While the majority of Suffolk Law graduates may be found in New England, as the Law School’s reputation grows, more alums than ever may be found far afield. In fact, applications to Suffolk Law from outside New England have never been higher. Likewise, Suffolk Law alums are taking on significant roles in big firms in major cities across the country.

Damaris Medina, JD ’07, is a shareholder at Buchalter in Los Angeles; Andrea Bidegaray Stephen, JD ’10, is of counsel in the corporate department in Ropes & Gray in New York City; and Elizabeth Rahn Gallucci, JD ’10 is a partner at Ropes & Gray in San Francisco. These three Suffolk Law grads, now in their second decade of practice, share some insight into taking on leadership roles at big firms in big markets.

Talk about your journey since graduation from Suffolk Law and why you pursued the specialty you did in your practice of law.

Medina: After graduating, I planned to move to the west coast, but I took a year to work for a small firm doing business/commercial litigation in the banking space in New York. I moved to California in the middle of the 2008 recession, which was hard. I took a job doing plaintiff-side class action employment work and was able to grow that office from a two-attorney shop to 10. I wanted to get back into commercial business litigation and into a larger platform, so I joined the commercial litigation and employment practice groups at a larger firm in Los Angeles. At that point, the managing partner saw that I was not just interested in being a service partner but in ownership too. He encouraged me to develop a business plan in an area I had the biggest network in, which at the time was healthcare. There was a partner who had a healthcare practice, and I got in on one of the cases and fell in love with it. I got good advice early on to develop a niche, so I started building expertise in the healthcare space, specifically in some of the emerging areas and issues in the industry. I started working on some cases that were of import at the time, including one that ultimately went to the California Supreme Court. After six or seven years, the platform at that firm felt too small for me to take my practice to the next level, so I started to look for a larger firm, and landed at Buchalter as partner.

Stephen: I graduated in the Great Recession. I started off in Weil in Boston—a smaller office—then did a year with Univision LA, one of our clients, and was able to get a taste of that. It made me realize that big law was the best training you could get. Weil was a private equity shop, but at Ropes, I realized you could try different things. So, I went into private equity at Ropes, because it sounded very interesting, with very sophisticated clients, and it was challenging. Ropes was meant to have a gentler feel to it, and at that time I’d just had my first child. I’ve been here ever since and am really happy here. Around my seventh year, the head of our group suggested we talk about a partnership track. I didn’t think I could put in the hours with my kids at home. I made my way to this of counsel role, a more flexible role, which permits me to do something more engaging but to also have the flexibility to do what I need to do at home.

Gallucci: I went to Ropes to start as a summer associate. I took what they called a “NAP” year—the New Alternatives Program—working in a nonprofit for a year. Ropes used this program during the recession to delay start dates but maintain their hiring plans because there was almost no corporate transactional work. Thereafter, I committed to the corporate group. I was drawn to transactional work generally, not knowing what private equity work entailed at the time. I learned very quickly that the private equity group was a large practice group at the firm and that private equity clients were key clients. I moved to San Francisco and started in a completely different (and much smaller) office, but the benefit for me was I got to grow with the office. There were just a few folks doing private equity transaction work there at the time, and I latched onto them to get hours. I wanted to be at a big firm for four years to get the training and experience, but after my fourth year, I began to enjoy the work and was starting to take a lead associate role on my matters. Candidly, I didn’t have “making partner” as a career goal—it seemed extremely daunting. But I plugged along and realized I had a real shot, and I made a push for a promotion in 2020. I’ve been a partner for a few years now.

At Suffolk, female students have surpassed male students: 55% of the past three graduating classes have been women. How do your firms take care to cultivate and support women into leadership roles at the firm? Are there women in leadership roles at these firms that you admire?

Medina: Buchalter has always had a culture of championing women. I believe we had the first female managing partner in Los Angeles back in the day. It wasn't necessarily specific women championing me, but a top-down culture from a management perspective to champion people of diverse backgrounds. I never felt as supported as I did when I first came here. It was a spirit of “what can we do to support and help you?” After just a year, I was asked to chair the Women at Buchalter committee. Then I was asked to be on the board of directors. And last year, I was asked to become the diversity, equity, and inclusion officer for the firm. This is really illustrative of the firm’s support for women in leadership at the firm. They go beyond words, backing them with actions.

Stephen: Ropes is unique in that they’re very good thinking outside of the box and creating more bespoke arrangements. I’m not just a woman. I’m Hispanic, and I’m a mom. And they really value diversity and inclusion and recognizing that not everyone has or wants the same path but might still add value to the firm. Even within the of counsels, not everyone has the same arrangement. It’s really helpful for women who want different things. I was afraid of taking my foot out of the door and getting lost, but my mentor helped me come up with this position, asking what role would work and helping me come up with my business plan. When I recruit now, I get to tell women that there’s not just one path. And I do think private equity is uniquely difficult for women because of the nature of the job, especially women with families. But it’s becoming more of a thing now.

Gallucci: Yes, there is room and flexibility. If you look at other firms, I don’t want to say people are more similar, but Ropes has more diversity of personalities within the same industry. Private equity lawyers are not all similar now, and we were part of the group here that got to see that start to change. Even outside of private equity, we have partners who were off track for years and then returned and said, “I want to make the push to be a partner,” and they’re partners now. The firm has been open-minded about that and it’s reflected in the numbers.

What advice do you have to our recent class of 2024 graduates who are considering these same firms or specialties you have chosen?

Medina: First, reach out to people who've gone through what you're going through in starting at a practice on the West Coast, like other Suffolk Law alums. Second, I believe the industry has turned away from clients seeking generalists to clients seeking industry experts or experts in a particular legal niche. If you have interest in building a book of business, become an expert in a particular industry area or a niche issue. Third, I’ve never had a firm tell me “no” when I’ve shown an interest in getting involved beyond legal work. There’s the everyday work, of course, but showing an interest in leadership within the firm, and being proactive, sets you apart to management. You can start doing so even with smaller things at the beginning, like offering to help on a firm committee.

Stephen: If you want to do big law, there’s always an element of making a certain grade even to get your foot in the door. Beyond that, I think it’s good to reach out to people and network, getting mentors and understanding what that entails. Take advantage of the resources at Suffolk Law, like doing practice interviews and networking. Your network is already there at Suffolk Law or your junior counterparts at a firm. Making friends with your peers at school or your first colleagues absolutely matters.

Gallucci: For any job out of law school, there’s this idea that you have to “get” or “have” a mentor. But it’s important to remember that mentorship is a two-way street. You need to bring something to the table, too. The best way to have a productive relationship is to keep showing up and working hard. If you can be that person for somebody, they’re going to want to go to bat for you. And it means something to start having these touchpoints, however small.

How do you reflect back on Suffolk Law, or professors in particular, when you think about how you were educated as a lawyer?

Medina: In terms of professors, it’s hard for me to just choose one. I had so many supportive and invested professors at Suffolk. There are two that come to mind immediately—Professor Robert Kaplan for legal writing was awesome. He taught me how to think like a lawyer and articulate arguments in an effective way. My professor for clinical practice, Ilene Seidman, was also fantastic. To have that clinical experience as a 3L, arguing a motion and taking care of my own clients, and doing billing for the first time—it’s when I really fell in love with being a lawyer. It wasn’t theoretical anymore. She gave me the confidence to know I could actually be a litigator and drive meaningful change at the same time. It was inspiring.

Stephen: Suffolk didn’t necessarily prepare me from a practical perspective for private equity, but it was a grade-A education, and we had such incredible teachers. They’d gone to the top law schools and were so good at teaching in such a clear way that made it enjoyable. Professor Patrick Shin was great, and Professor Simard. Professor Jeffrey Lipshaw is great if you’re considering corporate law.

Gallucci: We didn’t learn legal theory at Suffolk; instead, we learned how to read, write, and interpret the law and to produce work products that were useful. I was appreciative of the concrete nature of the traditional legal education, and I enjoyed every second of it.