In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, Anthony Shoemaker, the chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary for Keurig Dr Pepper, discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with him and more.
The Texas Lawbook: What are the legal issues that keep you up at night?
Anthony Shoemaker: The biggest thing right now is regulatory uncertainty. Partially that’s a reflection of our current political climate, but there are deeper issues regarding federalism, the role of executive agencies and highly polarized state governments that contribute to a more difficult and uncertain business climate. Regulatory areas like privacy, product labeling or food health and safety really don’t lend themselves to a patchwork quilt of 50 different state regimes.
Lawbook: How have you seen your role evolve during the past four years?
Shoemaker: I went through what I imagine is very common for anyone becoming general counsel for the first time in that initially I felt like I needed to touch everything and be a part of virtually everything going on in the department. Over time, you realize that’s both impossible to maintain and also not a strategy that sets your team up for success. A couple years ago, we had a meeting to discuss and improve our ways of working, and my team described me as the “hub” in the middle of our “hub and spoke” team. It was a wakeup call for me that I needed to get out of the way and become less central to the vast majority of decisions and communications. Our legal leadership team now operates with higher levels of trust, transparency and effectiveness — in part because I am less concerned with control and more with enabling and empowering our people.
Lawbook: What do you look for in hiring outside counsel?
Shoemaker: We only want to work with firms that really want to work with us. Different firms might show that in different ways, but we’re not interested in just maintaining institutional relationships. We want to find the absolute best lawyer for any given matter, and we don’t mind trying out a new firm or going out on a limb — but we’ll only do that if we see an enthusiasm and passion for KDP, our brands and our specific legal needs. And yes, that might include showing us a willingness to try out different billing arrangements or alternative fees.
We also have to be a cultural/social fit. For high stakes litigation and transactional matters, we are probably going to be spending a lot of time together, so we better get along and be able to make the work fun, keep the energy high and maintain an upbeat and positive atmosphere.
Lawbook: What does outside counsel need to know about working with you?
Shoemaker: It’s important to understand that I expect our in-house team to have a significant role in every matter and to be very closely connected to all work that a firm is doing for us. We have incredibly talented and capable in-house lawyers, and I expect them to be driving strategy, managing the matter closely and sharing in the workload so that firms operate efficiently and we are fully aligned at all times.
Lawbook: What pro bono or public service efforts are you involved in that you can discuss?
Shoemaker: Several of our attorneys serve or have served on nonprofit boards, including my service on the CitySquare Board of Directors here in Dallas from 2015-2024 and Lauren Mutti’s service on the Lambda Legal Board from 2019 to present. We typically do annual service projects as a legal team in Dallas, Burlington and other geographies. In the past couple of years, we have gotten involved as a sponsor of the Texas Minority Counsel Program and attended their annual conference. Our legal team members are also heavily involved in KDP’s employee resource groups, including service in ERG leadership positions.
Click here to read the Lawbook profile of Anthony Shoemaker.