General Counsel File: Michael Dillon, Adobe Systems Inc. | Practical Law

General Counsel File: Michael Dillon, Adobe Systems Inc. | Practical Law

A profile of Michael Dillon, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Adobe Systems Inc.

General Counsel File: Michael Dillon, Adobe Systems Inc.

Practical Law Article w-001-4612 (Approx. 3 pages)

General Counsel File: Michael Dillon, Adobe Systems Inc.

by Practical Law The Journal
Published on 01 Mar 2016 • USA (National/Federal)
A profile of Michael Dillon, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Adobe Systems Inc.
Education: 1984: J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law; 1980: B.A., (Communications and Sociology), The University of California, San Diego.
Career in Brief: 2012–present: Adobe Systems Inc., Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary; 2010–2012: Silver Spring Networks, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary; 2002– 2010: Sun Microsystems, Inc. (2004–2010: General Counsel and Corporate Secretary; 2002–2004: Vice President of Product Law Group); 1999–2002: ONI Systems Corp., General Counsel and Corporate Secretary; 1993–1999: Sun Microsystems, Inc., Senior Director and Associate General Counsel; 1987–1993: Holtzmann, Wise & Shepard, Senior Associate; 1984–1987: Beauzay, Ezgar, Bledsoe, Levin & O’Laughlin, P.C., Associate.
Location of Company HQ: San Jose, California.
Primary Industry Sector: Software Technology.
Revenues in the Last Financial Year: $4.80 billion.
Number of Employees Worldwide: More than 13,000 worldwide.
Number of Attorneys Worldwide: We have a 160-person legal team, which includes 93 attorneys.
Law Department Locations: We have locations in 15 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia.
How is the legal function structured? Becoming a cloud-based service company has been a dramatic change for Adobe’s employees, including the Adobe Legal & Government Relations (LGR) team. The LGR team has to be equipped to make real-time decisions, which was a significant change in mind-set. In our environment you do not have weeks and months to evaluate a risk. You have to make judgments based on expertise, and if you have developed a strong, trusted relationship with your business partner, your judgment will be supported. We have organized the LGR team to be successful in this environment.
Are there any innovative ideas your law department has adopted to further its goals? We have reorganized the LGR team to be more efficient and resourceful by creating a Legal Operations team to help manage our priorities and ensure the organization is running effectively. We also established a centralized Global Legal Services team that provides on-going transactional support. This enables our experienced attorneys to focus on projects that require their expertise, and gives recent graduates a career path for working in-house. Additionally, we are shifting away from offices to an open environment, to foster collaboration and timely decision-making.
On the technology front, we are actively using Adobe Document Cloud and eSign services to digitize the workflow for contracts, agreements, board consents, filings, and more. Our services allow the LGR team to comment on, edit, and sign documents across our desktops and mobile devices, greatly improving our efficiency and responsiveness. To improve the LGR team’s effectiveness, we have also developed the Adobe Legal Style Guide, which is aimed at reducing legal jargon.
How do you align the incentives of external law firms with the objectives of the law department? The landscape is shifting, and today it is important for external law firms to be truly invested in a partnership (not act as service providers) with their clients and align their objectives accordingly. Firms need to run like a business and track and be transparent with key metrics that have an impact on their clients’ objectives.
What three things does a law firm need to do to impress you?
  • Foster diverse perspectives. The strength and resilience of a business depends on the diversity of its employees. It impresses me when firms constantly demonstrate a diverse pipeline of talent.
  • Align communication style. Firms need to take the time to really understand their client and their preferred communication style. This is something I do constantly with my own business partners. A boilerplate approach shows that a firm really does not understand the client.
  • Do not wait to be asked by your client. We want the firms we engage with to take the initiative to provide us with world-class service. We should not have to ask for quarterly reports, metrics, or training. Firms should be proactive.
If not an attorney, what would you wish to be? I would be second baseman for the Oakland A’s. Unfortunately, there is not much demand for 57-year-old professional baseball players. Thankfully, I have many other interests. I like outdoor activities, including cycling, kayaking, raising bees, and gardening. I also like to read and write. Like every other attorney I meet, I am working on a novel.
What is the best career advice you have ever received? If you are part of the team, then be a part of the team. It is important that you invest in building relationships with the people you work with. You can read more about how I learned this the hard way on my blog, mikedillon.wordpress.com.
What one piece of advice would you give to a prospective General Counsel? Create an environment where your team is encouraged to stretch and think creatively. Help remove obstacles that will impede your team’s growth and help them get visibility.