Paul Bokota wears a lot of hats outside of his day job as vice president and division general counsel for Spectrum Brands Inc. in Lake Forest.
He’s also in his second term as an elected official in Orange County’s most respected school district, where he dons a Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat costume each year.
The veteran attorney, with more than 25 years of experience, likes the variety.
“The more diverse the job, functionally and geographically, the more I like it. I’d rather do a lot of different things in a lot of different parts of the world.”
Bokota is one of five recipients of the Business Journal’s General Counsel Awards, presented on Nov. 13 at Hotel Irvine (see stories on the other winners, pages 1, 6, 8, and 10).
A Little of Everything
Bokota jokingly told the audience at the event that many in the law firm community often ask what in-house counsels do, the more direct bunch often asking him, “Do you do anything?”
When taking into account Bokota’s career and time at Spectrum (NYSE: SPB), a Middleton, Wisc.-based hardware and home-improvement firm valued at nearly $2.6 billion, there’s actually little he doesn’t do.
Bokota said his job touches on a number of topics, including antitrust, securities, employment matters and environmental and regulatory issues—all of which can happen in different countries on the same day.
He became the first general counsel of Spectrum’s hardware and home-improvement division in 2014. The division draws $1.3 billion in annual revenue and includes brands such as Kwikset locks and Pfister faucets.
He was put to work within weeks as Spectrum signed a deal to acquire Tell Manufacturing, a Lancaster, Penn.-based maker and distributor of commercial doors, locks and hardware, for about $30 million. At the time, Tell reportedly had 120 employees and annual revenue of about $40 million.
Bokota said his current role is also a first, in that it gave him the chance to create a legal structure for the business from scratch. He previously served as associate general counsel at Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. in Irvine, and deputy general counsel at James Hardie Building Products Inc. in Mission Viejo.
“It’s only so exciting because we are talking about the legal department, but for me it was fun to get to set this up,” he said. “I have a way that I found works that I think helps the business.”
Windy City
Bokota, who has an older brother who’s also an attorney, grew up on the south side of Chicago near the University of Chicago. He said his childhood home was about six blocks from the neighborhood where legendary boxer Muhammad Ali once lived and where the Obama family now owns a home, but it was also blocks away from underprivileged neighborhoods.
He said it was an interesting place to grow up, as it was racially and socioeconomically diverse, which he loved.
He admits the Chicago education system has been challenged but said that as a public school kid he was lucky to have outstanding teachers. He went on to attend Harvard University, followed by law school at Indiana University.
“It taught me the power of an excellent teacher,” he said. “I didn’t have a microscope until I got into high school, but at each level I had phenomenal teachers.”
That focus is something he keeps in mind as he serves his second term on the Irvine Unified Board of Education.
He was first elected in 2012. At the time, his three children attended school in the district, and he was heavily involved in the PTA, including serving as president of Brywood Elementary PTA and chairman of the board-appointed Revenue Enhancement Committee.
He said the best day of the year is when he’s able to dress up as Cat in the Hat and read to students as part of a national annual literacy initiative on the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, or Dr. Seuss.
“The older kids think you’re the biggest dork,” Bokota said. “The first-graders think you are the Cat in the Hat. They’re hilarious. It takes you an hour to read the book, and [one child] will say, ‘I have a dog,’ and the dog will have nothing to do with the book. It is super fun.”
His current term ends in 2020. His youngest child, who graduates high school in June, is the board’s student representative on behalf of Northwood High School.
“I like nepotism,” he joked. “I’m from Chicago.”
It Takes Two
Bokota said he’s able to juggle his roles at Spectrum and on the school board because of their support and flexibility. But he admits he buys extra time by working late, especially since he’s able to jump on calls with Asia, as he manages Spectrum’s Canadian and Asia/Pacific legal operations.
He said the job’s variety and diversity attracted him to Spectrum, and that it gives him the chance to be more involved in the business than when he was in private practice.
“People usually called me if there was a problem or about to be a problem, and you represented them in that discreet lawsuit,” he said. “You get to know their business some, but you kind of handle their litigation and then you’d be done.”
At Spectrum, “I’ve been to the factories all over the world. I know the marketing strategy. I know the engineers and what goes into the product, so you are much more part of the business.”
