Karen Ballack of Weil, Gotshal & Manges oversaw a team of more than 50 lawyers in offices in Europe, the U.S., and Asia who worked on technology and IP issues that came up in Yahoo Inc.'s highly publicized reverse spinoff of its core operating business, auction, and $4.48 billion acquisition by Verizon.

Who's the best leader you've seen in action and why?

Two of the best leaders I have seen in action are Nancy Raber, formerly with Yahoo Inc., and Susie Giordano at Intel. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with these dynamic women for several years and have been extremely impressed with how well they lead and inspire their teams on incredibly complex, challenging and significant transactions and in difficult situations. They are smart and talented lawyers with keen business acumen who know how to get a deal done.