Managing Through Crisis: Debra Wong Yang

I’ve been writing about the judiciary for more than 20 years, and in my opinion, the current time is the most difficult I’ve seen for serving as a federal judge. This is especially true in courts where a disproportionate number of cases challenging actions of the current administration have been filed, such as the U.S. District Courts for Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.) and the District of Columbia (D.D.C.).Judges in these districts face heavy dockets, and high-profile cases involving the administration present special challenges. They often involve requests for urgent forms of relief, such as preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders, that must be heard on short timetables. Many of the cases present novel and knotty legal issues. And depending on how a judge rules, the judge could face strong criticism, from either the right or the left—and sometimes even more than that, such as impeachment efforts or even threats, whether to themselves or their families.What is it like to be a judge at the eye of this storm, trying to calmly uphold values like the rule of law and judicial independence during tumultuous times? To find out, I interviewed Judge Ana Reyes, who was appointed to the D.D.C. by President Biden in 2023. Although she’s been on the bench for only two and a half years, Judge Reyes has already handled a number of headline-making cases—and while we could not and did not discuss any specific matters still pending before her, she spoke honestly and directly about many fascinating subjects, including her overall approach to judging, the rule of law and judicial independence, how she treats the lawyers appearing before her, media coverage of the judiciary, and more.Thanks to Judge Reyes for a great conversation—and thanks to her and her fellow judges for the crucial work that they do. While observers of the courts, myself included, might disagree with specific rulings, I suspect I’m not alone in believing that on the whole, the federal judiciary is holding up well during an unusually stressful time.Show Notes:* Judge Ana C. Reyes bio, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia* Judge Ana C. Reyes bio, Wikipedia* A D.C. lawyer learned English as a child from a teacher who tutored her each day. She found her to say thank you, by Sydney Page for The Washington PostPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlat.substack.com/subscribe

How can law firm partners get better at business development, given how important it’s become to their work? That’s the subject of “The Activator Advantage: What Today’s Rainmakers Do Differently,” published by the Harvard Business Review Press. Orrick chairman Mitch Zuklie described the book as “groundbreaking for our rising stars, helping them understand what our most successful partners do.”Last month, I interviewed Dr. Matthew Dixon, the book’s lead author and a co-founder of DCM Insights, a growth consultancy for professional-services firms. Although not a lawyer by training (he holds a Ph.D in political economy), Dixon has spent countless hours with lawyers over the years, advising them and other providers of professional services on how to excel at business development.To write “The Activator Advantage,” Dixon and his co-authors conducted what they called the “Rainmaker Genome Project.” They surveyed almost 3,000 individuals at more than 40 professional-services firms—with lawyers, at 39% of respondents, constituting the largest cohort in the study—to understand their approaches to business development.Here's what they learned—along with practical advice for how to apply their research findings to your own efforts at business development. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlat.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comWelcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.June is my favorite month—because it marks the start of my favorite season, contains my birthday (now a national holiday), and happens to be LGBTQ Pride Month. In recognition of the occasion, I wanted to interview a leading LGBTQ lawyer, ideally someone working on a matter in the news. A recent guest on my podcast, noted technology litigator Neel Chatterjee, gave me a great idea. In discussing a pro bono matter that he was proud of, representing a gay couple that wanted to work with an adoption agency that refused to work with same-sex couples, he talked about the privilege of working with “one of the best lawyers I’ve ever worked with in my life”: Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (now the National Center for LGBTQ Rights—on Monday, NCLR announced its name change).Shannon was an excellent guest for another reason: he’s working on a headline-making case. He represents the plaintiffs in Talbot v. United States, a challenge to the Trump administration’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military. And despite some reasons for concern, including the fact that the Supreme Court granted emergency relief to the Trump administration in a different (but distinguishable) case involving the ban, Shannon believes that when the courts take a closer look at the issue, they will be persuaded by his clients’ case.Thanks to Shannon for his insight and candor, as well as his many years of tireless work in support of LGBTQ rights and equality.Show Notes:* Shannon Minter bio, National Center for LGBTQ Rights* Shannon Minter bio, Wikipedia* Shannon Minter interview, by Mason Funk for OUTWORDSPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comWelcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.Is it just me, or are crises popping up all over the place? Major corporations, top law firms, and leading universities—among many other institutions—seem to be lurching from one crisis to another. And they need help—often from lawyers and law firms.So it was an opportune time for me to welcome to the podcast one of the nation’s leading experts on crisis management: Debra Wong Yang, a longtime partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she chairs the crisis-management practice. Before joining Gibson, Debra served as U.S. attorney for the Central District of California (aka Los Angeles), and before that, she spent five years as a California state-court judge. These experiences equipped her well to help clients navigate some very challenging situations—a number of which we cover in our conversation.If you’re involved in leading an organization that could face a crisis in the future—which is pretty much every organization—you’ll benefit from hearing about Debra’s experiences in the trenches, as well as her advice on how to prepare for a possible crisis. My thanks to Deb for taking the time to share what she’s learned over her long and distinguished legal career.Show Notes:* Debra Wong Yang bio, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP* Legends Limelight: Debra Wong Yang, by Katrina Dewey for Lawdragon* The Choice, by Katharine Whittemore for Boston College Law School MagazinePrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comWelcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.I’m very proud of the guests I’ve hosted on the Original Jurisdiction podcast, who are some of the most interesting and influential figures in the world of law. But I recently noticed a significant gap in their ranks: I’ve never hosted the general counsel or chief legal officer of a publicly traded company.To remedy this, I went big: I interviewed Sandra Leung, who recently stepped down as executive vice president and general counsel of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), the biopharmaceutical giant that’s both a Fortune 100 and S&P 100 company. Sandy worked for BMS for almost 33 years, 18 of them as GC—so she’s an expert on the crucial role of in-house counsel, with lots of wise advice for GCs and CLOs. At the same time, as a former GC, she was willing to address hot-button topics that many sitting GCs might steer clear of—such as the Trump administration's executive orders targeting law firms, including how these orders should affect the thinking of GCs when considering which law firms to hire as outside counsel.This interview is also timely because May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month—and Sandy, a past president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), is a longtime leader in the AANHPI community. In our conversation, we discussed why she has devoted so much of her time and energy over the years to advancing diversity—and why she believes it remains essential for organizations, despite the backlash against DEI.Thanks to Sandy for her time, insight, and many years of service to the legal profession. And congratulations to her on a long and successful tenure as GC.Show Notes:* Sandra Leung bio, NAPABA* Bristol Myers Squibb GC to Retire After 33 years With Drugmaker, by Chris O’Malley for Corporate Counsel/Law.com* Bristol-Myers GC Sandra Leung To Retire After 33 Years, by Christine DeRosa for Law360Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comWelcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comWelcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.It isn’t easy being a criminal-defense attorney. Your clients are counting on you, often with their liberty on the line. You work your heart out for them. And in the end, at least once your client has been charged, the odds are high that they’ll end up convicted—whether through pleading guilty or losing at trial. In the federal system, fewer than one percent of defendants get acquitted. But some defense lawyers manage to beat the odds, time and time again—like David Oscar Markus, founding partner of Markus/Moss PLLC. Over his almost three decades in practice, he has scored numerous trial victories. In 2023, he and his partner Margot Moss secured an acquittal for Andrew Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee and Florida gubernatorial candidate, after nearly three weeks of trial. (The jury acquitted Gillum of making false statements to the FBI; it hung on other counts, which the prosecution later dismissed.)And just last month, David and his partner Lauren Krasnoff won an across-the-board acquittal for businessman Diego Sanchez, in a complex case involving allegations of a $65 million healthcare fraud. The trial lasted for almost a month—and in the end, the jury found Sanchez not guilty on all seven counts.How did David pull off this challenging win? What does he view as the most important skill for a trial lawyer? When does he put his client on the stand? How does he handle the media in a high-profile case? David and I tackled all of these topics and more, in a wide-ranging and candid conversation.Thanks to David for joining me, and kudos to him on his recent trial victory—far from his first, and definitely not his last.Show Notes:* David Oscar Markus bio, Markus/Moss PLLC* Southern District of Florida Blog, by David Oscar Markus* For the Defense, by David Oscar Markus* Miami Jury Returns Defense Verdict in $36M Health Care Fraud Case, by Tommaso Baronio for Law.comPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comWelcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.Democrats and progressives are on the defensive. Preoccupied with responding to the “shock and awe” of the Trump administration, they’re having a hard time putting forward an affirmative agenda of their own.At some unknown point in the future, however, Democrats will return to power. When they do, what actions should they take?According to my former Above the Law (ATL) colleague Elie Mystal, the left needs to take a page from the right’s playbook and “come in with the hammer.” Instead of focusing on repairing what Trump has broken, Democrats need to rally the people around destroying what deserves to be destroyed.And Elie has thoughts on where they should start. In his new book Bad Law: 10 Popular Laws That Are Ruining America, he identifies 10 laws that he believes need to be ended, not just amended.What federal and state laws are on Elie’s chopping block? What are his thoughts on the first two months of the Trump administration, especially the executive orders targeting law firms? And—this is the question I’m asked most frequently about Elie—does he actually believe the controversial, occasionally outrageous things he says?Show Notes:* Elie Mystal bio and archives, The Nation* Elie Mystal, Bluesky* Bad Law: 10 Popular Laws That Are Ruining America, AmazonPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comWelcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.We live in an interesting time for Biglaw—in the ironic sense that “interesting” is used in the famous saying, “may you live in interesting times” (whose origin is disputed). Today is a time of unique challenges and opportunities for the world of large law firms.What does it feel like to sit in the chair of a Biglaw leader right now? To find out, I welcomed a guest I’ve been wanting to have on the podcast for a while: Yvette Ostolaza, chair of the management committee at Sidley Austin.I was hoping to ask Yvette about, shall we say, current events. But at the outset of our interview, she explained that she couldn’t comment on recent news developments involving the firm. (She didn’t name specific subjects, but an obvious one would be the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sending letters to 20 law firms—including Sidley—to obtain information about their DEI-related employment practices.)Nevertheless, we still covered a lot of ground. We discussed her journey to the top job at Sidley, the nation’s #6 firm in terms of revenue; her vision for the future of the firm; and how she juggles running a Biglaw firm, litigating on behalf of her clients, and parenting three children. Thanks so much to Yvette for joining me.Show Notes:* Yvette Ostolaza bio, Sidley Austin LLP* Leader, Luminary, Role Model: Yvette Ostolaza Breaks Ceilings And Brings The Rain, by Liane Jackson for ForbesPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comWelcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.If you follow the legal profession and industry, you need to know about legal technology. New innovations have transformed, and continue to transform, the practice of law. And with the arrival of generative AI, the impact of technology upon the world of law will only grow—exponentially.To better understand the implications of emerging legal tech, I interviewed Joe Borstein, one of the most knowledgeable people I know on this subject. Joe is the CEO and co-founder of LexFusion, a top accelerator of tech companies in the legal space—which was recently acquired by Baretz+Brunelle (BAA-retz and BREW-nell) aka B+B, a leading growth advisory firm to elite businesses in the legal sector.Is legal tech finally having its moment—and if so, why? How will AI affect the legal industry, including but not limited to employment opportunities? Which AI-driven products and companies are ones to watch in the years ahead? Listen to my conversation with Joe to learn all of this—and much more.Show Notes:* Joseph Borstein bio, LexFusion* Communications and Marketing Firm Baretz+Brunelle Acquires Go-to-Market Company LexFusion, by Bob Ambrogi for LawSitesPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.