Name: Patricia Svilik

Category: In-House: Collaborative Leadership

Firm/Company: eBay Inc.

Title: Senior Counsel

Time in Position: Since 2016

What was your route to the top?

I'm still striving, still working hard, still passionate and still learning, so I wouldn't say I've reached "the top," but here's a little bit about my journey thus far. I attended Stanford University and Berkeley Law. After law school, I danced professionally for several modern dance companies in San Francisco while working as a transactional associate. I then clerked for the U.S. District Court [for the Southern District of Florida] in Miami—the best training an attorney could hope for—and then spent over seven years at Morrison & Foerster, where I litigated complex commercial cases and developed an expertise in intellectual property law, taking several high-profile IP cases to trial. From there, I joined eBay, where I work now as a.) a full-service product and commercial attorney for the Structured Data Group, leading cross-functional teams in product development and launches, and b.) as an in-house IP subject matter expert for the legal team, working with all parts of the business—marketplaces, marketing, M&A and more. What I enjoy most about my role is the ability to go both broad and deep. At eBay, I've enjoyed the flexibility and support from the top to start new programs, whether it be new legal programs to empower the business or those to enhance the company culture. A colleague and I started the Law in Technology Diversity Collaborative, a cross-company internship program for women and underrepresented minority law students that provides valuable in-house and law firm work experience to first-year law students. I've led the collaborative since its inception, and in our ­inaugural year, we had seven tech companies—eBay, Facebook, Uber, Turo, HPE, LendingClub and Symantec—14 law firms, and the support of Diversity Lab work together to provide 16 internships to students at eight law schools around the country. I'm ­thankful to my co-founder David Pilson and the eBay leadership for supporting this initiative. I'm also ­grateful to the legal teams that joined the collaborative, devoting significant time and resources to turning this program into a reality and making a positive impact on the lives of the 16 students who were part of our inaugural year, and launching a program that over time will have an incremental impact on the profession.

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

I wish that I had known earlier in my career how interesting, diverse and rewarding in-house legal work is. Partnering with the business to ­create new products and functionalities, solve novel legal and ­real-world problems, earn the trust of your colleagues and build the business. I would have moved in-house much earlier.

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

It's life advice: follow your instincts, learn from your mistakes, work hard [and] be nice to everyone. I would also add: use your skills to make the world a better place.