Rodolfo Rivera
Chief International Counsel
Fidelity National Financial
Jacksonville, FL, United States
International Legal Affairs Committee
Tell us about your background and your law department.
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. is organized into two groups, FNF Group (NYSE: FNF) and FNFV Group (NYSE: FNFV). FNF is a leading provider of title insurance, technology, and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. FNF is the nation’s largest title insurance company through its title insurance underwriters Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title, and National Title of New York. Each of these collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the United States. FNF also provides industry-leading mortgage technology solutions and transaction services, including MSP® — the leading residential mortgage servicing technology platform in the United States. FNF does this through its majority-owned subsidiaries, Black Knight Financial Services, LLC and ServiceLink Holdings, LLC. FNFV holds majority and minority equity investment stakes in a number of entities, including American Blue Ribbon Holdings, LLC, Ceridian HCM, Inc., Fleetcor Technologies, Inc., and Digital Insurance, Inc. More information about FNF and FNFV can be found at www.fnf.com.
What interested you in the in-house practice of law and how did you come to be an attorney at Fidelity National Financial?
I was a solo practitioner in private practice for many years. The thought of going in-house never occurred to me until I was contacted by the chief legal officer at Fidelity National Financial about helping the company build an international presence. Making the shift to in-house was a new and challenging endeavor. After a conversation about the job and what it entailed, I became intrigued with the new adventure and challenge. I decided to take the plunge and have not regretted the decision ever since.
What is the single greatest challenge that your law department is facing today, and how are you dealing with it?
As an insurance company, we are faced with extensive litigation. The challenge is managing litigation so there are no surprises and the costs are down. It is even more challenging to manage litigation outside of the United States. With regard to major litigation, the company mandates that you know your case as well as retained counsel.
In October 2016, you were elected as chair of the International Legal Affairs Committee. How did you initially get involved?
Prior to my involvement in the leadership of the International Legal Affairs Committee, I was chair of the Real Estate Committee. At the time, I was new to real estate and was able to educate myself on the topic with the help of ACC quickhits, the resource database, and the ACC Annual Meeting. As my role expanded with Fidelity, so did my role with the ILA Committee.
What are some of the ways that the International Legal Affairs Committee provides value to its members?
An international attorney is often a project manager who must have a wide range of knowledge on many subjects. For example, if your company has a presence in 10 different countries, you must have an extensive amount of knowledge about the culture and laws in those countries. I am currently handling matters in Romania, Prague, and London just to name a few. The ILA Committee is a great resource for someone who is new to international law, or even for someone who has practiced in this space for a while (like myself) but needs additional information about unfamiliar jurisdictions.
What substantive practice issues does your committee address?
We deal with attorney-client issues, contracting issues with overseas companies, cultural aspects of doing business abroad, and a myriad of other issues. The ILA Committee is where many other committees and practice areas, and the issues they face individually, intersect.
