Heather Meeker, partner, O'Melveny & Myers (Photo: Courtesy photo)

One of the leading legal thinkers in the open source software world at O'Melveny & Myers, Heather Meeker also recently joined as the founding portfolio partner of OSS Capital, which invests exclusively in commercial OSS startup companies.

What's one way you've had to change your thinking toward practicing law to succeed with tech industry clients?

I had to learn that I am not a legal scholar, I am a problem-solver and service provider. Every year my practice has to become more practical and useful to clients.

Name an important opportunity you got early in your career and what you did with it.

I taught a class at Hastings when I was a midlevel associate. The class was a great experience, and some of my earliest students are now GCs and heads of IP. But more importantly, it gave me an outlet for my natural tendency to ask theoretical questions, and wonder why laws are the way they are.

What's the best piece of career advice anyone ever gave you?

“Go to the best law school you can get into.” That advice was given by someone I hardly knew, but he was absolutely right, and I am still grateful.

No. 1 survival tip in a work crisis:

When you get an email asking to arrange a call or meeting, always be first to answer. That saves you from having to work around other people's schedules.

In 50 words or less, how far has the tech industry gone toward tackling its gender gap since you started practicing?

The change is mostly awareness; I am still often the only woman in the room at client meetings. To paraphrase Churchill, the technology industry is the most sexist industry in the world—except for every other industry. I entered the tech industry in part to avoid sexism—and that was the right choice. Most of my clients only care about what I can do, and not about what I am. I love them for that, but that attitude is a double bind; the underrepresentation of women in tech is sometimes invisible to them.

What's the best part about working in the tech sector?

I hear about the latest developments before they hit the market. I also get to work with smart and interesting clients.

What's the biggest challenge?

I often have to operate on the bleeding edge of my understanding of the facts. That makes my work simultaneously fun and scary.

What piece of advice do you give to lawyers considering a career in tech law?

If your client explains the facts to you and you don't understand them, that is probably not because you lack technical knowledge. Treat technical complexity like any other factual puzzle, ask questions, and get the answers you need.

What's one way technology has made your life easier?

Google Maps: Any time you spent being lost is probably a net waste of your precious moments of life.

One way it's made your life more difficult?

Email, voicemail, text, Slack, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn—it's getting harder to keep up. It's crucial to filter what you don't need to handle.

What's one area of technology that you're most excited about and why?

Open source software. It is a fascinating topic and the engine of the technology world.