Company Description: Phoenix is a leading provider of wealth management products and services, specifically life insurance, annuities and investment management. These services are offered through a variety of select advisors and financial services firms to serve the accumulation, preservation and transfer needs of the affluent and high net worth market, businesses, and institutions. Phoenix’s corporate offices are in Hartford, Connecticut and it has approximately 2,300 employees.
Education: B.A., Union College
J.D., New York University Law School
L.L.M., Boston University Law School
Department Size: 20 lawyers, in affiliates
Immediate Prior Position: Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
1. What is the best career advice that you ever received?
I have received important advice at different stages. Early in my career, I was advised to be the best substantive lawyer that I could be and to work hard. Later, I was advised to be a good substantive lawyer but to also focus on relationships with colleagues and clients. Good substantive lawyers are not valued as highly as good substantive lawyers who achieve their clients’ objectives. In order to achieve the best results, you have to focus on people as well as the law.
2. Please describe a defining moment pivotal to your success.
An important moment occurred when I understood how important relationships were. I had always worked hard. I learned the importance of listening to my clients to determine exactly what they wanted, which is an important part of building solid relationships and being a real counselor, because what a client says he or she wants may be different from what a client actually wants.
3. How would you describe your management style?
A good manager of lawyers should be hands-on, involved with the lawyers, talking to them regularly. Eighty percent of management effort is dealing with lawyers as colleagues and 20 percent is adding value as a manager. Since lawyers are generally more knowledgeable substantively than their general counsel, the general counsel’s job is to add value through understanding the business of the company, imparting that knowledge, and making certain that the lawyers’ efforts to assist in implementing the business strategy is done in a manner consistent with the company’s objectives.
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From the December 2001 issue of Diversity & The Bar®