3M Legal Counsel

Reich confirmed by email that he joined 3M this month after resigning in December as CEO of Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas, which operates the U.S. unit of the German financial services giant. Previously, Reich served as General Counsel Americas at Deutsche Bank and As Head of Strategy and Governance Initiatives. Ivan Fong will join Medtronic on Feb. 1 as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, the company announced. Fong was recently appointed 3M`s General Counsel and Policy Director after serving as the company`s general counsel for more than eight years. 3M has also been involved with its former external consultant. Fong joined 3M in 2012 after three and a half years as General Counsel of the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security. Prior to that, he was General Counsel of the healthcare company Cardinal Health Inc. Earlier in his career, Fong also served as General Counsel for General Electric`s Supplier Financial Services, Assistant Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice, and a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling. When the novel coronavirus COVID-19 hit last year, 3M Co. suddenly faced high demand for its N95 respirators, as well as a list of other unexpected legal, regulatory, and compliance challenges. 3M Co., a conglomerate with potential legal liabilities estimated at $33 billion, has hired former Deutsche Bank AG CEO Steven Reich as chief legal counsel for enterprise risk management. Xiumei Dong reports on the news of the legal industry with a focus on the strategy and growth of law firms, in-house legal counsel and the legal market in Washington, DC. Reach them Xiumei.Dong@thomsonreuters.com.

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are external online distributors of ALM`s extensive collection of current and archived versions of legal news publications. Clients of LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law may access and use ALM content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, New York Law Journal and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information. Medtronic Plc has reached out to industry giant 3M to secure a new general counsel to replace Brad Lerman when he retires at the end of January, the medical device maker said Thursday. The longtime general counsel of 3M Co. is preparing to divest from the global conglomerate to take the position of general counsel at Medtronic. In September, 3M hired Kate Warner, a former litigation partner at Kirkland, as Director and Assistant General Counsel for Litigation. The firm also recruited Matar Diouf, a former partner at Womble Bond Dickinson, as lead counsel for mergers and acquisitions, integrations and divestitures last year. 3M faces a similar set of legal hurdles, including about $33 billion in potential liability for court battles over earplugs and chemical compounds called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The latter, which is found in drinking water in various communities, is now one of the largest multi-district disputes in U.S. history.

With Attorney General Ivan Fong leading his legal department in St. Paul, Minnesota, has increased 3M`s monthly N95 production in the U.S. by more than 170 percent, while fending off a flood of counterfeiters, scammers, and price factors seeking to take advantage of the pandemic. The former federal prosecutor played a key role in resolving a number of legal and compliance issues for about six years as America`s top lawyer. Last month, the Justice Department accused the bank of violating an agreement to defer prosecution. Reich now reports to Chief Legal Officer Kevin Rhodes, a former Kirkland & Ellis partner who spent the past 20 years with the company. Rhodes replaced Ivan Fong earlier this year, who left 3M after a decade as a leading lawyer to become the new general counsel for medical device maker Medtronic PLC. Former Dinsmore & Shohl patent partner Bryan Walker joined the team as an intellectual property consultant in January. Public records show that 3M employs several large companies to lobby on its behalf at the federal level.

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath received $120,000 last year to advise on environmental issues, infrastructure spending and efforts to combat counterfeit products and pricing due to Covid-19.