I decided to go to law school because I had been a liberal arts major and wanted to be able to find a job that would allow me to support myself. At first, I thought I would focus on public interest law, but realized that if I did, I would have great difficulty paying my student loans. Instead, I worked at large firms like Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, & Popeo; Paul Hastings; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. I was a litigator at first and practiced for four years. Eventually, I realized that I did not like the constant adversarial nature of litigation, and switched to M&A for several years. Ultimately, I decided that I did not want to practice because it was not something I could see myself doing for thirty years. I liked it, but I did not love it. At the same time, it was hard because I did not want to walk away from all the time I had invested in the legal world – 11 years if you include law school.
I knew that I had always enjoyed speaking with clients and helping them figure out their problems. I just did not like documenting their problems! Recruiting was a natural fit for me because I knew a lot about practicing – I had been both a litigator and a transactional attorney. I knew all the firms, practice groups and different firm cultures so I thought I would be able to bring a lot to it in terms of knowledge. Over the years, it has been great. I really do love talking to candidates and helping them figure out their next move.