Corporate Legal Department Opportunities

My first corporate position was with general counsel of a newly formed legal department in the oil and gas industry. There were many administrative challenges in creating policies and guidelines for handling an array of legal matters. This department provided support for all of the company's legal needs but primarily retained corporate, contract and SEC matters in-house. Therefore, litigation matters and other tasks were delegated to outside counsel as needed. One of my duties was to develop and implement a litigation database to track administrative expenses and outside counsel fees. Once the database was implemented, monthly reports were generated from it to monitor costs associated with each matter. Other tasks for which I was responsible included the creation of an in-house law library and legal department filing system. Although not a glamorous mission, this exercise gave me a renewed appreciation for the talents of law librarians and legal secretaries. In addition to establishing these procedures, I assisted general counsel in the preparation of correspondence, contracts, corporate secretary duties, labor issues and in coordinating discovery responses. These tasks provided me with an excellent overview of the various services provided by a legal department.

The opportunity to assist in establishing a new department laid the foundation for my present position as Legal Assistant to General Counsel for Cash American International, Inc. ("Cash America"). Although, upon reflection, had my decision on whether to join Cash America been based on my preconceived ideas about the pawn industry, I might have missed a tremendous opportunity for personal and professional growth. On my initial interview, general counsel altered these perceptions that pawnshops are dark dingy places, run by unsavory characters who fence stolen property and nab heirlooms from unsuspecting citizens. In reality, he explained that Cash America is a publicly held international pawnshop chain of what is now over 384 stores located in the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden.

I accepted this position and looked forward to its challenges and a big office with a view. Prior to even warming a chair in the corporate office, however, I was sent to parks unknown referred to as "the field." Cash America's corporate management team is required to work at least one week a year in the stores. My two weeks of field service were completed behind the counter of several Fort Worth pawnshops. This training was invaluable in preparing me for my future duties. I learned pawnbrokers are heavily regulated by state and local law, in addition to being required to adhere to certain federal and administrative guidelines. Since pawn transactions are reported to local law enforcement officials daily, pawnbrokers work closely with these officials to reduce crime and deter theft. Identification requirements on all pawn transactions make pledging stolen merchandise a judgment error for unsuspecting thieves. If merchandise listed in a burglary report matches a pawn transaction, that pawn ticket can become evidence in a criminal investigation and the pledgor can become a suspect. As a result of these safeguards, only a minute fraction of pawned merchandise is found to involve suspicious property. Cash America continues to work toward changing industry perceptions by working with law enforcement officials and legislators, implementing policies and training personnel to deter theft, and maintaining clean stores that emphasize customer service.

This customer-oriented approach is also encouraged in the legal department by General Counsel. My boss views the function of the department as that of a service center. This clarifies my job description as being twofold: to assist general counsel in providing legal services to the 384 company-owned pawnshops and to serve as a direct contact person for field and home office personnel seeking advice, counsel and services relating to the legal needs of the company. Responding to these requests involves investigating the facts of each matter and presenting them to my boss, who recommends an appropriate course of action. Many of these issues pertain to bankruptcy procedures, customer disputes, labor matters, litigation responses, maintenance of the case management database, statutory requirements or services related to my duties on various company committees.

Through this frequent "client" interaction, several procedures have been developed to streamline these tasks. One such procedure has been in the area of responding to customer bankruptcies. Not surprisingly, an occasional pawn customer will file bankruptcy. Cash America has been instrumental in pioneering case law that determines the rights of pawnbrokers in these proceedings. As a result of these efforts, we have formulated methods to disseminate this information to debtor's attorneys and trustees. We then coordinate the disposition of each claim with our office and store personnel.

As with any organization, our department works closely with other support personnel such as customer service and human relations. We provide information on various state laws and procedural matters to assist in resolving retail and pawn customer disputes. In working with human resources, we assist in various labor-related matters and evaluate policies and procedures on numerous issues. This guidance also extends to providing information on statutory and regulatory requirements to field and home office personnel to allow them to make informed management decisions on issues as they arise.

We have relatively few lawsuits for a company our size. My responsibilities for those occasional disputes include responding to discovery requests, assisting outside counsel in coordinating witnesses or obtaining information and by administering each matter as point person for our office. This function helps to reduce outside counsel fees and expenses while coordinating a focused resolution of the claim.

Outside counsel fees are tracked on a case management database. Those cases expected to generate fees or require periodic status reports are placed on the system for monitoring. The database provides us with a mechanism for tracking attorneys fees, invoices, case status, persons involved and a "to do" list. We can also generate reports or graphs which monitor fees paid to outside counsel for a particular case or all fees paid to a specific law firm over a period of time. We update the system regularly so that it can serve as an effective management tool and informational reference.

To insure compliance with the myriad of pawnbroker regulations, I also maintain and update the department's compilation of federal, state and local laws affecting our business (e.g., pawn, secondhand dealers, firearms, truth-in-lending, etc.). Occasionally, additional issues arise which also require research. I am fortunate to have an arsenal of software to assist in this task. The starting point for much of my research begins with the InterNet. Since web sites are added daily, you never know what information will show up to aid in your research. In previous lives, I was rarely afforded the opportunity to do research. In this position, however, I have been challenged to enhance these skills.

Through civic involvement, I have also gained new personal skills. Our company encourages participation in company activities as well as community service. This has given me the opportunity to serve on several company-wide committees. Committee participation has given me new insights into the difficult task of appropriating limited resources to the plethora of worthy causes. I have also learned of great places to throw parties, who the best caterers are and what it takes to entertain 200 guests. Also, my service on the board of our local paralegal association has provided invaluable contacts, professional development and educational opportunities. I have also participated in the development of a separate group of paralegals who work for corporate legal departments; the group meets regularly to network and share information.

The corporate legal environment has provided me with many unexpected opportunities. I have gained skills in new areas and enhanced my familiarity with a single client and its business. My company has also given me the latitude to creatively approach tasks traditionally assigned to associates and law clerks. These challenges have helped me grow professionally by learning new areas of the law and have furthered my personal growth through community involvement.

So, the next time you are pondering a career change, consider a corporate legal department. There are numerous opportunities out there with a variety of corporations. When assessing your options remember that even the most unlikely businesses can provide opportunities worth placing your career in "hock."

TEXAS PARALEGAL JOURNAL
Spring 1997
©1997 Legal Assistants Division, State Bar of Texas

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