Stacey Heyman: Building legal and commercial acumen, one opportunity after another

Career Footprints

Alum Stacey Heyman shares highlights from her successful decade as a Reed Smith global regulatory enforcement associate, and in the senior in-house roles she has held since then. Stacey built professional acumen and confidence through trial experience as a new associate, an early-career client secondment in London, and working with detail- and client-service oriented partner role models. Stacey also shares how she secured the advice and support of her Reed Smith mentor during her transition to her first in-house role, setting the stage for an ongoing professional relationship.

----more----

Transcript:

Intro: Welcome to the Reed Smith podcast, Career Footprints. In each episode of Career Footprints, we'll ask our guest, a Reed Smith alum, to share their career story, how their time at Reed Smith set them up for success, and their advice for early career lawyers. Our goal is to surface insights from inspiring professionals careers that will help you find your professional success, however you define that.

Alicia: Welcome back to our Career Footprints podcast with our incredible Reed Smith alumni. I'm Alicia Millar and I have the great, great pleasure of introducing, talking with, discussing the career footprint of Stacey Heyman who has been part of the Reed Smith family for actually a significant chunk of time and in her career beyond Reed Smith as well. Stacey, welcome.

Stacey: Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here.

Alicia: Wonderful. We are looking forward, I am certainly looking forward to hearing more about your career to date and the time at Reed Smith. So why don't we jump straight into it? I know that you are Senior Commercial Counsel at Atlassian. But way way before that, um you were part of the Reed Smith uh family and I understand was it 2009, all the way through to 2020. Is that correct? Tell us, tell us about your time at Reed Smith.

Stacey: I was, yeah. So I was a summer associate in what was then the Falls Church office of Reed Smith is now the Tyson's office, um, in the summer of 2009 and then returned full time as an associate in 2010 and then, uh, was there until 2020. Yeah. So I, I grew up at Reed Smith. I was a baby lawyer and learned so much uh for the first decade of my career.

Alicia: Amazing. And um it, it was a decade that that's quite, that is a significant chunk of time. Give us a flavor about why you chose Reed Smith in the first place. What was it that really drew you to the firm?

Stacey: Yeah. So, um during on campus interviews while I was in law school, I was specifically targeting law firms that had satellite offices in um in specifically suburban to Washington DC, which is where I am now. That's home for me. But I really wanted the reach of a global law firm, but the feel of a smaller office. Um And so I, I knew going into OCI, that was, that would be a good, sweet spot for me. And I was interviewed by Rick Holzheimer from our Falls Church office and he had a good poker face. I did not think the interview went well, I had articulated all the reasons why I thought I would be a good fit and, um why I was attracted to apply to Reed Smith. And he just sort of sat there very sternly. Um, so no one was more surprised than me to hear from the recruiter to hear that I had been invited for a callback interview. And then I was thrilled to join as the, the only summer associate in that office for 2009. It was great.

Alicia: Amazing. And you know, that a decade is a significant chunk of time. I mean, you know, were there some really key points during that time that you kind of think? Wow, that was, that was a genuine learning moment for me. That was a, a sort of got caught out there or, you know, what, give us a sort of some of the smaller footprints of, of your time at the firm.

Stacey: So many. Yes, I, so I actually was slated to start, I, you know, graduated during an economic downturn in 2010. And so our entire class had been deferred until January of 2011, but, um, the Falls Church office was going into a big trial. And so I got called up a little bit earlier than my classmates and started in the fall of 2010. And Joe Luchini and Rick Sullivan were the partners in the Falls Church office leading this trial. And they like to joke that I walked in the door and they said, drop your bag and please join us in the courtroom. Um, we went right into trial, a very intense two week trial here in Maryland, which is where I now live. There was a Snowmageddon in DC. The court was called off for snow. Joe had to sleep in his office one night because the roads are a disaster, sort of memorable from that perspective. But also, um, it was my first trial and getting to be, you know, in the war room with the trial team in court every day for two weeks. Everyone kept saying at the beginning, gosh, you're getting such valuable experience right out the gate and, you know, it's sort of one of those things you can't really appreciate at the time until you realize how long you go in between trials and how rare it is, um to actually go to those big trials. So, uh right off the bat watching Rick and Joe, you know, conducting opening and closing argument, cross examining witnesses and I got to be there for all of it. It was just invaluable experience right out the gate and I, they put me in, in the courtroom right out the gate too. I, um, I was, I think I had my first trial within the first year or so. I certainly was preparing witnesses and doing like true litigation work. Whereas, you know, some of my peers at other law firms were still doing doc review for many, many years. That was not the case. I was, I was practicing law. I was using my law license right away.

Alicia: That's incredible. And what a, what an amazing start, what an amazing start when a career, the expression which I'm sure transcends no matter where you are. But really jumping into the deep end and learning those few strokes of swimming and learning. It sounds as if learning from some pretty incredible people around you really getting the chance to observe, to be part of it, to be alongside them. What incredible experience that must have been.

Stacey: Definitely, Joe had a knack for, he would scour through every line of an Excel sheet. He retired from the firm a few years ago, but I think anyone would commend his sort of impeccable attention to detail. Um And he, he won many, many times on that detail and he would spend hours sort of scrolling through documents, finding the needle in the haystack and then great gotcha moments on the stand that I felt very privileged to watch growing up as a lawyer in the firm. Yeah.

Alicia: Sure. Sure, of course. And now, um I'm gonna fast forward a little because I understand. Did you have a secondment? I mean, you know, from my accent, you can tell that I'm, I'm not based in DC where you are. Did you, did I hear that you had a secondment in London? Um talk us through that. How, how did that even come about? And what was your greatest learning there?

Stacey: I did. Yeah. In 2016 I was able to secondment with one of our life sciences clients in London, which was incredible. I was there for three months and I would spend four days a week with the client and Fridays in our London office. Uh, office-sharing with Nicola Beasley. It was so nice to get to know Nicola a little bit better while I was there. And Emma Williams, my other pal from London. I, I know she's um at the other office at Leeds now, but I'd be or miss if I didn't shout at Emma as well. Um But it was so fun to, to work with them and um to be embedded with a client at the time, they were re revamping their ABAC whistleblower program and sort of their global um sorry, ABAC stands for anti bribery anti-corruption. And so trying to better capture conduct of their employees globally and making sure it's bubbling up quickly that the company is able to track, able to remediate and just sort of have a better handle when you have a global life sciences company. These are the things that keep you up at night. It was really interesting to see what technology they were incorporating, to help them work a little bit faster, a little bit smarter and just to see how these things rolled out on a global scale. You know, a lot of times at a law firm you're getting called in when there's an emergency. You don't really get to, sometimes you get to build these things from scratch, but especially at the larger corporations that have powerhouse in-house counsel. Um, it was really exciting to be focused on one client for that period of time and helping them to sort of just better do day to day operations within the company.

Alicia: Mhm. And was that your first taste or sense of oh, this is, this is slightly different, this is not private practice. This is in a different environment, different ways of working is, was, is that fair to say?

Stacey: It was, and I, I think any law firm associate would tell you, oh, I wonder what it's like to be in house if you haven't experienced it. So it was very nice to be in house for a little bit and get a sense for what that looks like. They, you know, they very kindly at the end offered me a spot if I wanted to join and I wasn't quite ready at that time. I still felt there was more to do at the firm and I still liked the pace of helping to put out those fires, you know, changing client to client each day. So at the time I wasn't quite ready, but it certainly laid the groundwork for getting a sense for in house life and then eventually making that move.

Alicia: Well, it's quite, it is quite a thing you sort of think, you know, I do wonder how it, how it operates. I wonder what the wider context is. You know, this piece of work that I'm doing when I'm in-house, how does that fit in with a broader sort of commercial sense of the organization? So, having even, you know, just a three month stint, being able to really have your eyes open to that is powerful learning, I'm guessing for you.

Stacey: Definitely. Yeah, I think there are also things you uh tend to appreciate um more getting the secondment experience because you're privy to a a lot more day to day conversation, obviously that you wouldn't get. So you have better context for the customer, for their culture, for their true pain points. What you know, what their leadership is focused on may be totally different than the enforcement trends that you would have been advising them on. So there are certainly nuances that you gather through secondment that you wouldn't get as traditional outside counsel um posture. But it's also fun because you working with the client after my secondment, I had such better sensitivity to, you know, this person in the back of their mind is thinking about maybe that promotion one day or things like that. So, um yeah, to the extent a secondment opportunity comes up, I would highly recommend it. And do you also you know, not just specific to the client, you get a better sense, law firms have such a, a structure that you understand, especially I had never been in-house. So getting to appreciate the differences in house is completely focused on the business, right at the firm, you're focused on the client, in-house you're focused on the business, how to make the business better, smarter, more compliant, more profitable. And it gives you a better business sense, I think as outside counsel later to appreciate those differences once you've experienced it.

Alicia: Wow, no, I can, I can definitely hear it and, and sort of hear it in the way that you're, that you're describing your experience there. And it is, it's sort of this breadth of understanding as a, you know, being a, being a practicing lawyer is it, it can feel perhaps, you know, I'm doing this piece of work, which is so, so desperately integral to what's coming next to the organization, but then actually seeing it in practice building those relationships and go, okay this person's having a really bad day. Uh I know why they, they, they might be on a sort of a very different preference or way of working right now and equally just, you know, coming back to the fact of you belong and you're part of something quite big and quite exciting. I definitely heard you saying you weren't ready yet. Um So I'm, I'm sensing back to the states, back in practice at, at Reed Smith where that was, what, 2016, 2017 And you know, how were those, how were those sort of last couple of years of, of your time at the firm before, before stepping into something different? How were they?

Stacey: I did. Yeah, it was, it was fun because I left the Falls Church office to go on secondment and I came back to the brand sparkly shiny new Tyson's office when I returned and it all felt different. There was just a shift, you know, I felt, you know, intrepid that I've been on this international secondment and, um sort of coming back with a refreshed sense of what our, what our customers and clients need and how to better serve them. And so, uh, yeah, I continued as an associate for three more years. And in the fall of 2019, I had my first son and that, you know, of course, life shifts, uh for many reasons when you become a new parent. So I, I had my son in December of 2019, went on maternity leave. Obviously March 2020 COVID happened and I returned to the firm in May of 2020 in a remote environment. Sort of not. I was adrift in many ways, you know, navigating, working as a parent and um through COVID and sort of all the things that people were struggling with at that time. And I certainly felt more ready than to go in-house. I found myself really longing for using my brain from 9 to 5 and then switching gears and being able to sort of more focus on parenthood in the evenings and on the weekends. And that was, that was sort of the first inklings of, I think I'm ready to go in-house. And then I saw an opportunity, um, at Slack, the, um, software company that I thought would be a good fit and I figured, why not? I should apply. Um Just see kind of what happens. I went through about seven rounds of interviews.

Alicia: Seven? Seven rounds? They must have been really focused on what they wanted.

Stacey: Yeah, pretty intense.

Alicia: That’s intense.

Stacey: Yes, I think they were, I found out later they were pretty far down the line with someone else. So they were trying to rush me through and sort of get a good panel going um to make an informed choice. But uh and Rizzy Qureshi in the DC office, you know, as we were getting towards the end and they were asking for references. I opened up to Rizzy and said, um I'm interviewing for this job. Would you mind serving as a reference for me? And he was so kind about it. Yeah, so I um was offered that job and so I left Reed Smith in August of 2020 to join Slack.

Alicia: Amazing. I mean, and you know, I, I love those moments when you, when you sort of think, oh, I kind of have to tell somebody here and I need their support as well. And, oh, that's just, that's a hell of a conversation to have. Right. I mean, that's, that's a moment of, please don't hate me, but this is happening and to hear that it was such a wonderful experience. Actually, a positive moment actually, with you for the firm.

Stacey: It was, I had such a pit in my stomach as I know anyone can appreciate when you're contemplating leaving an organization that, you know, I had never worked anywhere else as a lawyer. I felt so deeply embedded and committed to the firm and Rizzy could not have been kinder, you know, he's a strategic businessman. He knew that this could mean business for Reed Smith. So he certainly stayed in the mentor role, just switching from partner associate to outside counsel, inside counsel and in-house council. So yes, he very kindly said, I'm sad we're having this conversation, but I fully support you and your professional goals. And so, yeah, and you know, and when I got back to Slack, I hired Rizzy and his team.

Alicia: So there you go.

Stacey: Yeah.

Alicia: It does pay off. And it's, it's quite a thing. A lot of people sort of say, you know, we, we've got alumni coming back and they're going to talk about life outside of the firm. And it's like, well, they left us well and they talk about the firm. Well, so let's hear what they have to say. So it is heartening to have had such a great experience of, of leaving us. But also looking back so fondly. Tell us a bit more. So you're in Slack, 2020 you're in the remote environment. Now, there was a sort of acquisition 2021. All of a sudden as I understand it, you're sort of in this big team, um, you know, sort of, it's, it's, you know, Slack moves to become Salesforce, you know, is, is that the environment that you kind of go? Okay, now I've made it, this is it, tell us the next stage of your career path.

Stacey: Yeah. So I was at Slack for about four months before they announced that Salesforce had intended to um acquire Slack and then we, we went through a pretty truncated closing process. Um DOJ conducted some antitrust review, you know, it's a big, big acquisitions um come with some heavy regulatory review. So once we got through that, um it was summer of 2021 and then we had some integration time with the Slack and Salesforce teams. And so at Slack, I had been hired to um act as the commercial counsel for the public sector business, which was really exciting. They were building it up and just sort of needed someone who understood FAR and DFAR and could speak that language and negotiate those contracts with the government. Salesforce had about 40 of me. So while I own a function at Slack, they had a very robust public sector sales commercial counsel team at Salesforce. And I also joked, I think anyone who's gone through an acquisition can appreciate, you end up with a job you didn't apply for at a company you didn't apply for.

Alicia: I can imagine.

Stacey: The team was very, very kind at Salesforce, but I really missed owning that function, being that partner and helping to build something new. And a few of my colleagues from Slack had gone over to Atlassian and said, oh, you should take a look at Atlassian. I think you'd really, I think you'd really like it culture. Um You know, Atlassian was founded in Australia. It has sort of this great Australian tech company culture. So, yeah, I applied and uh um I'm very grateful to be here and helping them sort of recreating what I did at Slack also helping them, they have a pretty good public sector sales function. Um But they didn't have dedicated legal counsel to it. So, yeah, helping build that up and getting us into more public sector hands is the goal.

Alicia: Got it. Got it amazing. And you know, I, I think um so for those of us who don't know Atlassian particularly, well, tell us a bit more about the culture, tell us a bit more about the people and I'm going to ask you about your day to day as well. But yes, give us, give us a sense of what it's like to work there.

Stacey: Sure. So Atlassian creates collaboration software and sort of way better ways to work with your team. Jira and Confluence are sort of the two major products that most people associate with Atlassian. Jira is a way to track projects and ticketing and sort of assign assignments and track them and see who's working on what and get answers on discrete issues. Um Confluence is like a, a virtual document software but it's, it's cool, you can put tables in it. It's hyped up, you can add hyperlinks, images, things like that. It's very cool. And as part of our commitment to collaboration software, we're a fully remote company which II I think it's getting harder and harder to find these days. So we have this thing called Atlassian Anywhere you can work in any country where Atlassian has a legal entity up to 90 days. So, you know, one of my colleagues did a work vacation from Paris for a few months and it's just there is a very nice emphasis on the company culture, making sure the employees are happy and feel, you know, excited about their work and excited about their teammates. And I really appreciate um I appreciate that. I very much value those personal connections with the people that I work with. So working at a company where it's so important is a very nice fit for me.

Alicia: Mhm. Mhm And you know, hearing that sort of the values driven, the fact that, you know, what, what the, the ultimate product is of the organization is mirrored in the way in which you work in the way in which you can interact with, with everybody else at the organization. And that sort of collective feel. It sounds, it sounds incredible and fully remote goodness, you know, especially when, you know, we hear so much in, in the press, uh, you know, as we're coming back to office, you know, some organizations mandating 2, 3, 4, even 5 days these days. So, gosh, it must feel quite different actually bearing in mind, you know, sort of some professional services and what's going on in the wider world and just that, you know, the, the, the commentary that we hear in the news a lot.

Stacey: Yeah, definitely we do. They're great about team meetings. So, uh we went, we met in Austin in May at the Austin, Texas office to be all together. I recently was in San Francisco. I'll be back in San Francisco in February and then they do region based activities. So in DC, we'll be doing a putt putt for Atlassian folks in DC and things like that. So, yeah, they do uh day to day, you know, it's sort of seamless working on our software, which is great, but then still providing the opportunity to get together and connect in person when possible.

Alicia: Absolutely wonderful. Because of course, you know, as what, what what I'm sensing is, you know, something that really does drive you, is that relationship building? Is that sort of human connection? Um, the sort of team environment?

Stacey: For sure.

Alicia: Wonderful. We would know, you know, this is a Reed Smith podcast. We would know what, you know, sort of a day in the life of a lawyer. Reed Smith. Be that on the litigation side, be that transactional. Tell us about, you know, sort of your day. What is the day of a day in the life of, you know, the senior commercial counselor at Atlassian?

Stacey: Yeah, so I in the mornings it is logging on and sort of checking what crises have popped up overnight. That is one of the sort of nature of a international software company. Sometimes I'll have, you know, my APAC colleagues or EMEA colleagues who have issues come up for questions. Um So in the morning it's just triaging and then sometimes, uh we have set customer calls, um, to negotiate through, you know, we're trying to enter into a new agreement or, um, we've, you know, had an issue pop up and we need to jump on a call with the customer um, and we'll work through those. A lot of broader projects are always like revamping our terms, revamping our contracts. Are they easy to read? Do they make sense for us? And the customer, one thing I really appreciate about Atlassian is we want to bring that customer voice to our contracts. So, yes, there are things that we need to protect the company, but we also want to make sure if we're getting a lot of feedback from customers about a specific term or something that's causing them friction. Uh, we really do want to make it easier, um, on our end to use our software, procure our software. And so that's what the commercial team is trying to do, trying to protect the risk of the company while also making it easy to buy our products.

Alicia: Mhm. And you know, something that I don't know when you take a step back, you think actually that's pretty integral to um the way in which we do business and the way in which we maintain incredible client relationships, you know, by really being able to lean in to say what is going to work best for you, how do we make sure this is a genuine fit, not just, here's a document, sign it, let's hope for the best, you know?

Stacey: Right. Exactly. Exactly. I think one of the things that I learned at Slack and for any contract nerds out there, I would encourage you to look at Slack’s sort of standard terms that live online. They have taken what usually, you know, you see these dense software terms, they've taken them to be incredibly customer friendly and incredibly easy to read. And so, you know, when I think of sort of the big lessons that I've pulled from you know, Reed Smith or Slack or Salesforce, from Slack it is definitely, there is always a way to convey what you need in a way that someone can read it and even maybe enjoy reading software terms if that's possible. So, I, I try to remember that as I'm drafting even today.

Alicia: Awesome. I love that. Someone once told me if your grandmother understands what you're doing, you're onto a winner and I, I still hold by that. I absolutely do. One thing I'm always curious about I mean, you know, in private practice in a Reed Smith context. In fact, you know, most law firms time is money, right? You know, you've got to be billing every six minutes counts. What is the concept of time when you're in-house? I mean, how does, is it such a commodity and such a sort of rigorous recording as, as, as you would have experienced at Reed Smith? What does that feel like?

Stacey: Yeah, it's so funny. I still find myself from time to time going to switch my timer and it just creates that muscle memory after 10 years. Um, it's a tough one to break, but the really nice change beyond, you know, not having to worry about the constant timer is people are much more willing to just touch base and chat. And, um, it was so funny to me when I joined Slack. A couple of my colleagues were saying, hey, you know, we haven't met in a while. Let's, let's set up a recurring one on one because I kept thinking, oh, I'm taking your time, you know, I know you need to get back to work. But when you're in-house that is built in and that time and connection and mentoring is built into your day. And so my manager and I meet once a week, not only to run through tasks and things, but to talk big picture, you know, are you happy? Where do you want to go in your career? Um Are you observing things we need to change and then, you know, other counterparts within legal, within the business, we just set up recurring one on ones and sometimes it's just, you know, the 30 minutes you would have grabbed a coffee with a friend um when you were in person, but it is so nice not to feel like I'm stealing their time or um you know, keeping them from getting back to billing it. Um It, it takes the pressure off to sometimes you get wisdom that you wouldn't ordinarily get just because the time is there, which is so nice.

Alicia: Absolutely. And often, you know, especially if we are remote from our colleagues, those corridor conversations, those moments of, you know, how, how is, how are things going? Those moments with those who perhaps are more senior to you? And do you know, they, they hold the intel about how promotion looks and how hierarchy works, you know, having that time is, is can be quite precious. Um If you don't have it automatically, as you said in the coffee line. It's good to hear that those exist. It's something I'm in a learning and development function. Of course, I'm going to be preaching about this, but it's lovely to hear that it does, it does live and breathe. I'm really curious because the, the journey that you've given us today, the sort of the learning that you've had, what would you say has been the sort of highlights, those moments as you look back um over an incredible career if you know, 2009 and you know, we're about to head into 2024 and whatever goodness, whatever that's going to bring, you know, what are, what are those moments of learning that you say actually, uh to tell my younger self or absolutely, to tell the, the colleagues that we have here at Reed Smith who are listening in on, on those podcasts. What would you say about those, those moments of learning throughout this career so far from Reed Smith?

Stacey: The one thing that I always go back to is don't bring problems, bring solutions. And I think as a young associate, it's very easy to say I had a problem. But one of the things that I learned from the partners at Reed Smith is finding the problem is always gonna happen. What sets you apart is the solution that you bring and being able to come saying we found this, but we have an idea is what is always gonna set you apart as a good lawyer no matter where you're practicing. And then that attention to detail sort of what I was saying about Joe ferreting through Excel spreadsheets to find the one missing number that could win the case. I mean, having that impeccable attention to detail will always serve you well, whether you're drafting contracts and think I could make this a little bit more precise or crisp or it's the winning paper document in a deposition or litigation, no matter what your practice is. Bring solutions, not problems and attention to detail are certainly the, the most important I think.

Alicia: Mhm. One thing I would, I would emphasize, um, again, hearing from you and certainly the, the early lessons of attention to detail, as you said, the problems and, and solutions. I guess for our, for our younger associates, for our younger population, our younger attorneys really stepping into their 1st, 1st and 2nd years, it can be quite daunting to sort of say, okay, I think I've had a problem, let alone saying, I think I found a solution. How do you, how do you have that courage? I mean, what is it about, you know, the sort of the, perhaps it's a human interaction? What is it that gives you that moment of going? No, I'm gonna do it. This is what it's gonna set me apart.

Stacey: Yeah, I, I can completely appreciate how that feels, being a junior associate and sometimes you're thrust into it. Sometimes you are not ready. And, um, a partner says I need you to do x, y, and z, even if it feels daunting and scary, that's where you're going to learn. Those are the best moments. Also, we, as, um, clients of the firm are, are paying you to look for those things. So I'd much rather you flag it and bring your also possible solution than be too timid because it may, it might be something we didn't even think of. You know, part of the reason we bring in outside counsels for the fresh set of eyes, we get into our day to day and we are relying on you to sort of remind us of the pitfalls or maybe see something flag something we haven't done before. So it may be scary, but it also might be your moment to be bold and look really good to your partner, your client, whoever that may be so and of course, run it by your colleagues. Um, if you're not quite confident enough to bring it to the client, but that's what they're there for and that's where you'll learn so.

Alicia: No, I think that's, I think that's, that's wise advice and, you know, I certainly, I certainly appreciate hearing you are a client. You are, you are in-house counsel, an amazing organization. Um, so to hear it direct from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Um, thank you for that. I guess I'm, I'm on to final words. I'm on to sort of what are the, the sort of key takeaways. And as I listen to you, I'm sort of hearing this again. It's coming back to the human connection, the relationships that you've built up and, you know, to a certain extent, I, I, you know, if I put it into more business speak, you know, the network that you must have now, the people that have crossed your path, would you say that's, that's sort of a big part of your longevity to date and will continue, you know, sort of for the next 10 years going forward?

Stacey: Definitely. I always, when I'm talking to younger associates, um to the Reed Smith transactional associates that I talked to in September, I always encourage you to just be kind or at least professional slash cordial if kindness isn't the tone of, um, the conversation, but you just never know when you're going to cross paths again. Careers are long. And it is so funny to me how many people you just don't expect that you will hear from pop up and they might need something from you or you might need something from them. So I always try to encourage just be times be professional, be cordial because you just never know. So keep in the back of your mind.

Alicia: Yeah, Absolutely. Absolutely. So, look, Stacey, this has been wonderful uh talking with you again, hearing about your career journey to date. And, you know, I'm seeing so much more to come from whether it's in-house, whether we tempt you back in at some stage, I'm sure because it seems like you are a great friend of the firm, a great advocate of the firm and certainly something that our younger associates can, can really look up to thinking beyond just the sort of first five minutes in the firm, but a longevity career, that's clearly one that you're cherishing. Actually, I would say that's how I really feel.

Stacey: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. It's, I love talking to Reed Smith associates. So I encourage you to reach out if you have any questions or want to chat.

Alicia: Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you, Stacey. And I certainly look forward to the next Career Footprints podcast.

Outro: Career Footprints is a Reed Smith production. Our producer is Ali McCardell. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast, PodBean, and reedsmith.com. To learn more about Reed Smith's Alumni Network, or if you're an alum of the firm who wants to share your career story, contact me, Reed Smith's Global Senior Director of Alumni Relations, Laura Karmatz at [e-mail].

Disclaimer: This podcast is provided for educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice and is not intended to establish an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to suggest or establish standards of care applicable to particular lawyers in any given situation. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Any views, opinions, or comments made by any external guest speaker are not to be attributed to Reed Smith LLP or its individual lawyers.

All rights reserved.

Transcript is auto-generated.