The purpose of the series is to bridge the gap between junior and senior business lawyers in Oregon, fostering understanding and camaraderie. For this quarter’s installment, we interviewed Peter Bragdon, the Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, and General Counsel for Columbia Sportswear Company and the winner of the 2024 James B. Castles Leadership Award. Read on to learn about his rich professional background that led him to working in-house for Columbia as well as his opinions on making mistakes, seeking mentors, and being a mentor.
- Tell me about your path to being a lawyer. What inspired you to pursue this career?
I took a twisted, unconventional path, and I consider it a stroke of good fortune that I am in this role. I tend to look at careers as a collection of skills and experiences that can be put to use in a variety of ways. For me, my primary experiences are a blend of law, public policy, media, and business, and I use all of that in my role. I started out as a journalist and won a fellowship to get a master’s degree at Yale Law School. It was an amazing year, and I got a glimpse into the power of understanding the law and the multiple ways a law degree can be used to create change. I chose to go on to get my JD, hoping it would lead to opportunities in the private and public sectors and also help me find ways to contribute to civic efforts outside of work. That’s how it worked out. For example, early in my time at Columbia I was given a leave of absence to serve as Governor Kulongoski’s first chief of staff. That role didn’t require a law degree, but I doubt I would have gotten there or been able to do the job without it.
- What is your practice area?
Being in-house has meant being a “free-range” lawyer. Working for a public company selling products in roughly one hundred countries, there is no end to the variety of legal issues, which on a given day can include engaging with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, addressing a trademark issue in Europe, or looking into a construction project in India, just to name a few examples. I started out as a corporate securities and finance attorney, which was great training for thinking in a multifunctional way.
- How long have you been in your current role?
I have two answers. I became General Counsel in 2004. But my role has evolved steadily, as has the company. Over time I have come to oversee multiple functions within the company and eventually took on the roles of Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, and General Counsel.
- How have you seen the practice change since you started practicing?
I see many more in-house lawyers getting involved in a broad range of issues across organizations, managing multiples functions and being viewed as strategic partners in leadership. That’s certainly been an opportunity at Columbia, but I see it elsewhere.
- What do you wish you had known before you started working as a new lawyer?
Mistakes may be your best teacher…avoid them at all costs, but use every one of them to learn. I have worked with more amazing people than I can count, but a common theme that has made them amazing was how understanding they were and the room they gave me to make my own mistakes and learn. I wish I hadn’t made them, but I probably ended up better off as a result.
- What are your career highlights?
Meeting Ted Kulongoski when I was a journalist in the 1980s and working with him as Special Assistant Attorney General in the Oregon DOJ and as his Chief of Staff in the Governor’s office. Getting introduced to Columbia Sportswear’s management in the 1990s before the company went public, and getting the chance to join the company and grow with it. And both of those things led to civic engagement, ranging from the Board of the Oregon Community Foundation to being a member of the Port of Portland Commission.
- What is your favorite part of the job?
At Columbia Sportswear, we work to connect active people with their passions. That is a great mission, and I get to pursue it with many talented people across every company function. I get paid to see the world and learn something new every week.
- What parts of the job do you wish you could outsource to AI?
I would be happy to never read another contract. Fortunately, you can’t really outsource judgment or relationships, which are among the best parts of being a lawyer.
- What advice would you give a new business lawyer?
Don’t wait for business to come to you. Personally, I think some of the best parts of being a lawyer are the relationships you can build, and the opportunities to gain a holistic understanding of a business or industry. There are plenty of isolated legal issues that have to be addressed at given times, and those are important, but it can be incredibly satisfying to be engaged with management on a business effort, start to finish, bringing not only the legal skill but business judgment. I have enjoyed being at the table when ideas are first debated through to when the business effort comes to fruition (or, in some cases, doesn’t). But my best advice is to seek mentors wherever you can. You’ll be surprised how many people inside and outside the law are willing to be helpful.
- What advice would you give a senior lawyer who is charged with mentoring a new lawyer?
Be kind and be generous with your time. It is hard to believe many senior lawyers would have been successful if someone hadn’t done that for them. Pay it forward. ♦