K&L Gates Client Conversations

Tina Parker is an American actor and director, and currently serves as the co-artistic director and company manager at Kitchen Dog Theatre in Dallas, Texas. In this episode of Client Conversations, Craig and Tina discuss her career, including her time on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, as well as her role at Kitchen Dog Theatre. Hear from Tina about how to deal with rejection, what inspires her, and more.

Lacey Bundy is the SVP, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary at PetSmart. In this episode of Client Conversations, Craig and Lacey discuss the importance of vulnerability and creating last connections in the workplace and beyond. Listen to Lacey’s advice to young female lawyers, tips on how to trust your gut, and what she looks for in outside counsel.

Erin Millender-Rubin is the vice president of legal at Hyperscience, an intelligent document processing platform. Erin is a self-described generalist, where she advises growth-stage companies on day-to-day legal and business issues. In this episode of Client Conversations, Craig and Erin discuss the world of artificial intelligence and how Erin’s diverse background led her to tech space. Listen to Erin’s thoughts on imposter syndrome, the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and the mentors who made a lasting impact on her.

Dr. Julie Bell is the founder and president of The Mind of a Champion, where she has worked with a variety of teams, individuals, and organizations to improve their mindset. In this episode of Client Conversations, Craig and Julie discuss performance psychology and how Julie works with athletes, business professionals, and individuals to help them build confidence in their work and personal lives. Listen to how Julie helps clients to build better habits and change their way of thinking long-term. 

Rudy Rodriguez is the Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Human Resources Officer, and Corporate Secretary for CEC Entertainment. In this Client Conversations episode, long-time friends Craig Budner and Rudy discuss the influences that led Rudy to a law career in the retail industry. Listen to Rudy’s advice to young lawyers searching for mentorship, and how to be the best leader possible.

Olivia Duane Adams (Libby) is the chief advocacy officer (CAO) and co-founder of Alteryx and one of only a handful of female founders to take a technology company public. Listen to how Libby’s how her client-centric approach propelled her and fellow co-founders to be leaders in the data analytics industry.  

In this Client Conversations episode, Craig Budner interviews Josh Glessing, Vice President of Strategy at Haslam Sports Group (HSG).

In this Client Conversations episode, Craig Budner interviews Anthony Giglio, a New York-based sommelier, journalist, and author.

In this Client Conversations episode, Craig Budner interviews Jamal Stockton, SVP, Head of Customer Inclusion at Fidelity Investments.

In this Client Conversations episode, Craig Budner interviews Mo Bunnell, CEO, and founder of the Bunnell Idea Group. They discuss how incremental progress with constant refinement should be applied to your business development process. Mo provides concrete scientific ways to implement into your day-to-day business strategies and create additional raving fans. 

Ron Jordan is the founding Principal of Carter-White & Shaw, with over 30 years of experience in attorney placement and law firm mergers and acquisitions. During his career, he has successfully placed many law firm partners and facilitated mergers with major law firms. Ron holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley. He considers diversifying the ranks of law firms and corporate law departments to be his mission and passion. Before forming Carter-White & Shaw, he was VP of Placement at Pat Robinson & Associates. Listen to how Ron channeled his passion for changing the legal diversity landscape by diligently recruiting attorneys of color.  

In this episode, Craig Budner interviews Mike Haven, current President of Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC). CLOC is a leading organization focused on the business of law. Mike is also the Head of Legal Operations and Associate General Counsel for Intel and prior he was in-house at NetApp, and Gap Inc.  Most notably Mike is a K&L Gates alumni.  Listen to how Mike’s circuitous career path led him to a passion for data and innovation as well as how he integrates his own wellness practices to remain balanced.  

In this episode, former Chief Financial Officer of American Skiing Company and LGBTQ community advocate, Cami Richardson, recounts her business career and shares her personal journey on coming out as a transgender woman at 62 years old.   Originally from New York, Cami Richardson was a firefighter before working her way up to become chief financial officer at American Skiing Company and helped take it public. At the time, American Skiing Company was the largest company of its kind. In the late 1990s, she also helped the business acquire part of the Park City ski resort where she works today.  It wasn’t until she was 62 that Cami Richardson came out as a transgender woman. Since then, she has made it her mission to be an advocate for the LGBTQ community and ensure people have positive interactions with her, a transgender person, and learn from her experience.

Rich Stoddart’s marketing career spans more than three decades. He was most recently the chief executive officer of InnerWorkings, Inc. and has also served as the chief executive officer for Leo Burnett, one of the world’s largest and most awarded global advertising agencies. He began his career in 1985 at Leo Burnett and served in managerial positions at Fallon, another Publicis Groupe agency headquartered in Minneapolis, as well as the Ford Motor Company. From 2013 to 2015, he served as chairman of the American Advertising Federation, and has served as a member of the board of directors of the Hasbro Corporation since 2014. Listen to learn how Rich’s journey led him to advertising and how the advertising client journey is adaptable in many ways to other professional services.

For nearly three decades, Michael Hoffman has been a GC, President and CEO for several prominent corporations in Dallas spanning several industries including telecommunications and large-scale property management. However, in 2020, he may have encountered his biggest challenge. Michael was among the first stricken with COVID-19, was one of the most critically ill COVID-19 patients treated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas since the pandemic began. As a recent survivor of an acute case of COVID-19, he candidly discusses and shares his journey back to health. From a legal career perspective, Michael Hoffman is a member of executive leadership at MBL Title, handling a diverse range of administrative, operational, legal, and financial responsibilities. He has been a long-time and significant client of the Firm and now has elevated his status to spouse of our great Dallas partner Jackie Hoffman! Listen to how his direct battle with COVID-19 has had a lasting personal and legal professional impact.

In this episode, we interview Audrey Andrews, the executive vice president and general counsel for Tenet Healthcare. In this capacity, Andrews oversees the law department and government relations for the Tenet enterprise. She has been with Tenet in various roles since 1998. Listen to how her personal approach shaped her outlook with her business career, always with the end in mind.

In this episode, we interview Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, the president (legal) and company secretary at the Hinduja Group, based at the group’s headquarters in London. The Hinduja Group is a transnational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. Listen to how Abhijit’s experience working for several multinational companies in different industries and his drive for continuous improvement helped propel him into his current role.

In this episode, we interview Matthew Maletta, executive vice president and chief legal officer of Endo Pharmaceuticals. Matthew was appointed in May 2015 to these roles at Endo Pharmaceuticals, where he has global responsibility for all legal matters affecting the company.  Prior to joining Endo in 2015, he served as vice president, associate general counsel, and corporate secretary of Allergan. In this position, he served as an advisor to the chief executive officer and board of directors and supervised several large transactions, including the $70 billion acquisition of Allergan by Actavis in 2015.

In this episode, we interview Thomas Smith, Direct Energy’s General Counsel and Executive Vice President, North America. Thomas joined Direct Energy from BG Group plc in Houston, where he managed a team of 45 lawyers and professionals in Houston and in five international locations. Previously, he served as an attorney at Vinson & Elkins LLP. Thomas is known to lead by example, actively encourage teamwork, foster an environment that is open and collaborative, and inspire greatness both within and outside of his office. Listen to how his experience growing up across the United States, his passion for history, and curiosity have led him to garner the respect of his team and others around him.

With early family roots as coal miners in Pennsylvania, Bill Farrell’s father was able to go on to become president and CEO of one of the largest U.S. trade organizations. By watching his father’s success in both business and family matters, Bill was able to learn lessons and emulate a goal of integrity, self-reliance, and humility. Bill had a successful law firm career, but before that Bill was a prosecutor in Cook County, Chicago, Illinois, at the time described by some as the “murder capital of the world.” He later transitioned his people-listening skills and strength in understanding client motivations on a very personal level into his commercial litigation work, culminating in his role in the founding of Longford Capital, a litigation funding company.