ABA TIPS holds annual Fall Leadership Meeting in Minneapolis, Minn.
Ed Friedland, far left, joins other local general counsels on a panel at the ABA TIPs annual meeting in Minneapolis, MN
The American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) held their annual Fall Leadership Meeting in Minneapolis last week, and Thomson Reuters leadership was on hand to support and participate in the meeting. It took place over five days and provided networking opportunities, CLE sessions, public service events and even a 5K fun run.
Brian Knudsen welcomes gets to the ABA TIPS Pursuit of Justice awards ceremony at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis, MN
On Thursday, Oct. 10, Ed Friedland, general counsel for Thomson Reuters’ Legal business, participated in a panel discussion titled “Dialogue with General Counsels: Issues and Ethics.” Friedland was joined by seven other general counsels from across the Twin Cities as they discussed such subjects as: how they became a general counsel, a “typical” day, what their expectations are for outside counsel, governance and ethics, the importance of diversity and pro bono, if they use value-based billing, pet peeves, and what they think are the primary legal issues facing their industry that we should be prepared to address. The consensus among the general counsels was clear: there really is no “typical day.” They all mentioned spending a lot of time in meetings, being called upon suddenly to make decisions, and acting as the legal voice at a table full of senior leaders in their respective organizations. The conversation also centered around when to call in outside counsel versus keeping things in-house.
Guests at the Pursuit of Justice Awards at the Mill City Museum
“Being a general counsel, there are times when we need to call in a domain specialist,” said Friedland. “One of those times is when there is a crisis. Things are different than they were several years ago, when we had a day to prepare before something hit the press. Now in our age of social media, we have to act immediately and sometimes, calling in help from a large law firm is the best plan of action.”
Later that evening, Brian Knudsen, vice president, Marketing, Large Law Firms for Thomson Reuters, welcomed guests to the Pursuit of Justice awards ceremony at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis. The Pursuit of Justice Award recognizes lawyers and judges who have shown outstanding merit and who excel in providing access to justice for all. This year’s recipients were Minneapolis attorney Michael Ciresi and Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice Alan Page.
Thomson Reuters employees helped pack food for the needy at a public service event for Stop Hunger Now!
On Friday, Oct. 11, several Thomson Reuters employees took place in a public service event for Stop Hunger Now!, a meal packaging program that provides dehydrated and high-protein nutritious meals to the hungry. These packaged meals will be used to support education programs and to save lives in developing countries around the world.
