You’ve passed them in the halls, seen their faces on Zoom calls, and exchanged e-mails. You know their job title and department and might even know their extension by heart. But do you truly know who you are working with? Get to know our Associate Corporate Counsel, Jordan King!
I was born in Los Angeles, California, but I consider myself a lifelong New Yorker. When I was 5, my mom and I moved to the Upper East Side. I went to Dalton High School on the Upper East Side, from there to Duke University (the only time I lived outside of New York), and eventually landed at Pace University for law school (now called the Elizabeth Hobbs Law School). After graduating, I worked as a divorce attorney for about 4 years. I loved my clients, getting to know people, and trying to help them with their problems. It truly was the best part of the job. But after a while, sensitive matters like broken relationships and child custody took a toll on me. The stress of courtroom politics was also something I did not like, so I knew I needed to find something else. I reached out to a legal recruiter to help guide me on a different path, and that led me to Tandym Group.
I love this question because I am a really big foodie and my favorite thing to do is eat. At the same time, that makes this the hardest question ever. Let me think. Okay, the first thing that came to my mind was a smash burger probably because I’m craving one right now. I’d be a great smash burger. I’m reliable, loyal, and really good in a bind. And at the core, just simple. Simple yet satisfactory. By the way, if you’re ever looking for the best smash burger in New York City you can find it at this place in Ridgewood, Brooklyn called The Seneca. Unbelievable!
I hate to sound like a total cheeseball, but I have to say my mother. When we moved to NYC, it was just the two of us. She raised me all on her own while also working full-time for Sony Music. She eventually decided to go to law school, which is a tough thing to do later in life – especially while being a single mother. She graduated from law school when I was a freshman in high school, and today she’s a corporate counsel at a growing global company. She’s also part of the reason I took the career path I did. She’s just the best.
I’m not entirely sure how hidden it is now that I’ve been to my first company holiday party, but I’m quite the dancer. I grew up taking all types of dance classes. Tap, ballet, hip hop, I did it all. I’m not a professional, but I absolutely love it and I’m pretty good at it!
A small staffing company actually found me and reached out about a position with Tandym. As I was being recruited, I found out he was the one who brought Guido Gabriele, our corporate counsel and my supervisor, to the company as well. It seemed pretty clear from the get-go that this recruiter was doing a great job, knew how to find great and qualified talent, and was putting them in the right environments.
I was originally brought on to be a legal recruiter / account executive with our Professional Services team. I’m not going to lie; I was not the best recruiter. Then, I got approached about the opportunity to work on Tandym’s in-house legal team and jumped on it. There was a lot of work that Guido was doing by himself, and he needed some assistance. The transition was easier than I had imagined, and I think that speaks to how good of a manager and legal mind Guido is. Right off the bat, he was super helpful getting me up to speed. It also helped that I had worked for the company for a bit before making the transition. I’ve built working relationships with a lot of our coworkers, which made it easy to work directly with them and give them the best advice for any legal situation.
I’ve always been one of the very few black people in the room, whether it was high school, college, law school, work, etc. Having a resource group for people of similar backgrounds and ethnicities is something I’ve always wished I had at different stages of my life. That’s why I was so happy and absolutely on board when Tandym decided to implement a new DEI initiative for its employees. This is my first-time being part of, let alone leading an Employee Resource Group (ERG). We’re currently at its infancy stage, but creating a safe space for our Black employees at Tandym (I say black because not everyone identifies as African American) to be able to discuss issues outside of work, at work, and to do our best to make the right changes, is extremely important to me.
That’s how you get things done: together. We’re all different colors, come from different backgrounds, practice different religions, etc. So, learning from each other and working together is imperative. The thing is I don’t want to be the sole leader; I want all of us to lead. I’m just the one here to nudge folks into the spotlight so they can be heard. We’re getting there.
I absolutely love Tracee Ellis Ross. She also played an attorney on one of my favorite shows growing up, ‘Girlfriends.’ She has an energy about her that is infectious. It’s fun, youthful, and I think it mirrors my vibe. She’s also really funny. I’m obviously not as funny as her, but I think I’m funny. She’s older though, is that fine? She can play me in the future!
For 2023, it’s a simple, yet complicated goal: work out the kinks of our contract review process so it’s flawless going forward. I want to help get our sales team more comfortable with our contract management software so that they can review contracts, business terms, and all that jazz without any problems. If I can make this process seem less daunting for them, it’d work wonders for everyone involved. As for beyond, I’m just trying to take it one year at a time!
