Part III. Follow along in this four-part blog series featuring a timely and provocative look inside Hewlett-Packard Company’s innovative new legal talent development program. This blog takes a look at the training program from the perspective of a participant: recent graduate and HP new hire, Dargie Bowersock. Dargie is a 2010 graduate from the Northwestern University School of Law and currently works in HP’s Legal Corporate, Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions practice group. Before law school, Dargie taught writing courses at the University of Michigan. The voice, views and stories expressed by the authors below are their own and not ACC’s. To read the first installment of this series, click here.
Part III: In-school to In-house: Who Says Your Law Career Must Begin in a Firm?
There will be no start dates in 2010.
It was the summer of 2009, and all of the associates at the law firm where I was spending my second summer were told the same thing. That simple sentence forced me to completely alter my career path. I would graduate from law school in May 2010, and I didn’t want to spend up to 18 months waiting to start my new career. I had spent seven years working before I went back to law school, and when I made the decision to go back, it was based on a straightforward, three-years-and-you’re-employed calculus. The economic melt down forced me to look at job prospects in a whole new light. Luckily for me, my future employer was recruiting in-house counsel in a whole new way.
When I saw the on-campus interview posting for Hewlett-Packard (HP) in October of my 3L year, I knew I had to apply. I wanted to do business transactional law, and I figured working inside an exciting company with a strong legal department would be a way to start getting great experience right away.
And it has been. I joined HP in October 2010 in the Corporate, Securities, M&A group. I work as a junior attorney on many aspects of corporate transactional law, especially acquisitions. I also work on sophisticated matters as part of a talented team with extensive big law experience. This opportunity has allowed me to work closely with other HP lawyers, who have exposed me to a variety of practice styles and strategies. Further, I’ve been able to take on projects from a range of practice areas. HP provides extensive training, covering everything from the business units within the company, to pro bono opportunities in the legal department, to sharpening negotiation skills.
In some ways, my role mimics that of a first-year firm associate: I do diligence; turn documents; prepare schedules. However, I also sit in on meetings with company leaders about how a prospective acquisition fits in to HP’s strategy; get a sense for how a public company answers to its investors; and experience how a Fortune 11 company operates from the inside. Although I don’t work in the same array of industries I would at a firm, I have my foot in the door at a company that operates in more than 170 countries around the world. Working in HP’s legal department exposes me to multiple business and go-to-market models, allowing me to feel like a part of a highly competent team that faces exciting and ambitious goals.
It’s been a great opportunity so far, and I wouldn’t change a thing. HP’s visionary recruitment and training model can impact the way the legal industry hones a lawyer’s skills. I hope that other legal departments consider adding this type of program to their strategic plan.