Thomas Underhill ’13 Working with Everyone Counts, Inc.
June 12, 2013
Thomas Underhill will be with the Director of Technology Operations at Everyone Counts, Inc. in San Diego, where he’ll do IT, security, compliance, contracts and election law.
“I was very excited to join a company that has such an exciting mission and is truly changing the world,” said Underhill. “Our CEO, Lori Steele, is one of the most energetic and passionate people that I have had the opportunity to meet. It was her vision along with her brilliant ‘tech-geek’ husband, Aaron, who convinced me to join the company and be a part of history.”
Underhill has been employed at Everyone Counts since October 2012, and pre-bar passage he’ll be managing the Technology Operations (IT) organization, working on RFP’s for prospective government and commercial clients, contract reviews and drafting under supervision of our outside counsel, and defining policies. He’s also learning a bit about eDiscovery along the way.
Post-bar passage, Underhill says he will probably take on additional responsibilities working with the company’s outside counsel in the areas of international election law, contracts, cyberspace, and intellectual property.
“As the company grows and I gain experience there is the potential to become in-house counsel and build a legal department from scratch, much like I have done for the IT department,” said Underhill.
Underhill says his TJSL experience as an Intellectual Property Fellow prepared him for the opportunity he is living now.
“The coursework in Contracts (Professor Rebecca Lee) and Contracts Drafting (Professor Stephen Novak) prepared me for contract work with technology suppliers and consultants,” Underhill said. “In December, I worked with our contracts attorney to draft several multi-year strategic technology agreements that are over a million dollars in value. The international law coursework (Professors Susan Tiefenbrun, Neil Ray, Claire Wright, and Ellen Waldman) and my Certificate in Global Legal Studies have enabled me to gain an understanding of the laws in the many countries where we do business and make strategic decisions accordingly. Cyberspace law also proved to have immense value because of the nature of my employer’s business crossing geographical boundaries.”
The work Underhill is part of at Everyone Counts is exciting and groundbreaking.
“Since joining I have had the opportunity among other things to help the Oscars make history with the first Internet voting; helped migrate a state voter registration system; and improved elections accessibility for disabled and military voters,” said Underhill. “In a given day I not only cross multiple areas of the law, but I also get to work with the latest technology and with super intelligent people. Even if I don’t end up practicing law in the traditional sense, there are plenty of exciting opportunities to apply the knowledge gained from law school.”