Darius Withers
Global Public Service Legal Lead – Accenture
Description of field of expertise
A day in the life…
As a senior in-house counsel attorney at one of the world’s leading providers of cutting-edge digital technology solutions, Darius negotiates and manages a variety of complex technology and software transaction deals. His day-to-day work at Accenture is dynamic and ever-changing—from thinking strategically to spot what opportunities (and risks) are on the horizon for Accenture, to manging the nuts and bolts of closing deals, assessing transaction risks and managing finance, operations, and human resources.
Darius regularly works with outside counsel (OC) partners who help to tackle specialist issues, such as regulatory or tax, or to analyze potential risks in new areas, such as Accenture’s increasing work around artificial intelligence. He also represents the company’s Contracting function on the OC Steering Committee, which identifies a slate of firms to work with regularly who provide the right expertise and level of service, as well as meet Accenture’s diversity requirements.
When Darius isn’t helping close large deals, he makes time for his ‘plus-ones’, such as helping to set up Elevate Legal—a new program providing networking opportunities, external professional coaching, and mentorship to ethnically diverse Legal professionals. Darius is particularly passionate about talent development as, according to Darius, “We no longer do what we did five years ago and as we become increasingly complex, its crucial we uncover and cultivate top level talent in our organization so that we can respond rapidly to change.”
What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?
To be successful as an in-house attorney at a tech company, you need to be adaptable. And ideally your experience should be quite varied—Darius cheerfully refers to this work as the ‘last refuge of the generalist’. You will invariably be asked to do more than your scope, so being dynamic and the type of person who welcomes the opportunity that comes with variety goes a long way.
A background in technology is not necessary for this type of role at Accenture, as the company has a fantastic internal learning program with plenty of resources, including the Technology Quotient program, which offers a simple way to learn about new technologies, how they’re applied, why it matters and how they work with other technologies. What is necessary, Darius says, is an appetite and passion for learning and a curious, searching mind.
Final thoughts…
Behind most successful people is a strong team. If you want to be a success in your field, tap into the people around you, create win-win relationships and be open to where you need help. Accenture is a people-place, and the only way things get done is through the team, including external law firm partners—and all the technology in the world won’t change that human need for collaboration.