Debbie Hoffman
Chief legal officer
Digital Risk, LLC
Maitland, Florida, USA
6:00 am
The alarm goes off. I throw on a sweatshirt and flip-flops and drive my teenage daughter to her bus stop in our golf cart. I drink two mugs of Starbucks Pike coffee and snack on a chocolate peanut butter Luna protein bar as I scan overnight emails from India and peruse the Wall Street Journal.
7:00 am
Go for a morning run with my husband — a three-mile loop around my neighborhood.
8:00 am
Drive my 12-year-old son to his nearby bus stop. Get ready for work and then drive across town to my office while I listen — and laugh — to Johnny Magic on 106.7.
9:00 am
Phone call with Indian counterparts as they wind down for the day. We discuss various corporate initiatives that require US legal guidance. I loop in outside counsel for the second part of the call to drill down on a specific matter of concern.
10:00 am
Conference call with the executive leadership team to report on legal updates. I hear the latest from our CEO and from delivery, IT, HR, finance, and other go-to-market leaders.
11:00 am
Snack on carrots while meeting with the director of HR. We discuss growth opportunities for various team members, including upcoming team promotions, evaluations, salary cycles, and other related communications.
12:00 pm
Quickly answer emails while noting which issues require further attention. I review requests from our risk manager pursuant to our latest risk committee meeting and determine what actions needs to be taken on behalf of the legal department.
1:00 pm
Lunch at my desk. Today, I have Greek yogurt with chopped apples and a mint chocolate chip Luna bar. Meet with the assistant general counsel in charge of employment law to discuss changes in our employee background screenings. We also discuss the latest corporate campaign regarding our internal whistleblower and POSH (prevention of sexual harassment) hotlines.
2:00 pm
Meet with our staff compliance attorney and review the latest corporate governance submissions. We brainstorm compliance training options for a client. Outside my office door, a line forms. I meet with another staff attorney to review proposed documents for a change in the corporate structure for our overseas partners.
3:00 pm
Participate in a mortgage-related conference call that pertains to a recent CFPB decision and discuss the proposed response by the Mortgage Bankers Association. After the call, I review requests for a vendor RFP with an impending deadline.
4:00 pm
Meet with our assistant general counsel, who oversees licensing, to discuss the latest regulatory communications, including updates for licenses to incorporate our newest branch in India, and developments for a new project request made by a client.
5:00 pm
Review the letters, timelines, and strategies that my junior staff attorney has developed for various projects. She has proposed training our frontline leaders on intellectual property and records retention.
6:00 pm
Provide approvals in the HR portal after reviewing the legal team’s self-assessments. Review spending requests and expense approvals for both the department and for individual employees.
7:00 pm
Draft revisions to my latest industry articles regarding HMDA and cybersecurity, including a Powerpoint for an upcoming MBA presentation. Review and draft emails while I comb through my “to- do” list to determine what is still outstanding.
8:00 pm
Drive home and call my mom and dad, who live in New York City. Enjoy a dinner of pasta and sauce prepared by my husband while I catch-up with him and our son and daughter.
9:00 pm
Straighten up around the kitchen while I prepare tomorrow’s lunch. Take a quick look at the kids’ upcoming schedules and deadlines for school, dance, baseball, band, and orchestra.
10:00 pm
Watch TV for a bit — which generally means whatever sports event that my son and husband are enjoying.
11:00 pm
Peruse social media, relax, and eventually go to sleep.
