Publication Names Qwest’s Legal Department as Best
Corporate Counsel has named the legal department at Qwest Communications as the best in 2008.
Richard Baer led the department through a difficult time, transforming it at the same time he helped negotiate settlements in investor lawsuits that kept Qwest afloat, the publication says in its article explaining the selection.
“The 51-year-old GC has brought virtually all commercial contract negotiations, disclosure and corporate governance, trademark and immigration work in-house,” Corporate Counsel reports. “Baer created more supervisory roles and opportunities for advancement. He’s willing to take chances, whether it’s letting lawyers work part time or from home, or embracing new technology to streamline operations. And he’s diversified his staff, too, and encouraged everyone to do more pro bono work.”
In the investor litigation, Baer’s team negotiated an initial class-action settlement of about $400 million, about 1 percent of the initial claim, the publication says. Then the lawyers negotiated with opt-out investors who sought almost $2 billion in compensation, settling last fall for about $410 million.
Baer told the publication he wanted investors to know that the survival of the company and its workers depended on the outcome of negotiations.
“It was very important that plaintiffs lawyers understood that the company is made up of people, good people,” he said. “We tried to humanize the company as best we could.”
