Brian Decker

Like many middle schoolers growing up in the late 80s and early 90s with Top Gun and Days of Thunder, I aspired to be a US Navy fighter pilot or a race car driver! When charting my aspirations more realistically, I wanted to go into medicine and, as a result, pursued a double major in biomedical and electrical engineering.

Interestingly, notwithstanding my father being a lawyer, the idea of practicing law was not in my plans as a child or in college. However, after a couple of years of consulting after college, I was attracted to client service and loved the diversity of work. While consulting, I met a (reformed) patent lawyer who introduced to me the field of patent law, and my interest was piqued.

I wanted to be in Atlanta, so I focused my search on top firms with strong patent practices. Eversheds Sutherland was at the top of my list. The cultural fit of the people and patent practice shined through during my participation in Eversheds Sutherland’s summer associate program.

Eversheds Sutherland's focus on professionalism and collegiate culture provided invaluable insights into the practice of law. While laying a foundation of essential legal know-how, the professional skills fostered at the firm have been critical to my continued growth and development; more specifically, effectively communicating, collaborating, and building meaningful relationships in my role as in-house counsel.

The experience not only shaped me into a better lawyer but also a more empathetic, collaborative, and adaptable professional.

The entirety of the IP practice at Eversheds Sutherland was a close-knit team. Specifically, I worked closely with partners Griff Griffin, Bill Warren, Kevin King, and Dan Warren, all of whom mentored, educated, and helped me develop professionally.

Each had a unique set of clients, which kept work interesting and grew my enthusiasm for the practice of law – from large, multinational fintech companies to enterprising physician groups located in Georgia.

One of my more memorable moments was learning that the first patent application I drafted and prosecuted was granted. I worked on a design patent with Dan Warren for what we affectionately referred to as a “koozie on a stick”. Although design patents are nearly always granted, I was proud to get my client’s “koozie on a stick” granted as my first application.

Additionally, I often reflect on the client service skills that Griff Griffin taught his team through work with a key company fintech client at the time. In my work with this client in particular, I learned lasting skills of client development and relationship building. The primary client contact was a regular around the office and on the phone, and we all became integral members of the client’s IP team.

Newell has provided opportunities for me to grow professionally. I started as a patent attorney in our IP group but have moved on to general counseling. Newell continues to be a dynamically evolving company, which in turn presents a multitude of opportunities to develop new areas of expertise. The diversity of experience and the company’s commitment and trust in me allows me to continually accept different and bigger responsibilities. This keeps me excited about working at Newell.

One fundamental shift is the responsibility of identifying and prioritizing work. As in-house counsel, the sheer volume of requests and the number of internal clients from which those requests arise demand a well-structured approach to manage workload and meet client expectations effectively.

Embrace the widening focus that incorporates business considerations. Arm yourself with knowledge of the company's operations and strategic plan. Hone your time management skills and familiarize yourself with essential tools for effective communication. And, critically, cultivate and expand your professional network of other in-house counsel and external counsel.

First, I expect outside counsel to gain a deep understanding of our business, our objectives, and what my company considers a successful outcome. Second, I value counsel that is adept at delivering practical, focused and concise advice.

And I would be remiss to not highlight the significance of budget consciousness. It’s crucial for our external counsel to align with our cost expectations and reliably deliver within an agreed budget.

Boundaries are important. In our line of work they cannot be rigid all of the time, but establishing my own internal boundaries helps me better balance the demands of work and family. One silver lining to the pandemic is the acceleration of incorporating virtual engagement technology like Teams or Zoom to help increase engagement, achieve efficiencies, while at the same time helping to maintain balance.

And, of course, I am very fortunate to have a loving and understanding family that allows me the flexibility needed to meet the professional demands.

I have a wife, an 11 year old daughter and a 9 year old son. All of my available time is reserved for them. Participating in my children’s extracurricular activities/sports and helping with school work is extremely rewarding. My kids are involved in softball and baseball, and my wife and I look forward to the time spent together at the fields.

When taking a break from the sports, our family also enjoys time together traveling – from trips to visit family in Arizona, Illinois, and Texas, to annual beach and mountain trips, and adding in international excursions as the kids are older.