You were a partner in the debt practice of a big law firm where you worked for a number of years. What motivated you to make the career change and what attracted you to impact law?

I had practiced as a leveraged finance attorney for over a decade and was privileged to work with some of the best attorneys in the field. It was an intense environment, working with sophisticated clients on complicated and fast-pasted deals, which gave me the kind of training that is hard to find elsewhere, and for which I’m incredibly grateful. But once I had children, I really wanted to be present for them in a way that was not compatible with the demands of big law. So I took a “pause” to focus my energy and time on my family, but always with the idea that I would go back to work at some point.

As time went on, I realized work / life balance was not the only thing missing from my career. A big part of the work challenge for me was not necessarily the demands of the job, but also a lack of real purpose in the work that I was doing. It became clear, especially once I had children, that wherever I spend my time and energy , it should be for something that I really motivates me.

The question of purpose was not one I had ever stopped to explore when I started my legal career, so taking time off was an incredible gift that allowed me time for that exploration – and I definitely took advantage of it. I jumped at anything that interested me when the opportunity arose, whether it was working on asylum cases, or volunteering at animal rescue groups, or sitting on non-profit boards.  In the end though, I knew that I wanted to build on my legal expertise in debt finance but given how specific my skill set was, I didn’t know if such a role even existed.

Then on a bit of a whim, I went to the 2023 Grunin Center Conference on Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing and a light bulb went off about the opportunities in and possibilities of impact law. The conference revealed an entire world of financial transactions (including debt deals) in which creating meaningful positive change is fundamental to the work.  I always loved doing deals and working with contracts – putting the puzzle pieces together is exciting to me – and once I realized I could do that in a context where I also truly cared about the deal itself and what it would accomplish, it just brought everything together for me.

So, how is it that you found your way to RPCK?

When I was at the Grunin Center conference, Chintan was a speaker at one of the events and Aaron Bourke and Tom Scriven had both been nominated as Grunin Prize finalists, so RPCK was very much in the mix. The deals that were nominated had included debt funds for affordable housing and mission-driven funds with innovative features like impact-linked carry, which I thought sounded very exciting. Coincidentally, the conference took place that year during several days when smoke from wildfires in Canada was descending on the city and you would walk out of the conference into a kind of smoky, dystopian landscape.  There couldn’t have been a more obvious reminder of the monumental problems our world is facing, and the imperative that we all do our part to come up with solutions. So by the time the conference wrapped up, I very clear about wanting to work in the impact sector.

RPCK was at the top of my wish-list for where to practice. There are a very limited number of firms doing this type of work and RPCK is really in a league of its own in terms of its focus on, and depth of experience in, impact. After mining my network for people that I could speak to in the legal impact space, a colleague suggested that I connect with Chintan and, as luck would have it, RPCK posted a listing for a debt finance attorney right around this time. So it was kind of like the stars aligned.

How has the transition from a big firm been for you?

In some ways it’s very similar but in others it’s a whole new ballpark. The thing that’s consistent with the big firms I’ve worked at is that we do things with excellence, and we take what we’re doing really seriously, and we’re going to provide the highest quality legal services we can. And I think that was one of the things I liked about being at a law firm, was the real sense of drive to be the best at what we do. I don’t think I would be happy being at a firm that didn’t have that kind of approach.

What makes RPCK unique, however, is that it is a select group of attorneys working toward a common goal, so, unlike many big law firms where there are a lot of competing interests, RPCK has built a very cohesive ecosystem.  I really enjoy the fact that our practice is the sole focus and the center of everyone’ s attention, rather than being one small piece of a very large profit-focused entity.  That gives the team a lot of flexibility to be thoughtful and considered in how we approach the business.

It’s been very exciting for me to see how much consideration is taken in who our clients are, what they want to achieve, and how we can help them achieve it.  The focus on the outcomes our clients achieve as a result of our work, and doing something positive, is completely different than my experience at big firms. Like the clients we represent, RPCK itself has a dual goal of financial success but also contributing to positive outcomes.  In a sense, we are really investing in our clients and their goals, and not just on a financial level.

Has there been anything about working for RPCK that has surprised you so far?

I find that the nature of the work gives rise to a sense of shared values and priorities.  One of the wonderful positives I discovered is just how collegial and collaborative the environment is. For example, we have a Zoom lunch every Wednesday and everybody just chats with each other, sharing about their vacations or what happened at their Co-op board the night before. It’s really fun and it has an intimacy to it. There is sense at the firm that everybody truly cares about each other and cares about connecting with their colleagues. That has been really nice.

What do you think the opportunity is for a firm like RPCK?

I think RPCK has a two-fold opportunity for leadership in our field, First, perhaps most acutely given the current political landscape, is the opportunity to provide practical, sage advice and thought leadership in the impact space.  It seems that we are headed for a lot of uncertainty around government’s role in delivering environmental and social progress, so the private sector will be that much more important in driving change.  Given that RPCK has been a long-time leader in the impact space, with a team that has broad experience in all different facets of impact, I think we can provide really valuable guidance to new actors in the space on how to achieve positive social/environmental goals along with financial success, and for those clients that have already been at this a while, help support broadening opportunities and solutions.

Second, I see RPCK as setting a model for the future for law firms. Making profit and money the only goal of business has led to some pretty negative outcomes – whether it’s environmental degradation or worker exploitation.  It can also take a toll on a personal level where your health and relationships can really be negatively impacted by the drive to continually maximize profits.

I really believe that the generations of attorneys coming out of law school understand this and tend to care more about bringing purpose into their work and their lives. I think law firms have historically only managed to succeed on one side of this equation, whereas RPCK has been able to successfully thread the needle and provide a place where attorneys can be challenged, provide “best-in-class” service and make a good living, while respecting the whole person and the importance of family and personal time.   RPCK has a model that can be replicated, where you can do excellent, meaningful work, and you can be profitable and pay people a good salary and also have the work feel good while also maintaining a healthy balance with your personal life.