For Hardy, the law doesn’t stop at the US border

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For most lawyers, familiarity with one country’s laws is enough.

But to Kristen Hardy, legal counsel at the international company Briggs & Stratton, U.S. law is just the starting point. Her employer’s business dealings throughout the world mean her understanding of customs and legal systems has to extend to those of other countries.

Her duties pertain to both the laws governing international trade and to ethical conduct. Much of her time is spent training employees on what they can do — and what they should avoid — when dealing with business partners in foreign places. Salespeople need to be kept abreast, for instance, of bribery laws in whatever countries they are working. Even the slightest whiff of impropriety must be avoided.

“And when you use dealers and distributors, you have to make sure they also align with our values,” Hardy said. “So being thorough and doing your due diligence is very important.”

To many people, such a task would seem daunting. But for Hardy, the endless variety is part of the appeal.

“I love seeing investigations through and getting results for my company and learning more about international trade and global business relations,” she said.

At Briggs & Stratton, which makes gasoline engines for lawnmowers and other outdoor equipment, Hardy is one of six lawyers overseeing the company’s legal affairs. To her supervisor, Kathie Buono — vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Briggs & Stratton — Hardy has quickly found a place for herself during the short few months she has been at the company.

“Our code of ethics is something she is passionate about,” Buono said, “and that comes through in her work.”

Hardy got her first taste of international law at her former employer, Rockwell Automation, another company with its headquarters in Milwaukee. Although she loves her job, she said she didn’t necessarily foresee herself doing this sort of work when she was growing up in Detroit or even while attending Marquette University Law School.

“I actually more or less fell into this practice area when I started at Rockwell,” Hardy said.

Even with work taking up many hours of her day, Hardy manages to find time for outside organizations. She’s now president of the Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers and an adjunct professor at Marquette, where she leads a workshop on corporate compliance.