Employer: Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer Title and Practice Area: Partner, Appellate

Describe your biggest win or accomplishment in practice.  I brought and won partisan gerrymandering challenges under the state constitution in state court in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. These were precedent-setting victories with national implications and led to the redrawing of the congressional districts in Pennsylvania and the congressional and state legislative districts in North Carolina.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned in your first year practicing law?  To leave no stone unturned—read the record, read all the cases, and follow up on everything. The worst feeling is the unforced error of missing something that could have made the difference to your client or the outcome.

Who is your greatest lawyer mentor and what has he or she taught you?  I had the great privilege of clerking for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is an inspiration to me and to so many other lawyers (and people). Among many things she taught me was how individual lawyers can bring about systemic changes that make a huge difference in people's lives, like she did with gender equality.

Please share a brief key to your success. Think rigorously about your audience and what arguments will be persuasive to that audience. Re-read every brief while thinking about the perspective of the judge or judges who will be reviewing it, and make sure the arguments you are making are not only legally correct, but are practical and reasonable.