© 2018 The Texas Lawbook.
Finalist: Legal Dept. of the Year for Public Service & Pro Bono
By Mark Curriden
(Jan. 11) – When visiting Nicola Hobeiche’s office at ORIX USA, you need to watch where you step.
Sometimes there are stacks of books for a children’s book drive. At other times, clothes headed to a homeless shelter occupy every corner. Christmas toys. Easter baskets.
“I’m always collecting something in my office,” says Hobeiche, who is the assistant general counsel and director of litigation at Dallas-based ORIX USA. “It’s a phenomenal experience to give back – to see 500 or 600 books or toys stacked up and to see social workers lined up around the street corner to get these toys or books to take to children and families in need.”
Hobeiche is an experienced and respected civil trial lawyer, and a senior leader in the corporate legal department at ORIX, a financial services company that has a reported $6 billion of assets and another $29 billion in other people’s assets under management.
She also is a finalist for the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award for Community Service. The finalists are being honored at the official awards event hosted by the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook on Thursday, Jan. 25, at the Bush Institute.
Paul Genender, a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges who nominated Hobeiche for the award, says she is an inspiring leader who has developed legal expertise in employment law, cybersecurity and trademark litigation. But Genender says she has had an even bigger influence on the Dallas community through her commitment to public service.
“Her perpetually covered office floor is a testament to her generosity and her ability to inspire others to participate in charitable work,” Genender says. “Nicola has a personal sense of obligation to help others, and through her philanthropic involvement, has had the opportunity to touch many people’s lives.
“Much of Nicola’s community contributions are done ‘below the radar.’ She deflects attention from herself and is the embodiment of a true servant leader,” he says.
Hobeiche was born in Dallas. Her Lebanese father worked for Mobil Oil as a civil environmental engineer. Her mother, who is German, worked as a school teacher, interior designer, art gallery owner, CEO of a razor company and eventually a family law mediator. Because of her father’s job, the family lived in several exotic locales, including Saudi Arabia, Holland and Indonesia.
Hobeiche went to college at Southern Methodist University, where she received a degree in mathematics and psychology.
“I decided that I wanted to be a lawyer after realizing that being an actuary was probably not a good fit for an extrovert personality,” she says. “I love being around people.
“My mother decided that she was going to take the LSAT with me,” she says. “Mom did great … almost as good as me.”
Hobeiche continued her education at SMU’s Dedman School of Law, where she focused on criminal law and received her doctor of jurisprudence in 2002.
During her final year at SMU, she met Dallas City Attorney Madeleine Johnson, who was a judge for mock trial. Johnson told Hobeiche to call her after she passed the bar. Hobeiche called and soon found herself employed as an assistant city attorney.
Over the next four years, she tried more than 40 cases in state and federal courts – an extraordinary experience that very few young lawyers achieve because of the sharp decline in civil jury trials during the past two decades.
In 2006, Hobeiche was attending a judicial event when she told a friend that she was looking for a new career challenge.
“A woman standing next to my friend overheard us and introduced herself as a lawyer at ORIX and said the legal department had a position open,” she says. “Amy gave me an impromptu interview right then and there.”
The Amy in question was ORIX Associate GC Amy Howell, who is now the general counsel at Rug Doctor.
During the past 11 years, Hobeiche has seen her position evolve, as she has taken on more and more responsibilities. But her lasting legacy is almost certainly her community service work – a passion that is ingrained in her DNA, as her great-grandparents launched the first Red Cross chapter in their town in Germany.
Hobeiche spearheads many of ORIX’s community service initiatives and serves as the fundraising chair. She was a founding member of the ORIX Foundation, which marshals the resources of the company and its employees to identify solutions for major societal issues, including hunger, veteran unemployment, juvenile incarceration and family violence.
“Nicola truly strives to make a difference in the community through her many charitable contributions, including by donating food and clothing and providing financial assistance to children in need,” Genender says. “Nicola is a truly unique role model and generously gives of her skills and time to improve lives across Dallas.
Hobeiche is on the executive committee of Community Partners of Dallas, which helps 20,000 abused and neglected children each year. CPD provides emergency resources to meet critical needs, supports housing and medical expenses, has a therapeutic group treatment program and operates a phone line that children can call 24 hours a day to hear an uplifting story.
And there’s more. She also volunteers regularly at Promise House, the only homeless shelter in North Texas for teens and young children.
“Early on, Nicola selflessly stepped up to find ways to help others,” says Howell. “She’s a doer. I’m in awe how Nicola consistently gives every ounce of her energy to make sure she provides for her family, her company, and her community. I get tired just thinking about all she does.”
Hobeiche says corporate in-house legal department leaders should use their positions to push law firms to do more pro bono and public service projects.
“It’s great to be invited to lunch or dinner by a law firm seeking our business, but I would much rather do a volunteer program with you or a fundraising effort together,” she says. “I learn way more about lawyers when I work with them on a community service effort.
“Working together on a public service project helps us get to know you as a lawyer, plus it helps those who need help and it helps our soul,” she says.
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