Opportunities aplenty, there's nothing you can't do in New York. To help young attorneys navigate the city, we caught up with four attorneys from Haynes Boone to unpack BigLaw in the Big Apple.
The myriad lights of New York City can be hard to put into words, but whether we listen to Gene Kelly’s description of it as ‘a wonderful town,’ or Alicia Key’s melody about the ‘concrete jungle where dreams are made of,’ it’s clear that the Big Apple is a draw for many professionals and businesses alike. The legal industry is no different; in fact, you’d be hard pressed to find many top law firms who don’t have a presence in NYC.
Haynes Boone partner Sharon Baldasare explains, “The sheer size of the New York legal market (both in attorney headcount and volume of legal work) sets it apart from other national and global markets. The size is driven by the fact it’s the leading global corporate and financial center, home to large financial institutions and the headquarters of many other major companies.” As such, “these clients have legal needs that generate work in almost every practice area and provide a constant pipeline of highly sophisticated deals and cases that support the many firms (both large and small) that call New York City home.”
One such firm is Haynes Boone. While their original roots are in Texas, Haynes Boone has built a significant presence in NYC. The office covers what you would expect from a city practice, including real estate and leasing, finance, corporate/securities, investment funds, derivatives, cryptocurrency, litigation, intellectual property and trademarks, bankruptcy/restructuring, tax, employment law, and capital markets (to name just a few!). Ultimately, “we have attorneys in New York who can address virtually any legal need, and then we of course have the full support of our colleagues around the country and in our international offices as well,” says Haynes Boone associate Aishlinn Bottini.
To hear more about Haynes Boone’s presence in the city, we caught up with Craig Unterberg, managing partner of the firm’s New York office, Sharon Baldasare, a real estate partner, Daniel Imahiyerobo, an associate in capital markets and securities, and Aishlinn Bottini, a litigation associate.
CA: Can you tell us a little bit about your practice and the work that you do as an associate/partner?
CU: I am part of the finance section at our firm, where I handle a broad range of finance-related matters. The majority of my time is spent working on structured and fund finance matters that are secured by equity or assets of the underlying funds, including NAV financing and margin loans. I also work on bank regulatory matters with a focus on the margin regulations. My clients primarily consist of large banks, credit funds, and private equity funds. I assist them in drafting and negotiating loan facilities and advising them on regulatory matters.
SB: I am a partner in the real estate practice group of Haynes Boone, specializing in commercial leasing. My practice spans office, retail and industrial leases across the New York City metropolitan area and nationwide. I provide strategic counsel on diverse leasing matters to tenants in a wide variety of industries (including news media, ratings and other financial services, publishing, television/movie production, telecommunications, and sports and entertainment). I also represent several NYC landlords in their rental and office leasing programs. My extensive experience in all aspects of commercial leasing allows me to deliver tailored solutions that meet clients’ business needs and achieve efficient, effective outcomes.
AB: I primarily focus on business litigation, typically representing companies in disputes they have with their counterparties and partners in their business dealings. A lot of our cases involve contract issues but are by no means limited to such matters. We do arbitrations, trials, and pre-suit advising. My cases right now span numerous industries, including real estate, financial services, and blockchain.
Discovery is one of the biggest aspects of any case we’re involved in because it’s usually the longest phase of the litigation. That’s an associate-driven process from the collection and review of documents, to understanding their content and figuring out how that supports or doesn’t support the arguments we want to make. Being the master of the facts of the case is squarely within the domain of an associate, but associates are integral at every step of the case the way we practice here.
DI: I have a transactions-based practice. My team aids our clients in the financing and acquiring of both public and private entities. Other members of the capital markets group have a regulatory based practice, helping clients navigate SEC laws and filings.
CA: What opportunities has practicing in New York afforded you thus far in your career?
CU: As a finance attorney, I have been able to work with many of the large banks and funds headquartered in New York to develop my fund finance practice and stay on the leading edge of new financing products. In addition, by being in New York City, my practice has evolved in many different directions based on the development and usage of different financial products. As Haynes Boone celebrates its 20th anniversary in New York, one of the most rewarding parts of my career has been contributing to the success of our office here, which is still in growth mode.
SB: Because of the diverse legal landscape, many attorneys in NYC have the opportunity to specialize their practices as they advance in their careers. This aspect of the NYC legal market has been incredibly beneficial to my career, as it enabled me to find and focus on a specialty practice (commercial leasing) that I not only enjoy, but that is also highly marketable.
AB: Something unique about New York is that the courts here are some of the busiest in the country, which means there are many more reported opinions than in other jurisdictions. That generally means there is more developed law on a greater variety of issues here than elsewhere. As a result, parties doing business together often stipulate that disputes will be resolved in New York, or be governed by New York law. Similarly, companies tend to get sued where they are located, and since so many businesses operate here, the courts are busy handling cases brought against (and sometimes by) New York-based companies.
DI: Practicing here allowed me to cut my teeth in one of the most demanding and fast-paced legal environments. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to have done such sophisticated work, which I do not think I would have had exposure to everywhere else.
CA: What were your motivations for choosing to practice in New York?
CU: There were many factors involved in my decision to transfer from our Dallas office to our New York office in 2009. In particular, as a young partner, I felt it was important to be near my finance clients and other potential finance clients in the structured finance space. In addition, I wanted to play a role in the development of the New York office due to its unique importance to the overall growth of the Haynes Boone brand.
SB: My choice to practice in New York was motivated by geography and opportunity. I grew up in New England and wanted to establish myself in the Northeast. I also was drawn to the breadth of choices and opportunities offered by the New York City legal market, including the many different firm sizes, practice areas and in-house roles. I was of the view that those choices/opportunities would allow me to find a practice area that I enjoyed and to achieve the work/life balance that I desired. I feel fortunate that I accomplished both by first practicing in commercial real estate (and ultimately specializing in commercial leasing) and then joining the New York City office of Haynes Boone (which successfully manages to be both a client-centric and culture-focused firm).
AB: At the hazard of sounding small-minded, I never thought of working or living anywhere else – if you could work in New York, I don’t know why you wouldn’t! If you want to be doing the most advanced or the most complicated or challenging cases, I think that your odds of doing that are higher here than anywhere else. I can’t really say that I excluded any other options or cast a wide net, I’ve just always had my sights set on coming here.
CA: What can the New York legal scene offer junior associates starting out their careers?
CU: It’s one of the best markets for junior associates since it will offer them unique exposure to different and sophisticated practice areas and a large variety of potential clients. In addition, New York has a vast network of young professionals that are similarly situated, which allows junior associates to create important connections in the early stages of their career that will benefit them both professionally and personally.
SB: It offers diverse legal practices and excellent training opportunities for junior associates. The top 100 firms with offices in the city are focused on exposing summer associates to a variety of practice areas and then training junior associates in their selected practice areas through immediate involvement in sophisticated transactions and cases. Junior associates quickly become critical team members in strong practice groups that serve clients nationwide and in global markets – it is an amazing opportunity at the beginning of sone’s legal career.
AB: New York is just filled with lawyers! It means there’s a lot of networking opportunities and a lot of bar associates and industry associates, so there’s endless opportunities to meet other lawyers and potential clients. Another unique part of New York is it has a very active pro bono scene, so there are many, many public interest groups that exist. Many of these organizations partner with law firms, allowing those of us who generally do corporate work to have the chance to work on matters that are critical to the community.
DI: Because New York is the business and cultural center that it is, lawyers here have the opportunity to make a living in a number of different practice groups. This benefits junior associates in particular as they are given the widest range of opportunities possible. Those planning to practice entertainment law, IP law, and sports law may not find opportunities to practice in every state or city.
CA: What do you think might be on the horizon for the New York legal market in the next few years?
CU: The New York legal market continues to be at the forefront of innovation and demand. As a result, lawyers in the city will have the opportunity to be early adopters of any major changes to the US legal industry and to new products and offerings. I also believe the demand for legal services in New York will continue to increase over the next few years.
SB: The NYC offices of national firms (like Haynes Boone) will continue to grow in both name recognition and market share in the next few years. Haynes Boone and other national firms have made significant investments in their NYC offices recently, signaling their long-term focus on, and commitment to, the NYC legal market. These offices present exciting opportunities for both junior associates and lateral attorneys to join highly regarded firms and strong practice groups that continue to expand their presence in NYC.
DI: I think the next few years will revolve around integrating AI into our practices, and those who continue to get ahead will be those who find a way to use AI to augment their current output.
CA: How would you describe the culture in the New York office of Haynes Boone?
CU: A core aspect of Haynes Boone is its commitment to having a collaborative and team-oriented environment. We believe that it is crucial for our attorneys to be able to work together seamlessly without any internal competition for us to be in the best position to compete externally. It is my view that this office is one of the most culturally centric offices within Haynes Boone. I say this because our New York office has been built primarily through laterals. These laterals joined Haynes Boone in large part because of our unique culture, and they have leaned into it, which has solidified our culture in our NY office.
SB: The New York office embodies and fosters the collaborative, collegial culture that is one of the hallmarks of Haynes Boone. Haynes Boone’s New York attorneys, from junior associates to the most senior partner, focus on promoting the firm’s distinctive teamwork culture and are friendly, respectful and incredibly supportive of each other.
AB: The word that comes to mind is ‘teamwork’. It’s so important in everything we do that you have the support of other colleagues. That means that if you’re going on vacation, you have a colleague who already knows what you’ve been involved in, and they seamlessly pick it up so you can really take a break. It enhances our work product too, because one person’s idea can always be expanded upon through discussion and cooperation amongst the group.
A huge part of what we do is workshopping arguments that we’ll make – they are always improved by having more than one person’s input. That enhances the creativity of the solutions we can come up with. I think too, it allows for efficiency.
DI: Haynes Boone has an excellent office culture because lawyers at this firm place an emphasis on respecting everyone we work with. This is the main reason that I could see myself staying in this position long term.
CA: What’s your favorite thing about New York – whether that’s something about your practice or your life in the city?
CU: Moving here was my best career move since it allowed me to be a part of the growth of the New York office. In addition, I am a huge fan of being able to travel around the East Coast. It is remarkable how quickly you can drive to different parts of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, each being so different than NYC. Finally, NYC has offered me and my family so many unique cultural and civic opportunities.
SB: From a practice perspective, I love seeing our work in action throughout the city. I can walk down the street and see a store or restaurant where we represented one of the parties to the lease, or a client’s logo on a building where we negotiated the signage rights. There is a tangible aspect to real estate work that exists anywhere but is magnified by the scale of NYC.
From a personal perspective, the endless options here make it constantly exciting and a wonderful place to live. By living and working in the city, I can fully enjoy everything New York has to offer – from amazing parks and waterfronts, to Broadway shows and other performing arts, to worldclass museums and acclaimed restaurants.
AB: I really appreciate how I could probably stay in the half mile radius of where I live, and I would have every single thing I need. Of course, I don’t do that because there’s even more amazing things the bigger you make that radius, but New York is unique in that everything is incredibly convenient and accessible, and very walkable too. It feels like within one city, you can experience so many different things, and few cities can say that.
DI: I love living in NYC because there is always something new and exciting going on. Whether you’re into going to see your favorite artists perform, trying food from different cultures, high end shopping or all of the above, you can do it all here.
CA: Are there any misconceptions that people have about New York that you’d like to clear up for our readers?
CU: I think some people view it as being an overwhelming large city with sharp-elbowed people. Once you live here, you realize that in many ways NYC is a very convenient place to live with all the public transportation and the compactness of the city. It is also easy to meet new people and to become part of a community, since people move to NYC all the time. I found that when we moved to the city, New Yorkers were extremely open and generous in helping my family adjust to the city.
SB: There often is a misconception that it’s not possible to successfully raise a family in NYC. While there are tradeoffs (as is the case anywhere), there are many wonderful neighborhoods to call home within NYC that have strong local communities, good schools, quick commutes, easy access to the arts and diverse shopping and dining options. I enjoyed living in the city as a young associate just starting my career and I now enjoy raising my two children (ages 9 and 12) here, sharing with them all of the excitement the city has to offer.
AB: I think that sometimes there’s a perception that New Yorkers can be brash or very unfriendly, maybe aggressive in some ways, and I think that is reserved to the way people drive around here – you’ll see all of those things! But in ordinary social interactions and any sort of professional environment – and our office is a good example – people in New York actually do have a collectivist idea of working together.
CA: Do you have any advice for aspiring associates wanting to head to the Big Apple? Why would you recommend New York as a legal market to practice in?
CU: I would highly recommend it due to the opportunities and experiences you can gain working in NYC. It is important for junior associates to view their jobs as careers and to take ownership in everything they work on. I would also recommend that junior associates take the time to become active members of their firms and communities. With respect to living here, it is important to remember to take advantage of all the different things that NYC has to offer from the museums to the parks and all the restaurants. It is also great living in different parts of the city, since each area has its own distinct charm and offerings.
SB: While it may be one of the most competitive cities in which to be a young attorney, it also is immensely rewarding because of the training offered by NYC law firms and the many opportunities for career advancement. I would tell any aspiring associate who enjoys city living to take a chance on New York.
AB: I think that if that’s a goal that someone has, it’s completely attainable. There’s so much opportunity in the city and I think that it’s a great place to start. I just don’t think you can go wrong by testing it out. I think if you’re looking to get sophisticated experience and really challenge yourself, it’s a great place to start.
DI: I think it is a great place to live and that alone would make it a great place to practice. In addition, whatever legal practice you may be envisioning for yourself, there is the opportunity to go into that practice here.
