General Counsel Service
A unique aspect of Fletcher & Sippel LLC's law practice is the role that several of its attorneys perform as "General Counsel" for rail-related companies. Because over half of our partners have served as in-house counsel for Class I and II railroads, we have been able to provide a highly-valued level of experience and industry insight to smaller businesses, many of which cannot afford to retain full time in-house counsel.
- Ron Lane came to Fletcher & Sippel LLC with 15 years of legal and personnel/labor relations experience at Santa Fe Railway and 10 years as Vice President and General Counsel at Illinois Central.
- Myles Tobin brought to us the experience of 9 years in the law department of the Chicago and Northwestern, and 10 years at Illinois Central/Canadian National, culminating as General Counsel and then Vice President-Law.
- Janet Gilbert has a total of 20 years of in-house experience focusing on supervision of claims and litigation, contracts, regulatory matters, government affairs and including 6 years as Vice President and General Counsel of Wisconsin Central.
- Bill Sippel practiced in-house for 11 years with the Milwaukee Road and Soo Line Railroad, becoming General Counsel-Administrative Law and Contracts for the Soo Line before moving into private practice.
- Michael Barron spent five years as General Attorney for Wisconsin Central Ltd., and an additional four years as Counsel with Canadian National Railway Company where he worked until joining Fletcher & Sippel in 2005.
A large part of our practice focuses on bringing that wealth of experience to our smaller clients by acting as their "General Counsel." In that role, we help our clients analyze and structure business transactions, develop and implement corporate policies, procedures, handbooks, and practices, and generally assist them, not only to comply with legal requirements but also to minimize risk in their day-to-day operations. We regularly review or manage litigation, insurance, contracts, regulatory compliance and advise on other aspects of risk management, as well as design and execute governmental and public policy programs. Of course, we also provide our clients with access to an extensive web of business, industry, and governmental relationships.