Women in Law - On The Record

Today I'm sharing an interview I did in 2019 with Iris Chen who was with Google at the time. This is one of my favorite episodes I've ever done. Iris is such a bright and inspiring lawyer. After Google, Iris went on to become the Deputy General Counsel of Airbnb and, very recently, Iris became the General Counsel of Moloco. She's had an incredible career trajectory. I'm going to get the full update from her in my upcoming 100th Episode where I'll feature Iris and a few others who I have previously interviewed to see "where they are now?" For now, hear all about Iris's background in our discussion here.

Today I'm talking with Kelley Barnett, Senior Vice President and Senior Managing Counsel at AmTrust Financial Services. Kelley is so many things to me…a friend, a long time listener and supporter of this podcast, an incredibly talented lawyer, and masterful advocate for women in the legal field. Kelley graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in economics, then attended Case Western University where she obtained her law degree. Early in her career, Kelley was a prosecutor for several years. In 2004, she was honored to become a member of the Major Trial Unit of the prosecutor's office, which is the elite trial unit of the county prosecutor's office responsible for prosecuting the community's most serious offenders. Kelley then made the move to private practice at Frantz Ward where she would spend 12 years litigating and trying a wide variety of cases. Next, Kelley moved to AmTrust in 2019 where she focused on labor and employment issues. As you'll hear, Kelley continuously raised her hand for new opportunities at AmTrust. And now she leads a team of lawyers responsible for overseeing employment, intellectual property, the negotiation and drafting of commercial and technology agreements, antitrust and related regulatory issues, data governance, and related litigation and other issues for AmTrust and some of AmTrust's domestic and international businesses. When Kelley isn't practicing law, you may find her hanging out with her dogs or her family or she is promoting other women in the law. In fact, one of her most outstanding achievements was establishing Ladder Down Cleveland. You may recognize the name as I've featured the organization on the podcast about two years ago. You'll recall it's an organization for women lawyers to help them build their business development skills. Kelley and I have known each other for years now and it was a true pleasure to interview her for this podcast. Please enjoy.

Today I'm talking with Erin England. Erin has over 20 years of experience in finance and is widely recognized as one of the top lawyers in her field. She specializes in corporate and finance transactions, including serving as outside general counsel to businesses. Erin has helped Fortune 500 companies, private equity and private credit funds, and regional and national banks successfully navigate complex commercial issues. Erin began her legal career at Haynes and Boone in Dallas, Texas. She served as a Partner at three major law firms, and is the former co-chair of the fund finance practice group at an AmLaw Top 30 law firm. With her extensive background, Erin recently decided to start her own firm–Erin England Law. She walks me through her career and her decision to hang her own shingle. She and I had a great discussion and I'm thrilled to shine a light on her story.

Today I'm talking with Maria Daatio Perez, Senior Counsel & Director for Advertising, Marketing, Content Review, S&P, and E-Commerce. Maria was so fun to chat with. She spoke about her immigrant family's background, her days in undergrad at UC Santa Barbara, and how she came around to the decision to go to law school. She ultimately attended Southwestern Law School and when she graduated, she wanted to be an entertainment lawyer. She made her way into a startup of sorts, a company called Maker Studios, that was later acquired by Disney. Maria later took a job at Facebook back in the bay area (where she is from originally). At that time, Maria and her husband-to-be were long-distance and commuting to and from southern California to the bay. After that, Maria landed a job at Mattel where she focuses on advertising and marketing issues. Maria was super involved in all the Barbie movie promotional work so you'll hear me ask about that. I had such a great connection with Maria. I think you'll hear that and I hope you enjoy the episode.

Today I'm talking with Kristine Campbell, General Counsel of Uhaul. Kristine was so fun to chat with. Not only is she a former Greenberg Traurig attorney, so we bonded over our loyalty to the firm but she was forthcoming about her experiences, how she reached the GC's office at Uhaul after serving 12 years in the company's legal department, and how she's done it all while raising two kids. I also asked her about whether she ever felt like she needed to be a chameleon in the practice of law - everchanging with her circumstances. I thought this was an especially entertaining conversation and it's an example of why I love doing this podcast. It was a treat to get to know Kristine and I think it will be for you too. Please enjoy this episode.

Today I'm talking with Erin Borg, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for the Neiman Marcus Group. Erin is an Arizona native who moved across the country to attend Indiana University Bloomington where she studied political science. She would later return to Arizona to attend the University of Arizona for law school. But, before that, she made a stop to intern at the White House during the Clinton administration. It was her time in Washington D.C. that helped Erin decide she wanted to pursue a legal career. She started out her practice in private practice but made the move in-house to US Airways (now American Airlines) where she primarily focused on labor and employment issues. Erin made a few more stops in-house before landing at Neiman Marcus Group. She speaks openly about why she made the moves she did and how she thinks it has (or has not) impacted her long term. On the whole, through her experiences, Erin has developed a well rounded practice and expertise that has positioned her well for her current position and any role she may have down the road. I found a lot of good takeaways from our conversation, including how we both still deal with imposter syndrome. And y'all…this isn't a generic discussion about how I question whether I deserve to be a lawyer. We keep it real…giving legit examples of how it shows up for both of us. Please enjoy listening to Erin Borg.

Today I'm talking with Aliza Shatzman, an attorney and advocate based in Washington D.C. who writes and speaks about judicial accountability, clerkships, and diversity in the courts. Aliza earned her bachelor's degree from Williams College in Williamstown, MA in 2013 and her JD from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (WashU Law) in 2019. Aliza is also the Founder of the Legal Accountability Project, a non-profit mission is to ensure that law clerks have positive clerkship experiences, while extending support and resources to those who do not. Aliza shares her personal experience of with a judicial clerkship and how it motivated her to start her organization. She provides incredible insight into how the system can be improved and more transparent. Please enjoy my conversation with Aliza!