RETIRED GENERAL COUNSEL LAW SCHOOL GRADUATION YEAR 1980 YEAR JOINED WEIL 1981 YEAR PROMOTED TO PARTNER 1989 HOMETOWN VALLEY STREAM, NY What did you want to be as a child? I thought I was going to be a doctor, and I actually started college as a biology major. One semester of working on chemistry convinced me that I was not going to be a doctor. I decided that what I really wanted to do was become a lawyer. In fact, Mrs. Staub, my sixth grade teacher, had written in my little autograph book (which I still have), “Mindy, with your gift of gab you’ll make a fine lawyer.” If your young self could see you now, what do you think her reaction would be? “Thank God you didn’t become a doctor.” What was your first job? While I was in law school, I worked part-time in the Justice Department for the Organized Crime and Racketeering Strike Force. Knowing what you know now, what might you have done differently when you were starting out? I probably wouldn’t change anything because I’m very happy with the way things turned out. I am a big believer that if you are happy in your life, where things are, everything that came before (even the things that weren’t so good) happened in order to lead you to where you are. Describe a time when you had to make an important professional decision and how you went about selecting your course of action. First, when I made the decision not to apply to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. I was taking a gamble – I certainly had no guarantee as to how my future would be at the Firm, but I decided it was worth taking a risk because I enjoyed civil litigation and I loved the people here. Also, the first year I was up for partner was in 1987, right after the stock market collapsed, so I was deferred for a year. I went through a lot of soul searching, in particular about whether or not I should believe the promises that people made to me. I ended up trusting people, and it all worked out O.K. What advice would you give to associates trying to make pivotal decisions in their careers? You have to take input from people you trust, but at the end of the day you just have to go with what you think is right. And you have to try not to look back. You just have to keep looking forward and make the best decision you can at the time. Did you have insecurities or fears when you were starting out that you wish you could go back in time and tell your younger self not to worry so much about? They are the same things that I worry about now. What are other people thinking? Am I giving the right advice? I would tell myself to stop worrying so much. I give myself that advice all the time, but the hardest part is taking the advice. Did you have mentors and sponsors? What advice would you give to associates seeking out and developing those relationships? When I was coming up, there wasn’t a formal mentoring program at the Firm and there certainly weren’t a whole bunch of women partners. I managed to do O.K. with white male mentors. Sometimes there is a notion that as there are more women partners and women in leadership positions, that somehow the mentoring of women associates should fall to the women. Be aggressive when picking a mentor. Jim Quinn, who is now retired, was my mentor in every sense of the word. When I was an associate I heard Jim say he was looking for someone to work on a case with him about the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant. I had no interest in nuclear power plants, but I volunteered because I thought it made sense to work with someone who was going to be the next head of the Litigation Department. I did a really good job, and the rest is history. A mentoring relationship goes both ways. He looked out for me and helped me in my career, but I also made him look good by doing a good job and made his life easier. In moments of self-doubt or adversity, how do you build yourself up? Ben and Jerry’s helps sometimes. Retail therapy. Trying to have perspective. My overriding strategy is that it is much more effective to go around the brick wall than trying to put your head through it. You have to take input from people you trust, but at the end of the day you just have to go with what you think is right. And you have to try not to look back. “ ” What do you turn to when you need perspective or to unwind during a challenging time? I think about people I know in my own life who are in much worse situations than I am. I remind myself that even though what we do and the advice that I give is important and can have major consequences, people aren’t dying. What is the best piece of advice you received? Learn how to ask for what you want. When I was a new partner, I had dinner with a woman who was fairly senior in the legal department of Citibank. We had a lovely dinner and at the end when I was paying the check, she said: “Mindy, aren’t you going to ask me for business? Men never end these dinners without asking, and women never ask. Ask for what you want.” Please describe a mistake or failure and how it ultimately helped you learn and grow. Back when I was an associate, we had to send something to the court. We sent it down, and Jim Quinn came into my office upset because the judge’s chambers called and none of the attachments to the document were with it. I looked at him and said, “I f***ed up.” I didn’t blame anybody. And he said, “Fix it.” That’s when I learned: we’re all human beings, we’re not machines and we all make mistakes. When you make a mistake, admit it and deal with it. What advice would you give to associates who are looking to create balance in their lives? Look at it as a continuum, not on a daily or weekly basis. I often say you can have it all, and what “all” is depends upon what you want, but it is very rare that you can have it “all” all at the same time. 46 · WEIL WOMEN’S WISDOM
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