Posted by Justine Gottshall received the Founder’s Award at the Alliance For Women’s Annual Awards program. The award recognizes women who have demonstrated a sustained, active commitment to advancing women throughout their careers. Below are the remarks she shared upon receiving this award.
Winning this award is truly one of the joys of my career. Learning that an associate who works with me suggested the nomination, and reading the incredibly kind words of the clients who nominated me, honestly left me overwhelmed and grateful.
I’ve been thinking a lot about when my mom started her career. Probably because I finally started watching Mad Men.
My mother covered Congress for the Journal of Commerce. When she started, she faced numerous restrictions on where she could go, the rooms she could be in, both written and unwritten. Finding a ladies’ room was its own adventure.
In 1994, when I started as a clerk in the EDist VA, I was convinced we had “come a long way baby” (for anyone else who remembers that slogan from my youth). Half my law school class were women. Women had become judges, prosecutors, and a small but noticeable percentage of law firm partners.
But it wasn’t quite that simple. In my courthouse, pants, even the nicest and most conservative pant suits, were banned. Skirts were mandated for women. I spent year trying to figure out why I was only professional if I showed a little leg…
When I started at a law firm, I remember trying to keep pace with male bosses while walking in heels, and realizing how that standard of being professional literally held us back. We simply could not keep up.
But there was a fairly strict uniform. Full suits, skirts, heels. Even in DC in August. Pregnant. Who else remembers the dreaded “maternity pantyhose?”
But I was young and strong-minded and truthfully naïve. I was determined to build the practice I wanted. I am not going to pretend I did not hit some bumps in the road or that I did not need to make compromises or hard choices. I did. 3 times in my career I was told I was making a devastating mistake and would never recover. Sometimes I was scared that was true. But it wasn’t.
I somehow figured it out. I want to stress I never could have done this alone. Finding the right law partners, being exceedingly lucky with mentors and sponsors (men and women), and some unbelievable caregivers for my children all contributed. I couldn’t have done it without any of them.
I had some lucky breaks along the way, starting with falling into a privacy & tech practice early in my career, before anyone had even heard of this – I would tell people what I did, even my own law partners, and they would stare at me blankly. One even said it out loud, I don’t really understand how you make a living at that.
But I was in on the ground floor of an important area of law and it allowed me to develop a knowledge and practice few had, which allowed me to build my own practice with my own clients.
Some of the most consequential sponsors I ever had were clients. Most of my first clients were women in the entertainment industry, and it was eye-opening, as my prior primary industries were oil/gas and a vehicle manufacturer.
Those women went out on a limb for me in countless ways, insisting I was their lawyer even if I was still a fairly junior partner, and putting me front and center on high-level initiatives that involved the C-suite and even the Board. Women in privacy brought me into committees and companies and, perhaps most importantly, shared their knowledge, their contacts, and their wisdom.
Fifteen years ago, my partner Jamie Rubin and I left big law to start our boutique practice at InfoLawGroup. I am incredibly proud of what we have built.
Two-thirds of our owners are women. 65% of our legal professionals identify as women or people of color. We do excellent work in a place where people honestly enjoy their work and working together.
A key to our success is our investment in our people. The numbers are real, but they aren’t the real story. The story is the one-on-one coaching sessions. The junior lawyer pulled into a client conversation because she’s ready, even if she doesn’t know it yet. The paralegal who’s empowered to give real feedback. Our mentorship isn’t a program. It’s a culture.
I can’t take credit for that culture alone. Every one of my colleagues at ILG built it with me.
I know for certain that the most important legacy I have is the lawyers I have had a hand in developing, encouraging, and promoting. I celebrate each of their successes, which often come outside of where we worked together. I truly love seeing talented lawyers succeed and I can’t think of any more important work than helping the next generation accomplish that.
Thank you to the Alliance for Women for this recognition. To everyone who mentored me, sponsored me, challenged me, and trusted me with their growth: thank you doesn’t feel like enough. Know I truly value and appreciate you. I also want to congratulate Eunice Buhler, recipient of the Alta May Hulett Award, and all of her tremendous accomplishments.
We have come a long way from my mother’s barriers and my mandatory pumps. Together, we will pave a stronger path forward for the next generation.
Justine Gottshall is Co-Managing Partner at Info Law Group