Article About Karen Mayer The General Counsel Of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. And Information About General Counsel, Penguin Group, English-Language Trade Book Publisher, Law Students, General Counsel Positions And More.

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Karen Mayer: General Counsel of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
[By Charisse Dengler]
Ask any bookworm you can find, and he or she will tell you that Karen Mayer has a pretty cool job. As General Counsel of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., Mayer plays an integral part in getting books into the hands of readers all across the country.
She is involved in negotiating author contracts, as well as dealing with issues pertaining to copyright law, trademarks, and
liability. In addition, Mayer said she works on corporate matters such as labor and employment, real estate, and acquisitions.
Mayer, who is a member of Penguin’s fully- Mayer, who studied philosophy as an to work as an associate in the litigation
staffed, five-attorney legal team, has worked undergrad, wasn’t sure what type of graduate department of Proskauer Rose, LLP.
for a number of other publishing companies degree she wanted to pursue. She had However, with three young children at home,
in the past, including Simon & Schuster, never imagined she would want to become a Mayer decided to transition to an in-house
Random House, and The Putnam Berkley lawyer. In fact, she came upon her interest in position.
Group. However, when Putnam Berkley a somewhat unusual way.
merged with Penguin in 1996—a merger that “I wanted a more manageable lifestyle, and
Mayer said was one of the most gratifying “I asked a friend, who was a lawyer and who I wanted something that was more concrete
things she’s ever worked on—she became seemed to have interests that were similar and practical,” she said. “At the time, I had
the general counsel for the combined to mine, if he would please loan me his most three children, and I felt rather strongly that
companies. boring casebook,” she said. the life of a litigation associate or partner
was simply too difficult to combine with that
This merger was “very labor intensive but When he loaned her his casebook on agency, of being a suburban mother.”
also very rewarding,” she said. Mayer was she found that instead of being bored, she
a key player in helping the acquisition move was fascinated. She decided to go to New Mayer enjoys her job immensely, and she
ahead because she “was able to answer York University School of Law, and upon especially loves the fact that every day is
questions that people had about the way graduation from law school, she went different and challenging. She said she
the company was being run and the legal likes that she gets to work on a variety of
issues it faced,” she said. “In the end, it Q. What do you do for fun? issues on a daily basis. In addition, she said
was satisfying to see all the pieces fall into A. Ballroom dancing, sailing, and reading. her job is made even better by the talented
place.” colleagues and authors she interacts with
Q. What CD was most recently in your CD
daily.
player?
Penguin Group is currently “the second-
A. Vladimir Ashkenazy playing Chopin.
largest English-language trade book She said the most challenging aspect of her
publisher in the world,” boasting well-known Q. What is the last book you read? job is “simplifying complex legal issues so
authors such as Nick Hornby, Tom Clancy, A. Snow by Orhan Pamuk. that people can actually act on some of the
Joyce Carol Oates, Nora Roberts, John complex things that we face as lawyers in the
Q. hat is your favorite TV show?
Steinbeck, and Arthur Miller. As if that isn’t intellectual property area.”
A. Ugly Betty.
impressive enough, the company is also a
leader in the realm of children’s publishing Q. Who are your role models? When asked if she had any advice for law
and has an author list that includes Judy A. Gerald Hollingsworth, who was GC for students who have their sights set on general
Blume, Ludwig Bemelmans, Tomie DePaola, another publisher. When I was young, counsel positions, Mayer advised students to
and Don Freeman. it was Brenda Starr, an old comic book “build their skills at the best law firms they
character.
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THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF LEGAL JOBS ON EARTH
LAW STAR www.lawcrossing.com 1. 800.973.1177
can find because most in-house positions ON THE NET
Advance to Young Lawyers
require a good deal of outside experience
in related fields.” She said her experience Penguin Group USA
Mayer said that it is important for young
working for Proskauer Rose has helped her lawyers to “first, get as much knowledge us.penguingroup.com
tremendously in her current position. as they can, preferably in an outside legal
position, to get as broad a base of training Random House
“Working in a firm and understanding how and preparation as they can, [and] to try www.randomhouse.com
a firm functions has helped me to work with and focus in on the industries that they’re
our outside counsel and to be a much better interested in.” Simon Schuster
lawyer,” she said. www.simonsays.com
She also recommended that students
“build their skills at the best law firms that
She also encouraged students to gather as
they can possibly find.” Mayer said her
much information and experience as possible
experience working in private practice has
and to build a solid foundation in the areas of
contributed to her success as a general
law in which they are interested, both on the counsel. “Working in a firm has made me
job and through volunteer work. a better lawyer, and understanding how a
firm functions has helped me to work with
our outside counsel,” she said.
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