Marie Ma, associate general counsel of Gap Inc. Courtesy photo.

Marie Ma moved up to Gap Inc.'s associate general counsel role this year, the latest step in her  nontraditional corporate law career path.

She shared her experience as a lawyer who went straight in-house Wednesday, during a Minority Corporate Counsel Association town hall interview with the nonprofit's president and chief legal officer, Jean Lee.

“Don't close yourself off to alternative paths to get where you want to go,” Ma said. However, she added it's not a bad idea to start off at a firm.

That's just not how her legal career kicked off.

She began working in the industry before law school as a paralegal in Fenwick & West's Silicon Valley office almost 20 years ago. In 2004, she made the jump to Gap's legal department, also in a paralegal role.

Ma said she always wanted to be a lawyer, having grown up with stories and lessons from her grandfather, a former criminal prosecutor from China. But it wasn't until her move to Gap that she decided to enroll in law school, captivated by corporate law.

Her financial situation at the time meant she needed to work while earning her J.D., so she signed up for night classes at the University of San Francisco Law School. There was no guarantee she'd have a role at Gap's legal team post-graduation, then-general counsel Michelle Banks told Ma.

“[Banks] congratulated me on starting my law school journey, but she was also really honest, which I appreciated at the time, and said, 'I don't hire out of law school … we're not built to train lawyers,'” Ma said.

Still, Ma stayed at Gap through her time at school. She built internal relationships and learned the business, eager to gain the skills needed in-house.

Upon graduation, she was offered a role at Gap. She started as associate corporate counsel in 2009. Since then, she's escalated up Gap's in-house ladder, eventually reaching the associate general counsel role in February.

Now near the top of the legal team, she cites her years as a paralegal at Gap as one of the ”most valuable career experiences” of her career.

“I was able to experience the business, the legal department, being part of this team from all these different perspectives over the years,” she said. “It helps me manage the perspective and the lens that I bring to my role.”

In her current position, Ma said she oversees a corporate law team, which she said at Gap means “anything to do with stock or money.” Ma is also involved with the company's diversity and inclusion initiatives, including collecting metrics on hired outside counsel.

Her work to increase representation in the legal industry, both in-house and at firms, has brought extra meaning to her career at Gap, and strengthened her ties with the general counsel who allowed her to grow the passion outside of straight legal work.

“These are people who not only gave me permission but empowered me to develop a passion and purpose in the space, and I bring that to work with me every day,” Ma said.

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