Women Leaders in Tech Law 2018: Jennifer Huber, Keker, Van Nest & Peters
"Be curious and be agile," says Huber. "Curiosity will make you a better lawyer, and it will help you find joy and intellectual fulfillment."
November 12, 2018 at 05:08 PM
4 minute read
Jennifer Huber, a partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters, represented Google in an arbitration alleging Anthony Levandowski and the co-founder of his autonomous vehicle venture violated their obligations to Google when they solicited employees and then promptly sold that company to Uber at a publicly reported value of about $680 million.
In 50 words or less, how far has the tech industry gone toward tackling its gender gap since you started practicing?
I grew up in Silicon Valley. My mom was a marketing executive at Apple and Intel, so the gender gap in the tech industry is something that I've been hearing and thinking about for as long as I can remember—well before I started practicing law. Surely, there have been some advances. Companies don't look the same way as they did during my mom's era. But the progress is frustratingly slow and incremental.
Name a lawyer whose work you admire and why?
I can't pick just one. One of the greatest joys of practicing at KVP is being surrounded by many extraordinary lawyers and people. Growing up in this firm has allowed me to observe many different styles and approaches, try them out and adopt what feels right for me.
What's the best part about working in the tech sector?
The best part is the constant change, and innovation and disruption. It's impossible to predict what's next, and it's never boring.
What's the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge is the unpredictability—the flip side of the excitement and challenge of new problems.
What piece of advice do you give to lawyers considering a career in tech law?
Be curious and be agile. Curiosity will make you a better lawyer, and it will help you find joy and intellectual fulfillment. Agility is just a necessary survival skill.
What's one way technology has made your life easier?
Connectivity—i.e., the ability to be in constant touch with people, the ability to work seamlessly from anywhere and having so many resources at your fingertips on your phone make life both easier and more difficult. I wouldn't want to live without it, but I am constantly having to remind myself to put the device aside and be present in the moment.
Name an important opportunity you got early in your career and what you did with it.
As a second-year associate, I took on a pro bono case on the eve of trial. A fellow associate and I tried the case before a jury in federal court—just the two of us. It was an incredible experience, and it gave me the confidence to know that I could take on something like that. I took that experience, and I used it to show I that I could and should be doing things like examining witnesses or arguing in court in our paying cases, even as an associate.
What's the best piece of career advice anyone ever gave you?
I have two favorite pieces of advice. First, be authentic. Second, think about where you want to be in five or 10 years and make a plan.
No. 1 survival tip in a work crisis?
Talk to colleagues. Oftentimes, what feels like a crisis is something that a colleague has tackled before, and even if not, fresh eyes help you put things in perspective and identify priorities or a plan of attack.
What's one way you've had to change your thinking toward practicing law to succeed with tech industry clients?
I am, by nature, a conservative person when it comes to decision-making. I think a lot of lawyers are probably wired that way. I've found that my tech industry clients are not necessarily wired that way—they are, by nature, risk-takers. I've had to adjust my own thinking about risk-taking or approaching problems more creatively in order to give advice that matches a client's appetite for that.
What's one area of technology that you're most excited about and why?
Transportation. We all need it, and there are surely more efficient and environmentally friendly ways to do it.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllLitigation Leaders: Laura Hoey of Ropes & Gray on Bringing an Industry Focus to Litigation Matters
Litigators of the Week: A $604.9M Trade Secrets Verdict With a Big Assist From a Juror Question
Litigation Leaders: Quinn Emanuel's Michael Carlinsky on Training Associates to Think and Act Like Trial Lawyers
Litigators of the Week: Jeffrey Kessler and Steve Berman Reach a Settlement With the NCAA that Reshapes College Sports
Trending Stories
- 1Big Law Expected To Follow Milbank's Lead With Associate Year-End Bonuses
- 2Judicial Ethics Opinion 24-58
- 3Sweet James Clinches $17.4M Personal Injury Jury Verdict in California's Kings County
- 4In Lame-Duck Session, US Senate Confirms Illinois Federal Judge on Bipartisan Vote
- 5Gordon Rees Opens 80th Office, ‘Collaboration Hub’ in Palo Alto
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250