Team size:  Two attorneys and two non-lawyer support employees  

Major legal advisers: Cozen O’Connor, Locke Lord, Seyfarth Shaw, Merchant & Gould, Sidley Austin, Foley & Lardner  

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year? 

I joined Utz as the company’s first general counsel and in-house lawyer in June 2021.  This year has been a formative one, in which we created a department and assessed legal needs across the company.  

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense? 

Our most successful innovation came with embedding our team into our business units as regular partners, attending staff meetings, and conducting regular training.  Proactive legal assistance is much more effective than reactive.  

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?  

I have a degree in education and use those skills daily as an in-house lawyer in breaking down complex topics and explaining them to my business partners.