Into the wild
STACY BOGART
Vice president, general counsel and secretary, Polaris Industries Inc.
COMPANY PROFILE
Someone preparing to buy a snowmobile, all-
terrain vehicle or motorcycle might take a look at
Polaris Industries Inc. In 1954, Polaris’ founders,
brothers Edgar and Allan Hefteen, collaborating with
David Johnson, created one of the first production
snowmobiles. It was designed to make remote hunt-
ing areas more accessible. The prototype used a
grain-silo conveyor belt for a track and an automobile
bumper for skis. Today, the company is a leading
source of snowmobiles, on-road vehicles, motorcy-
cles, engines, lubricants and other specialty fluids,
to the tune of $1.6 billion in annual revenues. Polaris
is based in Medina, Minn., and has about 3,000
employees.
LEGAL TEAM AND OUTSIDE COUNSEL
The law department numbers 10, including four
attorneys and two paralegals. Polaris’ four-member
export/import group, responsible for customs compliance, reports to Bogart. She reports to Chief
Executive Officer Scott Wine.
Bogart aims to perform as much as possible of the
legal work in-house. She does outsource products liability matters, relying on a “regional counsel structure.”
Polaris’ business.
Bogart has become a
OUTSIDE COUNSEL
COMPANY
POLARIS INDUSTRIES INC.
proponent of nontraditional billing arrangements for
outside counsel. In her view, it can be advantageous
for outside attorneys “to have some skin in the game
as well as us.” She generally eschews conventional
hourly rates if a legal matter is project-based, transaction-oriented or involves significant litigation. She
finds alternative billing methods, such as the use of
fixed fees, helpful in more accurately predicting the
department’s legal bills.
DAILY DUTIES
When there are board meetings, Bogart spends
time whittling down agendas and “lining up” corporate governance matters. Regulatory compliance is
an ongoing focus. Key industry regulators include
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Environmental Protection Agency are other prominent
watchdogs.
Products liability is an additional area requiring
the general counsel’s vigilance. Bogart is keeping a
watchful eye on the “Toyota fiasco,” concerned that
“overcorrection” might occur in her industry due to
the automaker’s problems.
In her role as ethics and compliance officer, she
CIVIL ACTIONS
Lauren H. Seiter, Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney
