Chadick selects all outside counsel, hiring lawyers
rather than firms. Firms must budget “what they see
from the beginning of the case through the end,”
including discovery, expert witness fees and how long
for trial. Some agreed to the requirement right away.
Others resisted, “and they either got on the program
or we stopped using them.” Rockwell Collins uses
attorneys at Lynch Dallas in Cedar Rapids for labor
and employment work; Chadbourne & Parke of New
Before joining Rockwell Collins, Chadick had worked
in private practice representing The Boeing Co., the
former Lockheed Corp. and General Dynamics Corp.,
and had worked in-house for another defense con-
tractor. “I really got to know how the rules apply to
government contractors,” he said.
That’s where the challenge is—to enable the businesses
to be successful...and not run afoul of the export laws.”
ROUTE TO THE TOP
Before joining Rockwell Collins, Chadick spent
nine years in the law department at the old Litton
Industries Inc., a California defense electronics manufacturer. He was in private practice for six years at
McKenna & Cuneo in Los Angeles, representing large
government contractors in litigation and claims. His
law degree is from the George Washington University
Law School in Washington.
York for securities and M&A work; and Washington’s
Howrey for antitrust. For litigation, the firm spreads
out the work based on location or subject matter.
KNOW THE BIZ
As a private practitioner and in-house counsel
before joining Rockwell Collins, Chadick learned that
the lawyers who are closer to management “provide
better legal advice.” If lawyers get involved, they can
help achieve the business goals, he said. “I’ve seen
in other companies where the lawyers are not invited
to the meetings. The lawyers are given stuff after the
fact and told, ‘Go review this and tell me if there are
any legal issues.” ’ Chadick makes sure his lawyers
attend staff meetings, saying, “I wanted them closer
to the business.”
and wanted to integrate it as much as possible, he
said. But U.S. law prohibits companies from pro-
viding defense services to foreign countries, and
the German company sells products to China. “We
actually have to isolate that product from any U.S.-
citizen involvement so we don’t run afoul of the
[law].” Even in operations there are complications.
Say the German company wants to redesign its plant
floor, which it uses for military and commercial prod-
ucts. Rockwell Collins engineers would be required
to apply for a State Department license for a tech-
nical assistance agreement. “It’s not as simple as
setting up a conference call to Germany,” Chadick
said. “That’s where the challenge is—to help enable
the businesses to be successful in their strategies
and not run afoul of the export control laws in the
PERSONAL
Born in Manhasset, N.Y., Chadick and his wife, Lori,
have two children: Jonathan and Jennifer. They met
while working on a case for Lockheed in a contract
compensation claim against the U.S. Navy. She was
a finance expert with a litigation consulting firm and
oversaw damages calculations in the case.
“She was my first expert witness,” Chadick said.
After the case ended in a victory for Lockheed they
began dating.
A BOOK AND MOVIE
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the
Leap...and Others Don’t, by Jim Collins, and Million
Dollar Baby.
—EMILY HELLER
An earlier version of this profile appeared in The
National Law Journal on April 3, 2006.
