Attorney Ursula Guzman was attracted to in-house work because she prefers being proactive instead of litigating a conflict that’s already arisen. She joined Irvine-based CoreLogic Inc. in 2014 as senior counsel and was promoted a year later to associate general counsel, employment—which she said was the same job with a different title.
The real estate data and research company has more than 6,000 employees spanning nine countries. Guzman was one of five recipients of the Business Journal’s annual General Counsel Awards on Nov. 8 at Hotel Irvine (see other profiles, pages 1, 4, 6 and 8).
Moving In-House
Guzman has been an attorney for 17 years. For the first 11 she practiced employment law, focusing on litigation. She found that in private practice she enjoyed the advice and counseling aspect “more and more” and litigation “less and less.” So she decided to go in-house in 2011 to Irvine-based Sun Healthcare Group Inc.
She said her strong communication skills and ability to translate the technicalities of law into language a business can understand has helped her as an associate general counsel. With more than a decade litigating employment lawsuits, she said she also knows how to balance a real risk versus more of a theoretical risk.
CoreLogic
At CoreLogic, Guzman oversees employment law domestically and internationally. “We’re guided by the law and what is right for employees,” she told her colleagues in accepting the award in the newly created Specialty Counsel category.
Guzman manages prelitigation disputes, trade secret theft, and mergers and acquisitions-related employment due diligence, among other things.
She advises the company and sits on the chief people officer’s senior leadership team. She also serves as a legal adviser for CoreLogic’s board of directors’ compensation committee.
She established and leads the legal department’s pro bono program, which has dedicated hundreds of hours to numerous pro bono clinics in areas including domestic violence and immigration. She also established and oversees CoreLogic’s affirmative recovery practice—making claims in large antitrust settlements—and has recovered over $1 million.
Other Affiliations
Guzman is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, serving as chairperson of its corporate counsel section, a private group of in-house counsel that meets monthly.
Wendy Peterson, general counsel at Irvine-based law firm Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP, said Guzman has done a solid job as chairperson.
“Through partnerships with local law firms and innovative continuing education programs, the section has an active and growing membership, and the monthly meetings routinely sell out,” she said.
Juggling
Guzman has two children. When not practicing law, she attends their sports games, chaperones field trips, and volunteers in the classroom. CoreLogic gives her the flexibility to be a leader at the company and an involved mom, she said. She also practices yoga and meditation to keep herself balanced with her “crazy schedule.”
