Career Path Of A General Counsel For Investment Firms
Ben's career path began with undergraduate work "doing investigations for the local courts," followed by a joint J.D./MPP at Berkeley and various summer positions in federal courts, the Justice Department, and a lobbying firm. This led to roles as in-house counsel for Charles Schwab and a mid-sized investment firm, culminating in the current position as a part-time general counsel for smaller firms, a role Ben plans to continue.
Legal Career Path, Investment Management, In-house Counsel, Transitioning Careers, General Counsel Roles
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Ben Douglas
Partner
Rimon Law
UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley -- JD and MPP
History, Art History
Law
Legal
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. While in college, Ben worked for three years doing an internship and later leading a program that investigated cases for local courts, helping to get people released without bail.
2. Ben's summer positions during law school included working for a federal judge, the Justice Department, and a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C. These roles gave him diverse experience in legal, policy and political arenas.
3. After his initial legal roles, Ben worked for several years as general counsel for various investment firms, navigating transactions, regulatory issues (SEC enforcement actions), and the challenges of a firm buyout. This demonstrates experience in a dynamic industry
Transcript
Can you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Please include any internships or jobs you had before your current position.
When I was in college, I knew I wanted to go to law school. I was a history major and spent three of my four years working an internship. Later, I led a program that worked in local courts.
We did investigations for people in jail awaiting charges or trial, to help get them released without bail. Often, people couldn't afford bail, but we would investigate to show they were well-connected to the community and likely to appear in court.
Then I went to law school and did a joint JD and master's in Public Policy at Berkeley, where I had also done my undergraduate studies. I had various summer positions. The first summer I worked for a federal judge in LA, helping to write memos to guide his decisions on motions.
The next summer, I worked in the Justice Department in Washington. I was in the criminal division, in the office that developed policies for the division. The summer after that, I worked for a lobbying firm in Washington focused on initiatives before Congress.
After finishing my law and public policy degree, I worked for two years. This wasn't a direct legal capacity, but I did some legal and administrative work for a startup. There were legal issues embedded in it, and I took the lead on those.
I then decided to refocus on my law career and went to work for a law firm in San Francisco. They had a practice focused on the investment management industry, representing private investment funds. Within about a year, I was working solely in that practice group and enjoyed it.
An opportunity came up after about four years to work in-house at Schwab. I worked for Charles Schwab Investment Management, helping them with public investment funds. Then, I was recruited to become the general counsel of a mid-sized investment firm that managed about $20 billion at its peak.
I was the general counsel for about nine years, bringing them through various transactions. I also had to deal with SEC enforcement actions, which I navigated successfully. It was a really interesting experience.
After that, the firm underwent a big change and was bought out by a larger firm. The senior people were pushed out, and I bounced around at a few other things. For the last eight or nine years, I've been doing what I do now.
I'm the general counsel for small and mid-size investment firms that aren't large enough to have an in-house general counsel. I work for them part-time as their permanent general counsel. That's where I am now, and I plan to spend the rest of my career this way.