Julia Kropp, associate, Farella Braun + Martel (Courtesy photo)

Julia Kropp, an associate at Farella, took an active role for BladeRoom Group in trade secrets and intellectual property litigation over the design and construction of a $200 million Facebook data center in Sweden. At trial, she conducted the examination of one of the most senior Facebook employee who testified.

Name an important opportunity you've had in your career and what you did with it?

I had the opportunity at trial to cross-examine a company branch director 20 years my senior, an individual from whom we needed to elicit a few discreet pieces of information key to damages and whose credibility was important to the jury relying on that information. Through my preparation and the experience of the cross-examination, I developed the understanding and the skill set to obtain the information I needed to get, maintain the witness's credibility and remain true to myself—I persisted in asking questions he had not quite answered; I impeached his testimony where necessary and re-crossed to correct misleading testimony opposing counsel elicited, all while remaining respectful and maintaining my own professionalism.

Who is the most important mentor you've had thus far in your career? Why?

As far as I can look back, I've really been graced with many great mentors who have given me their time and invested in me, whether it was a someone helping me navigate law school applications, advising me in law school or beyond. The lesson I've learned along the way was that, the more I engaged, the more the mentor gave me. As I've evolved in my career, my needs have changed and I've looked for and been fortunate to find many mentors at Farella, both partners and more senior associates, who model hard work and devotion to this job through their excellence and efficiency, balanced with time for family, friends and their own interests outside the law—their humanity.

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

Stretching my brain, learning about new things all the time and working with really creative clients.

What's the biggest challenge?

Establishing trust with and earning respect from the client that I either already do or will come to understand and value the tech they are protecting as much as they want me to.

How do you describe what you do for a living to people you're meeting for the first time?

I help people protect the things they create.

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

The ability to check in remotely.

One way it's made your life more difficult?

The fact that none of us can hardly ever really be “unavailable” or fully offline.

What drew you to practicing law in the technology industry?

It's the dominant industry of the Bay Area and a sector that affords the opportunity to work with local clients big and small.

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

Never underestimate the importance of the people you work with—when you find good people, work hard to stick with them.

In 50 words or less, what's the best way to address tech's gender gap?

Don't spend years analyzing the numbers—acknowledge the gap, and do something, like start hiring more women.

Describe yourself in one word.

True to myself.

What kinds of new technologies should tomorrow's lawyers be able to use effectively?

Slack (or similar quick-contact platforms),

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

Gene therapies/any cancer-tracking and -defeating technology—because that is a truly meaningful technology that can change people's lives for the better, and because I wish it had been around when my dad was fighting the end of his cancer battle eight years ago.