Jeonghoon & His Mentors

Lisa Denig is Special Counsel for ADR Initiatives for the NYS Office of Court Administration and serves as the coordinator of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore’s new presumptive ADR initiative.

She once managed to be a chief of staff to a county executive running for re-election, a law student, a single mom of two girls and an editor of Pace’s Law Review AT THE SAME TIME! I asked how she managed such challenging times and my interview contains her answer.

As a life-long Democrat, Lisa chose to work with a Republican state senator to help people in her community. It took a lot of courage from both sides, but they were able to get “enormous amounts of things done.” She emphasizes, “we all need to work together to move forward.”

CUNY Law Professor Donna Lee shares her career path and discusses the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic for prisoners and domestic violence victims.

Prof. Lee notes that “we don’t know the extent to which the incidents of domestic violence have increased during the pandemic.” She encourages domestic violence victims to take advantage of sheltering and counseling services provided by organizations like Womankind.

She also emphasizes that prisoners should have adequate access to medical and mental health care because they “are not sentenced to be raped in prison, to contract Covid-19, or to die in prison because of the lack of medical care.”

Latham and Watkins Chief Attorney Development and Knowledge Officer Adrian Davis shares his 19-year career at Latham. He selects his pro bono asylum case for a Chinese immigrant as the most memorable moment at Latham.

In this interview, Adrian quotes former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and says, “it is too soon to tell” the long-term consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Adrian also reminds us that our “career is a long career” and cautions us from being “overly concerned about short-term challenges.” He concludes by stating that “hard-working, intelligent people who establish good relationships with people are generally successful.”

Tsinghua Professor Li Bin explains the U.S. and China's different approaches in negotiating arms control agreements. He states that the two countries have “different kind of philosophy” and argues that the U.S. focuses more on the number of nuclear weapons while China focuses more on the use of nuclear weapons.

Prof. Li also emphasizes that “we need more international cooperation to counter the pandemic and other global issues.”

Bracewell Partner Fernando Rodriguez Marin explains project finance for those interested in pursuing this practice area.

Fernando also notes that clients in the U.S. expect lawyers “to know a lot more about financial and commercial issues” than clients in Europe.

Fernando shares several transitions he made during his career and emphasizes that “you’re the only obstacle” to change. He calls on young professionals and law students to “be open to change.”

Shearman & Sterling Of Counsel Reade Ryan shares his interaction with Michael Jackson. He says his client Michael "was very well-spoken, he was very pleasant, and he was very smart.”

Reade also notes that although the Covid-19 pandemic “put a hold on our normal practice,” the transition to remote working has been “easier than [he] thought.” He adds, “the future is going to be virtual.”

Reade emphasizes that the key to success as a lawyer is “to be an active listener.” He concludes by saying that “the practice of law is basically one long podcast.”

NYU Law Professor and Hanefeld Partner Friedrich Rosenfeld explains international arbitration for students interested in pursuing this practice area. He adds that “we have not seen any fundamental changes” in international arbitration due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prof. Rosenfeld recommends law students to be “entrepreneurial.” He also reminds us that “career is not everything and that there are other important aspects in life.”

Stanford Professor Gi-Wook Shin warns that “when this pandemic is over, there will be more social inequality and economic problems.” He also notes that “it’s really unfortunate that we see more conflict among nations when we need more global cooperation.”

On the issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula, Prof. Shin claims that “it’s time for South Korea to consider very seriously about measures to counter North Korea’s nuclear bombs.” He also argues that “it’s time for [South Korea and the United States] to sit and talk about main objectives and rationale for the alliance.”

UT Law Professor Kamela Bridges predicts that “law practice will largely come back from the pandemic.” She also suggests law students to “try to find a path in the law that gets you excited.”

Georgetown Professor Pamela Sodhy points out that “there is a pattern with race relations.” She also reminds us that crisis is “both an opportunity and a time of trouble” and that we “can change the crisis in a positive way and learn something good from it.”