Adelle Casey watched a movie about the U.S. Supreme Court when she was in second grade and then went straight home to tell her mother she wanted to be a judge.
“She asked me why and I said because you get to wear a robe to work,” Casey says. “Evidently that’s what stuck with me from the movie. My mother informed me that to become a judge I needed to be an attorney, so I decided that’s what I would do when I grew up.”
Casey got her law degree from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, practiced at a law firm for four years and is now the associate general counsel of The Freeman Company, which is the world’s largest event marketing business.
She is not, however, on the Supreme Court. Yet.
But Casey had a supreme 2019 for her bosses at Freeman, which is a family-owned operation with 7,000 full-time employees, 35,000 part-time workers and annual revenues of $2.4 billion.
She led the land acquisition of iconic Dallas property to serve as Freeman’s new headquarters in Dallas. She led the purchase of Convention Data Services, an event registration, business intelligence and lead management company servicing top show organizers worldwide. And she assisted in the divestiture of 30 corporate entities in North America, South America and Asia-Pacific.
In addition, she manages a caseload of litigation matters valued at $50 million.
“Working in a typically male-dominated line of work, Adelle is a force to be reckoned with as she climbs her way up the ranks in the legal field by handling highly sophisticated and complex commercial transactions which are so large in nature they require antitrust approval,” says Greenberg Traurig shareholder Michelle Gambino.
“On any given day, Adelle can be found flying around the country overseeing large commercial litigation matters that have millions of dollars at stake and ensuring Freeman’s interests and its employees are taken care of,” Gambino says.
Casey is a finalist for the 2019 DFW Senior Counsel of the Year Award for a Small Legal Department.
The DFW Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook will honor all finalists and announce the winners at the 2019 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards scheduled for Jan. 30 at the George W. Bush Presidential Center and Institute.
“Adelle is a strong and strategic leader with significant responsibility in this multibillion-dollar family-owned organization,” says Michael Logan, a partner at Kane Russell Coleman Logan.
“Adelle devotes herself to Freeman with a high degree of diligence and dedication,” Logan says. “She oversees all litigation for the company. She has the ability to understand issues and challenges and execute as needed in a fast-paced environment.”
Casey was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father was in the insurance industry and had a talent for turning around underproducing offices, which meant the family moved every two or three years.
“I learned to find adventure in change and to value all the cultural differences I encountered,” she says. “I think we were the only kids in the entire state of Nebraska that ate grits and said, ‘Yes, mam.’”
She says her parents taught her “self-respect, empathy, courage and tenacity” and are still the biggest influences in her life.
Casey graduated magna cum laude from Lipscomb University. She chose to go to SMU for law school.
“The campus reminded me of Lipscomb, and the learning environment fostered an environment of collaboration instead of competition, which aligned with my learning style much better,” she says. “Also, they had a great business law program [in case] I wanted to pursue that track over litigation.”
Casey then worked at the law firm McGuire and Associates for four years handling documentation for development and construction loans and doing some M&A work.
But the idea of working for a corporate legal department was ever-present.
“I always knew I wanted to go in-house,” she says. “I took a moot court class and the stress of someone’s livelihood or freedom hinging on my actions and whether or not a jury liked me completely stressed me out … even in a mock setting.”
Freeman was a perfect fit, she says.
When Casey joined Freeman as associate counsel in November 2006, she says the son of the founder, Donald Freeman, who was CEO at the time, actually took the time to meet with her.
“He learned my name and he told me that he would support all that I did if my actions aligned with the company’s values,” she says. “I love working for a company whose values align with my own.”
Casey has now been at Freeman for 13 years and was promoted to associate general counsel in 2012. She says the role of in-house counsel has “changed dramatically” in recent years.
“The in-house attorney has to wear a legal hat, business hat, compliance hat, project management hat and negotiator hat,” she says. “The legal department is being asked to do more with less, to champion new technologies and to work in the business as well as on the business.”
Casey says the past two years have been busy.
Last year, she led Freeman’s acquisition of 5.2 acres in the Dallas Medical District, including the historic Great National Life Building that sits at the corner of Harry Hines Boulevard and Mockingbird Lane.
“We had to approach the transaction with tact and creatively look for ways to incorporate and honor portions of the decaying building into our design plans,” she says. “I love bringing clarity to confusing situations, aligning expectations and then memorializing those to the satisfaction of all parties. I also love getting to work with such amazing and talented subject matter experts.”
In October, Casey led Freeman’s acquisition of Convention Data Services, a 33-year-old business that manages and markets shows and events for its clients.
“As with many of our acquisitions, the companies we buy are the ‘children’ of the ownership teams,” she says. “They are highly invested in the company and passionate about protecting their employees as they transition. It is a challenge to ensure that you approach negotiations with empathy, respect and patience, while also ensuring your client is protected appropriately and is positioned to receive the anticipated value from the deal.
“I think one measure of success is when the target can’t wait to work with you as their attorney after the sale is consummated,” she says.
And Casey played a key role in the sale of Encore Event Technologies to PSAV, which works with businesses doing events and trade shows. She specifically led all efforts for the 20 international entities involved as well as the real estate and financing for the deal.
“This was by far the most challenging project I’ve been involved in to date,” she says. “Coordinating due diligence, reporting, resignations, documentation and compliance in 15 countries is a challenge that I’m glad is complete and thankful for all the lessons learned.”
Mitchel Baddour, a senior lawyer at Passman & Jones, says the three deals Casey has handled during the past year showcase her expertise negotiating commercial contracts and licensing agreements to dealing with credit facilities and M&A.
“Her work often requires her to work throughout the night coordinating the work of counsel in several countries to complete transactions,” Baddour says. “Ms. Casey has repeatedly shown that she can handle and manage large and small projects. More importantly, she successfully closes them.”
Casey says her biggest and most meaningful success at Freeman has been “gaining trust at a company where most employees have tenure longer than I’ve been alive.
“Having business units ask for me to be assigned to projects is what fulfills me and helps me know that I’ve providing the services my clients need and want,” she says. “Most recently, my biggest success was having one of my direct reports tell me that she felt she had learned more from me than any other boss she’d ever had. That is probably my most important success, as it is my responsibility to train up the next generation of great attorneys.”
The lawyers who work with Casey say her future is limitless.
“Anyone who has worked or crossed paths with Adelle can attest that the coming years will be filled with her groundbreaking legal work and honorable service to the community,” says Gambino. “There is simply no stopping her impending success. As an ambitious attorney, eager public servant and adoring wife and mother, Adelle can best be described as an all-around strong Texas woman.”