Leadership is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but Sunoco Inc.'s Marilyn Heffley is "one of those people who talks the talk and walks the walk," according to Duane Morris senior litigation partner Beatrice O'Donnell.

"She's really an inspirational person, an excellent lawyer and a terrific leader," O'Donnell said.

The Delaware Valley chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, or DELVACCA, also recognized these characteristics in Heffley, assistant general counsel and chief litigation counsel with Sunoco, and thanks to O'Donnell's nomination, they named her the recipient of their Outstanding In-House Counsel of the Year award.

When O'Donnell received a DELVACCA Corporate Counsel Excellence Awards nomination form, she said Heffley was her obvious choice. O'Donnell worked with one of Heffley's staff attorneys during a case in which Sunoco was the plaintiff. She was impressed with how Heffley managed Sunoco's litigation department.

"She gives them freedom and confidence to handle the cases. Marilyn was aware and followed the case, but she didn't micro-manage the case," O'Donnell said. "She was very decisive in making a decision on what we should do to wrap up the case."

Heffley founded Sunoco's litigation department in 2005 when she joined the company as the assistant general counsel and chief litigation counsel, and it has since grown from two to seven attorneys with a 10-person support staff. Beth Freeman, a senior attorney in the litigation department, said confidence is a necessary trait for leading a corporate litigation department.

"In the corporate arena, to be an effective leader, you need to earn the confidence and trust of your clients. At Sunoco, Marilyn communicates her confidence by deconstructing complex legal issues to the various business units she serves," Freeman said. "She brings a comfort level to those not well versed in the litigation process and assures that she has 'Sunoco's back.'"

Heffley is a board member of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, and serves on the executive committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association's public interest section, so it comes as no surprise that she encourages her colleagues to give back to the community.

She "encourages you to succeed in all aspects of your life," Freeman said. "When I recently chaired the Legal Clinic for the Disabled's silent auction, Marilyn was the first person to congratulate me and assure me that it was possible to juggle an extracurricular activity with my current case load and family obligations."

"Well-rounded individuals' lives do not revolve exclusively around providing legal advice to their clients," Heffley said. "I strongly encourage my staff members to be leaders not only in their professions, but outside the workplace in their communities."

In addition to starting Sunoco's litigation department, Heffley also centralized the management of Sunoco's nationwide litigation portfolio and implemented new e-discovery protocols.

"A good corporate counsel is proactive in establishing systems or protocols that avoid creating liabilities for the company while not creating obstacles to the company's achievement of its business goals," Heffley said.

The e-discovery protocols centralized a process for ensuring Sunoco is preserving data that may be relevant to pending or future litigation; this prevents possible penalties and sanctions by the courts, according to Heffley.

Heffley said centralizing the management of Sunoco's litigation portfolio, which includes more than 800 cases on commercial, products liability, toxic torts, personal injury and environmental matters, reduced the need for outside counsel.

"You have an opportunity to have a limited number of firms who are representing you in certain jurisdictions," Heffley said, "so you can reduce the number of outside counsel and ensure that the counsel you have are familiar with your business and the issues that come up in litigation."

Heffley said her success as a corporate counsel can be partly accredited to her litigation skills acquired through years of experience as a litigator with Reed Smith. It's also important for GCs to know their companies' businesses and hone business and management skills, according to Heffley.

Heffley did not expect to receive the award, despite her accomplishments with Sunoco.

"I was completely surprised by Beatty's nomination and am humbled by her efforts in connection with my nomination," Heffley said. "She is an extraordinary litigator who has obtained great results on behalf of Sunoco."

O'Donnell wasn't the only one to recognize Heffley's credentials. Lorraine K. Koc, vice president and general counsel of Deb Shops Inc.; Sharon L. Caffrey of Duane Morris; John E. Quinn of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott; and attorneys Beth Freeman and Sophia Lee of Sunoco also sent nominating letters to voice their support.

Reprinted with permission from The Legal Intelligencer, © ALM Media Properties LLC. All rights reserved.