The Inspiring Esquire Professional Law Professor Background Resume Credentials
July 4, 2010- Broad range of legal and business expertise, knowledge and experience including mergers, acquisitions, labor, EEO, employment, litigation, securities, finance, SOX, international, environmental, insurance, intellectual property, collections, ERISA and general corporate.
- Successfully accomplished major projects including $532M sale of publicly traded company (Nasdaq: STTX) to an international company, Mitsui of Japan, at a 63% premium to market.
- Established and maintained a proactive prevention program which resulted in no harassment lawsuits for over 10 years, no union certification in over 12 years, and a 75% reduction in workplace injuries and related workers compensation lawsuits over a 10 year period with estimated cumulative savings of over $10M. In addition, identified and obtained over $2M in government incentives and state tax savings.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
FERRERI & FOGLE, Of Counsel, Louisville, KY. 2009 – Present. Practice specializes in employment, labor, transactional, and corporate law including associated litigation. CNN Headline News Legal Commentator Appearance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlhHQ-EzBJI
STEEL TECHNOLOGIES INC., General Counsel & Secretary, Louisville, KY 1996 – 2008. Promoted from Counsel, Secretary & Human Resources Manager in 1997 to General Counsel & Secretary in 2001 overseeing a three-to-five person legal department. Designated Executive Officer in 2007. Responsible for closing of five acquisitions resulting in growth from 7 plants with $300M in sales to 25 plants with over $1.3B in sales.
Major Contributions:
- Completed successful Secondary Offering and Private Placement raising $97M. Drafted Proxy Statements.
- Responsible for legal aspects of SOX compliance including Code of Conduct and whistleblower.
- Executive officer of offshore captive insurance company saving over $2M in premiums.
- Successful campaign resulting in the decertification of USW plant near Gary, Indiana.
- Through various joint ventures, experience with international and certified minority companies.
- Created environmental compliance and monitoring program for 15 plants.
- Strategy formulation and hands-on participation in the successful resolution of company lawsuits including arguing before the Sixth and Seventh Circuit Federal Courts of Appeals.
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE, SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, Adjunct Professor, Louisville, KY. 2006 – Present. CLAW 301: Legal Environment of Business (Contracts, Corporate & Franchise, Labor & Employment, Intellectual Property, Environmental and Criminal Law), 360 students, 2009 – 2010. Selected Most Inspiring Professor by 2009 Scholar Athlete of the Year.
OTHER LEGAL EXPERIENCE
EXXON CORPORATION, Attorney, Houston, TX, New Orleans, LA and Linden, NJ. About Non-Gamstop Casinos https://casinos-not-on-gamstop.com/ , UK. 1986 – 1993. Judgment of $2,400,000 obtained and collected on a counterclaim. Trial attorney assigned to property damage, personal injury, antitrust, and Jones Act cases. Assisted Professor Charles Allan Wright, author of Wright & Miller treatise series, in Fifth Circuit Oral Argument. Unitized contested natural gas field & drafted legislation that was adopted into law in Mississippi. Successfully handled two NLRB hearings and several arbitrations against the Teamsters labor union.
TOSCO CORPORATION, Bayway Refinery, Assistant General Counsel, Linden, NJ. 1993 – 1996. Created law department for start-up company following the $700M purchase of a New Jersey refinery from Exxon including negotiation of successor agreement with Teamsters resulting in significantly reduced workforce. Addressed several patent issues related to the transition of the refinery from Exxon to Tosco.
RELATED BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
JK SUCCESS ENTERPRISES LLC. Owner, Consultant & Inspirational Speaker, Louisville, KY. 2008 – Present. A legal/management speaker/advising firm focused upon on workplace proactive prevention programs (harassment, union and injury), conducting leadership/ management and other skills training (success, negotiation and dealing with adversity: Eliminating unnecessary expenses by adopting advanced proactive prevention programs and working with people in these organizations to assure the success of these programs. ProactivePreventionCulture.com.
VoiceAmerica.com Business Channel: Talk Show Host, The Inspiring Esquire on Enhancing Success
American Management Association Article: http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/7746.aspx?pcode=XA9T
Proactive Workplace Harassment Prevention Interview: http://learnsuccesstoday.com/radio.asp
THORNTONS, INC. (150 store multi-state gasoline chain), Louisville, KY. 2002 – 2008. Advisory Board Member
KENTUCKY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, Frankfort, KY. 2004 – 2008. Board Member
LAW-RELATED SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Learn Negotiation Today: Attorney Edition for Kentucky Bar Association Seminar, Louisville, KY
Proactive Practice of Preventive Law: Papa Johns International executive officers, Louisville, KY;
Kentucky Bar Association Seminar, Louisville, KY; ALFA International Client Seminar, Miami, FL;
and Corporate Counsel Summit, Palm Desert, CA
Role of the Board of Directors in M&A Transactions: National Directors Institute, Chicago, IL
Hallmarks of a Successful In-House Law Department: with Chris Campbell, Esq., Senior Vice President, YUM Brands, Kentucky Bar Association Seminar, Lexington, KY
Remaining Non-Union: Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Lexington & Louisville, KY
EDUCATION / BAR ADMISSIONS
Cornell Law School, Juris Doctorate, Ithaca, NY. Research Assistant, Products Liability, Professor James Henderson.
University of Massachusetts, Bachelor of Business Administration, Amherst, MA. Summa Cum Laude, Management Honors.
Bar Admissions: Texas, Louisiana, New Jersey, Kentucky (active only in Kentucky). Kentucky Bar Association, Corporate House Counsel Section, Former Chair