In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, Toyota’s Scott Young discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel needs to know when working with him and more.
Texas Lawbook: What do you look for in hiring outside counsel?
Scott Young: I need three things: One, someone who is competent in the given area of law, can advise on a practical level rather just identifying risks and can tailor their advice to an executive audience — no three-page memos; two, someone who is responsive and will proactively help me get deals across the finish line, including working directly with my clients to organize and help move the project along; and three, someone who is committed to pro bono — yes, I ask prospective counsel about their most recent pro bono projects.
Lawbook: What does outside counsel need to know about working with you?
Young: As a young lawyer, I practiced with the great Jim Wallenstein. One day I asked him to what he attributed his success as a lawyer. He responded that he felt he served his client best when he worked cooperatively with the other side and that he never found a reason to let opposing counsel upset him. Jim taught me that relationships and good manners matter. My nonnegotiable is respect for all people on a deal, regardless of what “side” of the matter a person is handling. If you treat everyone with respect, respond timely to communications from me or the client and work to proactively advance/resolve a matter, we’ll have a great working relationship for years.
Lawbook: How has the world or practice of pro bono changed over the past few years?
Young: I am a lifelong believer in pro bono — both the need for underserved communities to receive it and for attorneys to provide it. The rule of law to which I owe my livelihood cannot prevail in our society without pro bono, and I am a better person and lawyer when I compassionately give of my time to help others gain access to justice.
The last few years have seen corporate legal departments stretched thinner and thinner. The natural result of this has sadly been fewer volunteers who have fewer hours to help. This makes volunteers less likely to take “meatier” pro bono matters, opting instead for simpler and more predictable opportunities. The last few years have also seen politicization and polarization of pro bono. This has led some to abandon long-established areas of pro bono assistance, opting instead for “safe” categories. Some do pro bono work but are afraid to let it be known. Others have backed away from pro bono work altogether.
I have spoken to lawyers who lament how much harder it is to render pro bono services in areas about which they feel personally inspired — in many cases, they have just stopped volunteering. Corporate legal departments feel they must more circumspectly plan pro bono activities that are decisively apolitical to avoid boycotts.
Click here to read the Lawbook profile of Scott Young.