General counsel Kristin Sverchek led a cross-functional effort that led to Lyft becoming the first major tech company to IPO in 2019, all while leading the company's 100-person in-house legal team. Sverchek, who is among the 21 lawyers chosen as Women Leaders in Tech Law as part of this year's California Leaders in Tech Law and Innovation Awards, recently shared with The Recorder the steps she'd like to see taken to increase the number of women practicing law in the tech sector.

What's your proudest professional achievement of the past year and why?

When I joined Lyft in 2012 as general counsel, it was just me. Now, Lyft's legal team is crossing 130 people and is stronger than ever. I'm incredibly proud of the team I've built—they're dealing with increasingly complex legal issues as the company grows, including personal injury, regulatory, intellectual property, employment, disability law, and privacy, just to name a few. Every team member has been uncompromising in their ability to help the company achieve business goals and take us closer and closer to realizing our mission. A few standout achievements from my team this year include the acquisition of bikeshare system Motivate, and becoming the first major tech company to IPO in 2019.

What's your proudest personal achievement of the past year and why?

Surviving four days at Disneyland with my family (no explanation needed).

What's one piece of advice you'd give to a woman starting out in tech law?

Stick with it. Tech law is difficult, but provides a fulfilling career.

What concrete steps could be made to increase the number of women in tech law?

There are a number of things that we can do. As leaders, it's on us to prioritize both inclusion and diversity on our hiring and retention strategies:

  • Implement clear diversity representation and inclusion goals, and a comprehensive approach to achieve them.
  • Make sure that every person who participates in the interview process on your team understands unconscious bias.
  • Make sure that you're sourcing and recruiting talent from a diverse range of places and experiences.
  • Commit to the Rooney Rule, so that at least one woman or underrepresented minority is included in the final interview slate for any director-level and above position.