Alex Puutio did not go to law school thinking about one day becoming a lawyer for the United Nations. His idea was to work his way up from an associate to partner at a traditional law firm in Scandinavia. However, he took an unexpected break from private practice to work for the U.N. in Thailand and liked it so much that he decided to stay. Fast-forward eight years and Puutio is working in New York as an attorney in the U.N. in the Department of Management, Procurement Division.

Teemu Alexander Puutio spoke with Corporate Counsel about how he started working at the U.N., what exactly an attorney in his position does and the legal technology at the U.N. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.