What are some of your proudest recent achievements?

The Lotus Award was a proud moment, as it is difficult to win summary dismissal of claims under the applicable ICSID rule, which has a high standard requiring a manifest lack of legal merit.   This was one of those cases where we had to get deeply into fundamental legal issues; I knew that we were right, but actually pulling off the win was a not a sure thing.  It takes courage on the part of the tribunal as well as persuasive lawyering to get to that result.

Name a lawyer or mentor whose leadership inspired you.

I have been privileged to train with many fine lawyers, and to watch many others who have impressed as judges, arbitrators and adversaries.  The lawyers I admire most are those who take ownership of the matters entrusted to them, know and understand the law that applies and understand how to parse through facts and circumstances to get to the heart of the matter.

How are the business and profession of law changing, and how should lawyers adapt for the future?

Cost pressures are ever-present and there seems to be a constant tension between the time and attention it takes to provide first-rate legal work and the costs that clients are willing to bear.  More than ever, it is important to be able to balance those considerations, to know how to focus efforts, to be efficient, and to communicate with clients.  As a young lawyer, I never worried about budgets, or doing “too much”; but that is a luxury that few lawyers or clients have anymore.

What is the best advice for someone considering a career in law, or someone already in the profession who is seeking to make a greater impact?

Be sure that you love the work, because it will take up a lot of your time, for most of your life!  It never really gets easier; the responsibilities get heavier as you get more senior, when it’s not just doing the legal work but supervising teams, managing the business, and developing clients as well.

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