Suzanne Rich Folsom: The Acceleration of Opportunity

Suzanne Rich Folsom always understood the role of general counsel to require an in-depth knowledge of the company’s business in order to provide sage legal guidance. It was the rapidly-growing opportunity to become an impactful and influential business leader within the organization, however, that may have been most surprising, particularly over the last 10 years.

“We’ve gone from the general perception of the legal department as the place where ideas go to die, and businesses suffer the dreaded ‘slow no,’” says Folsom, “to legal departments being a valued and general counsels being valuable business leaders who play key roles in driving the company forward.”

Most recently General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at U.S. Steel, Suzanne Rich Folsom has been rewarded by the chance not only to serve at the helm of a large corporate organization’s legal operation but to be an important and influential part of the firm’s high-level decision-making process.

“…along with being General Counsel and an advisor to the Board,” says Folsom of her role at U.S. Steel, “I (oversaw) the company’s real estate department/portfolio and (headed) our Government Affairs team, my role (was) to look for – and navigate around –potential pitfalls, including mitigating against business with asymmetrical risk, carefully vet partners and affiliates, and drive proactive legislative and regulatory policy that will advantage the entire company.”

(The above was taken from a 2017 interview with ALM)

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