Education: 1991: J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School; 1988: B.A., Colgate University.

Career in Brief: 2005–present: Home Box Office, Inc. (2014–present: Senior Vice President & Chief Counsel, Litigation; 2013–2014: Vice President & Senior Counsel, Litigation & Anti-Piracy; 2007–2012: Vice President & Senior Counsel, Litigation; 2005–2007: Senior Counsel, Litigation); 2015–present: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Adjunct Professor (Media Law); 2008–2014: New York University, Adjunct Professor (Internet and Publishing Law); 1999–2005: Tribune Company/Times Mirror Company (2003–2005: Senior Counsel, East Coast Media; 1999–2003: Counsel, East Coast Media); 1996–1999: ABC, Inc., General Attorney, Litigation and Employment Practices; 1991–1996: Baker & Hostetler LLP, Associate.

Location of Company HQ: New York, New York.

Primary Industry Sector: Entertainment (Premium Pay Television).

Revenues in the Last Financial Year: Approximately $5.6 billion.

Number of Employees Worldwide: Approximately 3,600.

Law Department Locations: HBO attorneys are based in New York, New York, as well as in Santa Monica, California (supporting our productions) and in the offices of our international subsidiaries.

What is the total number of attorneys in the company worldwide, and how many focus on litigation? About 50 attorneys have a legal job function, with three focusing on litigation full-time. There are many other attorneys throughout the company in business roles.

Where does litigation fall within the organizational structure? I report to the General Counsel, who reports to the CEO.

How typical or unique is the scope of responsibilities for the company’s litigation attorneys? The most interesting thing about being a part of the litigation team is that there is no such thing as typical. Every attorney is involved in a variety of matters and is responsible for managing pending litigation, reviewing and handling claims, and counseling business clients. A large part of our role is to work closely with other attorneys within the company to mitigate risk. Litigation also oversees the company’s records retention policy, corporate files and offsite storage, and unsolicited submissions. Additionally, HBO’s anti-piracy team rests within litigation.

What is keeping your company’s litigation attorneys the busiest at the moment? We have a steady stream of certain types of matters, such as intellectual property, libel, and privacy claims, disputes emanating from the business of boxing, and general commercial claims. We also regularly work with other attorneys in the company to assess and mitigate risk in connection with technology and distribution deals. This year, legal issues arising from the launch of our new over-the-top service, HBO Now, as well as various developments in Europe, including the upending of the data privacy rules and the EU single-market initiative, have kept us particularly busy.

Have any recent legal developments changed the way your department operates? Recent developments in technology have impacted us more than changes in the law. Moving from paper to electronic data, in particular, has had a great impact on how we do our jobs.

What types of issues will cause you to turn to outside counsel? We retain outside counsel for nearly every filed litigation. For other types of matters, we use outside counsel selectively, based on their resources and specific expertise. We rarely turn anything completely over to outside counsel. We actively manage and remain involved in all matters.

What types of issues will cause you to push for alternative fee arrangements with outside counsel? We most commonly seek alternative fee arrangements if we are considering multiple law firms with significant differences in their billing rates for the same matter, or when we are concerned that the costs of pursuing a particular path will be disproportionate to the business benefit.

What three things does a law firm need to do to impress you? Think strategically, including making an effort to understand and consider where a particular matter fits within the priorities of our company and department. Pay attention to detail. Respect my time and that of my staff.

What important lessons have you learned throughout your legal career? Slow down. Also, admit when you have made a mistake and work towards fixing it, rather than ignore or try to hide it.

If not an attorney, what would you wish to be? Today, a ski bum. Earlier in life, I would have said head of programming at a television network.

What one piece of advice would you give to prospective in-house litigation counsel? Take the time necessary to know the company’s business, and remember that your job is to help the company achieve its business goals, not to win at any cost.