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Emily Musgrave, 36, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo

Office: Boston.

Practice area: Litigation, appellate.

Law school and year of graduation: Boston College, 2010.

How long have you been at the firm? I began my career at Mintz as a summer associate in 2009, and joined the firm as an associate in 2012.

How long were you an associate at the firm? I was an associate at Mintz for seven years before being promoted to partner.

Emily Musgrave/courtesy photo

Were you an associate at another firm before joining your present firm? Before joining Mintz, I served as a law clerk for Justice Margot Botsford of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. I also served as a law clerk for Judge Leo T. Sorokin, then a magistrate judge, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

What year did you make partner at your current firm? May 2019. 

What's the biggest surprise you experienced in becoming partner? I had hoped that the camaraderie I found at Mintz as an associate would carry through to the partners, and it absolutely did. My partners at Mintz reached out the day I became a partner and have not stopped. They have supported my business development efforts, included me in theirs, offered advice whenever I need it, and helped me to find my footing as I approach this new challenge.

What do you think was the deciding point for the firm in making you partner? I think a firm's decision to make someone a partner is the culmination of years that must be filled with: (1) demonstrated leadership and a willingness to take responsibility for your work and for that of others on the team; (2) diligence in terms of ensuring excellent work product every single time; (3) perseverance in the face of challenges; (4) working cooperatively and respectfully with colleagues in the firm and other attorneys in the community; and (5) having a specialty and the ability to bring in business because of that specialty.

Describe how you feel now about your career now that you've made partner. There has been little more important to my career than the mentors I have been lucky enough to have—especially women. More than a decade ago, as a law student interviewing for a summer associate position, I was drawn to Mintz by my interactions with exceptional women partners, many of whom have served as my mentors over the course of my career at Mintz. This distinguished Mintz in my mind 11 years ago, and I try daily to pay this forward.

In addition to being a full-time partner, mentor and teacher at Mintz, I am also a full-time mother to my two young children (ages 4 and almost 2). Having children has fundamentally changed the way I view my career and my role as a mentor to other women. I made partner about eight months after returning from my second maternity leave, and I am deeply grateful to the women at Mintz and in the legal community more generally who have guided and supported me.

What's been the biggest change, day-to-day, in your routine since becoming partner? The number of meetings, emails and phone calls! It used to be easier for me to set aside a large chunk of my day for sustained legal research or writing, and now it's harder to find that time during the day.

Who had the greatest influence in your career that helped propel you to partner? Many of the same women I met while interviewing at Mintz in 2009 have served as my mentors over the course of my career here, including partner and chair of the firm's Pro Bono Committee Sue Finegan, and partner and chair of the firm's Women's Initiative, Meredith Leary.

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