Lawyer’s Lantern
MARK ROELLIG
Mark Roellig is the executive vice president and general counsel of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual). He is a champion for diversity and an avid follower of MCCA’s general counsel survey.
14
You joined MassMutual in 2005. What are the biggest changes you have made or seen at the company in your time there? I was asked to join MassMutual over seven years ago, following the appointment of a new CEO. Since the time I first joined the company, we have focused our strategy on our life and protection business, and reaffirmed our constant and consistent mission to help our customers and policyholders secure their future and protect the ones they love. From a board perspective, we have improved diversity and composition of the directors and put in place best-in-class governance. Right now, almost half of our board members are women or people of color. From a law department perspective, approximately 50 percent of the attorneys have joined the team since 2005, and over half the department is diverse. We have successfully transitioned our department to one that is extremely high-quality, efficient, proactive, and strategically business focused—we are dedi- cated to helping our clients meet their business objectives. All of this has contributed to making MassMutual’s and our department’s performance exceptional.
You are known for advocating for alternative fee arrangements. Why is it important for law firms to embrace new methods of billing? I believe it is all about our aligning interests and getting the best results for a reasonable cost. Law firms generally are in the business of selling hours. I don’t want to buy hours; I want to buy excellent results. In-house attorneys work on a
DIVERSITY & THE BAR® NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
fixed fee—salary—basis so we have an incentive to continu- ally look at how we can do more and better with less. If law firms worked on a similar arrangement, I believe they would also have the same incentives and both parties would be bet- ter positioned to accurately forecast future costs. I would also suggest that fixed fees are better for diversity. Diverse teams get exceptional results. If you don’t focus on the hours and instead concentrate on the results, it should be easier for firms to allow for more work flexibility and diverse staffing.
As a white male, and a major proponent of diversity programs, do you ever get a surprised look from people when they find out you are very serious about diversity? What do you tell them? Being a white male, some people are surprised at times. Tey shouldn’t be. I tell them that I have social beliefs which drive me to support diversity and inclusion. My parents clearly taught me to think this way. But, in addition, and possibly as important, I have actually spent some time thinking about what makes me happy. Maybe you focus on these types of things as you get later in your life and career—we all should really think about it now regardless of our stage of career. To me, adding significant positive value to those who have put their love or trust in me is what drives me and makes me happy. In the business context, in order to get the best results for those who have put their trust in me, or have entrusted their assets with our company, I simply need the best team to help me. And the best teams are diverse and inclusive—great results are all about great talent and teams.
MCCA.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52