Susan Finegan, with Mintz.

Name: Susan M. Finegan

Category: Law Firm: Collaborative Leadership

Firm/Company: Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo

Title: Member 

Time in Position: Since 2007

What was your route to the top? 

Appointed Mintz's first pro bono partner in 2007, I have held a unique role at the firm for more than a decade. I serve as lead counsel on numerous high-profile pro bono litigation matters. I also manage the firm's pro bono efforts, consisting of over 300 varied cases annually throughout Mintz's eight offices, and advise firm clients on developing and sustaining pro bono programs within their in-house legal departments.

As chair of Mintz's pro bono committee, I have helped to defeat President Trump's first immigration travel ban in early 2017, engineer the passage of a Massachusetts restraining order law for sexual assault survivors, and create several innovative statewide model pro bono programs in Massachusetts, among other accomplishments.

In addition, I serve as co-chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission, which focuses on civil justice for low-income and disadvantaged people. In this capacity, five years ago, I co-founded the Access to Justice Fellows program, in which 95 retired and retiring lawyers have devoted over 70,000 pro bono hours at legal services organizations, nonprofits and the courts.

I previously served as legal director of the Victim Rights Law Center, overseeing free statewide civil legal services to sexual assault survivors and providing training to legal aid attorneys nationally. Prior to that, I was at the firm for 10 years, as an associate and as a member of the litigation section. I started my legal career as a law clerk in U.S. District Court and at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

What keeps you up at night?

Working with particularly vulnerable clients, I am constantly troubled by the trauma and hardships they are facing. Many of my clients are detained, seeking asylum, have faced irreparable harm or are at risk of returning to persecution in their home countries. As their lawyer, it is my duty to solve their most difficult legal problems, and with every day that I do not find a solution for them, they could be exposed to greater harm or danger. I care deeply about my clients and work around the clock to reach a safe and lasting resolution.

What is the best leadership advice you've given or received, and why do you think it was effective?

In my work leading the firm's pro bono efforts, I am routinely reminded of the importance of collaboration. Given the high stakes nature of my work, I am motivated to find strategic legal solutions to my clients' complex issues, as efficiently as possible. Oftentimes, this requires tapping external resources such as nonprofit organizations to drive larger, systemic reform efforts, such as securing passage of legislation, or working on cutting edge litigation matters.

Looking back, what do you wish you had known when you started out in the legal profession?

Throughout the course of my career, I have learned the value of trying innovative approaches and taking educated risks. As lawyers, we are prone to approach issues with caution and careful scrutiny, but pushing beyond those boundaries, despite feeling uncomfortable, can often yield the greatest returns for our clients.

What is the most valuable career advice anyone has ever given you?

Find mentors who can help you navigate your way inside and outside of your organization. I have benefited greatly from mentors over the years, both professionally and personally, and I have found those relationships critical to my success and happiness. And, as a mentor, I have also had the pleasure of working with, and learning from, dozens of my mentees over the years.