What was your route to the top? I started my career as a general complex commercial litigator. As I became a partner, a female partner who had decided to leave the practice of law, encouraged me to take on trademark work, which exploded when branding became so important to clients. I was also lucky enough to get involved with several high profile cases in connection with the Andy Warhol estate, including one that was a contract dispute involving intellectual property. Since then, I have handled complex matters for a variety of clients— from established entertainment companies like Viacom to the families of iconic artists.  

What keeps you up at night? (i.e. What are your biggest business-related concerns?) As new platforms and new technology alter the way we consume content, existing legal protections often don't work in the same way.  For my clients, we want to be sure that their business objectives and the protections the law provides work in tandem. We will continue to see changes in how to protect and monetize intellectual property as new platforms and technologies continue to develop.  

What is the best leadership advice you provided, or received, and why do you think it was effective? To be a leader is a privilege and responsibility. Throughout my career, I have learned that the best leaders are those who lead by example and take the time to encourage others to achieve as part of a team. The best leaders are also those who embrace new ideas, are willing to take risks, as well as responsibility to let others shine.    

Looking back, what do you wish you had known when you started out in the legal profession? We come to work each day with our own assumptions and beliefs about how to succeed largely shaped by our own background and personal experiences. It is important to be open to new things and diverse perspectives. Different views help us evolve and better serve the growing and varied needs of our clients. I am grateful that I have had mentors and colleagues during the course of my career to help me realize these lessons. I wish I had known sooner not to sit back and wait to be asked to join a specific team; to know that I should ask for what you want. Young lawyers should also understand that you cannot plan everything out, as hard as you may try. “Work-life balance” is an elusive concept, but at the very least keep both professional goals and personal goals in mind. Seize opportunities as they arise: There's never a “perfect” or “right” time to take on a big case or have a family. But, if you take the plunge, it will be worth it.

What is the most valuable career advice anyone has ever given you? As I took the steps to become a lawyer, my mother gave me some advice that I did not come to fully appreciate until I was much older: The time in your life that you dedicate to raising a family is relatively short compared with the time that will tick by once your children are grown, plan for both. Hopefully, we will all be lucky to have long careers, seize the opportunities that come your way, grow with them, and build on them, and lift as you climb.