About Leila

I went to law school with the intention of becoming a Deputy District Attorney ("DDA"), or in other words, a criminal prosecutor. I've always been interested in the criminal justice system and thought being a trial lawyer would be a rewarding career choice. At the time, I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has the most competitive DDA roles in country because of the higher government pay. I worked hard, focused on my goal, and was eventually sworn in as DDA for San Mateo County - one of the proudest moments of my life! However, it wasn't long before I realized there was a disconnect with how I thought I would feel practicing as a DDA to what it actually felt like. Talk about a tough pill to swallow, especially so early on in my career. I was terrified to go back to the drawing board, but I couldn't ignore what my gut was telling me. I subsequently went through an intensive networking phase in my life where I reflected on other areas of interest. This process eventually led me to do a 180, and work as a political law transactional attorney at a firm advising Fortune 100 tech companies on how to comply with complex, nuanced regulations. Over 3.5 years I built up a subject matter expertise, but always knew that law firm life wasn't the right fit for me long-term. So once again, towards the end of 2019 and in the beginning of a global pandemic, I found myself pivoting and trying to figure out how I could make the jump in-house with only a few years of legal practice experience under my belt. Through a series of trial and error, I learned how to search for the corporate counsel job postings that were most complimentary to my skillset, market myself and my resume effectively so I could get a recruiter's attention, and how to prep for multiple-round interviews with highly sought-after tech companies. Even after I was offered an in-house legal position, it wasn't immediate smooth sailing. It took some time before I truly landed a dream role that has now up-leveled my life and excited me for the long-term possibilities in my legal career. What makes me a great coach is my empathy for the struggle because nothing has been handed to me. I have had to be resourceful, resilient, intentional and regularly self-examine how I can modify my approach in order to achieve my goals. It's my intention to impart the wisdom and lessons I've gleaned over the past 8.5 years to my clients, so they can excel in their current situation, or find the strength and develop the strategy to pivot to a different, and better suited, opportunity.