Voice of Experience: Heather Kafele, Partner, Shearman & Sterling

Looking back on her career, Heather Kafele, a Washington, DC-based litigation partner at global law firm Shearman & Sterling, remembers that she was not exactly sure which career path she wanted to take. She was certain about one thing, though: “I was very passionate about the world’s injustices.”

Before going to law school, Kafele had the opportunity to reside in Kenya on a grant to study international development. There, she was able to do some soul searching and considered many different options, including earning a Ph.D. in philosophy and staying in academia or taking an alternative route to practice law. After taking both the GRE and the LSAT admissions exams, Kafele decided to pursue a legal career.

“I loved law school,” said Kafele, “and I continued to follow a non-traditional path.” Instead of spending her summers at big law firms, Kafele worked at the public defender’s office and was convinced this is where she would start her career after graduating from law school. However, faced with a pile of debt after graduation, Kafele made the prudent decision to join a big firm before pursuing her passion of becoming a public defender.

Life had something else in store for Kafele, however. She discovered that the type of work she did at Shearman & Sterling was extremely rewarding as it involved cutting-edge and thorny legal issues, diverse clients and industries, and an opportunity to travel and see the world.

“I never expected to stay at a big firm, but I found myself passionate about the work,” Kafele said. “Being a trial lawyer means working with witnesses, documents and facts to weave together a compelling story and draw judges and jurors into that story. This process is both challenging and thrilling.”

“Women have a unique ability to connect with other people – including judges, jurors and witnesses – which are a true asset for women litigators,” she added.

One of the most significant and memorable experiences in Kafele’s career came when she had the opportunity to participate in a three-week jury trial on a big antitrust case. “These cases rarely go to trial so this experience was very unique and exciting,” Kafele noted. Recently, Kafele represented Ardagh Group in a high-profile litigation brought by the Federal Trade Commission challenging Ardagh’s acquisition of Saint Gobain’s US glass container business. And just this week, Kafele scored a significant victory on behalf of several major banks upholding New York’s “separate entity rule” and extending it (for the first time) to document subpoenas.

Special Interest in Cartel Law and Pro Bono Work

Kafele has extensive experience in international cartel enforcement matters, handling complex multi-jurisdictional cartel and grand jury investigations, as well as class action litigations. According to her, many more jurisdictions other than the US and EU are developing cartel laws or enforcing existing cartel laws, making it an international norm and changing the way companies do business. She explained, “The dynamic of cartel law has really changed, which makes it a very exciting area to work in. Since Shearman & Sterling is a global firm, I advise companies all over the world and help them investigate issues, understand the US process and coordinate with counsel in other jurisdictions.”

Recent cartel matters she has worked on include representing several Japanese auto parts manufacturers in criminal price-fixing investigations before the Department of Justice and follow-on class action lawsuits and representing an air cargo carrier in a criminal cargo investigation and follow-on class action lawsuits. As part of her interest in cartel law, Kafele is involved in the development and maintenance of Shearman & Sterling’s Cartel Digest, a central resource containing key data on global cartels. “The Department of Justice has long made available data about cartels in the United States, but nowhere has global information been made available to practitioners and clients on an international level,” Kafele explained.

Due to the increasingly global nature of cartel investigations, the Cartel Digest is becoming an extremely useful tool for practitioners to gather information about previous cases in one, easy-to-use, organized location. According to Kafele, the Digest has been very well received by the antitrust bar and in-house counsel. “People are thrilled,” she noted. “Counsel in smaller jurisdictions, where it has been historically difficult to access public information, are sending us information to publish in the Digest.”

In addition to her antitrust work, Kafele has spent the last three years acting as the chair of Shearman & Sterling’s pro bono committee. “I believe –as the firm believes – that it is important to give back at this point in your legal career,” said Kafele. “The pro bono committee stays connected within the pro bono community, seeks out really great pro bono opportunities and gets our attorneys really excited about these cases.”

In her own pro bono work, Kafele has been involved in criminal defense pro bono, including a death penalty case.

Women in Law

Kafele bemoans the lack of senior women litigators at big firms generally and hopes their numbers will increase. “There just are not many women partners from big firm who take the first chair – standing up in court and arguing cases and motions,” said Kafele. “It’s very rare.”

Kafele added, “This is simultaneously an opportunity and a challenge. It is an opportunity because many clients recognize the value of having a woman litigator take the lead, especially given that most jurors and many judges are women. “ Kafele notes that it may also be a challenge because women may not fit the mold of what some people expect to see in a trial attorney.

Young women in law have the opportunity to work alongside women in senior roles, whereas as an associate Kafele never had the experience of working with a woman partner. “I see how important it is for female associates on my team to have women ahead of them to look to,” she said. “Their experience will be different, and this is definitely a step forward.”

As more women leaders emerge and gain visibility, Kafele is certain that more progress for women will follow. She also likes to offer some sage advice to women in law and business.

“Don’t wait to be invited,” she emphasized. “You have to seek out opportunities and know that you are capable of going beyond your comfort zone.”

Women at Shearman & Sterling

“We have a tremendous organization called WISER (Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention), which is led by the women associates and focuses on advancing the hiring, retention, development and promotion of women lawyers. The partners provide feedback and direction, but it has been really remarkable to see how this group has grown and evolved,” said Kafele.

Shearman & Sterling’s Twitter handle, @ShearmanWomen, is also an exciting initiative at the firm, Kafele said. Here, on a daily basis, the firm’s women tweet on news and issues affecting women in law and business. “We believe it is the first of its kind in Big Law,” she added.

Kafele has had the honor of being selected as a fellow in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). She explained, “Women and minorities at firms and in-house are selected to be fellows, representing the future leaders in the industry. Through the program, we have the chance to meet and network with each other and different general counsel.”

Kafele was sponsored by Shearman & Sterling to participate in the program, and she says it stands out as one of the most gratifying experiences in her career, in terms of networking and relationship building. “I’m delighted to have had the pleasure to participate,” she said.

By Michelle Hendelman