Abstracts » Law

This man of steel girds for trade suit

Article Abstract:

Stephan K Todd, the general counsel and secretary of US Steel Group, since 1986 the largest US steelmaker, heads a department of 35 attorneys organized into the areas of litigation, commercial transactions, real estate and human resources. Todd tries to maximize the work the department does in-house, with the work sent to outside counsel depending on the nature of the problem and the staff's workload at the time. As has U.S. Steel, Todd's legal department has had to downsize. For filling positions, Todd prefers lateral hires to people out of law school.

U.S. Steel Group, Todd, Stephan K.

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Volume discounts: a developing idea

Article Abstract:

Eastman Kodak general counsel Gary P Van Graafeiland focuses on keeping costs down, especially for outside counsel, through volume discounts and aggressive price-shopping. Also a senior vice president of the company, which has $15 billion in annual sales, he oversees 66 attorneys at the company headquarters and 33 more worldwide. Most of the department's work focuses on defending the company against lawsuits, notably a 9th Circuit antitrust case, though much also goes to opening up the Japanese market to Kodak products.

Practice, Eastman Kodak Co., EK, Graafeiland, Gary P. Van

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He sees the forest and the trees

Article Abstract:

Robert E. Dowdy, the vice president and general counsel of the Weyerhaeuser Co, is in charge of 18 in-house attorneys and also oversees the company's land-title and real-estate services groups. Environmental hot topics are the company's use of chlorine-based chemicals and a number of Superfund cases it is involved in. Weyerhaeuser is defendant in a number of product liability suits claiming its hardwood siding product is defective, and California has certified a class action.

United States, Weyerhaeuser Co., WY, Dowdy, Robert E.

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