Voice of Experience: Reena Agrawal Sahni, Partner, Shearman & Sterling LLP
“I don’t like to give advice because I believe that we each find our own path in life, but I do try to lead by example,” says Reena Agrawal Sahni, a partner at Shearman & Sterling and head of the firm’s US Bank Regulatory practice. “And that is important to me because I have learned from watching the examples set by others.”
As early as her first job after law school, clerking for Judge Jon O. Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Sahni found such a mentor and exemplar. “Working with someone of that caliber who was excellent at everything he did, but did it with ease, grace and good humor, gave me a model for how I wanted to conduct myself professionally,” she recalls.
After the clerkship, Sahni spent several years in private practice, gaining experience in a variety of corporate practices, such as bankruptcy, capital markets, M&A, internal investigations, and bank regulatory issues, and in the latter found a niche that was especially fascinating. “I found that the bank regulatory practice was the perfect mix of transactional, academic, and advisory work. It never gets boring because it is so client focused. It is all about the clients’ needs regardless of where that takes you,” she says.
Sahni then spent two years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in New York, where she led investigations into securities fraud. She says moving from private practice to the government was especially gratifying, where again she was fortunate to benefit from the example of hard work in the service of the public interest set by her colleagues at the agency.
Expertise in Demand
That experience was cut short when the financial crisis hit in 2008. The financial regulatory landscape changed dramatically, and with her bank regulatory expertise much in demand, she returned to firm work, focusing on Dodd-Frank-related developments.
In August 2014, she joined Shearman & Sterling as a partner in the Financial Institutions Advisory & Financial Regulatory practice. Much of her work is with foreign clients who are dealing with U.S. regulations, an aspect of the work that she finds endlessly interesting. “We are really helping clients solve problems and accomplish their business objectives in a heightened regulatory environment,” she explains. “The industry as a whole has been undergoing a seismic shift in regulation and supervision, and it is an exciting time to be practicing in this area. Significant policy questions about what the regulatory framework should look like are still being debated. I feel fortunate to be a part of that debate.”
Reflections on Women in the Legal Field
Reflecting on her career, Sahni says that she wishes she had appreciated how much value she was bringing to clients by working hard and being creative, even in her early years. “As a junior associate, there can be a tendency to underestimate your contributions, especially when you’re working with so many experienced people,” she says. She encourages others to realize their worth and the significant value they bring to the table.
Sahni advises women entering the industry to seek outpeople who they admire and on whom they’d like to pattern their careers. “Be bold and learn from their experiences,” she says. “They’ll be willing to talk to young lawyers about how they progressed, and even though everyone figures out on their own what works for them, you can learn a lot by inquiring about the paths others have taken.”
She herself has learned a lot from the women she considers her mentors and peers, noting, “I’m constantly inspired by the way that the women I meet manage their careers.”
Though relatively new to Shearman & Sterling, she has been impressed with the level of commitment that the firm has to women and diversity in general. She’s currently involved with the women partners’ group, where they share best practices for how to connect with clients in different ways.
Having a one-year-old and a five-year-old at home doesn’t leave Sahni much time for hobbies, but she tries to balance her passion for her work with time with her family. “I was concerned on our last family vacation when our five-year-old wanted to stay up late writing my work emails for me,” she says, laughing. “But I was proud of the example my husband and I are trying to set for her and her sister to work hard and accomplish your goals.”
