On October 20, 2010, the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR Institute) honored the recipients of the organization's 2010 Corporate Leadership Award - David Scott, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Amgen Inc., and Jeffrey W. Carr, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of FMC Technologies Inc.
With litigation costing companies billions of dollars each year, the effective management of conflict is essential to reduce costs, lower risks and improve business relationships. Therefore, each year, the CPR Institute honors corporations and their general counsel for demonstrating leadership and commitment to the principles of conflict management and resolution and, most notably, those that have institutionalized alternative dispute resolution principles into their corporate and industry culture.
The 2010 Corporate Leadership Award was presented at a black tie dinner at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City which attracted 500 attendees representing the country's top corporations, law firms, scholars, and public institutions.Since inception, the event has raised more than $4.7 million in support of CPR Institute's educational, research and public policy programs.
"For their corporate leadership and commitment to principled conflict management and resolution, the CPR Institute is proud to honor Amgen and FMC Technologies," said Kathleen A. Bryan, President and CEO of the CPR Institute."Under the superior leadership of Scott and Carr, respectively, they have set a successful benchmark against which all companies' legal departments should be measured."
David Scott has been in his Amgen post since 2004. Amgen is a 30-year-old Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based biotechnology company that develops treatments for cancer, anemia, and other serious illnesses.Scott joined Amgen after serving as general counsel at Minneapolis-based Medtronic Inc.
In his acceptance remarks, Scott praised his law department team for their incorporation of alternative dispute resolution in their assessment management of issues.He emphasized that "ADR is a strategic imperative for outside firms doing business with Amgen.For many matters, litigation between corporations is simply too blunt and costly a tool to delivery thoughtful solutions."
Amgen has applied ADR methods throughout its history, first using arbitration clauses in its early 1980s licensing agreements. Amgen continues to use conflict resolution clauses in its licensing agreements, and also has incorporated ADR clauses into employment and vendor contracts over the years.
The company has long backed CPR Institute initiatives, having signed CPR's Corporate Policy Statement on Alternatives to Litigation in 1994. In the nonbinding policy statement, better known as the CPR Corporate Pledge, companies unilaterally announce that they will explore alternatives to litigation, including direct negotiations and mediation, before filing a suit to settle disputes.
Jeffrey Carr has been a longtime advocate for performance and value-based billing in his post at Houston-based FMC Technologies, which is a leading global provider of technology solutions for the energy industry.
In accepting the Corporate Leadership Award, Carr recognized his law firm partners and credited them for their vision to move away from "business as usual." He stated, "It is imperative that we - clients and firms - work together to not just resolve disputes earlier and more efficiently, but to avoid disputes through better processes, more business focus and meaningful communication.That said, while disputes are an inevitable fact of life, at the end of the day, it's not about the battle, but about the results for our business.We work hard to resolve matters efficiently and effectively and incorporating CPR's disciplines in the process helps us achieve better results - and that helps drive shareholder value."
Carr designed and implemented FMC Technologies' "ACES" law firm engagement model and had been on the cutting edge of driving change in legal service delivery systems.He has been general counsel since 2001, but joined the company's predecessor, FMC Corp., in 1993. Before his current position, Carr was associate general counsel for FMC's energy and airport systems business groups. He is also a CPR Institute board member. Prior to joining FMC, Carr founded and managed International Advisory Services Group Ltd., an international trade policy, investment banking and commercial consulting firm with offices in Washington, Prague and Manila.
Previous Corporate Leadership Award honorees include:
2009 - Thomas L. Sager, senior vice president and general counsel of E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co., and Amy W. Schulman, senior vice president and general counsel of Pfizer Inc.
2008 - Brad Smith, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, Microsoft Corp.
2007 - Stephen F. Gates, senior vice president and general counsel, ConocoPhillips Co.
2006 - Russell C. Deyo, vice president and general counsel, Johnson & Johnson,
2005 - Brackett B. Denniston III, senior vice president and general counsel, General Electric Co,
2004 - Kathryn A. Oberly, vice chair & general counsel, Ernst &Young.
The CPR Institute is a nonprofit alliance of global corporations, law firms, scholars, and public institutions dedicated to the principles of commercial conflict prevention and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). As the only independent think tank in the field, CPR assists in-house counsel and their law firms in lowering litigation risks and achieving better, more efficient results from using ADR methods. Visit the CPR Institute at www.cpradr.org.