In-house Lawyer Resigns after Being Discovered without License
New York Life Insurance Co.'s senior in-house lawyer of nearly 10 years, Michael A. Watson, is no longer with the company. He resigned after admitting that he was not licensed to practice law. As first vice president and deputy general counsel, he was responsible for the matters related to investments, mergers and acquisitions, and financial transactions. He previously worked as an associate in the New York office of Hunton & Williams. New York Life Insurance Co. is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States, with nearly $160 billion in assets in 2004.
Code of Conduct Critical to Company's Success
A corporate code of conduct is a summary of principles that employees are expected to follow in a legal and ethical manner. Companies have recently shown an interest in their codes of conduct and compliance programs. To date, documents stating the codes were difficult to comprehend and had been distributed among employees with little or no explanation regarding their application in everyday situations. This led to very little follow-up on the part of the employees. Lately due to the mounting pressure for new legal requirements and possibility of personal liability, companies are more interested in maintaining compliance programs. They are now actively pursuing reporting on the status of such programs to prove commitment to the code and training every employee on its importance.
RLI Appoints New General Counsel
Daniel O. Kennedy brings 16 years of comprehensive corporate experience as the new Vice President and General Counsel of RLI Corp. Previously a partner with Hunton & Williams' Atlanta office, Kennedy will provide legal, regulatory, and strategic support to the company. RLI offers specialty property/casualty coverage for niche markets. Its RLI Insurance unit writes commercial insurance in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; its Mt. Hawley Insurance also operates in Guam and the Virgin Islands. These subsidiaries are rated A+ "Superior" by A.M. Best Company and A+ "Strong" by Standard & Poor's.
Eichler Joins OH Logistics as General Counsel
Frank Eichler has joined Ozburn-Hessey Logistics' executive management team. As Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Eichler will be responsible for contract administration, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and providing counsel to the company on legal and policy issues. Previously Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Dex Media, Inc., in Colorado, Eichler specializes in multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, mergers, and divestitures. He was also corporate head for Teletech and General Counsel for Media One Group in Englewood, CO. Ozburn-Hessey Logistics is headquartered in Tennessee and is one of the nation's largest privately held 3PLs. The company serves Fortune 1500 companies including the food-service consolidation, electronic and high-tech, pharmaceutical and medical, health and beauty, and consumer products industries.
Shafner is New General Counsel at GEICO
Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) has appointed Jonathan Shafner to be designated as Assistant VP, Assistant General Counsel, and Assistant Secretary at its Office of the General Counsel. He left the company in 1986 and rejoined it in 1994 and was made Senior Counsel in 2001. GEICO is the fourth-largest private passenger-auto insurer in the United States. Providing auto insurance coverage for more than 6 million policyholders, the company insures more than 10 million vehicles.
Wiegand Moves On
Scott Wiegand, the ex-General Counsel of PurchasePro.com, Inc., has moved on in life, putting an unsavory past behind him. He was acquitted on criminal charges of taking part in a fraud by helping to file false financial reports and making false statements to investigators. This makes him only the second general counsel to beat a high-profile fraud prosecution in recent years, after Mark Belnick, the former legal chief of Tyco International Ltd. Currently running his own law practice in New York, he is now looking for a new in-house position.
Uhrig is New General Counsel at SureScripts
SureScripts appointed Paul Uhrig as the General Counsel and Executive Vice President for its corporate practice. Previously a chairman for Gardner Carton & Douglas, LLP, he will be responsible for all legal matters, corporate development, and federal legislative affairs for the company. SureScripts is the largest network provider of electronic prescribing services that connects doctors and pharmacies to enable the electronic exchange of prescription information. Today, 90 percent of all pharmacies in the U.S. are certified on the SureScripts network.
