Heels Of Justice

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us.   Today, the Heels of Justice interview, Commander Temperance C. Huffstetler (“Claire”), is an attorney in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. She currently serves as the Victims’ Legal Counsel for Naval District Washington. LCDR Huffstetler was commissioned as a naval officer in May 2002 and served as a Surface Warrior Officer in a variety of operational roles until 2007, when she entered law school through the Navy’s Law Education Program. After graduating from law school in 2010, she completed Naval Justice School in Newport, RI. In her first tour as a Judge Advocate, LCDR Huffstetler served at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where she practiced as a criminal defense litigator, legal assistance attorney, and military disability attorney. She was then assigned as Command Judge Advocate

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. Today, the Heels of Justice interview Michelle Fang, the Chief Legal Officer of Turo.   Key Takeaways [:41] Katherine welcomes Michelle Fang, CLO of Turo, to the Heels of Justice podcast. [1:09] Michelle talks a bit about where she grew up, her college years in communications and how an infamous class veered her path towards Law. [4:19] Katherine asks what her experience of Law School was like and what positions she held after graduating. [6:15] Michelle delves a bit deeper into her expansive experience with eBay as well as the types of legal issues they would face. [8:08] Katherine ask what was it like as an in-house counsel  making the decision to take a big case to trial    [9:00] Katherine asks Michelle why she was so successful climbing the ranks at the organizations she worked for. [13:58] Has Michelle faced any moment in her career where she was treated different

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. Today’s episode is a very special live recording of a conference held in DC by ChIPs and a non-profit whose mission is to advance and connect women working in technology, law, and policy. Mallun Yen was Vice-President of intellectual property at Cisco, launched RPX Corporation and is now the co-founder and COO of SaaStr, the world’s largest community of software as a service business executives. Noreen Krall is Vice President and Chief Litigation Counsel for Apple Inc. and is responsible for all aspects of Apple’s global commercial and intellectual property litigation. Prior to joining Apple, Ms. Krall was the Vice President and Chief IP Counsel for Sun Microsystems, providing legal counsel over all facets of Sun’s intellectual property assets and leading Sun’s engagement on intellectual property law and policy issues. She started her career as an engineer at IBM.   Key

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. Today, the Heels of Justice interview Juanita Brooks, one of the foremost trial lawyers in the country. She is a Principal in Fish & Richardson’s San Diego office and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. In 2016, Law360 named Ms. Brooks an “Icon of IP” for her “skill at trying complicated patent cases without getting bogged down in the technical weeds” and said she is a “jury whisperer.” She has also been dubbed “a titan of the patent bar,” having served as lead counsel in multiple trials each year and handling more than 150 trials throughout her career.   Key Takeaways [:33] Sarita welcomes Juanita Brooks — a titan of the patent bar, the Jury Whisperer — to the Heels of Justice podcast. [1:18] What pushed Juanita to law, and what path led her to become a trial lawyer. [2:37] Sarita asks why Juanita felt out of place at Yale. [4:15] On an encouraging profess

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. Today, Katherine and Sarita wanted to take a moment to reflect on how their interviews with such amazing guests have resonated with them so far, both personally and professionally.   Key Takeaways [:22] Katherine and Sarita welcome listeners to this second special episode of the Heels of Justice podcast and explain what about these discussions resonated with them the most. [:39] Sarita begins the conversation by asking Katherine how she felt interviewing Dahlia Lithwick. [2:57   ] Sarita quotes Dahlia when she spoke of RBG, and your hosts discuss the nature of RBG outside of the meme she’s become as well as celebrity culture. [7:08] Sarita wants people who don’t know Kathi to understand just how dynamic she is in the breadth of her involvement. [8:20] Katherine appreciated Kathi’s message to find ways to add value, to keep learning to be better at what you do. [10:32] S

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. Today, the Heels of Justice interview Andrea (Andie) S. Kramer, author and Partner in the international law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, which was just listed as one of the “10 Best Big Law Firms for Female Attorneys.” Andie is head of the firm’s Financial Products, Trading, and Derivatives Group, and is the founding chair of the firm’s Gender Diversity Committee and currently serves as its co-chair. She has served on both her firm’s Management Committee and Compensation Committee. In these roles, she became deeply concerned about the disparities in the pace and extent of women’s and men’s career achievements. Key Takeaways [:29] Katherine welcomes Andie Kramer, lawyer and author to the Heels of Justice podcast. [1:12] How did Andie end up writing her first book on gender dynamics in law firms? [3:19] What was the response Andie got to the Self-evaluation do’

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. In this episode, Sarita talks to Kathi Vidal from Winston and Strawn; as Managing Partner of the firm’s Silicon Valley office, she is one of the leading patent litigators in the country. Nationally recognized for trying high-profile, high-stakes, and high-tech patent disputes for the region’s leading companies, her experience covers a myriad of technologies, including semiconductors, telecommunications, circuits and systems, computers, software, Internet applications, and consumer products.   Key Takeaways [:20] Sarita introduces Kathi Vidal, Managing Partner of Winston and Strawn’s Silicon Valley office — a woman whose name and achievements are well known, especially in the field of technology law — and asks her to break down what she does at her firm. [1:38] Sarita asks Kathi to break down what diversity and inclusion, as well as disruptive technology, entail in her j

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. Today, the Heels of Justice interview Dahlia Lithwick bio to come by the client.   Key Takeaways [:34] Katherine welcomes Dahlia Lithwick a writer and law journalist, to the Heels of Justice podcast. [1:24] Katherine asks Dahlia when, how and why she became interested in the law. [4:17] Did Dahlia end up following her interest in children’s advocacy policy through law school? And what happened after law school? [5:44] Dahlia shares that she quit law school after her first year and why she went back. [8:00] What does clerking “on and off” mean? [9:48] On the sometimes jargony nature of legal writing, and the necessary humility in writing about the law for lay audience. [15:12] “Read the briefs, translate the briefs, and write about what happened to the law.” There is no need for an ego. [15:45] Is there something about women that makes more inclined to egoless work? [21:

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. Today, Katherine and Sarita wanted to take a moment to reflect on how their interviews with such amazing guests have resonated with them so far, both personally and professionally. Key Takeaways [:22] Katherine and Sarita welcome listeners to this special episode of the Heels of Justice podcast and explain why this discussion seemed necessary. [1:22] Sarita asks Katherine her thoughts on what Anirma Gupta had to say, and what spoke to her most. [3:05] Your co-hosts discuss flying taxis and “majority minorities” from the Sasha G. Rao interview, as well as zero-in on some favorite parts of this episode. [8:47] On the recurring theme with some guests, of shifting networks. [10:25] Katherine and Sarita marvel at the very human traits — disappointments and imposter syndrome — of the amazing Judge Diane Wood. [13:24] Sarita finds a common thread weaving through the episodes,

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. Today, the Heels of Justice interview Anirma Gupta, General Counsel at Tanium Inc., previously V.P. and Deputy General Counsel at Intuit and Attorney at Sun Microsystems. She worked at Sughrue Mion out of Georgetown Law School after obtaining her J.D. She also holds a Bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland. You can find more information, as well as an extensive list of her awards in the “More About Anirma Gupta” section of these notes.   Key Takeaways [:41] Sarita welcomes Anirma Gupta, one of the few female General Counsels in the country, to the Heels of Justice podcast. [1:35] Where was Anirma born and where did she grow up? How was her experience growing up an immigrant? [3:58] Anirma explains what she wanted to be when she grew up, and how it fit into what was expected! [5:31] Sarita asks what led Anirma from electrical engineering to

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. In this episode, Katherine talks to The Honorable Judge Diane Wood, the Chief Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Judge Wood is one of the most renowned federal judges in the country. She's also a pioneer in the field of an antitrust law, a University of Chicago law professor, a former Supreme Court law clerk, and a tireless champion of her own former clerks (including Katherine!).   Key Takeaways [:32] Katherine opens this edition of Heels of Justice with a list of the three biases she has towards today’s guest and introduces Chief Judge Diane Wood. [1:49] Judge Wood answers Katherine’s question as to why she thinks she is so inclined to build good mentoring relationships with her clerks. [2:54] What path eventually brought Judge Wood to law, and how she remembers her experience of law school. [6:55] Judge Diane Wood on her clerkship, the real num

Welcome to Heels of Justice, these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field, and paved the way for the rest of us. Today, the Heels of Justice interview Sasha G. Rao, Chair of Maynard Cooper & Gale’s Intellectual Property Practice, in San Francisco. Click here for Sasha’s full bio.   Key Takeaways [:45] Sarita welcome Sasha G. Rao to the Heels of Justice, and asks her to describe what her role entails, day to day. [2:04] Sasha delves into her background and history, from Bangalore to Lynchburg, Virginia for her college years. [5:56] What took Sasha to law school after so seriously considering engineering and science? And how was the experience? [7:40] Sarita asks Sasha if there is a difference between working in a southern firm as opposed to a Silicon Valley firm, in the IP field. [9:25] “Write your own ticket” Maynard Cooper’s intriguing opportunity. And the difference that opportunity has provided. [12:15] Sarita asks if Sasha can give a bit of a history and framework in reg

Welcome to Heels of Justice; these are the stories of women lawyers who are trailblazers in their field and paved the way for the rest of us. In this episode, Sarita talks to Katherine Minarik — her friend and co-host for the Heels of Justice. Katherine Minarik is Group General Counsel for cleverbridge. Prior to cleverbridge, she was a partner and experienced trial lawyer at Bartlit Beck. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Association. Katherine is a past-President of the Coalition for Women’s Initiatives in Law.   Key Takeaways [:34] For this very first episode of Heels of Justice, Sarita introduces the friend and co-host Katherine Minarik to her own podcast! [2:40] Why did Katherine want to start a podcast? The difference between what you see and what you hear in terms of men’s and women’s accomplishments… To explain this phenomenon, she shares a story from her law firm days. [5:42] Katherine gives a quick take on the different ways success stories affect

Sarita Venkat and Katherine Minarik give an introduction to Heels of Justice