If South Florida lawyers were to play a word association game with the name ”Sara Herald,” the top answers would probably be “real estate” and “dealmaker.” Now a partner at Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, Herald has had a hand in some of the biggest deals in South Florida and is a leader in affordable housing and pro bono work.

But it was a hiatus from law and real estate and some time spent in the world of business between 1992 and 2018 that Herald said provided the most valuable lawyering lessons of her career. She’s held leadership roles in seven different verticals, including serving as a C-suite executive in banking and financial services companies.