Morrison & Foerster Alumni News - Winter 2020

5 | MoForever Winter 2020 Tell us about your role at Clorox and what drove your switch to in-house. I was lucky to spend 25 years as a litigator at MoFo. I wore many different hats and took on new challenges every four or five years. But, after 25 years, I wanted to broaden myself further. The opportunity to work hand in glove with business colleagues at Clorox and be embedded within a company intrigued me, and I jumped at the chance to start a second chapter. That second chapter now includes leading a team of lawyers who manage litigation, regulatory, marketing, antitrust, and cybersecurity. I’m also a member of the company’s Specialty Division and legal leadership teams and am involved with our privacy program. Part of what I enjoy most about my role is its diversity. What early challenges did you face in your transition? You quickly realize you’re just one voice at the table. Decisions may have a legal aspect, but they also have business, financial, regulatory, and other components. You see that decisions don’t turn just on your input but on a collective view that takes into account the whole. I also soon realized that, not surprisingly, the legal department is held to its budget just like the other functions and business units. We watch spend carefully and keep our business and finance teams closely apprised of where we stand on matters. Another thing I came to understand is that, at a publicly traded Fortune 500 company, succession planning at all levels is integral to ensuring the continuity and strength of our operations. Within a day or two of starting at Clorox, I was part of succession planning discussions that included my own role. In many ways, though, my work at MoFo prepared me for the transition. MoFo leaders are performing similar succession planning when they hire new lawyers, bring them up in the ranks, and make them partners. My Managing Partner role at MoFo also prepared me for the financial aspects of management at Clorox, since, as a Managing Partner, I monitored and analyzed firm revenue, receivables, expenses, and other aspects of financial performance. What are some of the legal challenges you are seeing in the consumer products segment today? We are seeing increased regulatory oversight, particularly from the FDA and the FTC. We are also seeing