The Power of Mediation
This week I got to participate in a mediation. Even though I’m not a litigator, mediation has always been one of my favorite parts of being a lawyer. As a General Counsel, I’ve done countless mediations on behalf of my clients over my 30+ year career — and I can’t think of one that didn’t […]
Chat GPT Is Not Wisdom, It’s Information
“Chat GPT is not wisdom, it’s information.” – Words to live by in 2025. First, I’d like to thank Cody H. for having me as a guest on his podcast, The Faces: Entrepreneurs are people! It was such a pleasure to dive into a meaningful conversation. We covered so much ground – everything from personal […]
What Sets Cutting-Edge Leaders Apart?
What sets cutting-edge leaders apart? A commitment to growth—not just their own, but their team’s. This month, we had the privilege of delivering a live workshop on the 8 Essential Skills for Inside Counsel Mastery to a dynamic legal team, thanks to the vision and leadership of their General Counsel. Taking a full day out […]
Be Upfront About Your Enthusiasm
When searching for a new job, there are two schools of thought. Be coy about your preferences to avoid conceding anything in the negotiation process. Or, when you find something you’re excited about, be upfront about your enthusiasm. Two years into my first job as an associate at Milbank, I decided to return to Chicago […]
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
As a very junior associate at Milbank, I was given an assignment at 6 PM to mark up a 50-page agreement by the next morning. Two problems: I already had a full workload that would keep me up past midnight, and I had never seen that type of agreement before. I tried to ask for […]
The Importance of Mentors
Weather matters. And so does finding a great mentor. I moved to Los Angeles for a 2L summer job at Milbank and returned to California the following year to study for the bar exam on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto. I was wide-eyed by my surroundings – people actually got to go to college here? It […]
Don’t Panic – Things Are Rarely As Bad As They Seem
I remember my first visit to California. I was interviewing for a 2L summer position. I knew from the minute I arrived that this place was for me. Coming from New York, it instantly felt like I was on vacation when I got off the plane at LAX. I try to remind myself of that […]
This Is An Awesome Day
SpaceX Falcon9 launched this morning – 21 Starlink satellites going into low-Earth orbit! This is a photo from our back yard. We also saw the booster separate and begin its descent into the ocean for landing. What a way to start the day – one of the many benefits of being married to an aerospace […]
No News Is Not Necessarily Good News
My first professional job was a 1L summer associate position at Winston & Strawn in Chicago (my hometown). I was beyond excited. Attending Columbia meant bearing not only huge tuition bills but also sky-high cost of living in Manhattan. I had borrowed the legal maximum in student loans before turning to whatever credit cards I could convince a […]
35 Lessons from 35 Years (in 35 posts)
Starting next week, I’ll be sharing a series of posts, with each one highlighting a lesson I learned from each year of my professional life, beginning with my first “real” job as a summer associate (which didn’t go exactly as planned). As I reflect on my career so far, I thought it might be helpful—at […]