Meet Beverly Tompkins
Meet Beverly Tompkins
Dennis Group's new General Counsel
This is a brand new role at DG. Can you tell us a little about what you'll be doing?
It is a privilege to be DG’s first General Counsel. At a high level, I will provide legal support and guidance to DG’s project teams to ensure that risk is appropriately managed for successful project outcomes. Partnering with DG’s senior leadership team, I will provide legal and business advice to further DG’s strategic goals.
"I am looking forward to getting to know DG’ers at all levels of the organization and to be part of your culture."
What are you most excited to get started on at Dennis Group?
I am excited to jump right in. In the first few weeks, I will be focused on assessing and responding to DG’s current legal needs and priorities, learning DG’s business, and forging relationships with DG’s senior leadership team. That said, I am looking forward to getting to know DG’ers at all levels of the organization and to be part of your culture.
What about working in law gives you the most job satisfaction?
As an in-house attorney, I enjoy having one client. The in-house role allows me to work side-by-side with my client and gain an intimate understanding of their risk tolerance and business goals. This understanding provides me with critical context for how I advise my client. I like being part of the action and involved in matters not only because I am a lawyer, but because I am a trusted advisor with a unique perspective.
Where will you be based?
I will be based out of the Springfield office.
What did you do prior to joining Dennis Group?
I have worked in the A/E/C industry for nearly 20 years. For the past 14 years, I was General Counsel for Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH), a 600+ employee national multidisciplinary engineering consulting firm. Prior to my role as General Counsel at SGH, I was their Risk Manager.
At SGH, I was responsible for building and leading a legal team to support the organization in a variety of areas, including contract reviews and negotiations, risk management policies, procedures and education, claims, and corporate and regulatory compliance.
Tell us a little about your background! Have you always been in law?
Joining DG is bringing me back to my roots. I grew up in a small town in Central Massachusetts and am no stranger to the Pioneer Valley, where I earned my B.A. from UMASS Amherst.
This incredible opportunity with DG allows me to combine an interest in natural foods with my years of legal experience in the A/E/C industry. Prior to becoming an attorney, I had a natural foods business.
Although I outsourced the manufacturing of a product that I developed, I was intimately involved in formula development, packaging design, and production. I am excited to be on DG’s team and back in the food and beverage industry. It feels a bit as though I have come full circle.
"I am excited to be back in the food and beverage industry... it feels as though I have come full circle."
What do you like to do in your free time?
Currently, I live with my husband on the North Shore of Massachusetts. We have an organic vegetable garden and I enjoy preparing healthy meals with what we harvest. I love being active in the outdoors as much as possible and am particularly fond of backcountry winter camping.