MoForever Alumni News - Summer 2019

MoForever Summer 2019 | 6 compliance lawyer who today has taken over my former role as our global chief compliance officer. The easiest part of driving change was to break down internal barriers to global integration and to build one functioning legal and compliance team. My many years at MoFo helped inform my views on the importance of teamwork and team building, and were very useful in enhancing collaboration at SoftBank. Today, the legal and compliance teams at SoftBank function as a global unit providing seamless client service. We have regular calls and meetings to support cohesive teamwork and ensure no one feels left out. It remains a work in progress because SoftBank is always evolving and we are always adapting and hiring to fill new business needs. What has it felt like advising a company that is continually evolving? It’s been pretty mind-blowing. Like changing the car tires while speeding down the freeway. Actually, it’s more like flying a plane and changing out the engines, given that I have already earned United Global Services Frequent Flyer Status for next year in the first quarter of this year. The unbelievable pace at which everyone operates, combined with the ongoing evolution of the company, has been every bit the challenge I expected and then some. This is not a company that ever stands still. It is forever adapting to changing global markets. Now that you’re on the inside, what advice do you have for outside counsel? Know your client’s business in detail. Know the organization well enough to anticipate its needs and present solutions before clients realize they need answers. Make their lives easier by making them aware of new developments. Be timely, thoughtful, and incredibly careful delivering services. Know that your in-house client is also thinking long-term and needs to be assured that their key outside law firm providers are doing so also, and have a long-term plan to provide continuing world-class legal support. How did your practice at MoFo help you prepare for an in-house role? The easiest answer is that SoftBank creates value by doing smart transactions, and my 34 years as a deal lawyer at MoFo provided me a great background to guide and support our work. It also inculcated in me very high expectations for the role that a legal department should play, and the quality, responsiveness, and teamwork that the legal department needs to display to fulfill its role in the organization. There are many other important cultural attributes that I learned at MoFo, including mutual respect, diversity, tolerance, and a global perspective, that are helpful on a daily basis at SoftBank. SoftBank is led by diverse nationalities. Masayoshi Son (founder and CEO) is Japanese. Marcelo Claure (COO) is Bolivian. Rajeev Misra (CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisors, which oversees the firm’s Vision Fund) is Indian. Currently, about half the legal group members are women. We recently hired a Latina general counsel for the Latin American Fund. I plan to bring more women and underrepresented minorities onto the SoftBank legal leadership team over time. You were actively involved in pro bono work at MoFo. Are you working on pro bono matters at SoftBank? Dedication to pro bono work is one aspect of MoFo that I treasured. For example, as a young associate in the late 1980s, I got the opportunity to work directly with Greenpeace executives to “THE UNBELIEVABLE PACE AT WHICH EVERYONE OPERATES, COMBINED WITH THE ONGOING EVOLUTION OF THE COMPANY, HAS BEEN EVERY BIT THE CHALLENGE I EXPECTED AND THEN SOME. THIS IS NOT A COMPANY THAT EVER STANDS STILL. IT IS FOREVER ADAPTING TO CHANGING GLOBAL MARKETS.”