For Joyce E. Mims, the vice president and general counsel of Ryerson Inc., North America’s leading distributor and processor of metals, a defining moment in her career was the realization of how dissimilar an in-house legal practice was from a large firm. “When I went in-house, I had become accustomed to the structure of a law firm-going after legal issues by going to the library,” Mims recalls. “And when I went in-house, I tried to replicate the way I behaved in the law firm and found that it was a response-based practice, rather than a research-and-find-every-alternative practice.”
That meant when the in-house telephone rang, it was a client who had a “right-now” question that needed an answer. Mims says this taught her to think on her feet, use logic and facts, and provide the best answer she could on the spot. “So that became a broadening experience, and gave me a greater sense of self- confidence in using the broad scope of learning from law school with what I’d learned at the firm. It was more utilitarian-you could use it rather than talk about it,” Mims notes.
These skills boosted Mims upward from one industry to the next, and from in-house counsel positions at Baxter International Inc., Inland Steel Industries, Inc., and Bayer Corporation. With this mobility, there were unexpected and unanticipated learning curves. “For instance, I went to Bayer from Inland Steel to work with the OTC drugs business, primarily on joint ventures with other health care companies. I didn’t fully appreciate that I’d have to quickly become conversant and proficient in FDA regulatory law in order to be able to provide appropriate counsel, and even to know the right questions to ask.”
The other aspect that was attractive to Mims about going in-house was that she was part of a team where each member was striving toward the same goals and objectives. “The lawyers simply brought their skills to the effort that the company was undertaking overall,” she says.
Mims followed a somewhat atypical path prior to law school. She explains that she always was exceptionally good with foreign languages, so she received an undergraduate degree in German and Russian languages. But, she discovered, “When you come out with a liberal arts degree, you aren’t necessarily all that marketable.”
Far from being disappointed, she decided to be proactive about her career. “I am somewhat of a risk-taker. That is what anyone has to do if they are going to evolve,” says Mims. She was able to find rewarding work through a program called Search for Enrichment and Education through Knowledge (SEEK). Mims was both a lecturer and a financial aide administrator at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, until, she says, SEEK’s funding dried up.
“I saw that law school was a good option because it provided me with the opportunity to set my own course,” Mims recalls.
Upon completing law school, Mims headed to the Chicago area, where she became an associate at the law firm of Bell, Boyd & Lloyd. Her initial in-house experience presented itself during her third year at the firm, when she received a call from a lawyer from American Hospital Supply. She joined the company and, as a staff attorney, Mims found herself handling small acquisitions.
Mims now heads a legal department that does transactional work, corporate securities, governance, SEC filings, and mergers and acquisitions, in addition to day-to-day counseling on a variety of commercial matters. She also manages outside litigation and compliance.
Mims thinks that what makes her an effective leader of her corporate legal department is that she is a good listener and that she looks deeper than what is said to see “what they are really trying to tell me.”
She also believes in incorporating the advice and ideas of others. “I don’t believe that I am necessarily the repository of all of the answers to issues and really want to hear what others have to say,” Mims emphasizes.
Although Mims enjoys the fast-paced, interesting, and often exciting job as general counsel, she says she is looking forward to spending more time on her organic farm, writing and playing music, and being a part of more civic activities.
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From the July/August 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar®