November 13, 2023
Law.com
Law.com featured Scott Burwell, Finnegan Parner-in-Charge of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, their "How I Made It" series.
Job title: Partner
Practice area: Patent litigation, with a focus on life sciences
Law school and year of graduation: Harvard Law School, 1993
How long have you been at the firm? 26 years
How long were you a partner at the firm before being promoted to firm leadership? I had been a partner for 10 years before being promoted to my first leadership role at the firm.
Were you a partner at another firm before joining your present firm? If so, which one? How long were you there and when did you leave? No.
What year were you promoted to your current position? I advanced to my first leadership position, Hiring Partner for the Washington, DC and Reston, Virginia offices, in 2015 and remained in that position through 2019. I then became a member of the firm’s Management and Compensation Committees from 2019-2022, and I assumed my current leadership position, Partner-in-Charge of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, in 2022.
Were there any surprises you faced after becoming a leader at the firm? Upon joining the Management Committee in 2019, I was surprised to realize that so many of the underlying firm operations that attorneys take for granted are the subject of considerable study and collaboration among management. There is considerable work that takes place behind the scenes that results in the seamless operation of a large firm.
What’s been the biggest change, day-to-day, in your routine since becoming a leader at the firm? The biggest change is undoubtedly having to balance my legal practice with the administrative and other requirements of a leadership role. Time management is critical in juggling both aspects of my job.
What do you think was the deciding point for the firm in elevating you to your current position? Was it your performance on a specific case? A personality trait? Making connections with the right people? DEI is an integral part of Finnegan’s culture. Throughout my career I have been heavily involved in diversity initiatives within the firm, through my previous roles as the hiring partner for our Washington and Reston offices and on the Management Committee, as well as my involvement in Finnegan’s numerous diversity initiatives. I have also had considerable involvement in outward-facing projects, including my role as an adjunct professor at Howard University School of Law, where I have taught two patent courses every year for the past 15 years, and my speaking and writing engagements on DEI issues. I suspect that my lifelong passion for DEI issues demonstrated to firm leadership that I was the right person to take on my current role as Partner-in-Charge of DEI.
How do you utilize technology to benefit the firm/practice and/or business development? Focusing specifically on our DEI initiatives, we have been very successful using video conferencing software such as Zoom and Teams to connect with undergraduates in STEM fields and law students from groups who are underrepresented in the legal field. While these students may be widely dispersed geographically, these tools allow us to reach them in real time to expose them to careers in intellectual property law at an early stage.
What advice would you give to someone whose goal is to ascend to firm leadership? Beyond providing the highest quality legal services to clients, devote time to initiatives that improve the firm, be they related to DEI, recruiting, attorney well-being, and/or economic efficiencies, just to name a few. Demonstrate to existing leadership that you are committed to the long-term health and success of the firm, and that you are willing to be a steward for the firm rather than simply looking out for your own personal interests.
Who had the greatest influence in your career that helped propel you to your leadership role? Please provide name, job title and a brief explanation. Charlie Lipsey, a longtime firm partner, has been a mentor since my early days as an associate. He undoubtedly had the greatest influence on my career and has served as a model of excellence both in and out of the courtroom. He has always been focused on doing what is best for the long-term health of the firm, and I have modeled that behavior in my leadership roles.
Knowing what you know now, if you had a chance to advise or mentor your younger self (at any stage), what advice would you give to yourself and/or what would you do differently? The junior associate version of myself was perhaps exclusively focused on delivering first-rate work product. Looking back, I would advise my younger self to devote just as much time to developing relationships that would plant the seeds for future business development opportunities. When I began practicing, business development seemed to be primarily within the purview of partners, but in today’s legal market it is critical for associates to start forming strong business development skills at the earliest stages of their careers.
Do you have a prediction on how the legal industry will evolve over the next several years? The trendy prediction seems to be that Artificial Intelligence will replace lawyers in the not-too-distant future. I don’t buy that. While AI may be able to assist in some aspects of routine matters, I remain convinced that human ingenuity is required to handle the complex legal problems that clients retain large law firms to solve.
What is the one behavior or trait that you have seen derail more leaders’ careers? Firm leaders must be selfless and act in a fiduciary capacity, focusing on the long-term interests of the firm instead of immediate individual interests. In studying examples of failed leadership, selfishness seems to be the root cause of most failures.
Please share with us any firm or industry initiatives that you are working on as well as the impact you hope to achieve. On the DEI front, Finnegan has a number of initiatives designed to address the underrepresentation of certain demographics in the practice of intellectual property law. Black and Hispanic attorneys have historically been underrepresented in all areas of law, but the problem is particularly acute within my practice area of patent law. For the past two years, Finnegan has offered its IP University program which targets diverse undergraduate and graduate students interested in pursuing careers in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). And Finnegan’s IP Summit, an inaugural initiative launching in August 2023, is a multi-day immersion program during which Black law students travel to Washington, DC, and participate in educational programming, networking events, and hands-on workshops with IP professionals from Finnegan, in-house counsel, judges, and government representatives. The program also includes site visits to local courts, corporations, and government agencies, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
As a law firm leader, what impact would you like to have on your firm and/or the legal industry as a whole? While the legal industry has made some strides in the area of diversity since I began practicing, progress has been slow. My goal as Finnegan’s Partner-in-Charge of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is to address the problem of underrepresentation at all levels, from incoming associates to partners and firm leaders. At this stage of my career, I now have the ability and responsibility to provide the guidance and support for the next generation of underrepresented attorneys, and to effect change in areas in which it is most needed.
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