Although AIG reportedly is using Sullivan & Cromwell for representation with its government bailout, AIG's general counsel, Anastasia Kelly, also has some D.C. connections. She was both a former associate and a partner with Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in its Washington office. It's unclear, however, whether that will have any influence on AIG's selection of outside counsel. Molly Nunes, a Wilmer spokesperson, could not immediately address if the firm was assisting AIG as outside counsel. (We’ll update as we learn more.)
AIG named Kelly executive vice president, general counsel, and senior regulatory and compliance officer in September 2006, according to a statement released by the company.
According to the statement, early in her career, Kelly served as senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at Fannie Mae. Before joining AIG, she worked as the chief legal officer with MCI/WorldCom from 2003 until 2006 when it merged with Verizon.
Kelly did not return a message left at her office for comment.
AIG and Kelly should have followed her advice to others. “Reacting to a breaking crisis has always been, and will be, a real area of vulnerability for directors and corporations,” warns Anastasia Kelly. “I’ve been in three companies and advised a bunch of others, and it is very hard to convince senior management and directors to take the time to do risk identification, risk mitigation, and, more importantly, crisis preparation. After 9/11 lots of companies went through that exercise, but today it’s not on a lot of people’s radar screen. Companies should routinely do this and have a senior team leader in charge.” Myers, General Counsel to Directors: Your 10 Most Common Mistakes, Corporate Board Member (Jul/Aug 2006).
Posted by: | September 18, 2008 at 03:18 PM