Her Story
About Sarah
I began my professional journey as a social worker, earning my master's in social work before making a significant career transition to law. When I was graduating from law school and looking at clerkships, I knew I wanted a different kind of law firm environment. I found that at Lisko and Lewis, a mid-sized law firm that was very collegial and had a very different culture than you find in a lot of law firms. Their major clients happened to be energy-related, and I was looking for the right environment, which happened to be in the energy space, and my career just built from there. Since 2008, I've been working in this field for 18 years now, doing many different things throughout my legal career, much of it energy-related. Currently, as in-house counsel, there really is no typical day - there's a fair amount of firefighting and whatever pops up on that given day that someone needs assistance with. Right now, my primary focus is in the CCS area, largely in the regulatory space and policy and advocacy. Some of that happens in real time as we're trying to work through issues with the company, and some of that is forward-looking, thinking strategically about what the landscape looks like in the future and how to really support and build the business that we're in. I think my social work background gave me a unique skill set in terms of client advice, as well as in the transactional space, looking at deal dynamics and the best way to get to a medium on a deal and a compromise solution that works for both parties.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sarah
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a willingness to do the work and hard work, but also a willingness to step outside of my comfort zone and realize that I do better when I'm stretched and when I'm not comfortable, and looking for those opportunities.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to be willing to do the work to really build a deep knowledge of the industry, and also to be willing to be uncomfortable. To be willing to step outside your comfort zone. It's always okay to ask for help when you're in those spaces, but if you don't step outside your comfort zone, if you don't look for that opportunity that stretches you, then you don't grow.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think about this from two perspectives - the energy area and the practice of law. In the energy industry, you really have to be adaptable, both as somebody who practices in this area as well as a company from a business perspective, because the landscape is always changing and politics globally have a big influence on the business. You have to be willing to adapt and change as needed in order to keep moving things forward. That's a challenge now, it's been a challenge throughout the entire history of the industry, and it's not going to go away. From a legal perspective, I think that the integration of AI into businesses is going to be one of the most interesting issues to watch play out over the remainder of my career - how it can be used responsibly within the legal field, as well as how it gets incorporated and integrated into business environments, and how that can be done responsibly. It's helpful as an augmentation.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are reliability, transparency, and adaptability.
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