On March 20, Law360 featured Leo Vaccaro Padrón in its “How I Made Partner” series, highlighting her path to partnership, her leadership approach, and the experiences that shaped her success. The following is an excerpt:
What do you think was the deciding point for the firm in making you partner? Was it your performance on a specific case? A personality trait? Making connections with the right people?
I believe the deciding factor in my firm making me partner was that I was already doing the job of a partner for several years before becoming one. I found it very interesting that the same was true of a lot of my partner class cohorts. My mentor advised me, since I was a young associate, that I should always do both the job I actually had as well as the job I wanted to have. There is no better way to show that you are ready for the next step in your career than actually doing the work that would be required of you in that next step. I was leading transactions both internally and externally, doing business development, bringing in business, mentoring associates, and taking leadership positions in firm extracurricular activities, such as VAMOS, our Latinx affinity group, etc. I think the leadership recognized that I was ready for partnership because I took it upon myself to act as a partner, even if I was not yet formally one.
Who had or has the greatest influence in your career and why?
Jay Gavigan, currently a partner at Venable, has had the biggest influence in my career. Jay hired me in February 2016 to join the Clifford Chance US banking and finance practice group. I did not become a finance attorney until I started working with Jay. From the beginning, Jay and I developed a strong working relationship driven by our shared value of hard work. We both come from humble backgrounds and thus appreciate that we could be working just as hard as one works in big law while getting paid minimum wage. Jay also grew up with five sisters, so from the outset he treated me like an equal. He gave me opportunities to face clients and lead transactions early on in my career while still providing guidance and mentorship when I needed it. He always invested in my professional growth by teaching me technical skills and important emotional intelligence skills that every successful attorney should have. Eventually, he also started sharing credits with me and helping me develop my own business case for being promoted. Jay has been and will continue to be my biggest mentor and friend in the legal profession.
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