Her Story
About Saleha
I graduated from law school in 2004 and was waived into my first bar that same year, beginning what has now been a 22-year career in law. I started in patent prosecution, working closely with inventors and the USPTO to secure patent applications for my clients. Over time, my practice expanded into licensing work and opinion work, where I analyzed the strength of competitors' patent portfolios for my clients. This naturally led me into patent litigation, a highly specialized field of federal litigation. I spent significant time in pharmaceutical litigation, which was incredibly involved and went to trial, where I served as part of the trial team handling meet and confers and weekly meetings with opposing counsel. Throughout my career in patent law, I've successfully prosecuted approximately a thousand patent applications and won important Markman hearing motions on claim construction. At my last firm, where I worked for 15 years, I focused on both pharmaceutical and automotive patent litigation. Recently, I made a significant career transition to a new role focusing on estate litigation, which I started about a month ago. In this position, my typical day involves writing and filing motions, conducting calls with clients, judges, and opposing counsel. I'm now in a more independent role where I manage a docket and supervise other lawyers, which aligns with where I see myself in the next five to ten years before retirement.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Saleha
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think I've had some good mentors along the way, and honestly, some that were kind of hard to work with too. But just being able to work with them, that is a skill of its own. So having good mentors, but also having bad mentors, it's a whole different thing you have to navigate. Because, you know, the legal field is very competitive, so even your mentors can want to stab you in the back, so you have to be kind of aware of that. But at the same time, you still have to get along with everybody enough in a professional way, because that's the only way that you're going to succeed long-term.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The biggest thing for law firms is billing, so you want to get up to speed as quickly as you can with billing and with efficiency in billing. Don't get distracted by all the other drama and the political culture of whatever firm you're at. Women tend to be more prone to what's going on around them and be affected by that, but you need to focus on yourself and your own achievement. Don't get bogged down with other people's problems or the culture of the firm, because every firm has a culture and it's not always positive. Being lawyers, we're always lauded in high school or undergraduate school for being smart and getting awards, but that doesn't really matter when you're actually working. If you're not producing work, it's not good. By about three to six months, you should really be showing your bosses that you can produce work, and it doesn't have to be perfect. Focus on yourself, don't get bogged down in the culture, and make sure that you are meeting the firm's requirements, because your bosses might say you're doing great, but if you're not making money for the firm and they don't see that trajectory, it's not a good feel. Keep your boundaries, professional and personal. It's not a sorority or fraternity. These aren't going to be lifelong people, but you do need to get along with them in that limited role. You can be empathetic about what's going on with other people, but that's not your problem. You want to make sure that you're thinking of yourself first.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Michigan
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.