Steven J. Olson

As co-chair of his firm’s white-collar defense and corporate investigations practice, Olson regularly represents important companies and institutions as they respond to major crises.

The governing boards of UCLA and USC turned to him to investigate and recommend improvements after doctors at both universities were found to have sexually abused students. He investigated serious accounting issues at Mattel for the board’s audit committee. He is still representing ExxonMobil in litigation and investigations over a refinery explosion several years ago.

But for much of the past year, he undertook a very different task. He served for seven months as the interim general counsel of Hyundai Motors America while also still working for O’Melveny.

“That was the standout experience for this year.… It’s unusual for sure,” he said.

He had represented Hyundai for years and when its general counsel of 35 years retired, the company asked him to step in until a replacement was found. “I immediately recognized the opportunity to get to know an important client in a very important industry in a completely different way,” Olson said.

From March through September, he led Hyundai’s 40-person legal team and worked closely with the company’s top executives. He met with the President Joseph R. Biden administration on infrastructure improvements to support growth in electric vehicles. He strategized with outside trial counsel in Florida on a case alleging dealer fraud. And of course he dealt with labor issues, product liability litigation, transactions, HR problems and even some allegations of white-collar crimes.

“I got to learn that the general in general counsel is a good description because the work you do is so generalized,” Olson said.

Meanwhile, back at O’Melveny, he continued to advise the UCLA and USC boards, including defending a deposition of USC’s board chair in litigation over abuse by a former school gynecologist.

He also continued counselling two large Chinese businesses — cell-phone maker Honor and electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Motors LLC — about regulatory compliance and some litigation matters.

Officially, Olson split his time 50-50 between O’Melveny and Hyundai. “Of course, that amounted to two full-time jobs,” he said. “One thing I learned this year is that having two jobs is about as challenging as it sounds.”

- Don DeBenedictis