In-house work takes Rathburn across the globe

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For more than three years, attorney T. Michael Rathburn has been working overseas for Johnson Controls Inc., Milwaukee.

But while Rathburn developed and oversaw the delivery of legal services for one of Johnson Controls’ Asian-Pacific operations, he did most of that work virtually from Milwaukee. Working virtually saved the company money and allowed Rathburn to stay near his wife, Jennifer, and their two children, ages 5 and 3.

The work also offered new challenges, he said.

“It was a chance to create an internal legal function that didn’t really exist before,” Rathburn said, “but then also help manage some external relationships that were there and create new ones for the stuff we just couldn’t do in house.”

There were trips, however, to China, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia, to name a few. Those travels allowed him the opportunity to see how other cultures do business, he said.

Now he is developing a dedicated in-house labor and employment function for another Johnson Controls business unit, but this one’s closer to home as it’s in North America.

The company employs more than 170,000 people across the globe. Accordingly, its wide-reaching, diversified operations require a 50-lawyer legal department practicing worldwide.

Since joining Johnson Controls in 2007, Rathburn said, the variety of needs has kept him on his toes.

“I’ve done a lot of everything in six years,” he said.

And it’s that aspect of his job that he loves the most.

“Specific to Johnson Controls, I can say absolutely the best part of this job is the amount of opportunity and exposure to different things I’ve gotten to see in a relatively short time practicing law,” Rathburn said.

It’s a much different experience than many assume with in-house work, he said.

“Increasingly, the thought that going in-house comes with the promise that things are going to be slower, is not necessarily true — and I think that’s a good thing,” he said. “I think there’s some reluctance among attorneys in private practice toward going in house because they fear they’ll get bored. My advice is, don’t let that perception scare you off.”