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Rachel Elsby, 39, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Office: Washington, D.C.

Practice area: Intellectual Property Litigation.

Law school and year of graduation: George Mason, 2010.

How long have you been at the firm? Almost five years.

How long were you an associate at the firm? I started as an associate in the middle of 2015 and became counsel at the end of that year.

Were you an associate at another firm before joining your present firm? I came to Akin Gump from a two-year clerkship at the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.  Before that, I worked as an associate in the IP Group at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.

What year did you make partner at your current firm? 2020

Rachel Elsby.

What's the biggest surprise you experienced in becoming partner? I was shocked at the number of congratulatory emails and notes I received from clients and friends. You spend so much time with your clients and you get to know them on a personal level, but the response I received was really unexpected. The same can be said of my partners at Akin Gump. The overwhelming support and immediate acceptance as a partner was not something I anticipated.

What do you think was the deciding point for the firm in making you partner? That is a hard question to answer—there really isn't one box you either check or you don't. My impression of the evaluation process at Akin Gump was that the firm looked at each candidate's collective contributions. In my case, I tried to emphasize things that are important to my practice, like having a Ph.D. that complements our clients' technologies and a clerkship at the Federal Circuit, which has national jurisdiction over patent appeals. I also emphasized the role I played on our litigation teams and my courtroom experience. For a litigator, on-your-feet experience is important, but it is just as important that you can contribute as part of a team.  And, even though business development is not a requirement, I think it helped that I established a track record of engaging in business development and generated business before making partner. Finally, I would not have made partner without my colleagues, both for the mentoring and opportunities they gave me to develop over the years and for their support through the process.

Describe how you feel now about your career now that you've made partner. There are a range of emotions. At first, it was all excitement. Once that initial wave passed, making partner felt more like the beginning of a career than it did the culmination. You are the newbie all over again. I remember walking into my first partner lunch afraid that someone might ask me what I was doing there or tell me I was in the wrong place. Fortunately, that did not happen, and my focus quickly turned to the future—building on my experience and working with my colleagues to grow the practice.

What's the key to successful business development in your opinion? There are no substitutes for excellent legal representation and trust, and both of those things start with great relationships inside and outside of your firm. Most business development, even when it occurs internally at your firm, happens through recommendations and referrals, so you have to build relationships with the people around you. You need mentors who will invest in your development and put you in front of clients. Similarly, clients need to trust that you will provide them with thoughtful legal advice and produce the best results possible. You cannot expect someone to put their trust in you unless you build a relationship with them over time.

What's been the biggest change, day-to-day, in your routine since becoming partner? The amount of time I spend on business development and administrative issues. As an associate, your primary responsibility is to work on your matters. You might be involved in a committee or business development efforts within your practice, but there is so much more going on behind the scenes that you do not ever see.  As a partner, you are much more involved in the business development and administrative side. Plus, there is the added responsibility to contribute, so you have to dedicate more of your time to those efforts.

Who had the greatest influence in your career that helped propel you to partner? I've been lucky to work with a number of people who influenced my career in meaningful ways, including my colleagues, clients and friends. However, there is one person who stands out and that is Judge Pauline Newman. Judge Newman challenged me to look beyond arguments as they were presented by litigants, to dig deeper into the law and issues, and to arrive at the right answer for all cases, not just any single case—she made me a better lawyer. But her impact on my career goes beyond the law. She is a model for how to reach the highest level of your field with grace, respect, and humility. The lessons I took from my time in Judge Newman's chambers are the lessons I draw from every day.

What's the best piece of advice you could give an associate who wants to make partner? First, develop your legal skills. The first step to making partner is showing that you can do the work of a partner. In order to do that, you have to take ownership of your career and seek out opportunities to develop those skills, so you are successful when those key opportunities present themselves.

Second, build relationships. You will not be able to make partner without support from your colleagues. You need to build trust with the people you work with every day.

Third, identify what you do that contributes to the business of the firm and try to build a track record of accomplishments in that particular area. It is not mandatory that you generate business in order to make partner at most firms, but you want to be able to show how you bring value now and will in the future.

Lastly, be patient. Making partner is an individual process, and so much of what happens is out of your control. Focus on the things you can control and take time to enjoy your life outside of work along the way.

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