Influential Woman · Legal
Marilynn Schuyler
Of Counsel, Cross Border Legal Counseling
Discovery Bay, CA
Her Story
About Marilynn
Marilynn Schuyler is a legal professional based in Discovery Bay, California. She earned an economics degree from UC Berkeley and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. After graduating in 1996 and initially working as an economist, she pursued law with political aspirations but ultimately built a career in compliance. Since 2004, she has accumulated 22 years in legal work. She founded her own law firm, which she ran for about 20 years, becoming the first to focus exclusively on helping federal contractors meet their affirmative action obligations and compliance requirements. She later transitioned to federal government work in traditional employment labor law. Schuyler holds a mediator certification from a 40-hour course and is active in the International 99s, an organization of women pilots. She values integrity above all in her professional and personal life.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Marilynn
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Follow your passion, and the money will follow.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Have a goal in mind. Something other than money. You can make a boatload of money, but you'll have no life. Know how you want to use your law degree and why you're doing it. But don't make money the goal.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Under the current administration, a lot of the work has been curtailed. Prohibition about having diversity, equity, and inclusion groups, principals, recruitment. The change of administration and trying to keep up with the changes while continuing to maintain principles and help employers do the right thing without getting in trouble legally.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity. I need to be able to sleep at the end of the day knowing that I've done the right thing, even if as lawyers we represent whoever our client is. We don't always get to pick our clients but we can pick how we choose how we represent them.
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