Employer: Sanford Heisler Sharp
Title and Practice Area: Partner, Employment/Civil Rights

What was the most valuable lesson you learned in your first year practicing law? I learned the importance of dogged determination and never to return to a partner empty-handed, even if no case law existed to support our argument or the law was not in our favor. I learned to think out of the box.

Describe your biggest win or accomplishment in practice. My biggest accomplishment was helping to defeat summary judgment in the Campbell v. Chadbourne & Parke case. We faced an uphill battle in arguing that our clients, law firm partners, were employees under anti-discrimination laws. The court sided with us in holding that the question of whether they were employees was a fact-based inquiry requiring extensive discovery into the firm's operations.

Who is your greatest lawyer mentor and what has he or she taught you? David Sanford has been an incredible mentor both as a lawyer and a social justice advocate. He is masterful at seeing the long game and crafting a comprehensive legal strategy from demand letter to trial. He is an expert negotiator.

Please share a brief key to your success. I believe in the continuous improvement of my legal skills. I'm always trying to raise the quality of my strategic thinking, legal writing, negotiation skills, oral advocacy and client interactions. I'm constantly in learning mode and open to feedback and lessons from other lawyers.