Experience

Solo Practitioner

• Legal Services
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Attorney at Law

  • Feb 2007 - Present

  • Structured, negotiated, and drafted terms of supply and purchase transactions for manufacturers and trader serving customers in the United States, Canada, South America, Japan, Korea, and China. • Clients have included manufacturers of automobile parts, chemicals, composite materials, electrical cables, packaging (rigid and flexible), plastic bottles, and rolled and extruded aluminum sheets and coils and trader of chemicals and other commodities. • Transactions have enabled clients to serve customers in the automobile and truck manufacturing industries, wind energy business, and food, tobacco, candy, dairy and cheese, health and beauty, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, chemical processing, and oil refinery industries. Other transactions have enabled clients to serve a producer of inks and Chinese multi-business company as well as customers in the aerospace industry (in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and China), defense contractors, manufacturers of beverage cans, boats, and tank trailers and semi-trailers, and distributors of aluminum and chemicals for resale to OEMs. • Assisted clients in expanding business opportunities through distribution, sales representative, and tolling (labor added to materials) transactions with partnering companies located in or serving the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, China, and France. • Facilitated global expansion of business of clients through the drafting and negotiating of agreements and structuring of agency relationships serving Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, and China.



Solo Practitioner continued

• Appleton, WI / Chicago, IL

• Attorney at Law

  • Feb 2007 - Present

  • Assisted in downsizing of manufacturer of composite products through drafting and negotiating terms of asset purchase agreement. • Served as lead U.S. legal counsel in asset purchase transaction in Mexico for purpose of growing business of U.S. parent. • Working knowledge of necessary terms for joint venture, asset purchase, and stock purchase agreements and demonstrated ability to bring inventive resolutions to issues that arise in particular transactions. • Served as lead U.S. counsel in structuring three party transaction involving agency agreement between German subsidiary (my client) and Canadian company and consignment agreement between Canadian company and U.S. customer for the ultimate benefit of my client. • Assisted in growing business of trader in serving the worldwide oil refinery business by serving as lawyer member of team charged with structuring and bringing to closure a supply, marketing, and profit sharing transaction for the manufacturing, inventory management, sale, and distribution of specified chemicals. • Supported day-to-day business affairs of clients through review, drafting, or otherwise advising on or handling of electrical utility requests for proposals or bids and subsequent review and negotiation of terms and conditions of sale (in cases where client was the successful bidder), office and building real estate leases, equipment leases, warehousing agreements, transportation services agreements, other services agreements, patent and other licenses, and confidential disclosure agreements.



Banta Corporation

• Menasha, WI

• Senior Counsel

  • Oct 1998 - Feb 2007

  • Chief internal legal counsel, with respect to all commercial transactions, for printing, direct marketing, and healthcare sectors of company (combined sales of sectors over $1 billion). • Corporate-wide responsibility for advising clients, drafting, and negotiating contracts, and coordinating efforts of outside counsel with respect to computer software licensing, patent, trademark, and copyright matters, procurement of transportation services and telecommunications services, and customs matters. • Supported new business venture through development and successful negotiation of web site development and maintenance agreements and software license and support agreements for enterprise content management and other software products and Internet related services. • Increased business and law department efficiency and reduced dependence on separate and inconsistent terms and conditions of printing sector groups through development of uniform contracts for use across entire printing sector. • Managed portfolio of 50+ trademarks by initiating trademark searches and applications for registration and overseeing and approving use of registered and common law marks. • Established groundwork for investigation of patentability of inventions throughout the corporation and initiated program for filing of patent applications rather than relying solely on trade secrets for protection of inventions. Also served as key member of team charged with responsibility for avoiding costly patent infringement litigation by designing and implementing new non-infringing production methods and products. • Managed administrative staff, including conducting reviews and establishing performance goals.



Johnson Products Co., Inc.

• Chicago, IL

• Acting General Counsel

  • 1997 - 1998

  • Responsible for addressing all commercial matters, coordinating efforts of outside counsel in prosecution of patent infringement lawsuit, and providing for seamless transition of business upon completion of sale of assets of company. • Responsible for addressing all commercial matters, coordinating efforts of outside counsel in prosecution of patent infringement lawsuit, and providing for seamless transition of business upon completion of sale of assets of company.



Golden Books Publishing Company, Inc. (formerly Western Publishing Company, Inc.)

• Racine, WI

• Senior Corporate Staff Attorney

  • 1992 - 1997

  • Contributed to revenue growth through successful negotiation and documentation of license agreements, including business with licensing partners such as The Walt Disney Company and Mattel Inc. • Aided growth of international business by structuring and documenting distribution transactions for Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. • Facilitated expansion into supermarket distribution channel and Canadian retail distribution channel through closing of sales representative transactions. • Supported new business venture through creation and successful negotiation of agreements for development of interactive educational software products. • Expanded marketing activities of company by developing rules and procedures for nationwide contests and sweepstakes and documenting terms of promotion agreements. • Eliminated bottlenecks in publishing, video, and music areas through generation of model publishing, producer, performing-artist, and work-made-for-hire agreements. • Managed portfolio of 100+ trademarks and oversaw and approved use of marks in licensing transactions. • Coordinated and supervised establishment of Foreign Trade Zone and monitored on-going activities, resulting in annual customs duties savings of $1 million, and led efforts of multi-functional team in recovery of over $400,000 in overpaid customs duties. • Structured and brought to closure commercial leasing of retail space and office space and leasing of equipment, including the leasing of computer hardware and transportation equipment. • Consolidated warehousing functions by negotiating and documenting inventory management agreements. • Achieved annual savings of $115,000 by developing transportation agreement and negotiating and documenting contract terms with common carriers. • Supervised formulating and streamlining of product safety procedures and monitored product safety decisions to ensure compliance with laws and voluntary standards.



TSR, Inc.

• Lake Geneva, WI

• Corporate Attorney

  • 1987 - 1991

  • Contributed to preservation of company copyrights and acquisition of new rights of copyright through successful documentation of terms of work-made-for-hire and assignment of rights contracts and overseeing use of copyrighted materials by licensees. • Assisted in management of portfolio of 100+ trademarks by overseeing use of registered and common law marks by licensees. • Aided growth of revenue through development of standardized license agreements and structuring and bringing to closure license agreements with manufacturers, computer game companies, and publishers. • Contributed to growth of national and international business through development of standardized distribution and sales representative agreements and bringing to closure such transactions in and outside the United States.



Clipper Exxpress Company

• Chicago, IL

• Attorney

  • 1983 - 1987

  • Served as liaison between senior management and outside counsel in prosecution of antitrust lawsuit, coordinated discovery efforts and assisted outside counsel at depositions and at trial, and served as a key team member in formulation of plan for successful settlement of matter. • Served as liaison between senior management and outside counsel in prosecution of antitrust lawsuit, coordinated discovery efforts and assisted outside counsel at depositions and at trial, and served as a key team member in formulation of plan for successful settlement of matter.



Pedersen & Houpt

• United States
• Law Practice
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Associate

  • 1976 - 1979

  • Handled all stages of commercial litigation as member of litigation team or as sole litigation counsel in lawsuits in state and federal trial courts. • Handled all stages of commercial litigation as member of litigation team or as sole litigation counsel in lawsuits in state and federal trial courts.