The Burlington Coat Factory is not only about coats anymore. In fact, coats account for just 11 percent of current business. In addition to outerwear, the 82-year-old corporation with over 380 stores sells men’s suits, sportswear, linens, baby furniture, and more.
Paul C. Tang, executive vice president and general counsel at Burlington Coat Factory, says, “Since I came on board in 1993, there has been tremendous expansion: We have more than doubled our size and grown from $1.2 billion in sales to over $3.3 billion today.”
“Earlier this year, the family-controlled business was sold and is now run by a large financial company that is very interested in our numbers-based performance. Amidst all the changes, Burlington’s everyday low pricing philosophy has remained unchanged: quality merchandise at a fair price,” says Tang.
“In my own department, we experience the same problems as other large companies: At the moment, we’re working on a compliance training program for all employees and record retention issues regarding email,” says Tang. “In terms of diversity, minorities represent 50 percent of the attorneys. If you include women, it’s 83 percent.”
Despite the impressive numbers, Tang remains circumspect on the topic: “Is diversity in a company good for business? Yes. In the sense that the business may be looked upon as progressive and that may help to sell more product,” he says. “It brings different ideas from different backgrounds, so if you believe in the melting pot of ideas, it certainly stands to reason.”
Prior to Burlington, Tang enjoyed an exciting run as an associate and partner in a series of New York law firms. He started out in the corporate department of Philips Nizer LLP, where he made partner in 1985. Two years later, he opened his own firm with another attorney in White Plains, N.Y. The practice never took off, so Tang returned to the city and landed a job at the nascent super firm Myerson & Kuhn on Park Avenue.
In 1989, Myerson & Kuhn became immersed in a scandal and quickly went bankrupt, causing Tang—who played no part in the wrongdoings—to lose a very important and lucrative client. Sorely disappointed, he looked for new work. Next, Tang landed at Thelen Reid & Priest LLP, a firm well known in the utilities field. After four years, he made an important change and decided to go in-house by joining Burlington.
Born in Hong Kong, Tang’s family migrated to the United States when he was a small boy. He attended Boston Latin School, and then went on to Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in government in 1974. Undecided on a career path, Tang entered a joint degree program at Columbia University, completing law school in 1977 and business school the following year.
Tang notes that his most important responsibilities at Burlington are advisory, supervisory, and administrative, and include seeking solutions to problems while still doing a substantial amount of document drafting and review. Though he occasionally misses the exchange of ideas and cutting-edge work of an outside firm, he says, “My work at Burlington is quite stimulating, and there is more than enough to keep me busy.”
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From the September/October 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar®