Business Law Event

On Wednesday, November 16, I had the unique opportunity to meet with some of the most influential business lawyers in the D.C. area. My mentor Keir Gumbs (thanks again to Dr. Kolson and Mike for setting me up with him) invited me to the event and I am very happy that he did.

The event was held at the Washington office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which is one of the most prestigious law firms in the country. The American Lawyer named the firm the 2010 Litigation Department of the Year and it has dubbed the litigators at Gibson Dunn as "game changers." Clearly this firm carries some weight and I was lucky enough to even be able to make it in the building.

At the event, four well-respected business lawyers spoke to a group of current law students and myself. Safe to say it was a bit overwhelming being the only undergrad student there. The first person that spoke was my mentor, Keir Gumbs. Keir is a partner at Covington & Burling and he is one of the most knowledgable business lawyers on the block. Keir is from California and went to Ohio State for undergrad and then to UPenn for law school. He is one successful guy which is why, again, I thank Dr. Kolson and Mike for setting me up with him.

The next person that spoke was Brian T. Sumner who is an associate at Fried Frank currently. He was the youngest of the speakers at the event so it will be no surprise if he makes partner at some time in the near future. He attended Wake Forest for undergrad and then attended Duke Law School. Once again, a proven lawyer with great credentials.

Next, a woman named Meg Milroy spoke. Meg provided a very different perspective of business because she works in-house with Verizon. Currently, she is the Assistant General Counsel and just recently won the highest award that a Verizon employee can achieve. She attended the University of North Carolina for undergrad and law school. There was a little Duke-UNC rivalry between her and Brian which made the night interesting.

Finally, a man by the named of John Olson spoke. Mr. Olson is a partner at Gibson Dunn and is one of the most well-respected lawyers in the country. For the past three years, Directorship magazine has named him one of the "Directorship 100: The Most Influential People in the Boardroom." In addition to that, Mr. Olson is also a member of the faculty at Georgetown Law School. He serves as a Distinguished Visitor from Practice and serves as one of the most important features to the teaching of securities at the school. Mr. Olson attended the University of California-Berkeley for undergrad and then attended Harvard Law. I was very lucky to be able to make a connection with him.

This was probably the most beneficial event that I was able to attend during my time in Washington. I'm very happy with all the people I was able to meet at this event and I hope they're connections that will help me in the future.

-MM