Women in Law - On The Record Allison Stewart

Today I’m talking with Christina Montgomery, Chief Privacy Officer of IBM in Armonk, New York. Christina attended Binghamton University where she studied English before going to Harvard Law School. She spent one year in private practice before taking her first in-house job at IBM over 27 years ago. Over nearly three decades, she has held several roles, become a subject matter expert in a variety of areas of the law, and consistently and loyally served her client. Now, as Chief Privacy Officer, Christina oversees IBM’s privacy program, compliance and strategy on a global basis, and directs all aspects of IBM’s privacy policies, including the IBM AI Ethics Board. Christina’s career is admirable and her insight is beyond valuable. Please enjoy hearing all about it.

Today I’m with Lea Ann King, General Counsel of Toyota Material Handling. Lea Ann cut her teeth as a young litigator at Bose McKinney & Evans after attending the University of Louisville for law school. She made her initial move in-house when she accepted a corporate counsel position with Hill-Rom where she would spend the next 7 years of her career. After that, Lea Ann made the move to Toyota almost 8 years ago to become their General Counsel. She now holds that position as well as serving as Toyota’s Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary. During our discussion, Lea Ann gave her in-depth view on what it takes to make that first move to in-house and how lawyers can navigate false barriers to entry. As you will learn for yourself, Lea Ann is clearly a natural leader, generous, and bound for continued greatness in her already impressive career.

Today is a very special episode of Women In Law as I sat down with three very impressive young women lawyers: Sophia Mai (Attorney with the US Department of Homeland Security), Ashley Yen (Associate In-House Counsel at Methodist Health System), and Hanna Kim (Associate at Zelle LLP). I brought these women on to talk about The Podium, which is an organization that they each serve in different capacities. For those first learning about The Podium, the organization supports Asian women lawyers by empowering them, advancing and supporting their interests and goals, creating authentic connections, and amplifying their voices. I thoroughly enjoyed my discussion with Sophia, Ashley and Hanna and I think you will too.

Today I’m talking with Amy Guzzy, General Counsel of Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores in Oklahoma City. Amy is from Tulsa, Oklahoma and attended Texas Christian University for undergrad where she studied merchandising and business. Amy then attended the University of Oklahoma for law school. After law school, Amy went into private practice with a focus on real estate but it wasn’t long before Amy began diversifying her experience and expertise. She would end up spending five years seeking out meaningful opportunities with her firm and building a resume that few could compete with, which is what made Amy perfect for the job of Love’s first in-house lawyer almost 17 years ago. There were many valuable lessons that I soaked up during my discussion with Amy but I’ll share two here. First is the importance of continuously educating yourself and surrounding yourself with smart, trustworthy people. Second, is the positive impact that a team or family mindset can have on one’s career. As you listen to Amy’s story, you’ll understand how she became a trusted advisor to the Love’s family and built Love’s legal department from the ground up. And while she’s become an integral part of the Love’s family, Amy has built a beautiful family of her own. She’s been married to her husband, Christian (who is also a successful lawyer), for 22 years. The two live in Oklahoma City and have three wonderful children: Ellison who is a junior in college, Quincy, who is a high school senior, and Grey who is a freshman. I think I speak for all of them when I say Amy’s family has so much to be proud of. And, I’m hopeful, you all will agree with me after listening to our conversation. Please enjoy.

Today I’m talking with Raven Moore, Managing Counsel of Commercial Litigation for McDonald’s. A native of Chicagoland, Raven grew up thinking she would either be a lawyer or a comedian. As you will hear, we got a chuckle out of her comedic aspirations but, in truth, Raven could have been anything she wanted to be. She followed her instinct to the law. She attended the University of Dayton where she studied communications management, then headed south to Tulane for law school. While she had a passion for human rights, she was drawn towards litigation so she took a job with a Chicago-based firm, Sachnoff & Weaver where she cut her teeth as a young lawyer. 
Raven reflects on some of the key experiences she had from her early years of practice and commends those more senior lawyers around her at the time for giving her meaningful opportunities. Sachnoff & Weaver later merged with Reed Smith, which is where Raven made partner as a new mom. The experience was both a proud moment for Raven, who worked hard for years to obtain that achievement, but also a reflection of the impact Raven made at her firm. Not surprisingly, she continues to make the same type of impact today as in-house counsel for McDonald’s, where she has been for the last 8 years. I told Raven during our discussion that she is truly a role model for me and I think you’ll understand why after hearing her humbly walk us through the admirable career she has enjoyed thus far.

Today I’m talking with Kelly Nolan, a former lawyer turned productivity and time management strategist. Originally from Minneapolis, Kelly grew up abroad and moved around a lot. Ultimately, she went to Dartmouth College for undergrad and Boston College Law School. After a handful of years practicing patent litigation, Kelly decided to put her learned organizational and detail-oriented skills to work in another way--as a time management specialist. Now, with her own company, Kelly specializes in helping professional women find time clarity and confidence, feel effective, drive their career forward all while soaking in time with family and friends. And, fortunately for all those listening, she shares several good tips during our discussion.