Education: 1990: J.D., Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver; 1986: B.S. (Business), University of Southern California.

Career in Brief: 1999–present: CenturyLink, Inc. (and its predecessor companies Qwest Communications International, Inc. and US WEST, Inc.) (2003–present: Vice President and Deputy General Counsel; 1999–2003: Corporate Counsel); 1998–1999: Perkins Coie LLP, Partner; 1992–1998: Parcel Mauro P.C. (1997–1998: Partner; 1992–1997: Associate); 1989–1992: Kirkland & Ellis LLP (1990–1992: Associate; 1989–1990: Law Clerk).

Location of Company HQ: Monroe, Louisiana.

Primary Industry Sector: Communications.

Revenues in the Last Financial Year: Approximately $18 billion.

Number of Employees Worldwide: Approximately 48,000.

Law Department Locations: The primary locations are Denver, Colorado, New Century, Kansas, Monroe, Louisiana, St. Louis, Missouri and Herndon, Virginia.

What is the total number of attorneys in the company worldwide, and how many focus on litigation? CenturyLink has 100 lawyers, of which 12 are dedicated to litigation.

Where does litigation fall within the organizational structure? I am responsible for the litigation and intellectual property (IP) functions within the law department, and lead a team of more than 20 lawyers and paralegals. I report to Stacey Goff, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel.

How typical or unique is the scope of responsibilities for the company’s litigation attorneys? Given the expansive scope, customer base and geographic reach of our business, the litigation team manages a large and diverse litigation portfolio. We have hundreds of matters spread across the US and overseas. In addition to routine litigation, disputes and investigations, the portfolio often includes higher-risk matters involving securities issues, patent infringement, ERISA, consumer class actions, and employment-related class or collective actions. Our team is made up of experienced litigators, including some sub-specialists in areas like antitrust, bankruptcy and IP transactions. Despite the size of our portfolio, we are a lean litigation group with an equally lean budget. Our team manages more than 50% of the portfolio in-house, and the remainder is managed in partnership with outside counsel.

What is keeping your department’s attorneys the busiest at the moment? We are a technology company, which means IP plays a huge role in all that we do. We are constantly defending against patent infringement litigation initiated by non-practicing entities, as well as working to enhance the way we manage, grow, integrate and protect our company’s IP assets.

Have any recent legal developments changed the way your department operates? New legislation and case law require us to be constantly focused on changes that impact our business, including our IP, consumer sales, employment and compliance practices. We are also very focused on rapidly developing areas of law in spaces like privacy and cybersecurity.

What types of issues will cause you to turn to outside counsel? We partner with outside counsel for almost all court-filed litigation, working as a team to strategize, manage and resolve the litigation. Outside counsel usually take the laboring oar on depositions, motion practice and trials, while our in-house counsel and e-discovery group largely handle document discovery. Settlement negotiations are a shared responsibility, but are often dealt with in-house.

What types of issues will cause you to push for alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) with outside counsel? We rarely use AFAs. The bulk of our legal spend is on complex cases. The complexity, magnitude or novelty of the cases makes pricing an AFA difficult. Despite claims that AFAs drive efficiency, which I question, we find that our trusted outside counsel provide efficient and high-quality legal work regardless of the billing model. While AFAs may make sense in high-volume, repetitive matters or for departments that rely on them for budget certainty, they are not a good fit for most of our work.

What does a law firm need to do to impress you? Law firms do not impress me — lawyers do. First-rate lawyers get results, are highly responsive, provide value-add service and are as sensitive to the bottom line as our CFO and I are.

Can you describe the career path that led you to become an in-house litigation counsel? I previously did environmental citizen suit defense litigation for hard rock mining companies, which I loved. But when gold prices plummeted in the late 1990s, I decided to reinvent my practice, changing gears from mining to communications and from outside counsel to in-house lawyer. It was a great move for me.

If not an attorney, what would you wish to be? Professionally, I really enjoy what I do. Outside of work, there are many things I wish I could do, such as sing, play tennis (better) and cook (actually, that is just something my family wishes I could do).

What advice would you give to prospective in-house litigation counsel? As in-house counsel, you often will be asked to give advice with a due date of yesterday. Clients will not wait for or read long research memos, and they do not want to hear that you need two days to nail down an answer. Therefore, know your business inside and out. Be practical, not academic. Find a way to get to “yes,” and in those rare instances when “no” is the only answer, make that clear. Be prepared and anticipate issues. Above all, use good judgment.