About

After obataining law degrees that permitted him to practice in both English Canada and Quebec, Richard Adams gained an MBA from Rotman University to improve his business understanding. Adams originally joined Daimler AG in 1989 and has been with the company for 26 years, always as their lead in-house counsel in Canada. Most of his time has been primarily focused on work for Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. Working as sole counsel, along with a paralegal and an executive legal assistant, Adams is well integrated into the company’s operations, participating in every social and community relations function, and engaging with the CEO and the other senior managers as a full member of the senior leadership team. One of Adams’ biggest professional victories has been winning a case at the Supreme Court of Canada in 2004, DaimlerChrysler Services Canada Inc. vs. Jean-Francois Lebel, where the company triumphed due to well formulated arguments and Adams’ ability to withstand pressure to settle by pushing ahead with litigation. Adams has also used litigation as a sword to change the law in British Columbia to restore full deficiency rights to creditors. One of the most difficult moments in Adams’ career was navigating through the merger of Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler. The nature of the legal work, the volume of transactions, and the methods both companies used to document transactions underwent radical change. ‘It was immensely challenging to manage the change and win over colleagues at both companies but we did’, Adams says.