Company Description: Merck & Co., Inc. is a leading research-driven pharmaceutical products and services company. Merck discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets a broad range of innovative products to improve human and animal health, directly and through its joint ventures.
Education: B.A., Pennsylvania State University
J.D., Harvard University Law School
Department Size: 115 US
Immediate Prior Position: Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Merck & Co., Inc.
1. How does participation in community activities help your career?
Community participation gives a person balance and perspective, qualities any professional needs to keep from being one-sided. You can develop skills that can be used in a broader realm, and therefore expand your repertoire. My work with an inner-city school reminds me of the struggle many people face in trying to facilitate the health and well-being of their children. By connecting with and understanding their issues and problems, I can make more well-rounded contributions to policy discussions at Merck.
It also helps individuals develop business and make contacts, especially if you are in private practice. You rub shoulders with those who may become clients or sources of referrals. My work with the ABA allowed me to make useful contacts around the country.
2. How would you describe your biggest career challenge?
Making the transition from a trial attorney in private practice to the corporate world, which was late in my career, was my biggest career challenge. To handle new challenges successfully, individuals must be open and flexible to change and willing to deal with new people and environments. And you must remember that you are just applying your skills to another context. So I transferred my skills as an individual practitioner to the corporation—where you must produce results by and through other attorneys. Some people fear that kind of change, but you must be willing to accept challenge and risk in order to be successful.
3. Please describe your management style.
I’d like to believe it is open and participatory. I try to get as much input as possible before making a decision. And I know that I am responsible for making the final decision. I also like to delegate, particularly because there is so much talent in our legal group. I feel comfortable about trusting my staff, and I see my role as very much of a facilitator.
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From the December 2001 issue of Diversity & The Bar®