Employer: Hogan Lovells
Title and Practice Area: Partner, Appellate

What was the most valuable lesson you learned in your first year practicing law? Clients need advice, not law review articles. You can't just summarize the law and say, "a court might go either way." Clients want to know what they should do or what the likely result will be. You have to develop judgment and become comfortable making predictions.

Describe your biggest win or accomplishment in practice. I briefed and argued In re Adoption of a Child by J.E.V., the New Jersey Supreme Court case recognizing the right of indigent parents facing termination of parental rights in a private adoption proceeding to assigned counsel. It's not every day you get to establish a new state constitutional right!

Who is your greatest lawyer mentor, and what has he or she taught you? Cate Stetson, the co-head of our appellate group. She's taught me not just good lawyering but also how to be a trusted client adviser, a mentor to others, and even a better dad and husband. She's proof that you can be an outstanding lawyer and an outstanding person.

Please share a brief key to your success. Business development doesn't have to sound like used-car salesmanship and probably shouldn't! Learn what your clients need, solve their problems, and keep in touch organically, and the work will follow.