Attorney Spotlight: Venable Foundation President Reflects on 40 Years of Giving
In honor of its 40th anniversary, Venable Foundation director Michael Bigley recently sat down with Lindsay Meyer, president of the board of the Foundation, to discuss the Foundation's history, evolution, and key initiatives. As Lindsay prepares to step down from her role as president, she also reflects on her tenure, contributions, and hopes for the future. Read the full Q&A with Michael and Lindsay here.
Michael: How long have you been with the firm, and what's kept you here since you joined?
Lindsay: I joined Venable in 1987 as a first-year associate in the Tysons Corner, Virginia office. I was a litigator for the first two and a half years before transitioning to the DC office, when we started an international trade practice. I was looking for a firm where I could grow as a lawyer and get engaged with the community—my office community, the firm community, and then the larger community, the city that I have come to know and love.
I became an international trade lawyer because I've always been interested in the larger issues of the world. Well, those very same issues exist in our own communities, so my involvement in the Venable Foundation has been a really nice grounding point for me. I knew that through the work of the Foundation, we were also paying very close attention, as a firm, to looking after those in need in our own neighborhoods.
Michael: When did you first get involved with the Venable Foundation, and how has that influenced your career?
Lindsay: Even as a young associate in Venable's Virginia office, I saw that the office leaders were very strongly committed to giving back to the community. It was an extension of the values that I had consistently heard about from former Venable leaders, like Ben Civiletti, Jim Shea, Bill Dolan, and John Milliken. In early 2014, when then Venable chairman Jim Shea became aware of John Milliken's retirement, he recruited me to join the Foundation, with the plan of stepping up as Foundation president the following January. I essentially had one year to learn the ropes before taking over as the third president of the Venable Foundation in January of 2015, following in the very large footsteps of Ben Civiletti and John Milliken.