The O’Melveny Podcast O’Melveny & Myers LLP

Episode 12 of the O’Melveny Podcast features a candid discussion between firmwide hiring partner Jeeho Lee (NY), Los Angeles office head Dawn Sestito, and labor and employment associate Racquel Martin (SF) about O’Melveny’s transition to a remote-work environment.

San Francisco hiring partner Damali Taylor and Celo general counsel and O’Melveny alumna Brynly Llyr sat down in March before the Bay Area’s shelter-in-place order took effect to share their perspectives on career development and legal diversity through the lens of Damali’s impressive career. Damali walks us through her unique path to becoming an accomplished lawyer, from Jamaica to the Bronx to Yale Law School and eventually landing as a San Francisco Police Commissioner and white collar partner at O’Melveny. Other topics discussed include why diversity in the legal industry is so important, issues Damali faces in her capacity as a Police Commissioner, and how to manage stressful situations at work.

Los Angeles hiring partner Catalina Vergara leads a discussion of the four pillars of diversity and inclusion at O’Melveny: pipeline, recruiting, retention, and professional success. Guests include DC-based Diversity & Inclusion Manager Olivia Blair, New York counsel and head of O’Melveny’s NY/DC LGBTQ Employee Network Dan Franklin, and Los Angeles associate and African American Professionals Network member Ashley Menzies.

Partner Leah Godesky, associate Kelly Scavone, and summer associate Lauren Casale walk through how their cross-country team, equipped with an “army of summer associates,” briefed, prepped, argued, and ultimately led three abortion clinics to victory in Little Rock Family Planning Services, et al v. Rutledge, et al.

What is Pymetrics, how does it work, and why are we using it? O’Melveny diversity and inclusion partner Darin Snyder joins firmwide hiring partner Allen Burton, associate Brandon Harper, and Pymetrics’s Andrew Avrin to discuss how the firm is innovating to address implicit bias in the recruiting process and increase diversity.

What’s fintech law all about? Data security and privacy practice co-chair Steve Bunnell talks with fintech practice chair Eric Sibbitt and white collar partner Damali Taylor about the types of clients they advise in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, their outlook on fintech enforcement trends, and how law students interested in fintech can position themselves for success.