Tag: in-house

Posted on

AABANY IP Committee Hosts Talk with Kelly Koyama-Garcia as Part of “Dumplings & Discussion” Series

On June 20, 2023, the IP Committee hosted the next of its “Dumplings & Discussion” series at Fish & Richardson (“Fish”) with Kelly Koyama-Garcia as the guest speaker. She is the SVP, Corporate Secretary & General Counsel at Louis Vuitton America. Participants enjoyed pork and chive dumplings, Buddha’s Delight, chicken dumplings, and many other Chinese dishes. Jeffrey Mok, IP Committee Co-Chair and Principal at Fish, moderated the discussion and kicked it off by asking Kelly her favorite type of dumpling. Without a second thought, Kelly revealed that it is Xiao Long Bao from Din Tai Fung. 

Over the course of the evening, Kelly openly shared her unique experiences that have led her to her current position at Louis Vuitton Americas. Outside of her work, Kelly is an active member of AABANY and the co-chair of the Retail Law Practice Group at the Association of Corporate Counsel. Kelly shared her personal experiences that have paved the way for choosing the legal profession and navigating challenging moments as an Asian female leader in her industry. 

Kelly recounted the start of her interest in the legal profession after interning in D.C. for Congressman Patrick Kennedy in her junior year of college. Surrounded by law students and former lawyers, Kelly was inspired by her colleagues to apply to Boston University Law School and became the first in her family to attend law school. She began her career at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in New York specializing in bankruptcy for five years before joining McGraw-Hill as an in-house counsel focusing on mergers and acquisitions. She pointed out the different skill sets she had to learn transitioning from working at a law firm to working in-house. As Kelly tackled challenges of her position at McGraw-Hill, she also had a clearer idea of how she wanted to progress from there. She recalled applying to a broad range of industries, including fashion and retail, when a serendipitous rejection from DKNY referred her to a position at Marc Jacobs. Kelly took a proactive approach at Marc Jacobs which allowed her to tackle a plethora of legal projects by establishing the first in-house legal department for the brand. In the ten years she spent working at Marc Jacobs, she maintained meaningful relationships, one of whom interviewed her for her current position at Louis Vuitton Americas in 2018. 

Kelly talked about her day-to-day responsibilities at Louis Vuitton and how she creatively strategized for whatever issue came up. At a brand where the legal structure differs greatly from other companies, the biggest legal concerns Kelly finds herself dealing with are consumer-facing privacy laws and compliance that are ever changing. 

Kelly’s journey elicited many thought-provoking questions from all the attorneys attending and she also shared some moments of prejudice she encountered as a woman and person of color. Despite how far she has come since her first day as an associate, Kelly still encounters racism and sexism in her industry. She highlights the importance of visibility and representation by drawing strength from her personal experiences and recognizes that much still needs to be done. 

After the in-depth discussion and lively Q&A that followed, attendees continued to enjoy drinks and food during the networking reception that capped the event. 

Thanks to Jeff Mok, Co-Chair of the IP Committee for organizing a well-attended and insightful program. To learn more about the IP Committee and how you can get involved, go here.

Posted on

NAPABA Leadership Advancement Program

Become the Leader You Know You Can Be

Build Your Leadership Skills & Go Farther in Your Career

NAPABA’s Leadership Advancement Program is the chance to challenge yourself and advance in your career. Learn from your strengths and weaknesses, build relationships with your peers and grow as a leader during this year-long experiential program.

Who are we looking for?

All NAPABA members are encouraged to apply, although the selection committee will focus on the following criteria this year:

  • Law firm candidates: this year’s program will prefer candidates with between six and 10 years of experience
  • In-house candidates: preference for a minimum of three to four years of IHC experience, with six to 10 years of overall practice experience

Not sure about whether the program is right for you?

Here’s one 2019 alum’s review:

APPLY NOW! 
Deadline: Thursday, March 12  – 11:59 pm ET

Posted on

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Information Session on Going In-House at AmEx

On October 16, AABANY co-sponsored an information session on going in-house at AmEx. The event began with a panel discussion moderated by In-House Counsel Committee Co-Chair Grace Fu that engaged in a lighthearted and candid discussion about what it is like to work in-house at AmEx. The panelists, which included AmEx General Counsel Laureen Seeger and Senior Counsel Ming-Hsuan Elders, discussed the various types of matters handled by the company’s legal department and shared their personal experiences to shed light on the company’s culture. The panelists also discussed issues like diversity and steps the company is taking to make the legal field more inclusive for minorities. After the panel concluded, attorneys in attendance were matched with Hiring Leaders at AmEx and given the opportunity to mingle and engage in a more personalized one-to-one discussion.

We thank AmEx’s General Counsel Organization’s Diversity Committee and in particular Cindy Huang, IP Counsel at AmEx, and John Parauda, Managing Counsel at AmEx, for working with AABANY to make this event possible. We thank all the attendees who came and hope that many good and helpful connections were made during the event.

image
Posted on

KALAGNY – 2016 NAPABA Northeast Regional Conference

KALAGNY – 2016 NAPABA Northeast Regional Conference

Ethical Consideration for In-House Attorneys

In-House Attorneys serve dual roles in that they act as both attorneys for their respective companies, as well as clients in working with outside counsel.  As such in-house attorneys have added responsibilities to keenly understand ethical issues both as attorneys and clients.  Seasoned panelists will consider and discuss issues such as who the client is, escalating potential issues/violations, and attorney client privilege/work product from both in-house and outside counsel perspectives.

  • An-Ping Hsieh, Esq., Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Hubbell Incorporated
  • Edward S. Cheng, Esq., Partner, Sherin and Lodgen LLP
  • Jung Choi, Esq., Senior Counsel, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
  • Clara Ohr, Esq., Legal Counsel and Compliance Officer, LUKOIL Pan Americas, LLC
Posted on

Credit Suisse 2014 PALS Summer Associate Program

PALS Logo White on Blue 

The application period is now OPEN for the Credit Suisse 2014 PALS Summer Associate Program and will conclude on Friday, January 10, 2014    

The Credit Suisse General Counsel Division offers a paid 10 week Summer Associate program geared toward law students who have completed their first year of law school and are interested in gaining “in-house” exposure within the Financial Services Industry.  Credit Suisse is interested in recruiting students from PALS.   

This program is being offered through the Credit Suisse General Counsel Americas Diversity Committee, which seeks to promote diversity among legal and compliance professionals. Credit Suisse seeks to hire applicants with a diverse range of geographic, socio-economic, and experience backgrounds. 

To learn more about this amazing program please click on
APPLICATION  for further information. The application period is now OPEN and will conclude on Friday, January 10, 2014 at 11:59 pm.  Applications will be reviewed and decided on a rolling basis, students are encouraged to apply early. 

Should you have any questions regarding the fellowship, please email the Executive Director of PALS, Paula Brown Donaldson, Esq. at [email protected]

For further information on PALS, visit our website at www.palsprogram.org