Hannah Dowd McPhelin of Troutman Pepper. Hannah Dowd McPhelin of Troutman Pepper.

Hannah Dowd McPhelin, Troutman Pepper

McPhelin identified the need to deploy technology as part of her goPuff work. GoPuff is a "digital convenience store" that offers thousands of products that can be ordered on-demand via its mobile app. Rather than merely asking IT to design a solution, McPhelin was hands on in assessing the firm's technology suite, deciding which products could assist her real estate practice, and customizing them to meet goPuff's needs. Importantly, the approach of McPhelin and the firm's technology team to this client matter is replicable with other leasing clients of the firm's real estate practice.

McPhelin continues to play a key role as these technology solutions are deployed with goPuff, including determining how teams should be built for goPuff matters and when a matter is better handled by an attorney than by the technology tools being used for more standard leases.

What career path would you have pursued if you weren't a lawyer? I have a sociology degree and likely would have pursued a career more related to that degree, perhaps in the fields of criminology or criminal justice. While I'm very happy with how things turned out and my career as a real estate lawyer, I have had the opportunity to get a taste of criminal justice work with my pro bono matters. For more than eight years, I've worked on prisoner innocence claim cases with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. In 2019, we achieved a great victory when we secured the release of our client who had been wrongfully imprisoned for 22 years.