Qwest's corporate legal staff lauded
By Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published May 19, 2008 at 7 p.m.
Corporate Counsel magazine has named Qwest Communications' as the best corporate legal department.
The magazine cited, in part, the department's "makeover under extreme duress."
The magazine profiles Qwest's general counsel Rich Baer, and his department's work in handling the difficult litigation stemming from the case of former Chief Executive Officer Joe Nacchio.
Qwest initially settled its major stockholder litigation for $400 million.
Then last fall it settled remaining litigation from parties that had opted out for a total of $410 million.
While Baer works hard, even known to e-mail attorneys at 4 a.m. about cases, the article says that colleagues also credit him for supporting a balance between work and family.
But there are still some lingering legal issues.
For example, Nacchio and former Chief Financial Officer Robert Woodruff are fighting being left out of the class-action settlement.
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