Q: When did you know you would pursue a career as an Attorney?
MN: When I realized there was not a good job market for musicians with a specialty in West African drumming. Since I could only go so far in that field because my professor believed that if I touched the Master Drum I would become barren.

Q: Can you share with our audience, the types of law you specialize in?
MN: Employment law (both client counseling and litigation).

Q: What aspects of the daily job of being a lawyer interest you the most?
MN: When I asked that question of the partner who interviewed me on campus at law school, he said, "I like the people I have lunch with every day." I think that's about right.

Q: What is your approach or philosophy to winning or representing a case?
MN: Do the hard work to know everything there is to know, don't ignore your bad facts or inflate your good facts, humanize your client, and remember you are not the star of your case.

Q: What was the most challenging part of law school for you?
MN: I did not come from a family of lawyers and did not grow up planning to be a lawyer, and I put myself through law school. Many of the other students came from lawyer families, and most of them either didn't work at all or had a flexible part-time job that they could stop when they had to study for exams. I had no understanding of how to navigate things like the summer associate hiring process and felt perpetually under-prepared.  

Q: What advice would you give to young women who want to pursue a career as an Attorney?
MN: Be yourself. Don't think all the time about being a woman, or that's how others will think of you. But also, don't feel like you need to change to fit a mold.

Q: Were there moments in your career that were pivotal to getting where you are today?
MN: Where I am today – CEO of the law firm – is not something that was every in my plans, so I did not do anything with the intended purpose of getting here. But at various times in leadership roles, I did things – delivered bad news when necessary, paid my team before I paid myself -- that let those above me know that I was always firm first, which is probably the most important thing for a leader to be.

Q: What expectations did you have after graduating and receiving your law degree?
MN: I hoped for a job that would allow me to have an apartment that did not leak on my piano.

Q: What is it about your job that most excites you?
MN: Hiring someone as a new associate, watching them develop, and handing them their bottle of champagne when they make partner.

Q: What's your advice for women in male-dominated fields?
MN: Keep your sense of humor.

Q: What's the greatest fear you've had to overcome to get where you are today?  
MN: Not being good enough. Many of my colleagues have parents, siblings, or spouses who are lawyers, and they were talking the talk on their first day of work. My parents were not either lawyers or businesspeople, and I felt totally lost when they were all talking about origination credits and client development when I first started.

Q: Can you tell our audience one of your most memorable moments your career?
MN: Being asked to be the firm's first female CEO.

Q: What’s one lesson you’ve learned in your career that you can share with our audience?
MN: It takes hard work to succeed, but if you make the effort, people will notice. As a young lawyer, I was repeatedly told that I was not a good writer. I didn't understand this – my vocabulary and grammar were perfect. But I did not understand what my two primary supervisors were looking for in my written work. They thought about firing me – legal writing is the most important thing a young litigation associate does. But they knew from talking to me that the issue was not intelligence or work ethic. I just didn't seem to understand what they were looking for. They worked very hard with me, and it took a long time … they are now the same people who supported my elevation to partner and now are among my close friends. There are two lessons: (1) it takes hard work to succeed, and (2) I needed to pay it forward by offering the same opportunities to less-than-fully-formed new associates I supervised.

Q: What are some of the challenges you feel women face today?
MN: The challenge is no longer being a female lawyer – there are many of us now. But the work-life balance pressures still fall hardest on women with young children. I think the pandemic has, in a strange way, helped on this, as men were also home with the children and have a better understanding of how difficult it is to get work done when a four year old needs something. While I think there is a new understanding, there will continue to be challenges, such as the effect on promotions, caused by the fact that many female lawyers are effectively working two jobs and cannot devote all of their waking moments to the career track.

Q: After high school, where did you feel your career path would take you?  
MN: I thought I would be a professional musician of some kind.

Q: Can you tell us how you manage your work life balance?
MN: I am lucky that I have always lived very close to the office (originally five blocks away, now three miles), so I have physically separated my two lives. I work as much as I need to work, but when I go home, I try to be really at home – not checking e-mail, taking phone calls, etc. The one exception to this is vacation. I am a strong believer in vacations (the longer and farther away the better), but I do allow one block of time every day to check in with the office so I can enjoy the rest of the day guilt free.

12 Things About Attorney Megan Norris

1. Who is the most fascinating person you’ve ever met?  
I ate boxed lunches with Anita Hill one time. A beautiful soul.

2. What’s the most amazing adventures have you’ve ever been on?  
So many to choose from! I'll go with hiking 213 miles on the Camino de Santiago. But feeding and bathing an elephant in Thailand is a close second. 

3. Among your friends, what are you best known for?  
Not getting dressed up

4. What’s your favorite international food?  
Paneer korma

5. Best and worst flavor ice cream? 
Anything chocolate/anything with fruit

6. What TV shows did you watch when you were a kid?
The Smothers Brothers (I'm old) and All in the Family.

7. Are you a morning person or a night owl?  
Definitely morning. I turn into a pumpkin at 10 pm

8. Favorite City?  
San Francisco

9. Tell me about the best vacation you’ve ever taken. 
Galapagos Islands – boat with only 20 passengers; seeing some of the strangest animals ever (blue-footed boobies and marine iguanas); getting to see them up close, with no cages, and them totally ignoring us (watched the entire frigate bird mating dance); and watching my 4 year old scream out in glee as she frolicked with young sea lions.

10. What’s your signature drink?  
Hot chocolate

11. What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play?  
The Tour de France

12. Have you ever met anyone famous? Who?
Bradley Whitford. We served on a board together. He is as smart, funny, eccentric, and decent as you would want him to be.