Mary K. Bessemer
Senior Corporate Counsel, Sanofi

Michelle Bufano, Esq.
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, LLP, New York

Rachel Moseson Dikovics, Esq.
Lowenstein Sandler, LLP, Roseland

Gretchen Fritz
Vice-President, Chief Legal Officer
American Regent, Inc.

Nicole Fulfree, Esq.
Lowenstein Sandler, LLP, Roseland

Susanna Gray
Assistant General Counsel, Litigation
Empower

Tanya Holcombz
General Counsel and Secretary,
BAYADA Home Health Care

Sara Kimball, Esq.
Corporate Counsel, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., Basking Ridge

Zeenat Ladhani
HR Leader for Global Oncology Business Unit and US Oncology Business Division, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., Florida

Megan Monson, Esq.
Lowenstein Sandler, LLP, Roseland

Ray Ortiz, Esq.
Attorney Coordinator
New Jersey Lawyers’ Assistance Program

Rose Reyes-McKiernan, General Counsel
Star Kay White, Inc.

Arthur Saiewitz
In-House Legal Counsel, Nokia

Ellen Salamone
Head of Life Sciences and Healthcare, North America, Axiom

Nancy Stek, LCADC
Associate Director
New Jersey Lawyers’ Assistance Program

Jennifer Marino Thibodaux
Senior Legal Editor
Thomson Reuters Practical Law

This year, the Corporate Counsel Institute centers on some of the most needed but seldom discussed skills for what it takes to be an effective in-house lawyer. Join the chairs of the In-House Counsel Committee and a panel of experts as they help you develop and strengthen your ability to maximize your effectiveness and, at the same time, your quality of life. The Institute is recommended for attorneys in private practice who are considering a career change to in-house counsel, and for those already acting as in-house counsel seeking professional development.

The program focuses on four major areas. The first is the importance of understanding your company’s culture and business.  Second, we will look at the business of being in-house. Even the most experienced attorney may not have a full grasp of the financial issues affecting the management of a legal department. This segment will focus on business economics for in-house counsel, including how to budget, and monitor spending. Next, we will take a hard look at soft skills needed for in-house attorneys. Finally, we put so much energy into our clients, we sometimes forget to focus on our professional development and personal needs! This segment will help you examine your career as something to separate from your employment that should be nurtured, and protection of your quality of life, in order to grow your career in a manner that suits your needs.

Organizations, like people, have different personalities, norms and ways of operating. In order to maximize your effectiveness, in-house counsel need to understand the particulars of their employer as a client, and how to best operate within it to accomplish the goals of the law department. Our panel will discuss lessons learned in their role as in-house counsel, how to tackle this when new to in-house and the experts will demonstrate how to do that.

Moderator/Speaker: Maria C. Anderson, Esq.
Speakers: Patricia A. Barbieri, Esq.; Tanya Holcombz; Rose Reyes-McKiernan; Arthur Saiewitz

Even the most experienced attorney may not have a full grasp of the financial issues affecting the management of a legal department. This segment will focus on business economics for in-house counsel, including RFPs for vendors/firm selection, how to budget, monitor spending, grow the department, and how to make a business case.

Moderator: Patricia A. Barbieri, Esq.
Speakers: Mary K. Bessemer; Michelle Bufano, Esq.; Sara Kimball, Esq.

While tackling the challenges of every day, we should also remember to think about what is coming next for us professionally. It may be a promotion within your organization. It may be asking for a specific assignment at your current employer. Or a move to a private firm. It may be figuring out how to work fewer hours or retire. Whatever your next phase is, this segment will help you figure out how to set your goals and reach them.

Moderator: Maria C. Anderson, Esq.
Speakers: Susanna Gray; Jennifer Marino Thibodaux; Ellen Salamone

Lawyers are trained to be direct and aggressive, but that doesn’t necessarily lead to success in an in-house setting. In this session, panelists will discuss managing organization relationships, provide tips on developing some of those soft skills, and managing expectations for career objectives to sustain success and life balance.

Moderator: Patricia A. Barbieri, Esq.
Speakers: Gretchen Fritz; Zeenat Ladhani; Megan Monson, Esq.;
Rachel Moseson Dikovics, Esq.; Nicole Fulfree, Esq.

We put so much energy into our clients, we sometimes forget to focus on our professional development and personal needs! This segment will help you examine your career as something to separate from your employment that should be nurtured, and protection of your quality of life, in order to grow your career in a manner that suits your needs.

Moderator: Maria C. Anderson, Esq.
Speakers: Ray Ortiz, Esq.; Nancy Stek, LCADC