CHIEF TALENT OFFICER NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL GRADUATION YEAR 1993 YEAR JOINED WEIL 2004 YEAR PROMOTED TO CTO 2014 HOMETOWN BROOKLYN, NY What did you want to be as a child? When I was very young, I wanted to be a television star or a famous make-up artist. Later on, I set my sights on becoming a teacher or a doctor. It wasn’t until high school and college when the idea of becoming a lawyer began to take hold. What was your first job? Cashier at a small furniture store in Brooklyn. I was 14 years old. What was your worst job? I worked for a headhunting agency that placed stockbrokers. My job involved cold calling New York City brokerage firms in order to obtain their lists of stockbrokers. It was just awful. Alas, there was no internet back then. If your young self could see you now, what do you think her reaction would be? And what advice would you give her? I think my young self would be literally blown away. Growing up in Williamsburg, I wasn’t exposed to many people who went to college or had professional degrees. Most kids just wanted to graduate from high school. Attending NYU and Fordham Law would have sounded absurd, if not totally impossible. Thankfully, there was something inside that younger me that refused to settle. She went for it and succeeded. Interestingly enough, she followed the advice I would have given her – never sell yourself short. There are enough people out there who will do that for you. It’s your job to prove them wrong! The only other bit of advice I would give her is to seriously consider participating in more extracurricular, non-academic activities while you can. In retrospect, I believe I may have had more diverse job opportunities and career choices if I had exposed myself to more experiences beyond the classroom, such as study abroad and community service. Knowing what you know now, what might you have done differently when you were starting out? Once I decided to become a lawyer, I made the mistake of not asking the kinds of questions or finding the types of experiences necessary to truly understand what a career as a practicing attorney would mean. Again, I focused solely on the required academics and didn’t look beyond that. Knowing what I know now, I would do everything I could to explore the different career paths that a degree in law could lead to. I would do volunteer work, find internships, do research, join organizations – anything that could have helped me better understand my options. Sadly, I wasn’t able to do many of those things because I had to work to put myself through school. Still, I wish it had occurred to me to find paid work in the legal field rather than in my university’s bursar’s office collecting tuition, day in and day out. At any point, did you regret the choice to go to law school? Yes. I questioned my choice while working as a criminal prosecutor, but I never considered quitting because that’s just not how I was raised. I made a commitment. I made a choice, and I had to see it through. Today, I would tell my young self that there are always options. There is always another path. What were some of your insecurities or fears when you were starting out that you wish you could go back in time and advise yourself on, knowing what you know now? I was completely and utterly ill-prepared for my position as a young prosecutor in the Bronx District Attorney’s office. I accepted the job as an idealist – hoping to do “good,” to help people and, most importantly, serve my community. I was privileged to work with some remarkable people in the Bronx DA’s office, but there was also an underside to the work that was extremely challenging and difficult to manage at times. Those first few years were really tough for me but, as I’ve said before, I am not a quitter. I stayed at the Bronx DA’s office for seven years. Given the challenges, I did some great legal work in the Bronx that I’m very proud of. I argued at the New York Court of Appeals and the Second Circuit within my first few years there. I also was part of a team that filed a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States! From the very beginning, I worked hard at my job and gave my legal career 110% because I didn’t know anything else. I soon realized that it wasn’t enough. I didn’t love the work I was doing, and I knew that I would never feel truly successful and fulfilled if I didn’t also feel passionate about what I was doing. My advice to young Lisa would be: find a mentor. Talk to people and get the support you need. Create a professional network so that you can find what you love sooner than later. How did you cope with those difficulties early in your career? My mantra during those years was: “Hold on. This is just for now.” I had to believe that things would get better, one way or another. And they did. What does success mean to you? How has your definition of success evolved over time? When I was in high school and college, success was defined by the accumulation of wealth and prestige. Now, I define success as the undeniable sense of satisfaction in a job well done and a never-ending passion for the work I do every single day. Never sell yourself short. There are enough people out there who will do that for you. It’s your job to prove them wrong! “ ” WEIL WOMEN’S WISDOM · 11
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