Which Leading GCs Are Operating Without a License?

• Posted by Geoff Gussis on April 10th, 2007


• Filed in Guides, Tips and Practice Pointers, News, Risk Management & Compliance

General counsel spend an inordinate amount of time ensuring that their companies are in compliance with a myriad of laws and regulations - but do they spend enough time keeping their own house in order? In some cases, their hectic schedules may have caused them to overlook new in-house counsel licensure requirements that have taken effect in many states:

Companies expect their general counsel to pay attention to all the little details, but some legal chiefs have fallen behind in keeping their own affairs in order. A survey by Corporate Counsel of the Fortune 250 found eight GCs who are not properly licensed in the state in which they work.This group includes Vernon Baker II of ArvinMeritor Inc.; Michael DeBacker of Dana Corp.; Robert Sloan of Entergy Corp.; Siri Marshall of General Mills Inc.; Arthur Hipwell of Humana Inc.; Terrance Carlson of Medtronic Inc.; Todd DuChene of Solectron Corp.; and John Donofrio of Visteon Corp.

Of these eight, Hipwell has no license at all, while the rest dont have the special license required by their states for in-house lawyers who havent taken the local bar exam. All but DuChene said that they were in the process of obtaining proper licensing. In each instance the local state bar or board of examiners could not verify if or when the lawyer had applied for a special license.

Which Leading GCs Are Operating Without a License?