OVERVIEW OF PRACTICE:

Ms. Cleveland’s practice emphasizes a broad range of legal services for business clients, including business start-up assistance, employment issues, contracts, transactions, mergers and acquisitions, real estate issues, and litigation (trials and appeals) of a wide variety of substantive claims. She has served as legal counsel to Boards of Directors in the private, public and non-profit sectors and assisted businesses with restructuring, turnarounds and expansion.

Ms. Cleveland also acts as a consultant to businesses and has extensive leadership experience in multinational corporations during periods of rapid change. A change agent with multi-industry and multi-product background, she has formulated strategies for increased operations effectiveness and cost savings as well as assembled and led high performance teams at management and executive levels.

HIGHLIGHT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Business Start-up. Assembled and led a US team of accounting, insurance and legal experts to enable France’s E Beaudrey & Cie to establish its first water filtration mechanical and electrical engineering firm in the US – Beaudrey American Services, LLC.

IP Attorney Integration. Designed plans, presented program steps, and guided implementation of structural and operational changes in John Deere for integration of its internationally based IP attorneys into various operating units focused on new technologies and corporate growth.

Executive Management Transformation. Senior Executive Consultant to the President of Johnson Controls, Inc. during transition to new leadership structure upon his retirement. Advised executive team over a two year period in development of new strategic and operational plans for internal reorganization and international expansion. Guided implementation of a new fifteen-member worldwide management team.

Operations Expertise/Change Initiative. Transformed court-ordered requirements (State of New York vs. S.C. Johnson Wax, Inc.) into plans for organization design and operations changes in S.C. Johnson Wax, Inc. Directed comprehensive change implementation in marketing, manufacturing, distribution packaging/labeling, and R&D.

Business Planning and Execution. As Executive Director – Strategic Planning of BetaWest Properties, designed strategies for company growth in collaboration with US WEST, its parent company. Implemented market/customer research programs, conducted competitive impact analysis, standardized commercial building project design/development procedures, and directed operations of human resource and advertising/public relations departments. In two years, company expanded threefold and built five commercial buildings in various states.

Strategic Planning/Organization Design. As Executive Director – Divestiture Planning during AT&T’s divestiture of all its subsidiary companies, restructured operations of business offices, phone centers and service centers in 22 companies and merged them into seven new companies. Formulated policies and procedures for ongoing business integration and personnel issues. Directed closure of 700 phone center locations, movement of another 300, and lease re-negotiations for 500. Efforts resulted in completion of this portion of divestiture within court-ordered 18-month time constraints realizing $7M in annual savings.

Cost Savings. Spearheaded comprehensive national effort to test and implement redesigned telephone sets using recently invented “polarity guard” to prevent line reversals. Generated annual cost savings for Western Electric, Inc. in excess of $12 million. Polarity Guard is now a critical component of all computers.