General Counsel Resume Example

Represented Fortune 500 corporations, property owners, businesses, utilities and government agencies in complex commercial litigation, regulatory, labor, real estate, corporate and banking matters.

• Continued to represent Verizon in similar matters as when in-house and to supervise staff handling small litigation matters.
• Represented Verizon and other Verizon companies (including data and internet subsidiary) in additional matters, such as data service disputes, insurance and risk issues, obtaining a fire code variance for central offices, increasingly complex litigation, and advising the Yellow Pages department on advertising sales issues.
• Successfully represented other clients in utility rights of way matters. Examples include: counseling a utility ordered by FERC to replace a leaking gas transmission pipeline when an electric utility holding an inferior license refused to move promptly and at its own expense a pole line it built directly over the buried pipeline and the attaching cable and telecommunications companies also refused to move their facilities to relocated poles at their own expense; condemning for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission PECO's aerial easement rights over a turnpike section; advocating for a billboard company in connection with Conrail's partial condemnation of its easement rights in a railroad right of way; counseling high-rise building owner clients in connection with utility access issues such as riser cable and satellite television licenses; and defended PECO in several disputes with contractors.  
• Prepared litigation plans and budgets for clients. Reviewed a client's portfolio of 1,000 litigation matters, summarized the claims, created a tracking data base and managed nationwide outside counsel.   
• Tried to completion jury and non-jury trials and arbitrations, many with exposure in excess of $1 million. Briefed and argued appeals before all 3 Pennsylvania appellate courts and the Third Circuit, including 2 related to utility poles.
• Monitored lobbying and government contract compliance for the firm; coordinated lobbying for clients.

• Continued to represent Verizon in same matters as when in-house, plus bankruptcy and additional advertising litigation. Supervised staff of 3 attorneys litigating small claims and arbitration matters.
• Tried to verdict jury and non-jury civil cases, injunctions and appeals, including jury trial concerning utility pole line design and placement.

Worked in the Legal Department regulatory and litigation group that responded to complaints filed with the PUC, FCC, in state and federal courts and with company executives and advised management on compliance issues and contracts, including pole and conduit licensing agreements.

• Traveled in the field to investigate: right-of-way conflicts, alleged failures to provide service to customers, damages to facilities, disputes with infrastructure construction contractors and other utilities, and injury and death claims alleging negligent design and construction of facilities. Walked pole lines, examined cable and conduit in excavations and manholes and monitored testing of central office equipment with technicians, engineers and managers in the field.
• Analyzed claims that other contractors and utilities or Verizon improperly attached cables to poles, damaged conduit, used the wrong duct, violated the applicable engineering standards or otherwise violated a pole or conduit license agreement. Wrote reports with recommendations to executives or negotiated resolutions. Where a formal complaint was filed, answered the complaint or provided comments to the responsible attorney's draft answer.
• Defended company in litigation claiming failure to provide adequate service, rights of way issues, Yellow Pages errors and motor vehicle and premises personal injuries.  
• Demanded payment from contractors and other utilities that damaged Verizon's poles, manholes and conduits or interfered with Verizon's use of its right of way and from customers for unpaid service; filed suit if no payment; tried cases that did not settle. Mastered the PUC-mandated accounting principles and the labor rates and overhead elements included in the damages.
• Negotiated with contractors to ameliorate incipient contract and work rules disputes and with property owners who would not sign form right of way agreements. 
• Interfaced with Verizon government relations for both advocacy and legislative purposes.