Editors’ Note

Nancy Mitchell is also Co-Chair of the Business Reorganization & Financial Restructuring Practice for Greenberg Traurig. Prior to joining the firm, she served as an Executive Director for CIBC World Markets Corp. She was previously a partner with a major law firm where she focused her practice on restructuring and bankruptcy, and corporate finance.

Firm Brief

Greenberg Traurig, LLP (gtlaw.com) is a global law firm with approximately 1,900 attorneys and nearly $1.3 billion in revenues, serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. BTI Consulting Group recently ranked Greenberg Traurig in its 2015 BTI Brand Elite report. The report highlights firms that “best distinguished their brand from the pack over the past year in the minds of discerning corporate counsel.” The BTI Brand Elite 2015 report lists 26 law firms, identified by general counsel as having the most elite and sought after brands with excellent track records of providing forward-thinking advice to clients and innovative solutions in an industry often perceived as rigid. The firm is third on the 2015 Law360 400 as measured by domestic attorney head count.

Would you highlight your role at Greenberg Traurig and your key areas of focus?

I am a transactional lawyer focusing primarily on special situations, restructuring, and bankruptcy. My practice involves corporate and finance transactions in which there is a level of dislocation or distress.

What makes Greenberg Traurig’s Business Reorganization & Financial Restructuring Practice a leader in the industry, and what are the key strengths of the practice?

Greenberg Traurig’s Business Reorganization & Financial Restructuring Practice provides clients with the insight and knowledge that come with decades of experience handling highly complex issues that arise in reorganizations, restructurings, workouts, liquidations, and distressed acquisitions and sales, as well as cross-border proceedings. We offer clients a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together the knowledge and capabilities of our team with those of attorneys in the firm’s strong complementary practices.

Our business-focused approach to legal services also means that we can help clients tap into opportunities that may arise, such as acquisitions or sales of distressed companies’ assets. We provide clients access to Greenberg Traurig’s platform – our strong working relationships within their local business community, as well as access to the business networks of our 1,900 attorneys.

What advice do you give to those in law school today that hope to build a career with a leading law firm?

I believe that the students coming out of law school today are very well-positioned to be successful in the practice of law. They are much more sophisticated and savvy than I was when I came out of law school. However, if I had one piece of advice for students hoping to build a career in a law firm, it would be to make sure that they find a place that will invest in their unique talents and career goals. They need a plan for how they want their career to develop that will build on their talents, abilities, and interests. They can’t do that on their own unless they are really lucky. So it is critically important to find a place that will give them a voice, allow them to develop their talents, and help them shape their careers. Despite the “reports” about Big Law, those places do exist and Greenberg Traurig is one of them.•