James L Lipscomb

James Lipscomb, age 61, is executive vice president and general counsel of MetLife, Inc. He was named to this position in July 2003. Lipscomb oversees the company’s legal affairs group with responsibility for the global operation of the MetLife law and government and industry relations departments. He also provides advice to the board of directors and management on corporate governance and business operations. From 2001 to 2003, Lipscomb served as senior vice president and deputy general counsel. Prior to this role, he was president and chief executive officer of Conning Corporation, a former MetLife subsidiary, and oversaw an asset management portfolio, private equity group, real estate loan origination and servicing platform, equity broker dealer and insurance industry research group. In addition, Lipscomb led MetLife’s corporate planning and strategy department from 1998 to 2000. He also served as a senior vice president in MetLife’s real estate investments department. Lipscomb first joined MetLife in 1972 as an attorney. Throughout his career, Lipscomb has held leadership positions in various local, state and national legal organizations, including the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, the State Bar of California and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, where he served as Treasurer and a member of the Executive Committee. He has spoken widely on many legal forums and has been published on many topics. Lipscomb received a B.A. from Howard University, a J.D. from Columbia University Law School and a L.L.M. (Corporations) from New York University. He is a member of the state bar in New York and California and the federal bar in the Northern District of California, the Southern District of New York, the Second Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Lipscomb was named to Inside Counsel Magazine’s 2006 list of the top 50 most influential in-house counsel in North America and was recognized especially for diversity initiatives.