A misdirected drive off the tee box went out of bounds, thwarting a college golfing career for Brennan Champion, but that errant shot indirectly led him on a path toward a new profession: law.
After Champion didn’t make the DePauw University golf team, he contacted Head Coach Bill Fenlon about an unpaid student coaching position with the men’s basketball team, and Champion would spend three years helping the Tigers as an assistant. While still an undergrad — majoring in economics with minors in history and German — he contacted Peter Dinwiddie, an Indianapolis native who was then the senior vice president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers. Dinwiddie met with him and stressed the importance of how a postgraduate degree often sets one apart from the competition.
“At [that] point, I realized that, whether I wanted to pursue a career in sports or any other field, this was good advice. And I started to think about law school after graduation,” Champion said. “Majoring in economics really bolstered my love for business. I found game theory interesting and wanted to be able to be take a job that allowed to me to pull certain levers to achieve specific results within the game theory framework.”
Around this time, he also began selling grilled cheese sandwiches with a fraternity brother at various gatherings around the Greencastle, Ind., campus. The venture was so successful that Champion formed an LLC — Cheesin’ — and went to the university with the idea to distribute the sandwiches for free at large campus-sponsored events.
“I pitched DePauw on the idea that [the university] would prepay me a fixed rate per night to give away free grilled cheeses to students on big party weekends such as homecoming, rivalry games, etc.,” he said. “This was uber successful. And after forming the partnership, I exclusively offered grilled cheeses through the school. I hired two students to run the free giveaways, and it was profitable. This taught me the basics of business, which translates to being more effective in an in-house position.”
Champion is now the assistant general counsel for ECI Software Solutions Inc., a global provider of cloud-based business management software and services, empowering primarily small and medium-sized businesses to achieve their entrepreneurial goals.
He is one of two full-time lawyers at the Westlake-based firm, and he manages a wide range of litigation and transactional matters across North America.
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Lawbook congratulate Champion for being selected as one of two finalists for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel of the Year Award for Rookie of the Year for a Small Legal Department.
ACC-DFW and The Lawbook will honor the finalists at the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards ceremony on Jan. 30 at the George W. Bush Institute.
Greenberg Traurig Shareholder Jordan Cowman nominated Champion for Rookie of the Year because he “has a ‘yes’ mentality that allows him to thrive in his in-house counsel role, as it seamlessly blends his love for business dynamics with his legal abilities.”
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Brennan Champion, the assistant general counsel for ECI Software Solutions Inc., discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with him and more.
“Brennan has quickly become an integral part of his company’s in-house legal team by demonstrating his ability to take the lead on a wide variety of legal disputes and corporate issues. He possesses a broad range of legal skills that rivals that of in-house lawyers with significantly more years of experience,” Cowman said. “Indeed, it is hard to remember at times that Brennan is still a ‘rookie,’ based on his wisdom and quick mastery of complex issues. This is further evidenced by his ability to work collaboratively and with a solution-oriented mindset, with not only his colleagues at ECI but also the outside counsel with whom he works directly.”
Cowman added that Champion is a born leader who jumps at the opportunity to address the issues and assemble the team necessary to solve problems.
“It is an honor to work alongside Brennan and witness first-hand the extraordinary contributions that he has made to ECI’s team,” Cowman said. “In just two years, Brennan has taken on a substantial number of legal matters and has become an integral part of ECI’s legal team.”
Gordon Kushner is senior VP, general counsel and secretary for ECI. He said Champion has very quickly developed a reputation as a trusted advocate by clients “because of his deep understanding of the businesses that he acts for and his ability to balance legal risk with the need to carry on business.”
“He is able to translate complex legal issues to provide practical advice to his clients such that they understand the risks of the applicable issues and are able to then make decisions for their business,” Kushner said.
ECI is a complicated business consisting of five units operating on a global basis in very different vertical markets, and Kushner said Champion is able “to pivot from one business unit to another and provide thoughtful advice to each division president, taking into account varying issues and risk profiles of the business. He is considered a leader in ECI because of his expertise in understanding our business and his ability to provide practical legal advice while helping manage risk.”
While attending the University of Dayton School of Law, Champion clerked at ECI on two separate occasions in 2018 and 2019 before spending a few years as director of monetization and general counsel at Perry Real Estate College in Cold Spring, Kentucky, which came after an internship as a clerk for the general counsel at the Air Force Research Laboratory on the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
At Perry, Champion helped the ed-tech startup expand into six new states by focusing on monetizing the firm’s real estate licensure offerings and working with real estate commissions to enter various state markets.
“I was able to work through purchasing several commercial properties, negotiate commercial lease agreements and handle [the firm’s] real estate tax lien business. All of these things helped prepare me to go back to ECI,” he said.
So, when ECI contacted him in October 2022 about an in-house counsel position, Champion jumped at the chance.
“One of the biggest reasons I made the move was because I wanted to work for Gordon Kushner. I worked for Gordon during both clerkships and was always impressed with his expansive legal knowledge and ability to run a legal department. I knew that moving to ECI would be almost an extension of law school because of how much I would learn from Gordon. I felt like the stars were aligned.”
At ECI, Champion works alongside Kushner and various sales leaders to negotiate licensing terms for prospective customers while also leading the legal function of the company’s manufacturing division’s compliance team, advising on license compliance issues and customer negotiations.
ECI acquired four companies in 2024, and Champion was active in advising the business leadership teams on various acquisition matters, further advancing ECI’s position as a leading B2B and ecommerce software provider while bringing a wider range of advanced technology to customers and reworking the acquired companies’ contracts, allowing them to develop and align with ECI’s mission, licensing policies and goals, according to GT’s Cowman.
Another area of Champion’s oversight, of course, includes ongoing litigation and the mitigation of risk and exposure for the company. Additionally, he works proactively to identify potential legal issues, developing strategies to address them before they become a problem.
“When navigating complex legal matters, Brennan’s multifaceted approach makes him an invaluable asset to ECI’s ongoing journey,” Cowman said. “As assistant general counsel, he has taken on a role beyond his years and does so with remarkable dedication, insightful acumen and an unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of legal integrity and ECI’s mission. Brennan manages a wide range of litigation and transactional matters and touches every aspect of ECI’s daily and long-term legal needs.”
Both Champion and Kushner point to ECI’s “High Potential Program” as a driver in Champion’s success. The executive leadership program, known within the company as “HIPO,” is offered biennially to about a dozen ECI “rising stars” following several rounds of nominations. Those selected participate in a professional development program that includes mentorship, cross-functional team projects and leadership training. The teams are presented with a problem within ECI and tasked with presenting solutions to ECI’s executive leadership team.
“HIPO participants are hand-picked based on their skill sets and potential to become leaders in ECI’s business,” Kushner said. “Typical HIPO participants have at least five years of experience within ECI, but Brennan was selected with less time at the company due to the leadership skills and potential seen in him by the ECI executive team. He is the only lawyer in ECI to have ever been selected for this program. Brennan has a deep passion for his clients to ensure that they have practical legal advice to make thoughtful decisions about their business. He spends time learning about each of our businesses and their needs so that he can provide clear and actionable advice, allowing the businesses to progress and achieve their goals. He has developed his own brand within the company as the trusted ‘can-do’ lawyer always available to help and provide legal advice and guidance to help the business achieve their goals.”
The stars certainly seemed to have aligned to put Brennan Champion right where he needs to be to combine his business acumen with his comprehensive legal knowledge and to pull the strategic levers necessary to provide the best possible value for ECI and its clients by safeguarding the company’s interests while ensuring compliance with industry standards.
“His collaborative spirit, strategic mindset and passion for the law have empowered him to effectively represent ECI, resulting in significant cost savings and enhancing the company’s reputation,” GT’s Cowman said.
Who knows what path Champion might have taken if he had kept that drive in the middle of the fairway as an undergrad trying to make the DePauw golf team?
FUN FACTS: Brennan Champion
- Favorite book: Tools of the Titans by Tim Ferriss. This book had a tremendous impact on my life/career. I read this in law school. It is a collection of short biographies on various world leaders from navy seals, monks, actors, etc. Essentially, each biography focuses on the leader’s background and their routines. I incorporated several lessons from this book, such as various health protocols, planning initiatives, meditation, fasting, etc.
- Favorite music group: Country: Luke Combs, Old Dominion, Morgan Wallen. Frank Sinatra is also a staple in my household.
- Favorite movie: Elf. Although, I almost never watch movies. This is a drawback for me because I never understand movie references. I would guess I have seen fewer than 40 movies in my life.
- Favorite restaurant: Although I am a foodie, my favorite is the food I cook at home with my wife or family. Growing up, the rule was that everyone had to be home for dinner. We would eat late to accommodate everyone’s schedules. Sometimes this meant eating at 9:00 p.m. on a Tuesday. Generally, my mom would do the cooking Monday through Thursday and my dad would handle the weekend shift with a focus on Sunday night’s meal, which was reserved for homemade pasta, pasta sauces and a new episode of 60 Minutes. Three years ago, my parents gave my sister and me a leather binder with handwritten recipes they had developed over the years. As a wedding gift last year, several of my relatives added their own handwritten recipes to the book. Now, my wife and I look forward to pulling out the book each week and deciding on a recipe to make on Sunday nights.
- Favorite beverage: It depends on the day, but I like “Better Greens” by the Better Day Co. when I am being healthy. However, I will reach for a Diet Coke if my wife is not around.
- Favorite vacation: During my senior year at DePauw, I used my “J-term” to travel to Europe with some of my closest friends. J-term was the month of January in between semesters. Students were required to complete two J-Term credits to graduate. Although I fulfilled my requirements before my senior year, DePauw approved a J-Term externship for me. I went to London, Berlin, Rome, Prague and Paris. My time in Berlin was where I fulfilled my J-Term requirements. I worked with the band “Dropkick Murphys” with the famous song “Shipping up to Boston.” I helped arrange various sightseeing activities while they were on tour in Germany. They even brought me up on stage during a sellout show in Berlin.
- Hero in life: I have many heroes in my life. One that comes to mind is my grandpa, Jerry Champion, who passed away in 2023. Jerry and I shared the same birthday. He was, and is, a hero of mine because he came from a long line of sharecroppers and was a product of the great depression. Jerry eventually left the family farm and became a banker. He taught me how to be frugal and appreciative. He also taught me the importance of hard work. Jerry is an inspiration for many reasons, but one that came to light during his funeral was the number of entrepreneurs that Jerry impacted in his little town of Fremont, Ind. Several business owners showed up to Jerry’s viewing with similar stories along the lines of “when no one else would give me a loan, Jerry worked with me to secure financing, and we have had a successful business since then.” Jerry’s compassion and ability to “be creative” helped a great deal of entrepreneurs in a small town live out the “American dream.”