The news of the passing of career general counsel Robert Bostrom rocked the in-house counsel community last week. Most recently as the chief legal officer at the struggling home decor retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc., Bostrom rose to prominence after holding the top lawyer position at Freddie Mac during the recession and later at the struggling apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

Colleagues say Bostrom was passionate about uplifting the in-house and Big Law community through his involvement with several organizations and his advocacy for pro bono work and diversity and inclusion.

Though he gravitated to the highest lawyer position at companies undergoing challenges, Bostrom also succeeded in Big Law as a partner at Winston & Strawn, Greenberg Traurig and Dentons, paving a unique legal career in both the in-house and law firm environments.

Married for 41 years and a father of four, Bostrom died suddenly on Jan. 18. He was 67.

Veta Richardson, the CEO and president of the Association of Corporate Counsel, announced Bostrom's passing on LinkedIn, with her post immediately getting a reaction from members of the global in-house bar association.

She told Corporate Counsel she first met Bostrom in 2000 when she was president of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association during the gala for its Thomas L. Sager Award, named after the former DuPont Co. general counsel and senior vice president. Bostrom received the award that night at the New York Marriott Marquis on behalf of his law firm Winston as the managing partner in the New York office. Under his guidance, Winston also had won the award the prior year.

"What I saw then was Bob was much loved by that firm for his commitment to the people within it. He was an impressive leader. I watched him—from my vantage point at MCCA over slightly more than a decade—as he navigated the law firm environment," Richardson said, adding how Bostrom transitioned so successfully into some of the most well-known legal departments. "In all his positions, Bob continued to support and participate in diverse law communities, engage in outreach. People that I met in the law department all had good things to say about him as a leader. Certainly, he was someone who influenced positively all the organizations that were fortunate to have him."

Through the MCCA, retired general counsel A.B. Cruz III, who was on the organization's board for over 13 years, said he counted Bostrom as an influential white male ally pushing for diversity and inclusion like Brad Smith of Microsoft Corp., Dennis Broderick, formerly of Macy's Inc., and Thomas Mars, formerly of Walmart Inc., did for their companies.

"If he didn't show up for one event, he didn't disappear. He was consistent and passionate about advancing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession," Cruz said. "He would call on potential donors. He would call on people in support of our awards gala. He was a constant. He wasn't a fair-weather-type of person who might say, 'Yeah, I believe in diversity,' then you wouldn't see them again. He wasn't that. He walked the talk. That's what he will always be in my respect.

"He was a leader on multiple fronts with his belief that the legal profession needed to become more diverse. His impact was felt. We appreciated it."

Bob Ericson, a retired Winston partner who's now vice chairman of Noranda Alumina LLC and DADA Holdings, said when Bostrom was hired at Winston around 1990, they became close friends. Staying at Winston until 1992, Bostrom returned to the law firm in 1996 after his general counsel stint at National Westminster Bancorp.

"Bob was one of the first guys ever who had the law firm experience and in-house. At NatWest, he had a much broader perspective on things. This is a big institution with thousands and thousands of employees who would like diversity and inclusiveness, one of the better, wanted more social responsibility," Ericson said. "Part of his job was the chief compliance guy as well as all the legal stuff. He came back once, and I thought what he did was incredible. He was one of the first guys to ever go off and ever come back. He brought that perspective, which is why we won the Sager and how he changed attitudes and hearts."

On Bostrom's return, where he eventually became managing partner in Winston's New York office, Ericson said Bostrom, whom he called "charismatic and vibrant," became an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. He said he saw Bostrom hire several senior attorneys from other law firms where he believed they would be a good fit for the partner track at Winston while still supporting the law school diversity pipeline. Ericson emphasized Bostrom didn't just go through the recruiters but he would reach out to attorneys.

Ericson said Bostrom's ability of "going back and forth between the two worlds"—in-house and law firm—informed Bostrom's experience as a general counsel, along with his regulatory banking law expertise. Bostrom would leave Winston for the second time to become general counsel at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., better known as Freddie Mac, in Washington, D.C., in 2006. 

The recession led to Freddie Mac and fellow mortgage loan provider Fannie Mae receiving a bailout in 2008 from the federal government. Both companies eventually would be regulated under the Federal Housing Finance Agency. At the helm of Freddie Mac's legal department, Bostrom helped the company navigate through the mortgage loan crisis that hurt millions of homeowners.

Alicia S. Myara, senior vice president and principal deputy general counsel and co-chairwoman of the Pro Bono Working Group at Freddie Mac, echoed Bostrom's dedication to diversity and pro bono work.

"Bob Bostrom was a true advocate for diversity and for giving back to the community via pro bono representation," Myara said in a statement to Corporate Counsel. "He reinvigorated our pro bono program and took it to new heights, through renewed partnerships and expanded opportunities that enabled Freddie Mac's Legal Division to serve a broader array of those in need."

Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, met Bostrom during his Freddie Mac years. Elson said he would invite Bostrom to events at the university in which Bostrom would gladly accept.

"He was very early on receptive to the concerns of the investors at the companies he served and that was unusual for general counsel," Elson said. "Usually they are more receptive to the commands of the CEO. He was very cognizant of investors' concerns. That made him quite unusual."

Bostrom traveled to Delaware over the years, where he discussed issues impacting in-house lawyers such as banking regulations, compliance, corporate crises and environmental, social and corporate governance reporting.

The last event Bostrom participated in was a panel on the Volkwagen emissions scandal in 2017. By that time, he was the general counsel at Abercrombie & Fitch.

Rich Cohen, president and general counsel of Corporate Creations International Inc. in Florida, said he would bump into Bostrom while at ACC and National Association of Corporate Directors events. They connected over Bostrom relocating to the Columbus, Ohio, area for his Abercrombie job. Cohen formerly called Columbus home when he had relocated there decades earlier as general counsel for Ohio Power and Columbus Southern Power.

"He would come to the conferences and we started becoming friends. We realized we had a lot in common," Cohen said. "Other than the fact that we were general counsel facing a lot of the same issues, Bob had moved to Columbus, Ohio, to take a job at Abercrombie & Fitch, and I had previously lived in Columbus. We talked a lot about what life is like in the Midwest, especially in Columbus."

In January 2019, Bostrom was named executive vice president, chief legal and compliance officer, and corporate secretary of Pier 1 Imports in Fort Worth, Texas. He was guiding the company's legal efforts through its recent announcement of closing 450 stores and reducing the workforce. Abercrombie was also experiencing a sales plummet similar to many brick-and-mortar retailers battling online shopping when Bostrom took on that job. By the time Bostrom left Abercrombie in 2018, the retailer began to see increased sales.

Besides Bostrom's illustrious legal career, colleagues recall what it was like being in his presence.

"He's a top executive at his company, but he's warm and kind to answer a call and to make sure that someone at ACC had what they needed to renew membership, so lawyers can continue to participate," Richardson said. "He had just a class and a grace that you don't often encounter."

"A poised and elegant man he was. Someone who would command the room but never got too big for himself," Cohen said. "He was always very approachable, always helpful."

"He was always fun to be with. Very lively, engaged. Good conversation, good sense of humor," Elson said. "And now he's gone. I can't believe it."

Bostrom is survived by his wife Elizabeth Bostrom and his four children, Leys, Ashley, Allison and Elliott, and four grandchildren, Colt, Vivi, Gigi and Clay. He is also survived by his mother, Angie Bostrom, and sister, JoAnn Bostrom.

The funeral service will be held at St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue in New York on Feb. 1 at 2:30 p.m.. followed by a reception at Bobby Van's Steakhouse near Grand Central Terminal.