Ethical Pitfalls and Precautions for In-House Counsel: Who’s Your Client?

August 2019

Abstract

Brian Plummer was a young, assistant general counsel for Union Pacific Railroad facing a common situation: a lawsuit against his company. That lawsuit arose out of a work-place injury in which two Union Pacific machinists were operating “drop tables” to lower train engines for maintenance into a “drop pit.” In working to raise and lower engines, one machinist, Robert Garcia, fell into the drop pit and injured himself. The second machinist, Michael Yanez, was the only witness. Garcia subsequently sued Union Pacific for his injury.

Author

Douglas Balyeat

General Counsel, Vice President and Secretary, Pratt Industries Inc., USA

Douglas R. Balyeat, an attorney and certified public accountant, is the general counsel, vice president, and secretary for Pratt Industries, Inc. and its subsidiaries. He also serves as a corporate director on the board as well as the managing director for Pratt Financial Services, Inc. Prior to joining Pratt, Mr. Balyeat was an attorney with Alston & Bird LLP and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP. He focuses primarily on corporate law and business planning (including complex corporate financing matters, venture capital financings, and mergers and acquisitions); preparing, reviewing, and negotiating contracts and agreements (including asset and stock purchase, employment and non-disclosure agreements, and license agreements); acquisitions (negotiating term sheets; and preparing and negotiating definitive transaction documents), and overseeing litigation matters. Mr. Balyeat taught Business Planning as an adjunct law professor for seven years and has also taught Doing Deals: Accounting in Action as an adjunct law professor at Emory University School of Law. After graduating cum laude with a B.S. degree in accounting, he practiced as a CPA with Ernst & Young LLP. Mr. Balyeat graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University School of Law, where he was invited to join the Wake Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif. Mr. Balyeat is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia and the State Bar of New York and is also a member of the Atlanta and American Bar Associations, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants, and Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Balyeat was listed in Georgia Trend’s 2008 Legal Elite, Georgia Trend’s 2009 Legal Elite, Georgia Trend’s 2013 Legal Elite, and Super Lawyers Georgia Rising Stars 2009. He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and was listed as Top 100 Influencers by The Business Journals. He was also the recipient of the Corporate Counsel 2018 Dealmaker Award. Mr. Balyeat’s community involvement includes serving as a current board member for the For the Kid in All of Us (forthekid.org) nonprofit organization. Previously, he served as Board Member (former) and Finance Committee Member for AIDS Atlanta (aidatlanta.org). He was also formally a board member and Treasurer for PushPush Theatre (pushpushtheater.com), and he is a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2014.

Company

Pratt Industries Inc.

Pratt is America's 5th largest corrugated packaging company and the world's largest, privately-held 100% recycled paper and packaging company, with more than 7000 highly-skilled, green-collar employees dedicated to the environment and sustainability. Pratt was founded in the USA some 20 years ago and, since then, has shown dramatic growth with sophisticated manufacturing facilities in more than 25 states. The Georgia-based company operates an extensive Recycling Company to supply four of the most modern, cost-effective 100% recycled paper mills in the country – at our Conyers’ Campus and in New York City, New York, Valparaiso, Indiana and Shreveport, Louisiana. The company is dedicated to the sustainability of the environment, its customers and its people. The cornerstone of Pratt’s mission is to protect and nurture the planet’s natural resources while reducing our impact on the environment by “Harvesting the Urban Forest.” By doing so the company also seeks to help its customers meet their environmental goals. Pratt has been honored by environmental leaders such as former Vice President Al Gore, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Ted Turner, the Climate Group and Global Green for spreading the word that recycling is an important weapon against climate change.

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Ethical Pitfalls and Precautions for In-House Counsel: Who’s Your Client?

Abstract

Author

Company

Pratt Industries Inc.

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