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Citing his extraordinary leadership and legal acumen throughout the merger, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have awarded the 2020 Houston Corporate Counsel General Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department to NetTier General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer Kevin McDonald.
As part of The Lawbook’s continuing coverage of the Corporate Counsel awards, Lawbook founder Mark Curriden is conducting lengthy conversations with some of the subjects of his profiles. For those who’ve not yet read his profile of McDonald, you can find it here.
Texas Lawbook: What do you look for in hiring outside counsel? Do you have specific criteria?
Kevin McDonald: When selecting outside counsel, I look for the obvious things like experience and expertise. It is equally important to find counsel who will be collaborative and aligned with our internal legal team. We are fortunate to have some very good lawyers in our legal department who are going to be very engaged on any matter that we retain outside counsel for. It is critical that outside counsel representing NexTier can collaborate and take direction from our internal legal team. We want outside counsel that are focused on building long-term partnerships with us and most importantly that have a proven track record of getting results.
Lawbook: What does outside counsel need to know about you?
McDonald: I value counsel who are responsive, listen and help our team achieve favorable results. Also, I value direct and practical feedback.
Lawbook: How has your role changed since the merger?
McDonald: When I was selected to continue as an executive with NexTier when the merger was completed, I was named chief administrative officer as well as general counsel. I had always been very involved in managing and contributing to areas beyond traditional legal responsibilities, and my role post-merger formally recognized that. In addition to leading our legal and compliance functions, I am also responsible for insurance and risk, real estate, HSE regulatory compliance and corporate communications. Some of these areas I was significantly involved with even before the merger. I also have a very active role in supporting investor relations, executive compensation administration and internal audit.
Lawbook: With all that is going on now, what are your thoughts on diversity and inclusion in the legal profession? The numbers of ethnic minorities at most law firms and corporate legal departments continue to be pathetically low. Are there answers?
McDonald: The legal profession must create a climate where all legal professionals have the opportunity to succeed on merit regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, etc. Diversity of experiences, viewpoints, backgrounds and life experiences add tremendous value to the workplace and legal profession. I am very proud that more than 50% of NexTier employees are ethnically and racially diverse.
Lawbook: What are the biggest challenges for you and corporate in-house counsel in the years ahead?
McDonald: One of the biggest challenges today is learning how to contribute beyond the traditional legal role. Successful in-house counsel find ways to be a business partner and advisor. To accomplish this, in-house counsel must understand the company’s business and stay current on the issues it is facing. By understanding the business, in-house counsel can better calibrate to the risk tolerance of the enterprise and be better able to assist with navigating an acceptable path for the company to accomplish its objectives. In-house counsel must be versatile problem solvers who can make timely decisions, sometimes with less than perfect information.
Lawbook: How has the general counsel position evolved over the years?
McDonald: During my career, I have seen the overall sentiment toward the legal function evolve from being viewed as a cost center to where it is treated as an essential component of the business. I fit best in companies that allow me to have a seat at the table and give me the opportunity to impact the success of the business. My experience is that lawyers can earn that seat at the table but must earn it every day. You have to understand the business and be able to use that knowledge to solve problems. In today’s corporate environment, general counsels must be versatile like a Swiss Army knife.
Lawbook: Do you have any mentors?
McDonald: I have been blessed to have several mentors over the years, but two primarily come to mind. First, my father. He gave me a strong foundation of core values – integrity, work ethic, faith, loyalty and compassion. Next is Arno Krebs, my first boss after law school. He had similar values and taught me how to apply them to professional endeavors. I learned from Arno how to be a zealous advocate for my clients while treating others with dignity, respect and fairness. I can always count on both of them for wise counsel and for a good example.
Lawbook: Do you have any pet peeves in dealing with outside counsel?
McDonald: Lack of responsiveness, lack of collaboration with in-house team, lack of commercial/practical focus and approach.
Lawbook: Do you take a firm’s record on diversity and pro bono/public service into account when hiring its lawyers for work?
McDonald: Yes. It is an important factor. A good example is the fact that King & Spalding is one of our primary law firms and its record on diversity & inclusion is outstanding. – https://www.kslaw.com/pages/diversity
Lawbook: If there is a young lawyer out there who wants to introduce herself/himself to you and pitch doing work for you, how do you recommend that they do so?
McDonald: I was blessed to have receive great experience as a young lawyer because some key clients were willing to take a chance on me, so I am always receptive to working with and/or advising young lawyers. The best advice I can offer is to young lawyer is to not be bashful about approaching me and do your homework before we speak. I will be most impressed if I believe you have taken the time to understand our company and business with insight into how you can bring value to our team.