In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, David Kern discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with him and more.
Texas Lawbook: For both of these huge accomplishments, how did you go about selecting the in-house and outside legal teams?
David Kern: For me, the most important quality in outside legal counsel is their ability to think differently and take thoughtful risks. I’m not very interested in a summary of what cannot be done. I’m interested in what “good” the rules were originally intended to accomplish and how we can innovate to support and enhance that goal. A dynamic approach that keeps in mind the ultimate reason for the rules is what will keep our systems healthy.
Lawbook: What has been your best day working at Exxon?
Kern: Any day where I get to think beyond the day-to-day tasks to questions like “What could the future look like?” is a great day. Not many places would have the patience to let me spend two years working on a retail voting project with nothing to show for it and no guarantee regulators would permit it. The recognition that thinking long-term builds value makes most days a lot of fun.
Lawbook: What are the factors you consider when deciding about hiring outside counsel?
Kern: Knowing the law isn’t what I’m looking for. Creativity comes from active involvement with other practitioners. In the U.S. Securities area, I’d want to know a few things: Are you involved on committees in this topic? Are you known or have you worked directly with the regulators on important matters? Do you submit comment letters to the SEC on rulemaking efforts? Does your community engagement include engagement on securities law legal matters at the state level?
Lawbook: How is AI impacting your work?
Kern: Using AI to enhance our work as lawyers is table stakes and will continue to evolve. Thinking now how AI will impact our areas of the law in the future is where I think lawyers can show their value beyond AI. For example, the ability to quickly access massive amounts of data through public documents has the chance to further level the playing field for all investors across multiple categories of assets in the same way that index investing did a generation ago.
This is really exciting to me. What new services will evolve out of this? How will the public markets respond? How does ExxonMobil evolve our disclosures in the future to lean into this for our investors? I think it is going to be interesting!
Lawbook: How is AI impacting your work and relationship with outside counsel?
Kern: I’m worried that the model where associates get trained breaks down with AI. First, are they doing work that will give them the skills they need to think creatively in the future with me or is AI “deskilling” them? Second, is AI becoming a substitute for associate work?
I think it will continue to impact where we see the value of outside counsel and what we are willing to pay for. The good news is that things like joining committee or doing the sweat equity within the legal community is not something AI can do for you. I think the leading partners in the next generation are going to be those who do these things seriously now.
Click here to read the Lawbook profile of David Kern.