Lauren Amanda Adler, national sales director at Alt Legal. Lauren Amanda Adler, national sales director at Alt Legal. Photo courtesy of Adler.
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There's a shortage of women in science, technology, engineering and math. And there's still a 17 percent gender gap in pay—across the board—in all of legal (18 percent at Big Law). But within the legal technology community are many women with thriving careers.

Monica Bay recently interviewed Lauren Amanda Adler, 38. She works as national sales director at Alt Legal, headquartered in New York. Her home base is New York City, but she spends about 25% of the year in Europe (mostly London).

Education: Cornell University, Bachelor of Arts, Economics & Philosophy Cum Laude '03. Cornell Law School, Jurist Doctor '06. I'm admitted (though retired from practice) in both New York and California.

Current job: I started a mere two months ago (Sept 9, 2019) as the national sales director of Alt Legal. In addition to executing the day-to-day sales function of the business, I help to develop and implement the long-term strategic vision of our product so the needs of our current and prospective customers are met and so that our software will continue to grow with them.

Did you consider science, technology, engineering or math? I wish I had explored math and engineering more deeply. I leaned towards the cards on the table, after law school, I bought myself a "C++ for Dummies" book and made it past "Hello, world" and up to MadLibs programs before my billable hours took over.

First paid job: I had a few baby-sitting gigs growing up, but my first "real" paid job was in the Alumni Affairs office of Cornell University. I was an office assistant, helping with everything from record keeping, tracking alumni donations, mass mailings, etc.

First seat at the table: I'm lucky in work, I work with teams that listen to my ideas. That's not exactly true—I was raised to believe in myself and voice my opinion. It wasn't until I had a hand in building and running a team that I felt the weight of the responsibility of a real seat at the table. Instead of voicing my own opinions and leaving the decisions to others, I had to represent my team, with a variety of people and differing interests and opinions. What you learn at the table is there are many choices.

There are hard choices, because there is no right answer, panacea or silver bullet. The best way to make hard decisions is to fill the seats at your table with a diverse group of people who voice their opinions as well as appreciate and listen to each others' viewpoints. Remember that even when you're new to the table, there is a reason you're there—share your views.

First obstacle and how you overcame it: This was not my first obstacle, but was a big one. When I was practicing, a "corner office" partner who I had been working with on a transaction called and asked me to do something that I thought was unethical. I mentioned this to the partner who basically told me to shut up and take care of it. I didn't feel comfortable pushing the issue any further with the partner and, as a second year associate, I was hardly in a position to call the client directly. Thankfully I was close to our firm's general counsel and internal ethics advisor who I called for advice, and he worked to resolve the issue swiftly.

Unfortunately, I imagine many young associates are put in similar situations but may not have the same relationship that I did and may be reluctant to raise a red flag. I encourage anyone who faces an ethical dilemma or similar issue to bring it to the attention of your firm's general counsel or your practice group leader. Don't be bullied into doing something that you're not comfortable with.

Most flagrant sexism you personally encountered and how did you address it? It was the day I found out I passed the New York bar exam. Our entire associate class and most of the firm went out to celebrate and, if you were at a big firm before the crash, you know just how much alcohol was involved in those celebrations. I had already decided to sit for the California bar in February and was looking for advice on how to balance work with studying and maybe even get the firm to pay for the exam. The senior associate I asked, apparently frustrated that I wanted to discuss anything semi-work-related at a bar (and quite intoxicated), expressed his shock that I wanted to take another bar exam since I was clearly just at the firm for my "MRS degree" and, as if to prove his own point, followed that up by sticking his tongue down my throat. I left the party immediately and went to my practice group leader the next morning to request never to work with that associate again. However, even at a big firm, our paths inevitably crossed.

I wish I could say I took a stand, told this guy off, and he apologized. Or that he was at least reprimanded for his actions, but that's not how it went. Like most people who suffer these indignities, I did so in silence. I never mentioned it again and pretended like it never happened. He's a partner now at another firm—and I left practice long ago, but I sometimes wonder if things would be different if I did more. Regardless, it is crushing that sexism is still so prevalent and that everyone seems to have a story like this.

Your most important mentor: She may not know this, but Rosemarie Terenzio has been my mentor, friend and confidant for years. Before we met, Rosie was the personal assistant to John F. Kennedy, Jr., a New York Times best-selling author for her memoir Fairy Tale Interrupted, a successful Manhattanite business owner, and driven public relations-executive with no legal background. She is exactly what I never knew I needed in a mentor.

I think there is an assumption that a mentor needs to come from the same company or industry (and I do believe you need an advocate within your own company), but a mentor is someone you trust who can translate their life experiences into valuable insight and advice that you can apply to your current situation.

Book that inspired you? Wow. That's a tough one. I'll give you two completely different ones: Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen. I read it for the first time in high school—required reading for English, I think. And Einstein's Dreams.

Favorite charities: Spoons Across America. I absolutely love their mission (and am also a board member). Spoons provides hands-on, in-classroom food education for elementary school children and aims to empower the next generation of food explorers. Children learn the benefits of healthy eating through educational programs that celebrate the connection to local farmers and the important tradition of sharing meals around the family table.

Favorite vacation venue: This is almost impossible. Traveling is one of my vices, so I guess my favorite vacation is somewhere new.

Your mantra: Unless you have a good reason to say "no," say "yes"!

Favorite quote: "I drink champagne when I win, to celebrate. … And I drink champagne when I lose, to console myself." – Napoleon

Monica Bay is a Fellow at CodeX: The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics. She is a columnist for Legaltech News and a freelance journalist (Alchemizing Law LLC). She is a member of the California Bar. In 2015, she retired from ALM (Editor-in-Chief at Law Technology News). She lives in Connecticut but can get to Yankee Stadium in two hours.