National Women in Law Awards: Kelsey Mayo
Poyner Spruill LLPPartner (Since 2015)
December 03, 2018 at 04:38 PM
3 minute read
What was your route to the top? While many things have contributed to my success, my passion for the work and a great sponsor have been two significant factors. I took to the world of employee benefits immediately—I simply reveled in the complexity of the area and the reward in helping others understand it. This enjoyment has led me to devote time to endeavors such as sitting for actuarial exams, advocating for positive legislative and regulatory change, and becoming a nationally recognized speaker on benefits and executive compensation. Although these endeavors arose from a personal passion, they have contributed to my success by giving me a unique ability to add value to clients because of the depth of my expertise and industry connections. In addition, the importance of having a great mentor and a sponsor cannot be understated. I've had the great fortune of working with four partners, all of whom were committed to my success. One partner in particular became my mentor as well as my sponsor within the firm. When I was an associate, one of our large clients needed to change relationship attorneys, and he successfully advocated with management that I should be given the role, despite being only a mid-level associate. Similarly, as he decided to step back in advance of retirement, he pushed me to the forefront of other significant relationships. This gave me significant opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with important clients and a meaningful voice within the firm that comes with that.
What keeps you up at night? (i.e. What are your biggest business-related concerns?) A lot! I tend to intuitively see the inefficiencies and opportunities in processes and am always looking for solutions (even when I'd rather be sleeping!). My number one concern is nearly always how do we best serve this client, how can we improve the outcome, how can we ensure a great experience, and how do I bring along the team necessary to produce the best outcome.
What is the best leadership advice you provided, or received, and why do you think it was effective? Treat everyone, especially staff, with respect and appreciation. I've been told since I was a child that the most important person in the office is never the one in the corner office. We all work together as a team and my staff know that their opinion in the running of our practice is equally valid. I think bridging the hierarchal structure allows for freedom of expression and more creative thinking, which produces more positive outcomes for both the staff and our clients.
Looking back, what do you wish you had known when you started out in the legal profession? I wish I had known that I would be a manager on day one so that I could have invested time beforehand developing some basic management skills. I was lucky to have a wonderful staff who were happy to teach me to be both a lawyer and a manager and a mentor to give me honest critical feedback to develop these skills over time.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'The Show Must Go On': Solo-GC-of-Year Kevin Colby Pulls Off Perpetual Juggling Act
Contract Software Unicorn Ironclad Hires Former Pinterest Lawyer as GC
2 minute readHow Amy Harris Leverages Diversity to Give UMB Financial a Competitive Edge
5 minute readAuditor Finds 'Significant Deficiency' in FTC Accounting to Tune of $7M
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250