expenses and our outside counsel fees while increasing our focus on using diverse outside counsel.

CC: Any advice for lawyers new to the GC role?

EG: If you don't understand how the company makes money, you cannot advise it. Roll up your sleeves, visit a distribution center, spend time in stores or on the factory floor and talk to as many people as you can, at every level. Listen, listen and listen some more.