Outside General Counsel
Geoff Schiveley
Licensed in Oregon & Wisconsin
Bio
Geoff Schiveley brings over two decades of experience in commercial law and corporate governance to GS Legal. He started in private practice in Wisconsin as an M&A and commercial transactions attorney at Godfrey & Kahn, expanded his practice into commercial real estate, credit agreements and securities work at von Briesen & Roper, and became a shareholder at the community-focused firm of Hostak, Henzl & Bichler.
He took this diverse skillset in-house to Modine, a global, publicly traded manufacturer of thermal management products. In over ten years at Modine, Geoff worked with every business unit and every geographic region, becoming Associate General Counsel, Assistant Corporate Secretary, and a trusted advisor to the business, the C-Suite and the Board of Directors.
He has also been Vice President and General Counsel at ENTEK, a PE-backed manufacturer with global operations, where he oversaw the company’s legal, human resources, and EH&S functions. The breadth of Geoff’s experience makes him uniquely qualified to act as an Outside General Counsel for companies public or private, scaled or expanding, and in a wide range of industries.
Geoff was born and raised in Oregon, and he received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor of Music degree from Drake University. He loves to share musical tastes, get stumped on movie trivia (particularly if it involves the Oscars), and spend time rediscovering Oregon with his family.
Outside General Counsel
The role of General Counsel is as unique as it is ubiquitous.
From start-ups in the garage to multinational conglomerations, the General Counsel adds a steady hand to the wheel, helping each company achieve its business objectives without taking unnecessary risks. Every enterprise, entity, and business dreamer navigates a shifting minefield of legal requirements, which makes the General Counsel role a standard across industries and jurisdictions.
But every endeavor’s legal needs are also specific and unique to that business, because every undertaking is built differently, from its jurisdiction of origin to the geographic regions in which it operates. From products to markets, customers to competitors, every company requires a crafted approach to managing risks and meeting its legal obligations.
Practice
Geoff Schiveley started GS Legal, LLC to provide specific and unique General Counsel-level legal services on an outside basis to businesses across numerous industries and jurisdictions.
While he has negotiated and drafted commercial agreements of all stripes for over twenty years, Geoff has also:
Helped public companies meet their unique risk mitigation and reporting requirements. This has included:
- Drafting Proxy Statements
- Participating in Board and Director Committee meetings, preparing materials, providing advice and completing minutes
- Providing oversight for Conflict Minerals Report processes
- Editing and strengthening 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filings
- Assisting in Form 3, 4 and 5 filings
Become a trusted advisor for public and private companies in a wide range of legal matters, including:
- Global Subsidiary Governance
- Antitrust
- Real Estate
- Finance and Credit
- Human Resources
- Environmental, Health and Safety
- Executive Compensation
- Litigation Management
Engaged in administrative process improvements, including:
- Spearheading iterative, and occasionally transformational, changes to corporate Contract Lifecycle Management processes
- Acting as a standing member of a Product Safety Committee for 10 years
- Leading a global, cross-functional team tasked by the Board Technology Committee with setting research and innovation strategy
- Working with stakeholders and subject matter experts to draft and update policies related to ESG and Compliance and Ethics, including providing targeted training on these topics to internal and external process users
