Employer: Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo Title and Practice Area: Of Counsel, Communications

Describe your biggest win or accomplishment in practice.  I served as a lead attorney for the Connect America Fund Phase II auction at the [Federal Communications Commission]. The auction was the first of its kind and made available $1.488 billion in federal subsidies to support the deployment of broadband in rural areas, helping close the digital divide in 45 states.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned in your first year practicing law?  Do the work. I never said no to a project—big or small. Not only did that approach afford me broad exposure to a variety of legal issues, but it also taught me the soft skills of how to manage my time and work with different types of clients.

Who is your greatest lawyer mentor and what has he or she taught you?  My mother. She was the first woman native of China to practice law in the U.S., breaking barriers in the legal profession for women, people of color and immigrants. She taught me that we are all capable of great and inspiring things simply by walking our own paths.

Please share a brief key to your success.  Staying humble and paying it forward. One of my proudest achievements is starting the NextGenFem initiative at Mintz, which brings together the next generation of female leaders in the communications industry. It is important to me that younger generations of women continue to feel supported as their careers progress.