sor and now for smartphones. Intellectual property litigation will always be an important tool in resolving these battles. While it is impossible to predict what those next technologies will be, we can be sure there will be litigation that results.
We recognize that attorneys—particularly those in private practice—face incredible demands on their time. Please tell us how you have juggled being a co-managing partner, running a busy litigation practice, being a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and fellow of the Harvard Corporation, and fulfi lling your commitments to your family, among many other things?
T ere have been three keys to my eff orts to balance these activities: First, each of us needs to set their own priorities. For me,
my family has always come fi rst and they know it. Second, we need to recognize that the goals of being a
good lawyer and professional and a good family member are sometimes consistent but sometimes confl ict. Making com- promises between the competing goals is just something we each have to do. T ird, I have had extraordinary folks at the fi rm with
whom I have worked. I can trust and rely upon them and consequently can freely delegate to them. T ey make me look better professionally than I am.
You were one of the country’s fi rst Asian American managing partners of a major U.S. law fi rm. How has legal practice changed during your career? What advice do you have for young lawyers from underrepresented backgrounds entering the profession today?
Law practice has changed enormously. It is more national and international, more demanding, faster moving, and more challenging and complex. T ere are more competing demands on a lawyer’s time, and we are expected to be “on call” all the time.
MCCA.COM
“ [MY FATHER] TOLD ME, ‘NEVER FORGET YOU ARE CHINESE BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WILL. BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE.’ EACH OF US IS ORIGI- NAL AND SHOULD BE PROUD THAT WE ARE.”—BILL LEE
T e best advice I can give is the advice my father
gave me. He told me, “Never forget you are Chinese because no one else will. Be proud of who you are.” Each of us is an original and should be proud that we are. Don’t try to be a copy.
We note that many of your mentees include women. For example, one of your successors as co-managing partner of WilmerHale is Susan Murley, former transactional department chair. What does the diversity of the managing partners say about your fi rm’s culture and, more impor- tantly, what does it mean to you?
WilmerHale has a long history of leading eff orts to diversify the profession. We were one of the fi rst fi rms to have Jewish lawyers join us almost 70 years ago, one of the leaders in bringing women to law fi rm practice, and a leader in opening the doors of practice to people of color. It is no coincidence that I was hired 36 years ago, that I became the managing partner, or that my successor is a woman. T at is part of culture and who we are. D&B
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
49
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52