ROLE OF WOMEN
“Women have been significantly represented in
Lockheed Martin’s legal department throughout my
career here,” Block said. “The person I replaced
when I took a job at Martin Marietta [Lockheed
Martin’s predecessor in Bethesda] in 1990 was a
woman. Currently, at corporate headquarters, we
have three women in vice president positions within
the legal department [two appointed vice presidents
large in-house departments, solo-practitioner general
counsel shops, trade associations, charitable organi-
zations and educational institutions. The challenge
for us is twofold: to make sure we are addressing
the needs of a diverse membership and to educate
the public about the role corporate counsel play.
Women are better represented...in-house than in law
firms, banks or investment banking firms.”
and one elected by the board]. A fourth woman who
was a vice president within the legal department was
recently elected vice president for ethics. We haven’t
reached 50% of the lawyer population at Lockheed
Martin, but, overall, my experience has been that
women are better represented at the higher levels
in-house than in law firms, banks or investment bank-
ing firms.”
Block is the new president of the Washington Met-
ropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association. “This
year should be a watershed year for [the organiza-
tion],” she said. “It’s our 25th anniversary, and we
passed the 1,000-member mark last year and hope-
fully will pass the New York City chapter this year in
membership. That will make us the largest chapter in
the country. Our membership is diverse and includes
clients. We see the issues first and we are expected
to respond with correct and practical advice. To give
the public a better understanding of this role, we
intend to host a 25th anniversary dinner where we
will recognize some of the outstanding corporate
counsel in our community.
ROUTE TO THE TOP
Block was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in
Pittsburgh. She received a bachelor’s degree from
Kenyon College (1975); a master’s degree in history
from Brown University (1976); and her J.D. from the
University of Virginia School of Law (1981). Before
joining Lockheed Martin, she worked as an associate at Reed, Smith, Shaw and McClay (now Reed
Smith) and at Washington’s Arnold & Porter. She
also worked for the special litigation division of the
Department of Labor.
PERSONAL
Block is single and has no children. In her spare
time, she said, “I like doing things outdoors, from
gardening to golf to biking.”
WORKING IN-HOUSE
“I was drawn to in-house practice originally because
I liked having a lot of client contact,” Block said.
“That remains the case. When you work in-house at
a large company like Lockheed Martin, you frequently
use an interdisciplinary approach to working problems. By this, I mean that most issues are worked
by a team that may include representation from a
variety of departments in addition to legal, such as
BOOKS AND A MOVIE
The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, The
Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael
Chabon, Blacklist, by Sara Paretsky, Reversible Errors,
by Scott Turow, and Million Dollar Baby.
—DEBRA BRUNO
An earlier version of this profile appeared in The
National Law Journal on March 21, 2005.
