FERNANDO ALONSO
PARTNER, HUNTON & WILLIAMS
MIAMI, FL
YEARS PRACTICING: 27
PR CTICE AREA: CORPOR TE MERGERS AND
ACQUISITIONS; BANKING AND FINANCE
I. NEEL CHAT TERJEE
PARTNER, ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP
SILICON VALLEY, CA
YEARS PRACTICING: 15
PRACTICE AREA: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
FERNANDO ALONSO DISLIKES the term “book of business.” “It’s my practice,” says Alonso, a partner at Hunton
& Williams in Miami. “And my practice is the result of lasting relationships and client referrals. It’s built on trust. Often, when an offi cer leaves one client company for a new company or institution, I’ll work for them at their new employer. You don’t get that unless you maintain top-notch client services.” Alonso says he benefi ts from a broad practice. “I
don’t follow a narrow or confi ned role, and that’s been good for business. You can be successful specializing as many attorneys do in big fi rms, but my own career hasn’t been like that. When fi nance is shut down because of the market I turn to more general corporate, M&A, or banking activity, whichever may be stronger. It’s worked out well for me.” He also chairs the fi rm’s Latin American practice
group. When Alonso returned to Miami to start his practice (after graduating from Yale Law School and serving as a judicial clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York), his hometown wasn’t the focal point for cross-border business that it is today. “Back then, negotiating a residential real-estate deal for a foreign client was about as international as business got. Today, we’re doing complex international deals and fi nancings here. Rainmaker status is not an accomplishment,” Alonso adds. “It’s not static. You’re never done with anything. You’re always evolving, always problem solving. If you maintain that attitude, the work will follow.”
“BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT? I WORRY ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME,” says Orrick partner Neel Chatterjee. “It is essential to ensure stability of the group. Any one case can go away and change everything. So I always worry about the pipeline of opportunities.” Known for creative problem solving, Chatterjee
concentrates his intellectual property practice on complex litigation for technology companies. Cutting-edge internet cases have helped him with branding and market position- ing, but “the real rainmaking started on the patent side of things, which is a much more congested practice area.” Chatterjee has very specifi c ideas about how to build
a fulfi lling career. In fact, he has tailored a presenta- tion on successful lawyering for diverse law students titled “Achieving Maximum Awesomeness.” He breaks it down neatly into a few concepts: Go for the twofer (achieve two personal interests at once, such as business development through public service), be bionic (try harder and exert more eff ort), and love what you do by doing things you feel are important. “Being a partner at a law fi rm can be intense,” he
says. “When prospective clients are looking to hire someone for an important engagement, they need to see the resident badass who works harder and does better work. It is really important to give prospective clients confi dence that you fi t the bill. “If you’re rainmaking you need to think you’re chang-
ing the world. I do a lot of complicated IP cases. In my career, I’ve handled four cases where the corporation’s founder threw their arms around me and thanked our team for saving their company. I’ve watched those clients grow to huge, successful corporations. It’s pretty awesome to play a small but important part of such successful companies.”
MCCA.COM NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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