Law360 (August 18, 2020, 8:11 PM EDT) -- Broadcom's business strategy has long been one of great fiscal discipline, general counsel Mark Brazeal says. The tech company didn't prioritize public affairs or government affairs, instead acquiring successful and well-positioned companies in their space and investing generously in research and development.

It worked. Broadcom has gone from $2.3 billion in revenue in 2011 to about $23 billion in 2019 through this strategy. And while its name is relatively unknown, its technology is ubiquitous in this connected world.

A weakness in that approach became apparent, however, when a $130 billion hostile takeover bid for Qualcomm Inc. failed in 2018, in part, Brazeal said, because Broadcom hadn't made itself well known to the general public.

"In particular, we realized that if we did not explain who we were to people who didn't already know us, others would seize the opportunity to do it for us, often in an unfair and misleading manner," Brazeal said.

The episode prompted a new interest in public and government relations at Broadcom, along with the formation of a government affairs office under Brazeal. Since then, he and his team have been involved in public relations and traveled to Washington, D.C., regularly to raise the company's profile and convey its interests to legislators. His work has landed him among 13 corporate counsel named Legends in Law by the Burton Awards this year.

John Kuo, general counsel for Charles River Labs and a previous Legends in Law winner, nominated Brazeal for the honor, citing his achievements and his humble and understated manner.

"Mark's judgment and advice both as a lawyer and as a business partner is of the highest caliber, helping his companies to navigate through some of the ... thorniest situations," Kuo said. "He is seen as a valued leader in his company and in the community, widely respected by his colleagues, peers and teams."

Brazeal was slated to be honored in person at the Burton Awards' June ceremony at the Library of Congress, but the event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The next ceremony is scheduled for June 14, 2021. Law360 is a sponsor of the Burton Awards.

In an interview with Law360, Brazeal said that one of the relatively new government affairs office's projects has been speaking with legislators about the bipartisan Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors, or CHIPS, Act. The bill proposes federal incentives to increase production of semiconductors in the U.S., framing it as a national security issue.

The office also watches for legislation that might be germane to Broadcom's business, such as bills that might touch on mergers and acquisitions, he said.

Brazeal credits his team and fellow executives — who he says are among the most brilliant people he has known — with the progress his department and the company have made.

"This is a team sport, and I think you rise and fall based on the strength of the team," Brazeal said. "So I'm very lucky to have a very deep and strong team I get to work with, not only inside legal and government affairs, but also inside the company."

Broadcom has a presence in about half of the states and its products are among the world's most ubiquitous but low-profile — nearly all internet traffic touches a Broadcom product at some point in its travel, Brazeal said.

But the company's old approach to public and government relations isn't the way forward, he said.

"That's no longer viable in this day and age, with our size and scale," he said. "Now we want to make sure our voice is heard."

--Editing by Kelly Duncan and Brian Baresch.

Correction: A previous story contained the wrong date for the planned future Burton Awards. The error has been corrected.

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