Employer: Covington & Burling
Title and Practice Area: Partner, Antitrust

What was the most valuable lesson you learned in your first year practicing law? I learned the importance of seizing opportunities. When I started at Covington, I threw myself into a variety of matters and tried out different practice areas. In the process, I came to realize that experience is truly the best teacher.

Describe your biggest win or accomplishment in practice. A client was sued for breach of contract and antitrust violations, and the plaintiff raced into court, receiving a TRO. Within days, we succeeded in persuading the court to reverse course and deny the preliminary injunction, which was upheld on appeal.

Who is your greatest lawyer mentor, and what has he or she taught you? Judge Nathaniel Gorton, of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, who taught me during my clerkship to think critically, to parse arguments carefully, and to make a decision and take a position on a set of facts—not just analyze the issues from the sideline.

Please share a brief key to your success. Invest in cultivating strong personal relationships: mentors you learn from and rely on for honest feedback, colleagues you trust and enjoy working with, younger attorneys you can teach and build into a team and clients who look to you for help with their most challenging problems. Relationships outlast cases.