Corporate Law Leadership Forum: Becoming an integral member of the organization’s executive team

“Understand your company’s business,” was a reoccurring message heard at the Corporate Law Leadership Forum sponsored by the Central Ohio Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (CO-ACC) on April 22, at the Longaberger Alumni House in Columbus, Ohio. 

More than 130 in-house counselors attended the event and learned about topics from “The Organizational Lawyer – Leading with Integrity,” and “What Your Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel Expects of You as the Organization’s Lawyer” to “Balancing the Legal Cost of Compliance with Ethics – How to Deal with the CFO” and “What Your CEO/President Expects From its Legal Counsel in Changing Times.”

“All of us gained valuable insight on how we can become an integral member of our organization’s executive team,” said Robert Gage, CO-ACC president.

Gage also took time during the forum to recognize former CO-ACC presidents who played an important role in the chapter’s growth and development. The chapter is commemorating 25 years of service to corporate lawyers as the “go to” legal organization for corporate legal education and resources.

Keynote speakers and panelists throughout the day included: Timothy E. Flanigan, Esq., partner, McGuire Woods LLP, Washington, D.C.; C. Michael Gegenheimer, associate intellectual property counsel, Battelle Memorial Institute; Patricia R. Hatler, executive vice president, chief legal and governance officer, Nationwide Insurance; Nicholas W. Zuk, general counsel, White Castle System, Inc.; Michael Kennedy, senior vice president of compliance, Cardinal Health, Inc., Columbus; and Gary R. Heminger, executive vice president, Marathon Oil Corporation and president, Marathon Petroleum Company LLC.

Attendees to the forum fulfilled 3.25 hours of continuing legal education.