Voice of Experience: Esther Jansen, Finance Partner, Frankfurt, Shearman & Sterling LLP

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jansen_e_hiresDon’t opt out before you ever get a chance to start your career.

That’s the advice from Esther Jansen, a Shearman & Sterling partner in Frankfurt who took opportunities as they were presented to grow her career.

Today a well-known and highly-regarded lawyer who advises on German and cross-border finance transactions, Jansen began her legal career the way most professionals begin theirs: with a general direction but lacking any real focus. In fact, thinking back to her time as a law student at University of Heidelberg, Jansen admits she had no specific career path in mind; there were no lawyers in her family but she had always been interested in the field and knew that a general plan of study could open doors to various avenues.

Her career path started rather randomly with her oral examination at the conclusion of her studies. That is when a corporate law professor, from whom she had never even taken a class, complimented her performance and offered her a job.

“I was able to travel and make a lot of connections, and I realized that this area of law was something I wanted to pursue,”

Thus she embarked on a career in corporate law. Jansen recalls finding the field “inspiring” due to a wide variety of projects that encompassed different areas of law, including international projects with professors from other universities. “I was able to travel and make a lot of connections, and I realized that this area of law was something I wanted to pursue,” Jansen says.

For three years she supported the professor on research projects and student training. She was then offered a position at a law firm through another professor with whom she had interfaced while working at the university.

For three years, Jansen concentrated on venture capital, corporate and M&A, and then new doors opened as her German firm merged with one in New York. She was offered the chance to work in New York to get a different perspective and meet people with whom she had worked from Germany.

“I was astounded at how different the environment was,” she says. “German law firms had hierarchy but nowhere near that of a US firm in New York. One day I went to a partner’s office, only to run into a mid-level associate who asked me what I was doing. I quickly found out that there you don’t just go to the partner.”

Soon after returning to Germany she left – along with the partner with whom she had been working — and began her career with Shearman & Sterling in 2001.

“Becoming partner was a defining moment for me because I’m so proud to be part of this inspiring environment,”

A Rewarding, Fascinating Change

Jansen found Shearman & Sterling to be a great fit right from the start, with a team spirit, lots of young partners and a supportive environment. Jansen became a partner in 2005 and had the opportunity to work with many different partners during her time as an associate, which she credits for her rapid development. “The more personalities you work with, the more you can choose the patterns that work best for you to develop your own professional personality,” she says.

“Becoming partner was a defining moment for me because I’m so proud to be part of this inspiring environment,” she adds. “The ability to transition from one area of law to another, and work with so many smart people and become part of the market and a community on a bigger scale, has really been an achievement for me.”

Jansen finds her work challenging and fascinating because of its ever-changing structure. Over the past year she has not only found a rewarding opportunity to retain new relationships with private equity houses in the higher and midmarket segments, but also worked with banks and corporates on financing transactions, insolvency issues and high yield bonds.

Making a Career Choice for the Right Stage of Your Life

Jansen believes that it is also a woman’s responsibility to take charge of her own career. “I have never encountered a barrier from clients or the firm, nor experienced any pushback from anyone in or outside of the firm,” she says.

It’s still an issue she understands well: the year before her partnership process began she became pregnant and endured the ensuing questions from women about whether she could balance her work and family. But there was no issue with the firm; being a mother did not impair her partnership opportunity. She stayed home for five months and there was no delay to her partnership track when she returned.

However, this perceived barrier presents a problem for hiring and retaining women. Jansen says that when she started at Shearman & Sterling, about 50 percent of her fellow associates were women but, as is the case throughout the legal industry, there was a drop-off by the time associates become ready for the partnership.

Jansen encourages young woman to start networking early, both internally and externally

Over and over she hears from young women that their main obstacle is whether this is the right career for the next 20 years.

“Maybe it is, maybe it’s not, but you don’t have to overthink it. Take a small step and see if it’s right for you,” she says, adding that women often don’t take the big leap and therefore get stuck in a less ambitious job before they even start. “Gaining experience at a firm like Shearman & Sterling means that all the doors are open. Even when women leave, they have a strong foundation to launch the next phase of their career that they wouldn’t have had if they hadn’t pushed themselves.”

Women Helping Women

Although Shearman & Sterling is known for its comprehensive women’s networking groups, German culture as a whole isn’t as developed in gender diversity initiatives. Jansen says the German market is starting to adapt, and the firm has introduced its Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention (WISER) inclusion network locally. The firm has also expanded its annual global partner meeting an extra day for anyone, male or female, who wants to participate in Women’s Initiative programming. That programming typically includes female speakers and networking with other female partners to mine connections that could help each other.

In addition, the women partners have taken the initiative to become part of smaller personal circles of four to five women who report to each other once or twice a month, offering encouragement and a high degree of accountability. “Since it’s a more intimate group, you’ll be missed if you’re not part of it,” she says.

Jansen encourages young woman to start networking early, both internally and externally, to get to know the peers they’ll grow their careers with. In fact, she says that one of the foundations of Shearman & Sterling’s Women’s Initiative is that, within the business and legal communities, women are increasingly making the legal buy decisions, in their role as general counsel or assistant general counsel, so it’s important to understand their contacts’ business and what they are looking for and to foster relationships with senior women in those organizations.

Through it all, and with a very challenging career, Jansen is aware that she has been fortunate to have the support from her husband and her extended family. With two kids, ages 11 and 8, Jansen says, “On the weekends, family is my hobby.”

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Voice of Experience: Kiran Kaur, Managing Director- Technology, TIAA-CREF

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KiranKiran Kaur has seen the powerful effect that strong women mentors and sponsors have had on advancing her career. “Together we need to help other women be promoted to leadership roles. We grow the chain by passing it on.”

Kaur came to the United States from Sydney, parlaying her master’s degree in computer science into a position at a small Wall Street consulting firm. As the only women in the IT department, she found herself rolling up her sleeves to install big machines – doing everything her male counterparts were doing.

That can-do attitude caught the eye and impressed one of her clients, a hedge fund company, whose CTO paid a finder’s fee to her consulting company and offered her a job. It was a critical milestone in her career progression, giving her entrée into the financial industry.

Two years later, when the fund manager decided to retire and downsize, he invited two major Wall Street firms in to interview and place the remaining employees. Kaur decided that Morgan Stanley was most suited to her career progression at the time and joined the firm. For 13 years, she held a wide variety of roles, becoming a vice president and then an executive director and overseeing a global team of more than 100 in Asia, Hong Kong, London, Australia and India.

In 2012, a former boss who had gone to TIAA-CREF reached out, inviting her to visit the Charlotte, N.C., headquarters, assuring Kaur she would be well-suited to the culture and there were plenty of opportunities to leverage her experience.

Kaur eventually joined TIAA-CREF in 2013 and was recently promoted to managing director, overseeing technology. She says she is looking forward to being part of some upcoming transitions in the company and industry. TIAA-CREF’s current CIO has advanced to become COO, opening up the position for someone from the outside. “It will be interesting to see their perspective and how we will adapt and deliver on any directional changes they make,” Kaur said. In addition her team has been actively pursuing an initiative designed to drive accountability and shine light on enhancing the exchange management process.

Brand Presence as a Driver of Success

Through her transition to TIAA-CREF, Kaur became acutely aware of the differences in company culture and the importance of adapting. “Morgan Stanley was a very aggressive environment, very competitive, where you had to prove yourself to even be considered to have a seat at the table,” she says. “When I first started at TIAA-CREF I would march in with a solution to a problem, but it wasn’t long before I realized that I needed to tweak my style – they weren’t just about speed but execution.”

That’s when she began to focus on the importance of personal brand. “You have to be constantly conscious of what people are saying about you and how you are being perceived by those around you because it sets the tone for what others think about you, even if they might not have worked directly with you,” she says, adding that brand encompasses everything from how you walk into the room to what you have to deliver.

Even though she acknowledges that her brand spoke for itself when she was first tapped by the hedge fund firm, she says that had she been more consciously aware of its importance, she would have been more intentional about using it to build stronger relationships.

“Had I gotten a career sponsor earlier on, perhaps I would have had quicker ascensions. Finding career sponsors and mentors, people who will recognize and champion your talent, will push your career forward,” Kaur said. “You can be the best person, but if no one knows about it, especially as you get more senior, you won’t get the opportunities you want. Success is reliant on negotiating and influencing skills.”

Although the industry has advanced in gender diversity, Kaur still sees that there is a long way to go to achieve parity. Not only is the financial services industry still largely male dominated, but it is even more pronounced when you layer the technology function on top, which can cause challenges for networking opportunities.

For example, men frequently participate in golf or sports outings, and that can seem alienating to women. “Women know the importance of gaining insights by participating in events outside of work for relationship building, but it can be harder for women to insert themselves into these scenarios. We typically have to go home to our families, where men don’t have to adapt their schedules as much.”

Additionally, some traits that are acceptable coming from a man are still perceived as overly aggressive in women leaders. One area where Kaur urges women to take control is in speaking up for themselves. She points out that men have no qualms about asking for a raise or promotion and women need to do the same.

Despite the gender differences Kaur believes women shouldn’t alter themselves to try to fit in. “Some women try to act like men, which is fine if that’s your choice, but we should be proud of our femininity and stop pretending. Women can drive the agenda just as effectively.”

And that extends to emulating managers too. “Sometimes we get into the shadow of our leaders and start imitating their behaviors which can be positive, but it also means you can lose your individual personality. It’s important to stay true to your own brand.”

Kaur personally stays involved in a number of women-oriented councils and encourages other women in the industry to help increase the percentage of women in IT. “I am an example of someone who got chosen by a woman leader, who put me in a position where I was exposed so that my talent was recognized.”

World Traveler

A multi-national citizen — born in Africa, and then moving to Sydney and ultimately the United States — Kaur has been traveling since birth, and she has passed that love on to her family, which includes her husband and four- and 11-year old children. On a regular basis, she counts fitness, especially yoga, and cooking as her stress busters. For her it’s about being with her family doing something they all love, together.

By Cathie Ericson

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Voice of Experience: Anne Ozimek, SVP Securities Operations, of Voya Investment

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Ozimek_Anne_ copy“Through every step of my career, I have focused on learning a set of skills and doing everything possible to meet the needs of my clients, so that when an opportunity came up, I was ready,” says Anne Ozimek, senior vice president at Voya Investment Management. “Each job will offer a different set of challenges and every one of them will prepare you for your next step.”

Ozimek’s career in the insurance and investment business has spanned many years and a wide variety of positions. As she has taken on different roles, she has always preferred those that were fast paced and required ongoing problem solving.

Her first job out of college was at The Hartford Insurance Group, where she traveled to regional offices to offer the production teams solutions to improve workflow and reduce backlogs. She became part of their management training program and held several positions before moving to Aetna. She started as a business analyst on an investment accounting system, handling the production functions, and then worked her way up to supervisor of the unit and ultimately manager – all while obtaining her MBA.

As a result of the business knowledge she acquired supporting those functions, Ozimek left that daily production role to manage a small unit of business analysts working on a large accounting system replacement project. Completing that project allowed her to enhance her project management skills, working closely with IT and the business to develop specifications, test plans, identify, document and resolve issues and then ultimately implement the new system.

Based on that work and connections she had formed, she was offered a new role putting together an institutional shareholder recordkeeping unit for what was then Aeltus Investment Management (and became ING and now Voya).

This entailed learning the functions, hiring the team and then working with IT and Client Services to develop a proprietary recordkeeping system to handle the client level transactions for the funds the firm managed. The system was in place for more than 15 years, since replaced with a new operating model where an external service provider does the recordkeeping work and other back office functions and the Voya Business Support and Operations team oversees the work. Her team’s role has thus shifted from processing to oversight, analysis and problem solving.

Having been a member of an operational team for most of her career, Ozimek relishes her collaborative role – performing the day-to-day jobs to meet client needs but also supporting huge projects. “It’s fast paced, but what I love the most is the mentality of operations. The team always displays a can-do attitude. We know that no matter what the obstacle, we can figure out a way to get it done.”

She sees the industry as being a vibrant one for years to come, as baby boomers hit retirement age and need new products and advice as they segue from the asset accumulation phase to the spending phase.

Advice for Rising Stars

Ozimek had an excellent role model of a career woman in her mom, who worked at a time when many women didn’t. That gave her a good grasp on what the corporate world was like and how to mesh home organization, occasional late working hours and family needs, all while performing at her job.

Early in her career, she recognized that you may come into situations where you work hard and yet you still don’t get the acknowledgment you want or the job you want. At that point you have to assess what happened, determine if there was anything else you could have done differently, and then move on, making sure that you are getting the skills you need and connecting with the managers and mentors who are interested in making sure you succeed. She has had some great mentors over the years.

“If you’re not in a good situation for your skill set, recognize it and make a change,” she says. “Defining your world too narrowly is not a barrier in the business but in your mindset.”

Ozimek’s own personal philosophy on getting ahead is to work hard, and make sure you’re not getting caught up in an “it’s not my job” mentality. “If you go out of your way to help other people with their issues, you become a ‘go to’ person. Then the next time you need help, others around you are more likely to reciprocate. Every time you go the extra mile, you’re building those relationships and creating a situation where people are looking out for you.”

Saying yes is another crucial factor in a successful career ascension. “So many times, when someone approaches us to do something, we find reasons to say no. Instead, we should determine if there are good reasons to say yes,” she says, adding that it’s important to try to figure out why you were asked to do something. “Don’t discount that you just might be the perfect person..”

As the industry has evolved, Ozimek is no longer the only woman in most meetings and appreciates that change. She sees the benefit of having been involved in both formal and informal mentoring programs over the years and actively works with younger associates to provide that perspective. She knows that having a mentor offers a comfort level in talking through an issue or a problem and getting advice from someone who’s been there. She urges people to speak up if they want a manager to act as their mentor or coach. “Don’t be shy about what you want.”

Away From the Office

Ozimek has been married for 37 years and has two grown sons and two daughters-in-law. On the weekends she and her husband spend as much time as they can at their second home in Vermont, joined by family and friends. “This stage is a blast,” she says, “watching the ‘kids’ make their way in their lives and careers.”

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Voice of Experience: Seble Tareke-Williams; Managing Director, NYC Interborough Fund; Emmes Asset Management Company LLC

Seble Tareke-Williams-thumbSeble Tareke-Williams describes her professional path as nontraditional, but each step has been vital to creating her current career, which combines her real estate investing acumen with her passion for community development.

She started her post-college career at a social policy think tank before running an economic development program at Pratt Area Community Council, a neighborhood-based community development organization. That’s when Tareke-Williams realized it was necessary to acquire solid business experience for her next career step, whether she decided to transition to the private sector or progress to a more senior management level in the nonprofit sector.

She decided the most expedient way to make a professional pivot was to earn a graduate degree in business and chose Harvard Business School because of its strong focus on leadership across disciplines, combined with the opportunity it provided to network with people across a broad spectrum of professional and cultural backgrounds. “As a career changer, I also felt it was important to attend a top-tier school; that I would benefit from that extra stamp of approval,” she says, although she adds she doesn’t think this route is necessary for everyone.

While at Harvard, Tareke-Williams was named a fellow by the Robert Toigo Foundation, which works to advance the development and careers of minority MBA talent seeking careers in finance. Toigo allowed her to build a greater network with peers across business schools. “Toigo has such a great reputation in the industry for its strong caliber of fellows so I felt the Foundation offered an extra level of credibility.” She says the Toigo Foundation was influential in landing her internship at GE, and later for the number of interviews it helped coordinate, including with Emmes, where she has been since graduation.

I find that women are naturally bolder when we’re representing the interests of others, including our firms’, because it’s how we’re built. We feel more comfortable in that role. But we need to exude that same level of confidence and boldness when representing our own interests

Real Estate Fund Combines Her Interest in the Public and Private Sectors

Tareke-Williams decided to focus on real estate based on the exposure she had received at the community development organization prior to business school.

Emmes acquires, manages and sells commercial real estate on behalf of institutional partners, primarily domestic pension funds. While at Emmes, she’s been involved in asset management, capital raising and acquisitions and takes pride in the depth and range of her professional experience.

“The diversity of assignments I’ve undertaken has made me a better leader; it’s allowed me to be able to have meaningful context when making decisions. And ultimately, that’s just as important as your innate abilities. Your experiences are what make you an expert in your field.”

She currently manages the Emmes Interborough Fund that is solely focused on markets across New York City that have historically lacked institutional investment, namely Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island and pockets of Manhattan.

“When you think about the attributes of these markets within the context of the entire United States, there are tremendously positive fundamentals, including density and cultural value.

“I’m going back to my professional roots as we bring institutional dollars to these markets. It’s exciting to think about the economic development implications of investing in these markets, while still working within the private sector,” says Tareke-Williams.  She notes that while the primary goal, of course, is to make money on behalf of pensioners who are investing, there is also the secondary positive impact on these communities. “It is a great marriage of the two phases of my career.”

She finds the real estate industry to be in a fascinating phase given several economic trends such as technological growth. Technology is changing where and how people work: technology increases worker mobility and productivity which impact space utilization as, for example, the average square footage dedicated per worker is decreasing. And the growth of technology firms, as well as other high-growth industries like media, are attracting workforces that value working and living in culturally relevant urban markets that foster creativity and business development such as the ones that the Emmes Interborough Fund invests in.   These residential population and workforce shifts are creating resurgence in the outer boroughs of New York City.

“Real estate is fascinating because it touches every aspect of your life- where you live, work, and play.”

Confidence Will Lead to Success

Tareke-Williams knows that the No. 1 asset a professional needs is confidence – in your own work, ideas and perspective.

“I find that women are naturally bolder when we’re representing the interests of others, including our firms’, because it’s how we’re built. We feel more comfortable in that role. But we need to exude that same level of confidence and boldness when representing our own interests,” she says.

She notes that the men with whom she interfaces are more transparent about their own interests – they tend to be clear about their personal intentions, including making money. She finds they’re not shy about it, and in return they more often get what they want.

“When we represent ourselves well internally, that also raises our value to the firm. The assumption being that if you can represent yourself well, that you will also represent the firm with conviction.”

Striving for Balance – In All Areas

Though her company, as a boutique firm, doesn’t lend itself to having robust, scaled programs dedicated to diversity, she has always felt supported by the firm’s leadership who encourage her to develop and retain a strong external support network. She is active in WX, a group of women executives in real estate, as well as the Toigo Foundation.

Tareke-Williams has three daughters, soon to be ages two, four and seven. She spends as much time with them as she can, but considers balance to be about more than work and family. She is proud to have come full circle and be engaged at a deep level as the board chair of the non-profit where she worked prior to business school. “No matter how busy I am with my work and family, I won’t feel complete unless I’m also involved in community.”

And even with all that on her plate – or maybe especially because she has all that on her plate — Tareke-Williams knows that she has to make a little time for herself. She does that through training for races and is especially looking forward to an upcoming all-women half-marathon.

By Cathie Ericson

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Voice of Experience: Jessica K. Delbaum, Antitrust Partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP

By Cathie Ericson

delbaumjessicawebAccording to Jessica K. Delbaum, a leading antitrust partner at global law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP, plotting a successful career path involves looking beyond the expectations of an entry-level position and determining if you’ll be excited by future prospects in the practice you pursue. “Look ahead at what senior practitioners are doing, because you won’t be at your current level for long,” she advises. “Make sure it’s fascinating and rewarding.”

Delbaum took her own advice to heart when she pursued her career path in the antitrust field. As an undergrad, she majored in economics and philosophy, but decided to start her career as a legal assistant, joining Shearman & Sterling right after graduating from Columbia College. She quickly realized she had found her calling and went back to school at Harvard Law. She spent her first summer in the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York, but an antitrust class she took in her second year of law school provided much-needed career direction. “I was almost immediately won over by antitrust’s complex and stimulating mix of corporate law, litigation, criminal work and business – all in one body of law,” Delbaum recalls. Soon after, a stint as a summer associate, with an emphasis on antitrust, confirmed her interest in both its theoretical and practical applications.

After law school graduation, Delbaum began her career as an Attorney General’s Honors Program Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division in Washington, DC. She says, “It was a phenomenal experience, working with an incredible group of attorneys and economists, including many women in leadership positions.” Delbaum also recalls having the unique opportunity to depose a Fortune 50 CEO in her first year of work.

After a few years of rewarding work at the DOJ, she missed New York and decided it was time to try private practice. She joined Shearman & Sterling in November 2004 — first as an associate and then becoming counsel and ultimately a partner.

Today, the most rewarding part of her job is helping clients achieve their strategic goals as they navigate the complexity of the antitrust realm. “We use different tactics depending on their goals,” she explains, “so my job is to listen carefully to the client and then apply my knowledge and expertise to help them make practical choices and achieve their objectives as painlessly as possible.”

Currently she is wrapping up a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical transaction and juggling several other client assignments. She says, “I love substantive, complicated issues, and I find the more I delve into any industry – whether it’s industrial gases or medical devices – the more interesting it gets.”

The legal industry itself continues to fascinate her as companies realize that antitrust issues extend far beyond U.S. borders to incorporate international factors. Today, for example, completing a significant merger transaction will likely involve discussions with antitrust agencies from all over the world – a specialty for her and for Shearman & Sterling.

Changing Expectations
Stepping back from her client work, Delbaum sees a changing face of Big Law and an ever-evolving way of servicing today’s clients. She has seen shifts that extend from client expectations to the expectations of incoming lawyers. Successful practitioners, she says, will learn to navigate these different stakeholders.

This has a significant impact, in particular, in the way that young lawyers work, especially in their emphasis on work-life balance. “Incoming associates are typically very tech savvy and adapt well to our fast-paced work environment, but work isn’t everything to them,” Delbaum says. “They crave a more well-rounded life and experience, and the challenge is to see how that dovetails with private practice and the needs of our international clientele and the pace of our transactions.”

She cites the issue of clients with pressing problems – often in multiple time zones – and the lawyers who also want some balance in their life. That equilibrium is both helped and harmed by technology – on the one hand, you can take care of what you need to wherever you are; conversely, no one is completely unplugged and it’s more difficult to carve out that sacred personal time.

“It used to be we’d have a week to sift through new documents and offer recommendations; now we get something at 4 p.m. and clients often want feedback the next morning – in whatever time zone they’re in,” she says. “As a partner in the firm, my role is to service our clients and also to help newer associates learn how to find a balance.”

Helping Associates be WISER
Shearman & Sterling offers a wide variety of career development opportunities, many of which Delbaum helps oversee. She is one of the co-partner advisers for the firm’s Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention (WISER) – a group that was initially internally focused but has become increasingly focused on business development and other external factors. She is also co-chair of the firm’s global Associate Development Partners Committee, responsible for development, training and mentoring of the firm’s roughly 600 associates worldwide.

In addition, Delbaum is active in the firm’s efforts around Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In movement. “We were one of the first firms to join the movement, and we learned very quickly that the challenge was how to make it actionable,” she says. The firm developed a program offering “Lean in Resource Partners,” of which Delbaum is one. We have regular sessions with both male and female associates.; the meetings typically feature a video and discussion, followed by a break-out session, and concluding with a group session to report valuable take-aways. “This has been a hugely successful endeavor that has helped facilitate better camaraderie and enhance careers and daily interaction,” she adds.

Internal and External Networks Key to Success
Over the years, Delbaum has learned the importance of developing both her internal and external networks. While she spent the early part of her career focusing on internal network building as a natural extension of her role, she wishes she had also focused on expanding her external associations. She advocates that newer practitioners network not only within their narrow area of expertise, but also within the larger legal and business community.

And she feels that the challenges apply equally to women who are her peers and those starting their journey. “We are great resources for each other,” she says, “and we need to take advantage of any opportunities to mingle our professional groups to help nurture potential business contacts.”

All Work, No Play…
Delbaum readily admits that one of the perks of her globe-trotting career is the opportunity to visit places she otherwise wouldn’t. She takes advantage of her robust travel schedule to blend in personal travel as well — a recent client trip to South Africa ended with a memorable two-day safari.

“Since I have to travel so extensively for work, why not combine it with some fun when I can?” she says, noting that travel experiences are also beneficial for building connections. As an example, she cites a Japanese client who had sent her a holiday card featuring a print from renowned Japanese artist Hokusai. She happened to mention to the client that she had just seen an exhibit of his work in Paris over her holiday vacation, and that spurred an extended conversation and a closer client relationship. “I Iove to travel, and it really can open other doors,” she says.

In addition, Delbaum makes time for yoga, both for the physical aspects and her burgeoning interest in the mental benefits of the meditation period at the end. “It’s good for body and soul,” she says.

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Voice of Experience: Natasha Moffitt, Partner, King & Spalding

moffitt-natasha-4938-176x240Sometimes dad knows best. That’s what Natasha Moffitt, Partner at King & Spalding, learned when following her father’s suggestions for her career path.

Raised in Germany by a German mother and American father, Moffitt decided in high school that she wanted to be a lawyer, but her father urged her to leverage her skills in math and science. He counseled her to first pursue a computer engineering degree (an emerging field of study at the time), and then a career in patent law; and that’s when her career path was born.

Moffitt graduated with a computer engineering degree and a minor in German, and then worked as an engineer for several years before pursuing her law degree, focused all the while on becoming a patent attorney.

“Many engineers don’t consider patent law as a career path until later in their careers; I decided to pursue patent law from the get go.” She became a summer associate at King & Spalding in 2000, joined the firm full time in 2001 and was elected to the partnership in 2008.

Meaningful Wins Are Key to Satisfaction
While she is naturally pleased about all the wins she achieves for clients, one win in particular stands out. She defended a client in patent litigation brought by a competitor, with enormous stakes that were “do or die” for both sides.

For more than a month the case was tried, and she was delighted to score an outright win, which was later affirmed on appeal.

“Unfortunately, patent litigation has become a routine ‘cost of doing business’ for many companies, but in this case, the suit was directed toward an important part of the client’s business, and it was critical that we win. I always play to win, but this win was especially sweet.”

Moffitt currently is excited about the business development work she’s doing in Germany and other German-speaking countries. “It’s a good fit, given my language fluency and heritage. German tech companies are frequently sued in the United States for patent infringement. I am fortunate to be collaborating with a group of partners who also have German ties and an interest in expanding our footprint to the German market.” She describes it as a “coming home of sorts,” allowing her to marry her personal history with her profession in a way she never dreamed possible when she started her career.

She also views the recent changes in patent law as an area of ongoing fascination – with the increased interest by the Supreme Court, the media, legislators and company executives. “There is ongoing spirited debate involving patents and what should be patentable,” she says. “Different industries have differing views – there’s a lot of discussion but no clear answers. As the entire industry changes in an unprecedented way, we will be tracking the developments and counseling our clients on what these changes mean for their patent portfolios and litigation strategies.”

More to a Law Career than the Law
As Moffitt has ascended the ladder, she’s learned that law partners must wear multiple hats – as mentors, teachers, managers, recruiters, marketing professionals and accountants.

“When I started my legal career, I expected that lawyers would spend most of their day practicing law; I didn’t appreciate how many roles we would have to play,” she says. “Law school gives you the skills you need to become a great lawyer. It does not train you how to do the rest. Over time, I have learned the business side of law and how to build a practice, but had I realized then what I know now, I would have focused the early part of my career on not only doing excellent work, but also on learning the business of building a practice.”

Changing Perceptions
One challenge she believes women may face in the industry is one of perception. “For high stakes patent litigation, more senior, male litigators may be perceived to be a safer hiring choice than female litigators,” Moffitt says. “Women litigators simply need to demonstrate that this perception is unwarranted. With time we can change these biases, but it takes women stepping up and showing they are as good as, if not better than, their male counterparts.”

She sees the industry becoming more accessible as more women enter into math, science and engineering-related disciplines in college, which may translate into more women practicing in the area of intellectual property, but there is still room for improvement.

She believes it’s important for those already working in the technology industry to educate the women who are following them about what the opportunities are – that they can become engineers, scientists and researchers, but there’s also an alternative path in the law.

And for women who are getting started, she advises them to invest in their career by taking advantage of every opportunity and experience – and if you’re not getting the opportunities you seek, then go find them.

“People will be impressed by the initiative. It’s vital to create opportunities for yourself if they’re not coming to you for one reason or another.”

And she says that while women should be the best they can be at any given moment, they should cut themselves some slack.

“Women can be unnecessarily hard on themselves – we want to be perfect in all areas – as a mom, spouse, and employee – and then we give ourselves a hard time when we feel we’re not meeting our own expectations.”

For women at her level, Moffitt recommends building a practice by focusing on one particular area for business development. “Sometimes lawyers want to appear as a jack of all trades, but that can dilute the expertise you do have,” she says. “Clients are looking for subject matter experts, so you don’t want to spread your expertise too thin.” She sees this as particularly important for women who are balancing family, work and other time commitments, that in order to make your limited time count, you have to identify your strengths and focus your efforts there.

Committed to Diversity
Moffitt says her firm is very committed to diversity with committees, initiatives and events, and she has been active in both informal and formal diversity programs. She feels fortunate that she has had lots of mentors at the firm over the course of her career, and in return she has mentored others in a variety of capacities – always finding the informal relationships to be invaluable.

Currently, she is co-leader of the Atlanta office’s Women’s Initiative, which creates networking and mentoring opportunities for the firm’s Atlanta women lawyers, but also provides tools to help women attorneys expand their profile internally and externally. Recently she hosted a guest speaker to talk to the women attorneys about how to maximize the impact and visibility of their LinkedIn profile, for example.

Sharing Love of Horses and Heritage
A busy mom with three kids ages three, six and nine, Moffitt sees weekend time as family time. One hobby she’s been able to share with them is her love of riding dressage competitively– she recently competed in the U.S. national and regional championships. Her oldest daughter has started riding, and all of them enjoy spending time at the barn.

In addition she is sharing her German heritage, raising them to be bilingual by attending an international school where they learn in German and English.

“It’s a challenge to make time for everything, but it’s worth it. I’ve gotten really good at time management!”

By Cathie Ericson

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Voice of Experience: Stephanie Smith, Managing Director, Global Head Credit Operations, Goldman Sachs

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Stephanie SmithCuriosity and a willingness to say “yes” have been the driving forces behind Stephanie Smith’s successful career in the hypercompetitive Wall Street environment.

Smith joined Goldman Sachs in July 1999 at the height of the dot-com boom. Though her background was in marketing, she was drawn in by the interesting work that Goldman was doing in e-commerce and spent five years developing strategy for the business. Then, in 2004, she leveraged the many internal relationships she had formed through networking to pursue a new opportunity in the firm’s Operations Division.

While Operations was not necessarily an expected career change, she was immensely curious about the space. Smith was offered an opportunity to join the Client Onboarding team, which is responsible for creating new accounts for clients across all products traded by the firm. “I was quickly catapulted from being a team member working on projects to leading a team of 20,” she recalls. “I was out of my comfort zone, but loving every minute of it!”

Her next “yes” was to the Credit Operations group. “Again, I had no background in this specific industry but was curious about the product and the business. I realized that even if I didn’t have direct experience, I was highly motivated to learn and excited to dive into the opportunity to try something new,” Smith says. “Ultimately I felt supported by the firm that if it didn’t work out, they would redeploy me. Trying something new was 50% fun and 50% challenge.” She soon rose from her initial regional oversight to managing the global team of over 400 people.

In her current role, Smith is excited to be constantly challenged to learn new regulatory rules, partner with her peers and team to develop implementation strategies and develop ideas that will build operational efficiency in the support of fixed income and derivative products.

She relishes a role that enables her to think strategically about issues such as how the firm should build its technological architecture, what consortiums it should join, and what its response should be to proposed rule changes. “We are working with industry partners and leaders internally on how to scale this business and what technological infrastructures we should put in place to help us in the future.”

She says that many of the current changes are driven by the changing regulatory environment and also because of client demand. “Our clients are looking for more creative ways of generating and preserving revenue, and at Goldman Sachs we continually challenge ourselves to develop solutions that meet their needs.”

Just Say Yes

Smith’s advice, especially for women, is simple. “You have to take a chance and speak up, ask questions and expand your network.” Smith says women have a tendency to opt themselves out – after achieving academic success in school, they tend to withdraw when surrounded by a team of smart people. This manifests itself in staying quiet if you don’t have the perfect answer or know 100 percent about a product or solution.

“I was guilty of opting out early in my career, but by working with mentors over the years I’ve learned that we’re all just trying to figure it out,” Smith says. “The beauty of success is harnessing the power of the team — I bring something to the table, you bring something and collectively we develop an answer.”

And that is the advice she believes young women need to hear as they start their career: to jump in with both feet; take risks; and say yes.

“Even when I didn’t know all the details of what I was asked to do, I trusted my managers and said yes, in spite of the butterflies in my stomach. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always worth it.”

This “yes” mentality, combined with her curiosity, is what has led Smith up the ladder.

Along the way, she has learned valuable lessons about perspective and pivoting. Each success and setback is part of a broader journey and should not be evaluated in isolation.
Smith acknowledges she had roles in which she performed well but didn’t feel sufficiently motivated. However, she notes, “I learned something through every experience that led me to my next step, whether it was because I met new and interesting people or learned about a new line of business.”

She says she is most proud of her opportunity and ability to change course in her career. Smith remarks, “I joined the firm in the Securities Division headed in one path, then pivoted to Operations where I was heading down the path of being a strategic individual contributor, and then I pivoted again to management. That’s the beauty of Goldman Sachs — it doesn’t matter where you start, you have the ability to remake yourself multiple times throughout your career.”

Mentoring Emerging Leaders

Smith is active in the firm’s Emerging Leaders Program, which identifies up-and-coming diverse leaders within the firm and offers a network where they can receive coaching and establish informal and formal mentoring relationships.

While she is now able to speak about successfully navigating the firm, she didn’t arrive understanding the rules of the road, some of which she attributes to her background as a first generation immigrant.

“I didn’t know what to expect or how to navigate Wall Street,” she says, adding that although she worked extremely hard during her first couple of years and achieved success, her exposure and impact were limited because she kept her head down. “I assumed that if I worked hard, someone would recognize me, but it wasn’t until one of my managers challenged me to be more vocal and develop my network that my career took off.”

Smith is sure to share her advice across the spectrum of diversity found at Goldman Sachs, be it racial, gender, sexual orientation or cultural. “By celebrating our diversity, we create a more cohesive firm that makes us more effective in our day jobs.”

Goldman Sachs also values diversity outside of work. The firm sponsors and partners with several successful organizations that promote the development of diverse talent. Smith currently serves on the board of one such organization, Council of Urban Professionals (CUP). Founded in 2007, this non-profit’s mission is to connect, empower and mobilize the next generation of diverse business and civic leaders in financial services, legal, media, entertainment and both non-profit and public sectors.

“I love CUP because it allows us to supplement our leadership development as a firm. We can create networks and informal connections between Goldman Sachs professionals and our peers in the industry.”

Outside of work, Smith spends time with her husband and two sons, whom she says keep her grounded and focused.

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Voice of Experience: Candace Ewell, Principal, PwC US

Candace Ewell“Be open to a career that isn’t exactly what you thought it would be. I don’t know that anyone can predict the opportunities and challenges they will face when they are only 18 and in college,” says PwC’s Candace Ewell.

And that is particularly sage advice coming from a current PwC principal, who spent the first seven years of her career as a nurse. Ewell thought that the healthcare industry would be her career path, but when she decided to go to law school with the goal of studying health law or health policy, a core tax class piqued her interest. “I had a lot of fun in tax; I really enjoyed my professor and the content. It was the first law school class that I really connected with,” she says.

When she returned for the third year, her professor offered her guidance on finding other tax courses and she ended up continuing straight through to complete her Master’s of Law (LLM), in part, she says to prove how serious she was about tax.

After graduate school, Ewell took a position at the IRS Associate Chief Counsel corporate division. While she appreciated the foundation it gave her in understanding the IRS and how regulations and guidance were promulgated, she also felt she was missing the bigger picture on how taxpayers work to be compliant, so she decided to move on.

Ewell’s next stop was in the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration, where she was involved in new ways of thinking about compliance for smaller businesses. While there, she learned all she could from that perspective, but felt the isolation of being the only tax person and decided she wanted to be in a larger community of professionals. She found her home at PwC in mid-2007. “It was a challenging environment to get lots of experience quickly at a faster pace and higher level. It really was a lot of fun.”

In July 2013, she was named principal, which she considers the professional achievement she is most proud of. “I didn’t come to the firm thinking it was an option; I was just looking for an interesting community and challenging work, so being able to achieve this honor is very gratifying.”

Right now she is thrilled to be at the forefront of a new wave of information reporting, a broad subject that has developed over the past years to become more global. She has watched foreign governments embrace information reporting to help improve global compliance. “I get to talk about what I do every day to people and governments that never considered they could ask for so much information. Here in the United States, we have a culture where tax compliance is expected, but it’s not that way everywhere.”

She sees the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) as having a big impact worldwide. Other new regulations, including basis reporting which follows the sale of securities, that will continue to dominate her work are also of significant impact. Of particular interest to her are the information reporting requirements for payments made on the Internet. “It is fascinating to learn how Internet commerce works and how they engage with their customers and clients.”

“Merging Gracefully”

Ewell learned an important career lesson from her first start in the nursing field, the art of “merging gracefully.” In other words, she says she would often approach a new challenge with the belief that she could bring a new perspective and that she knew as much as other, more established professionals. “That got me in trouble when I assumed I knew more than the people whom I reported to. Through this journey, I’ve learned that when you’re starting a career, you’re excited and focused and yearn to make a big impact. But it’s a matter of picking your spot — you have to see that you will have the opportunity to bring perspective, but you can’t start with the ‘bull in the china shop’ mentality.”

Her other advice to those beginning their careers is to have patience and let your career develop. “We let go of some of our goals and desires because we ‘quit early,’ putting them to the side before we get started. You have to be open for how opportunities will present themselves.”

Ewell says that one of the reasons it was an easy decision to come to PwC was its mentoring program, which includes both a coach and relationship partner. “In addition to the fact that this was a community of high-achieving people, I knew that it would be useful to have designated points of contact to call on and help me get to the next stage of my career.” She says that since she is a bit of an introvert, she finds one-on-one coaching to be the most valuable, among the many other programs PwC offers for women in the workplace.

And she says that she takes seriously the charge to now give back to both women and men and facilitate the opportunities for them to meet their goals. “I try to be as candid as possible about how the firm works and the types of experiences people need to meet their goals. I was lucky enough to have people do that for me and I want to do it for others.”

Carving out Time for Renewal

And, as careers mature, she said it’s key to remember that this is high-pace, high-demand work, and it’s vital to carve out time to renew and take care of yourself, something she thinks all women struggle with.

For Ewell, that renewal comes when she carves out time for her family. Married for 20 years, she has an 11-year-old son who is a swimmer, so they spend lots of family time at the pool. Another favorite family activity is delivering food to seniors together because as she knows, anything you do together becomes family time.

By Cathie Ericson

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Voice of Experience: Mylan Denerstein, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

rsz_mdenerstein-press_1-171x240Mylan Denerstein, partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, is a woman driven to leave a positive impression on the world. Her career is best characterized as one that takes ahold of opportunities to grow and empower those she serves.

Public Service

As a 1993 graduate of Columbia Law School and Skadden Fellow, Denerstein began her professional life working for the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. This opportunity led to a position with the Department of Justice as a special assistant to the Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division. According to Denerstein, the experience “was a great introduction to Washington and how things worked there.” But DC couldn’t hold her for very long.

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Mylan Denerstein

“Generally, people want to help you with your career, but you have to ask. Anybody can be your mentor, but you can’t let your fear of rejection get in the way of asking for help, or asking for advice.” – Mylan Denerstein

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