Page 3 - Sheppard Mullin Alumni News Fall 2022 Newsletter

But client service doesn’t come easy to everyone. Jennifer was already an equity partner practicing for over 20 years when she first went in-house, so she came in knowing the importance of client service. Some attorneys leave the law firm world early on in their career and they may not truly understand what good client service is and what to expect. On that note, she shared “You don’t have 20 years of focusing on your clients and wanting to provide top notch legal services. Sheppard did a phenomenal job at just making it really clear that your job is to make the client’s job easier. You need to be a value add to the client, not someone who is just bringing bad news or just making your life difficult. So that really separates those who do well in the in-house world and those who don’t; specifically those that don’t do well forget that they are still in the client service industry. The only difference is that they are now serving one client.”
“I do think what Sheppard is doing by underscoring client service early on in an associate’s mind is critical,” she noted. “Someone told me early on in my career that you treat every single person you are working for as the client because ultimately that’s what you’re doing, working for the client. So whether it’s directly or indirectly, just always keep that in sight. That’s a great philosophy that can be really helpful for relatively new lawyers.”
Pandemic Effect
Jennifer was working for Chinese-headquartered Lenovo during the pandemic and like anyone supporting a global technology company, they were incredibly busy, working 24/7. There was no line of demarcation, you “didn’t know where the day started and ended, it just ran and ran.”
As Cerence is also a global company, one must get up insanely early and stay up very late to stay top of mind to accommodate your clients and provide them with whatever they need.
Although she is able to work from home, she enjoys going into the office as she’s able to compartmentalize between her work and personal life. She commented that “I need that physical separation of leaving the building. Striking the right balance to have that feeling of belonging, that there’s something bigger than just yourself, that camaraderie when you’re working physically together is very energizing. But I also like being able to hang out in my PJs while working. Again, it’s about striking the right balance.”
Career Advice for Young Lawyers
Jennifer feels that young associates must expand their skill set and deliver excellence, not only to outside clients but to their internal clients as well. They must learn to be a great lawyer first.
“Some lawyers early on in their career think that they need to be out there being a champion of this or being on this committee but above all, you have to do an exceptional job. You want to be indispensable. Then everything else is extra, but they really need to focus on providing top quality work product,” she noted.
Preparing for the Role at Cerence, Inc.
As discussed earlier, having practiced for 20 before going in- house, Jennifer learned the importance of client service and listening to your client, which greatly helped prepare her for her role as general counsel.
She commented that “where people get lost is that many lawyers tend to define a win based on what they view as a win but fail to ask how the client defines a win. Are they aligned with what your views are? What’s the objective and how are we going to get there? Are we all on the same page?” There’s a big difference between being a profit generator on the outside versus being a cost center when in-house. So be mindful of this when servicing your clients.
Sheppard Mullin Memories
The collaboration and the people of Sheppard Mullin are what she misses most about the firm. Jennifer made a lot of great friends and regrets that she doesn’t have much time to see them, especially now that she’s on the East Coast. She looks forward to attending future in person Sheppard Mullin alumni reunions to rekindle those connections.
Life Outside Work
Jennifer practices mindfulness, which sounds amorphous but really means she works hard at putting things into her life that fulfill her. She’s very intentional about working out, spending time with her family (including her 22- and 28-year old sons and 20- and 14-year old stepdaughters) as well as traveling, cooking and running.
She is also committed to community service, and served as President of the Hispanic National Bar Association from 2018- 2019, and as a board member with the Orange County Public Law Center and Legal Aid of North Carolina. Recognizing this, Jennifer was recently named one of the Association of Latino Professionals for America’s 2022 “Most Powerful Latinas.” She is still looking for the right board and community service organization to join in Massachusetts.
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We thank Jennifer for taking the time to share her insights with us about her current role and her time at Sheppard Mullin and wish her continued success.
• ALUMNI NEWS • FALL 2022
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