Stewart Landefeld Gives Insight on Experience as WaMu’s Interim Chief Legal Officer

Stewart Landefeld was recently interviewed on his experience serving as Interim Chief Legal Officer for Washington Mutual. Landefeld was recruited by WaMu, a long-time client of Perkins Coie, in December of 2007 to help with the search for a permanent CLO, manage a 200-person law department, and advise the Board and senior management on developing financial institution issues. “I was excited about the possibility of helping a leading U.S. retail financial institution at a critical time,” said Landefeld.

During the interview, Landefeld emphasized the critical role and responsibility in-house counsel has in translating legal industry language into an easily understood format for decision makers. “Plain English plays a key role in corporate communication--and in-house counsel have a special role, as professionals best trained to assimilate masses of complex information and communicate their conclusions in plain English.” The interview was recounted in the article “Going In-House: Stewart Landefeld on His Time at Washington Mutual,” published in the May/June issue of Deal Lawyers.