Navigating the Coronavirus Pandemic: How Firms are Aiding Clients and Running Their Own Operations

Alex Dimitrief is an experienced C-suite leader, general counsel and trial lawyer who has collaborated extensively with dozens of law firms around the world to steer varied global businesses through a wide range of complex legal challenges. He is a champion of lawyers and the important roles that law firms and legal departments play in promoting integrity, civilized discourse and the rule of law.

As a partner at Zeughauser Group, Alex advises law firm leaders and general counsel and speaks on topics that he is especially passionate about, including leadership, diversity and inclusion, talent development and expanding and deepening strategic relationships between law firms and their clients. Alex is able to offer valuable and practical perspectives drawn from a unique combination of 20 years as a senior partner at a leading global law firm and over ten years as a leader of the world’s largest in-house legal department that consistently ranked as one of the largest global procurers of law firm and consulting services. He publishes frequently and is a sought-after speaker at law firm and legal department retreats, leadership meetings and high profile industry events.

As President and CEO of General Electric’s Global Growth Organization, Alex was responsible for driving GE’s growth in 180+ countries. On Alex’s watch in 2018, GE landed $76 billion in international orders. As GE’s General Counsel, Alex served as the principal executive advisor to the Board of Directors and led a global team of 5,000+ responsible for GE’s legal matters, compliance and government affairs and environmental health and safety programs. Alex was also a leader of the transformation of GE Capital, where he oversaw the largest-ever IPO/split-off of Synchrony Financial and over $200 billion of dispositions. In earlier GE roles, Alex led complex joint venture negotiations in China and Russia and won the “Hero of Growth Award” for GE’s defense of financial-crisis investigations and litigation.

In announcing Alex’s retirement from GE in January 2019, GE Chairman & CEO Larry Culp described Alex as “one of the most respected leaders at GE. He has ... been a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion … and is widely recognized as a compelling champion of integrity, transparency and the rule of law.” Alex was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in 2018 by New York Law School for championing diversity and inclusion around the globe.

Alex joined GE from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he was a trial lawyer in a broad variety of cases for 20 years. Alex attended Yale College and Harvard Law School, where he was Managing Editor of the Harvard Law Review, and he was subsequently selected as a White House Fellow and worked in the Reagan Administration’s Office of Political & Intergovernmental Affairs. He is co-teaching a new class at Harvard Law School on the “Corporation as a Citizen” and has served as a Trustee on numerous non-profit Boards.

Richard Caruso is the Vice President & General Manager of Legal Media at ALM.

Patrick Fuller is the Vice President and General Manager of ALM Legal Intelligence. He has spent the last 20 years of this career in the legal industry, holding a variety of business development, consulting, and senior leadership roles. Prior to joining ALM, he served as the VP of Business Development for AI start-up Neota Logic, and previous to that was the Director of Legal Analytics for Wolters Kluwer’s ELM Solutions, working with legal departments to define, measure, and take action on key performance indicators for legal departments and operations. His career also includes stints with Martindale-Hubbell, Thomson Reuters, Hildebrandt Consulting, and LawVision Group. He is a frequent author and speaker, with over 200 speaking and authorship credits within the legal industry.

Heather Nevitt is the Editor-in-Chief of Corporate Counsel, Inside Counsel and Global Leaders in Law. Heather brings Valuable content to the various publications sites she manages while building communities and developing new event ideas to engage readers.

Heather joined ALM in 2005 and was the Editor-in-Chief of Texas Lawyer. Before joining ALM, she practiced law and earned her JD from Michigan State University College of Law in East Lansing, Michigan.

Gina Passarella is editor-in-chief of The American Lawyer. She has covered the business of law for her entire career, first as a reporter and special projects editor with The Legal Intelligencer in Pennsylvania and then as senior editor for business of law in ALM's global newsroom. She took over as editor-in-chief of The American Lawyer in January 2017.