Executive Director of Digital Entertainment, Virgin Media
London, England

What do you do?

I run Virgin Media’s Digital Entertainment business. Virgin Media is the UK’s only cable operator. We provide high-speed broadband, fixed and mobile telephony, and a range of TV services. Digital Entertainment is comprised of our cable TV business and various multiscreen initiatives to extend the TV experience beyond just the TV screen. I also handle content acquisition and hardware specification. My major accomplishment this year was to launch TiVo in the UK. This product launch will be transformative for our business.

How/why did you get your job?

I had spent 15 wonderful years in various different roles at The Walt Disney Company, after which I felt ready for a new challenge. Having experienced the world as a content provider, I decided it would round me out as an executive to experience the world from the other side of the table, as a distributor. As a content provider, I never worried about the operational aspects of getting content into a customer’s living room. That is perhaps what I appreciate the most about this role; it’s where the content meets the consumer.

What does your typical day look like?

Drop my kids at school, work all day, put my kids to bed at night, and then sometimes do a couple more hours in the evening! It’s very challenging to have little ones, a marriage, and a full-on career. Work/life balance is an ongoing focus for me.

What are you passionate about?

I’m passionate about entertainment and how it makes people feel about themselves, about each other, and about life. I dedicate my working life to finding ways to delight my customers so they can get the most from their entertainment experience.

Why did you choose New York Law School?

I’m a diehard New Yorker, and NYLS appealed to me because of the diversity of the student body—not just in terms of race and gender, but also diversity of backgrounds, walks of life, and stages of life. Students at NYLS seemed to take legal education more seriously than most because they really wanted to be there, as opposed to being there because they didn’t know what else to do.

What is your favorite law school memory?

When I wrote onto the Law Review and my submission was chosen to be an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.

What advice do you have for current students interested in your field of law?

Business lawyers who really understand intellectual property will continue to be in demand as technology continues to challenge traditional legal thinking in this area. Whether you enter the field through content or distribution, get in early and start building up a bank of experience and contacts.

Tell us a fun/unique fact about yourself.

I used to train as a competitive figure skater, but gave it up to go to law school!

Senior Counsel, Institutional Administration (LEGIA), and Chair, Recruitment Committee, Legal Vice Presidency, The World Bank
Washington, D.C.

What do you do?

I am a Senior Counsel at the Legal Vice Presidency of the World Bank, stationed in Washington, D.C. I also serve as its Head of the Recruitment Committee. My work portfolio includes handling litigation, providing legal advice on administrative and human resources matters, negotiating, and drafting contracts.

How/why did you get your job?

I had practiced international administrative law at the United Nations in New York and UNESCO in Paris, during which time I had professional contacts with some lawyers at the World Bank including my current boss who eventually recruited me to the World Bank.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I enjoy the international nature of the work and multicultural environment. I also enjoy the fact that I am contributing my own quota towards the World Bank’s mission of eradication of poverty by providing sound legal advice for the protection and promotion of the organization’s interest.

What is your favorite law school memory?

It was in Professor Koffler’s Torts class, when a fellow student and friend of mine responded incorrectly to his questions in class. Professor Koffler told him: “Never have I heard someone so eloquent and so wrong at the same time.” As humorous and horrifying as that moment was for me, it was also a teachable moment. As a result, I always came to class well prepared. I have maintained that attitude in my professional life by facing situations with preparedness.

Was there anyone at the Law School who had a significant impact on you?

The motley group of friends made up of fellow students made the law school experience not just bearable but really enjoyable. It felt like a support group. I also valued the relationship that I cultivated with Professor Robert Blecker who was always accessible. Professor Lung-chu Chen also deserves special mention for giving me an A+ in International Law, which was a validation of my interest in the subject and of my professional experience.

What advice do you have for current students interested in your field of law?

Distinguish yourself through international scholarship and experience, and learn how to write and communicate well. In addition to acquiring technical skills, demonstrate people skills. In other words, you should have the right aptitude and attitude. Above all, develop a professional passion and pursue it with fearless determination.

Who is your source of inspiration?

My father was my greatest source of inspiration as he instilled in me confidence tempered with humility—attributes that have served me well both professionally and personally.

Tell us a fun/unique fact about yourself.

I enjoy cooking and have been told I am a very good cook. I pride myself in having the unusual or uncanny ability to figure out how to make or reproduce delicious dishes simply by tasting them and/or identifying the ingredients.

Deputy Chief, Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau, Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C.

What do you do?

I am the Deputy Bureau Chief for the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission. I focus on strategy and new technology and run the strategic communications team as well as the Emergency Response Interoperability Center, which focuses on ensuring the interoperability and operability of the nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network. I also work on a wide variety of other public safety and homeland security communications issues, including 9-1-1 calling issues, emergency alert issues, cyber security, and emergency preparedness and spectrum issues.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

Telecommunications is critical to all that we as Americans do—whether business, personal, or safety—so having an effective and reliable communications system is key. I enjoy being a part of ensuring that every day Americans have a communications system that we can rely on for all of our needs.

What NYLS courses have your found to be most valuable in your career?

In Admiralty Law, I learned the importance of sharing scarce public resources. This is an issue I deal with every day with regard to the radiocommunications spectrum. Similarly, Communications Law was an eye-opening class that was brought to life by studying not only route cases, but the policy issues that were surfacing at that time. Finally, the international law courses I took were key. Most of my career has had an international focus, and I credit the faculty at NYLS with pointing me in the direction of obtaining my LL.M. in International Law. Today I teach a course in international law at Georgetown.

What is your favorite law school memory?

The time I spent informally with my Admiralty Law professor talking about substantive and career issues. Having a professor who took the time to talk and listen to his students was invaluable to me.

What advice do you have for current students interested in your field of law?

First, join the Federal Communications Bar Association Young Lawyers Committee and attend as many events as you can to meet people. Second, get good grades, and if you can’t, work to get published or participate in Moot Court. Third, take courses that will give you a background and demonstrate an interest in telecommunications and administrative law. If possible, intern in the area. Not only will you gain experience and demonstrate your interest, but you will be able to meet professionals with whom you can network throughout your career. Finally, find a mentor and a sponsor who can help guide you.

What do enjoy doing most when you are not at work?

Spending time with my husband and dog. We love to run, swim, and play outdoors, whether that is biking, rock climbing, or whatever. I also very much enjoy writing and painting.

Partner, Baker & Hostetler LLP
New York, New York

What do you do?

I am a partner at Baker Hostetler’s New York office, where I specialize in complex commercial and intellectual property litigation. In addition to being a litigator, I advise new media and Internet clients on intellectual property business issues.

How/why did you get your job?

Through hard work and a lot of luck. Baker Hostetler was just starting its New York office at the time and needed an experienced junior attorney right as I came out of my clerkship in the Eastern District of Virginia and working at one of Georgetown Law’s public interest clinics. I was aiming to come back to the city while looking for a small office atmosphere with big firm clients and resources.

What do enjoy most about your work?

I am by nature a problem-solver. At the end of the day, the practice of law is about helping your client deal with a particular problem to achieve the best result. I take great pride and pleasure in crafting the right solution for my clients’ needs. On another level, I very much enjoy the relationship-building opportunities.

Why did you choose New York Law School?

I was living in Brazil at the time and was intent not only on returning to New York, but on immersing myself in the pragmatic aspects of the practice of law. I wanted to be near the government offices and courthouses and close to downtown, and NYLS fit that bill to a tee.

What NYLS courses have you found to be most valuable in your career?

The most challenging and rewarding course was my Advanced Constitutional Law class. Over the course of one semester, we deconstructed a pending Supreme Court case from every angle while honing practical legal skills such as oral argument and brief writing. That rigorous and diverse thought process practically applied is a lesson that has stuck with me for years.

Was there anyone at the Law School who had a significant impact on you?

They were many, but two stand out in particular: Professor Nadine Strossen for demonstrating that there really are enough hours in the day to do just about everything, and Professor Lenni Benson for showing that you can never give back enough.

Who/what is your source of inspiration?

Several years ago at a Baker holiday party, I spoke with Nestor, a copy room employee from El Salvador. He said something I’ll never forget: “I’m proud of you . . . I will bring my son to the office and introduce him to you and say, ‘Look at this young man. His skin is brown like yours. He speaks English and horrible Spanish just like you. He is the son of immigrants just like you. And he’s a lawyer. You see, son, one day you can be a lawyer too.’” The Nestors of the world serve as an inspiration to me and my commitment to public service and especially in giving back to the underserved and underrepresented Latino community.

What do you enjoy doing most when you are not at work?

Walking the streets and parks of DUMBO, Brooklyn, with my 2½-yearold son.

Criminal Defense Attorney, Legal Aid Society
New York, New York

What do you do?

I am a criminal defense attorney at the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Practice, in Manhattan.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I enjoy helping people, advocating for them, and ensuring that their legal rights and freedoms are not taken for granted. One example that stands out is taking a client into the grand jury, which ultimately decided to dismiss the case against him. It was so nerve-wracking, and my client could have faced jail time if the jury decided the prosecutor had enough evidence to go forward with the charges against him. I believed his story about what happened to him the night of his arrest; that the charges against him were the result of an inequity in the penal law that could result in very grave punishments for a violation of the law—one that most New Yorkers have never heard of.

What does your typical day look like?

I don’t have a “typical” day. As a criminal defense attorney working for a nonprofit, one has to be prepared for things to change rapidly. Part of the job is the ability to think on your feet and react quickly. I usually go to various courtrooms every day because I have clients with cases at various stages in different courtrooms. Several times a month, I have arraignments, where I meet new clients, interview them, and attempt to convince a judge that they should be released from custody and allowed to return to court on their own on the next adjournment date.

Was there anyone at the Law School who acted as a mentor for you?

I really appreciated Sally Harding in Student Life and everything she did for students involved in student organizations. I am still in touch with my professors affiliated with the Justice Action Center (JAC). I’m very active as a JAC alum and come back to the School frequently to visit and participate in JAC events. I talk frequently with Professor Lenni Benson, and I also really value the mediation skills I learned from Professor Lawrence Grosberg in the Mediation Clinic and the negotiation skills I honed working with Professor Kris Franklin, who helped my teammates and me compete in the ABA Negotiation Competition two years in a row. Also, as an evening student, I think we mentored each other. We had an almost built-in camaraderie because most of us were working full time and going to law school at the same time.

What advice do you have for current students interested in your field of law?

Take as many clinics and practical courses as possible. Take some classes that you think might be interesting or fun, and don’t be singularly focused on one area—allow yourself the possibility to discover new areas of the law and be challenged. Also, participate in legal activities that will expose you to law students from other schools and environments. Broaden your network. The world is larger than just NYC!

Tell us a fun/unique fact about yourself.

I was a photography/art major as an undergraduate and worked in film production before law school. I even had an “under five” part in a friend’s film while in law school.