Employer: Kirkland & Ellis
Title and Practice Area: Partner, Litigation and Government Investigations

What was the most valuable lesson you learned in your first year practicing law?  Answer the phone and say “yes.” As a result, I ended up second chairing a multimillion-dollar trial as a second-year associate with one of the firm’s toughest litigators. And again later in my career it resulted in one of the closest, most important client relationships I have.