My approach is based on understanding my client’s actual needs, goals, and their business, and then crafting precise solutions tailored to the situation

I am a determined writer and thinker, negotiator, strategizer, and collaborator, and relentless in achieving the best outcome for the situation. I want my solutions to be practical, and tailored towards actual business needs. I concentrate on drafting my agreements and comments to be made more easily understandable by business folks and stakeholders - really just having them make sense, rather than falling back on duplicative and confusing terms, but still maintaining the necessary and nailed-down legal language. In a way, it’s like putting together a recipe or instruction manual that is actually usable, while full knowing that many times these agreements can just be a backstop to how parties do business day-to-day, and will only be read when things go badly. But that is precisely when it is the most important.

In negotiation settings, I first work with my clients to determine priorities and importance, focusing on overall goals and strategy for achieving those, rather than just winning minor points.

I am also a proud generalist. That means that I have the ability to think openly, drawing on and synthesizing business and legal knowledge and experience, and that I am constantly curious, adaptable, and unafraid to explore new approaches.  

My professional and personal experience inform my approach and abilities. These experiences have taught me an understanding of human behavior and motives, and the importance of listening closely, approaching client issues holistically, and navigating and achieving optimal solutions.

BIO / HISTORY

I began practicing law as an associate at Latham & Watkins, LLP, where I initially worked on both transactional and litigation matters, before becoming primarily involved dispute resolution and risk advising. Client types included financial institutions, private equity groups and their portfolio companies, and a range of other businesses.

After leaving Latham & Watkins, I joined a boutique litigation firm in midtown Manhattan before venturing out on my own. For a period of time, I operated as a partner in a co-op styled firm, concentrating on a broad array of general counsel, entertainment, and start-up business transactions, before reopening my own practice.

I am also proud to sit on the Boards of Directors for two amazing New York based non-profit organizations that present new music - Music at the Anthology, Inc. (MATA), and Experiments in Opera, Inc. (EiO) for which I am Board President.

Prior to my legal career, I was raised New Jersey by first-generation parents from the Bronx. After undergrad at Bard College, where I studied music composition, I roamed cities and states in the Western U.S. for about 11 years before landing back in NYC and delving into law.

Amongst my work experience, I counseled homeless and runaway youth in San Francisco; worked in finance for Bank of America Securities in their mutual fund department, and for a small investment management firm in Boulder; owned a landscaping business and was an apprentice plumber in Boulder; cooked in numerous top restaurants in Santa Fe, NM, Sedona, AZ, Boulder, CO, and Kirkwood, CA; and worked as a manual laborer in various locations, including construction, manufacturing, and on assembly lines.