As a regional general counsel covering the Americas, most of my focus is on the western hemisphere - but not all. In just one day, I addressed issues and advised business leaders in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Pacific -- in addition to handling legal matters in North America and Latin America. Dealing with every type of legal issue faced by a global company is challenging, interesting and often fun.

As a general counsel for this global company of 13,000 employees, I handle a very wide variety of legal work throughout the world. In any week I may have reviewed contracts and leases, given advice on labor and employment matters, dealt with an OSHA or EPA concerns, supervised outside counsel in litigation, reviewed or led an integrity investigation, worked on establishing new legal entities in foreign countries, dealt with government regulators and helped the company compliantly achieve its business objectives. FieldCore is a wholly-owned but "uncontrolled" subsidiary of GE.

I served as the senior counsel at Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC, in Huntington, West Virginia, which is one of the city's oldest and largest law firms. During my four-year tenure at this good and well-run firm, I frequently spoke and wrote on labor and employment topics and represented clients in state and federal courts. In addition to litigation, I reviewed and wrote policies and procedures, advised on organized labor issues, and provided training. I was trained as both a mediator and an arbitrator by the American Arbitration Association and presided over several arbitration proceedings. I was proud to be part of this firm but could not pass up the opportunity to rejoin the GE family at GE's FieldCore subsidiary in beautiful Tampa, Florida.

Investigated allegations of unethical behavior by magistrates, judges and attorneys, reviewed fatalities of participants in the legal system, assisted in prosecution of wrongdoers, reviewed and helped update state court's disciplinary policies and procedures. I left in order to find a more challenging position in Huntington, where I was then living, and to reduce my commute time from 55 minutes each way to 5 minutes each way.

After voluntarily leaving GE to support my wife's career in West Virginia, I served as a labor and employment counsel for a large regional firm. Represented businesses in binding arbitrations, administrative proceedings and lawsuits. Reviewed and revised employee manuals, collective bargaining agreements, company policies and procedures. I voluntarily and happily left this very small outpost of a large firm to take a compliance position with the state's supreme court.

I worked in GE Aviation's litigation and labor & employment departments for six years and for half that time served as the company's lead privacy attorney. GE Aviation is the world's leading manufacturer of jet engines, with annual sales of more than $17 billion and a global workforce. I defended the company in labor and employment arbitrations and mediations, supervised outside counsel, improved processes and procedures, trained HR managers, investigated alleged wrongdoing and advised on compensation, benefits and non-competition agreements. For my first three years at GE, I was the lead litigator for intellectual property disputes and also supervised a wide variety of commercial disputes and product liability cases. In addition, I investigated alleged violations of the False Claims Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and GE policies and procedures. I volunteered for a six-month bubble assignment as the general counsel to the marine engines division of the Military Sales Organization. In that role I helped negotiate and draft a multi-million dollar contract for the sale of engines for installation on Australian navy ships. I reluctantly but voluntarily left GE Aviation to join my wife in West Virginia, where she had signed a multi-year contract to lead a religious congregation.

I was a member of the Commercial Litigation, Labor & Employment and the Intellectual Property practice sessions. During my 13 years with Wyatt, I tried numerous cases in state and federal courts and argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Kentucky Supreme Court and the Kentucky Court of Appeals. My practice included almost every type of civil law -- contracts, intellectual property, civil rights, probate, and labor and employment. Wyatt is one of Kentucky's largest and most prestigious law firms and I was proud to have been a partner. I left to join GE and to experience life as an in-house counsel in a global corporation.

Following law school I had the honor of clerking for Judge Harlington Wood, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Judge Wood spoke of his law clerks as his "attorneys," and in that role we reviewed briefs, researched the law, offered our opinions to Judge Wood and draft opinions for his consideration. Judge Wood was based in Springfield but also had chambers in Chicago, where we frequently travelled for oral arguments.

Reported on the news and feature stories and hosted various radio programs for this all-news NPR affiliate in Urbana- Champaign, Illinois.

I was the reporter, photographer, editorial writer, news editor and lay-out artist for this small weekly newspaper in northwest Illinois. While at the Tri-County Press I won numerous awards for my reporting, photography and columns.