Ivan Fong, 3M’s senior vice president, general counsel & secretary, believes that good corporate attorneys bring equal understandings of both business and law to their work.
"Being trusted partners for solving complex and important business issues is one of our primary goals as a legal department," he says, a mindset that led to 3M's law department being recognized a few years ago by Corporate Counsel magazine as one of the Best Legal Departments.
Now in his seventh year at 3M, Ivan leads the company’s more than 550 Legal Affairs employees, including compliance, security and data teams. Before joining 3M in 2012, Ivan was general counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he advised senior national security officials and led 1,800 lawyers. He has also served as chief legal officer and secretary of Cardinal Health, Inc., where he was named one of the “Twenty Most Influential General Counsel” by the National Law Journal.
An engineer-turned-attorney, Ivan appreciates being able to bring a diverse background to a company like 3M.
“To lead change, one must be prepared for the unexpected," Ivan says. "I believe the variety of experiences I have had – from starting my career as a chemical engineer, to being a partner in a large law firm to public service to being an in-house corporate attorney – has prepared me well for my current role at 3M."
An area that has proven important to Fong has been pro bono work, which has been steadily increasing at 3M. The company’s attorneys have partnered with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, LegalCORPS and the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota to assist low-income clients, budding entrepreneurs and foster children. Ivan also chaired the 2014 3M United Way campaign, which resulted in record contributions and volunteer hours.
Ivan began his legal career as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. He has also served as chair of the Association of Corporate Counsel, chair of the Association of General Counsel, chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Science & Technology Law and a trustee of Stanford University. He has received several prestigious industry awards, including the Minnesota Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award, the Legends in the Law Award, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Trailblazer Award, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Justice-in-Action Award, and the ABA Spirit of Excellence Award. He is a member of the council of the American Law Institute, and serves on the boards of Equal Justice Works, a national non-profit that launches recent law school graduates in public interest careers, and Minnesota Public Radio, among other community activities.