About

Kevin Chapman works in a three-strong team, handling all labor and employment law functions at global news provider Dow Jones, whose operations spanning more than 50 countries. ‘I have the opportunity to work with virtually every business unit in the company, both in the US and around the world,’ Chapman says. ‘The diversity of my matters is amazing’. During his time at the company, he has taken an active role in the modernization of its operational practices across multiple jurisdictions, in line with decade-plus changes to the newspaper business. ‘Our printing plant practices are now the model for the rest of the industry,’ Chapman says. He has worked towards managing outside counsel costs by promoting a centralized, global instruction system, and introducing e-billing. On the former point, he explains, getting both HR and business buy-in ‘was a huge challenge’. Cost-awareness and better communication with clients are areas law firms could improve upon, he feels. Chapman is an adjunct legal writing professor at New York Law School. Outside the legal world, he published his first novel Identity Crisis in 2003 and is an award-winning short story writer.