Employer: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Title and Practice Area: Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions

Describe your biggest win or accomplishment in practice.  As a mid-level associate, I was the point person on a novel and very complex transaction. Our privately held client acquired a smaller public company and created a tax efficient "Up-C" structure through which our client effectively went public. It was an intense, months-long effort and was very satisfying to have it close successfully.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned in your first year practicing law?  Be available. As every lawyer knows, law school doesn't really prepare you for a law firm job so the most value you can provide when you first get to your firm is to be ready to jump on any task that's given to you. It's how you build relationships with senior lawyers and clients early on, which leads to more work, which in turn leads to your developing a valuable skill set.

Who is your greatest lawyer mentor and what has he or she taught you?  Jeremy London, my partner in Skadden's D.C. M&A group. There are a number of things I have learned from Jeremy but most importantly I believe I have absorbed some of his excellent judgment over many years of working closely together. There is nothing more important in practicing law than judgment. Knowing the law is easy by comparison!

Please share a brief key to your success.  At all times, keep the client's ultimate goal in mind. If you are a transactional lawyer like me, that goal is usually to reach an agreement with the counterparty as quickly and efficiently as possible while obtaining from the counterparty all of the key concessions required to make it a "good deal" for your client. As your client's zealous advocate, you should try to win as many points as you can, but not at the expense of the overall goal.