chapter) sponsored diversity event. “Camilla was delightful and dynamic in expressing her views on diversity,” he says. “She off ered a refreshing take on what it takes to be a GC from her perspective. She provided examples of the diff erent hats a GC must ably wear as well as the often overlooked role of working with C-suite executives.” He adds that she wisely uses a network of in-house attorneys as a sounding board. Tom Mars, executive vice president
and chief administrative offi cer at Walmart U.S., concurs, noting Eng’s willingness to acknowledge what she doesn’t know and to reach out to oth- ers, when appropriate, to ask: “What do you think?” Because Eng has such an extensive network, he says, she is only a phone call away from getting a fully informed perspective on virtually any subject that crosses her desk. “Camilla wouldn’t be in her cur-
rent GC role if it weren’t for her high standards of personal and professional ethics. She’s the kind of lawyer who understands, as Vince Foster once said, that ‘dents in your reputation can never be repaired.’ You won’t be reading or hearing anything about Camilla that doesn’t conform to the high standards she sets both for herself and for others,” Mars says. As an undergraduate at the
University of California Davis, Eng perceived herself as not suffi ciently bookish for law school. An interested
career counselor dispelled her miscon- ception and urged Eng to sit for the LSAT. Encouraged by the experience, she decided to pursue a legal career. During her years at UC Hastings
College of Law, says Eng, “there was a lot of pressure to get hired by a big fi rm and make big money. It was uncomfortable.” One afternoon, lured by the off er of free pizza, she attended a panel discussion about job opportunities in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Offi ce. “T e speak- ers seemed happy,” she recalls. “My becoming a city attorney struck me as a viable alternative to private practice.” Subsequently, Eng clerked at the City Attorney’s Offi ce in San Francisco throughout law school, except for the months when she was a summer associate at a big, full-service national fi rm. After graduation, the fi rm made an off er. (“I lasted less than a year. It really wasn’t me. In fact, I hated it,” she says.) Next, Eng moved to Washington, D.C. and joined the staff of Congressman Mike Honda, a representative from Silicon Valley, in a non-legal capacity. After two years, Eng decided to return to California and restart her law career. She took her newly acquired knowledge about the inner workings of government to L.A., where she set her sights on a position in the City Attorney’s Offi ce. T ere were no job openings so she volunteered her services, regularly working 60 or more hours a week.
“Camilla wouldn’t be in her current GC role if it weren’t for her high standards of personal and professional ethics.” –Tom Mars, Walmart U.S.
MCCA.COM
After two months, she was hired. “I’ve never been shy,” says Eng.
“In my family—like with many immigrant Chinese families— resources are fi rst invested in the son. I didn’t let that bother me. My step- brother was in many ways the priority, but I made sure that I was heard and my needs were met as much as possible. I’m not afraid to ask for what I need. T at’s translated to my career. “I come from very humble
beginnings, but looking back, my becoming a lawyer makes a lot of sense,” says Eng. Growing up, she would sometimes help her parents’ immigrant friends with insurance and immigration paperwork. She remem- bers visiting the Chinatown garment factory where her mother worked as a seamstress and helping people with their offi cial correspondence. “It meant a lot to me to be able to help them. Also, as a latchkey kid, I watched a lot of TV. I really liked ‘LA Law.’” Little did she know then she
would one day be practicing law in L.A., like her television idols. At the L.A. City Attorney’s Offi ce she learned contract real estate and renew- able energy contract law. While there, she consistently reached out to minor- ity law associations and encouraged their members to seek city contracts, leaving a mark on the offi ce in terms of diversity. Eng describes her current position at JM Eagle as incredibly challenging but also totally exhilarat- ing. She likens it to scaling summits. “When you’re climbing a moun-
tain, the moment you join the tour you begin thinking ‘I hope I summit.’ And for four straight days that’s all you think about. As I mature, I realize we all have our own summit. My intent is to continue striving to reach my professional and personal summit as
long as I live. I want to keep climbing.” D&B
Patrick Folliard is a freelance writer based in Silver Spring, Md.
MARCH/APRIL 2012 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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