When I was 16, I just wanted to work hard and go to a good college. I am not one of those people who says they didn’t work hard in high school or college.

I admit it; I have always worked hard. I obtained a BS in Accounting from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and then obtained a joint MBA and law degree from Wharton and Penn Law. I was able to complete all three degrees in seven years.

I loved college and made great friends. Back then, it was common for students who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania to join Wall Street firms and, as my family had recently moved to New York City from Pittsburgh, Wall Street was a natural choice.

When interviewing for a summer position I met Peter Finlay who convinced me there was no firm better for me than White & Case; he has been proven to be completely correct. I planned to use my MBA to become an investment banker and was planning to leave White & Case in two years… but here I am 35 years later!

Looking back, I’ve been extremely fortunate in my career at White & Case. I’ve had unbelievable colleagues, mentors and clients. I’ve always been extremely happy and constantly challenged.

That’s not to say there aren’t pressures or that being a lawyer is not sometimes a tough job, but I wish I could have told my younger self not to worry so much. Then again, maybe the worrying made me more careful.

“Looking back, I’ve been extremely fortunate. I’ve had unbelievable peers, mentors and clients. I’ve always been extremely happy and constantly challenged.”

Sean Geary and Eric Berg were both important mentors to me. Teaming up with them on multiple leveraged buyouts in the late 80s and early 90s introduced me to M&A and really inspired me to specialize fully in M&A. Eric would say I pursued M&A because I couldn’t cut it in banking.

Our LBO Finance team was really small at the time and we were so busy. There would be five or six new deals announced in the market every day that needed financing to facilitate leveraged buyouts and we seemed to be working on all of them.

Sean and Eric taught me the importance of teamwork and supporting each other. Sean would happily work for an extra three hours if he thought that would save me five hours. It is something I now try to do myself. They also taught me the importance of – first and foremost – being a great lawyer.

Our former Chairman, Jim Hurlock, was a great but very tough man. He once invited me for lunch at the New York Yacht Club when I was a young partner. I was very excited until I realized he had invited me to lunch because I spoke out of turn at a partners’ meeting.

He told me, in no uncertain terms, that if I ever spoke that way again, that would be the end of my career at White & Case. At the time I was really offended and told him so, but he was right.

I was young, too full of myself and had a lot to learn.

I believe that the customer (or client) is always right. My father was a senior executive at Lerner Shops, a large women’s and children’s clothing chain with stores across the U.S. During the summers of my high school days, I would work at one of the stores.

One summer, I hung jeans day after day after day after day. Another summer, I was a cashier. My father’s mantra was ‘the customer is always right’ so that is how I was raised and that’s how I treat our clients today.

Being appointed head of the global M&A practice was an honor. It literally took me years to figure out what it meant to be the leader of a global group and how to be effective in that role.

What the M&A team has done over the years has been nothing short of transformational.

We have turned the Firm’s M&A practice back into the market-leading practice it was in the 60s and 70s and we should all be proud of what we have achieved together.

What makes me most proud about the Firm is the culture and the people. We have amazing people working at White & Case all around the world and I have developed some incredible relationships over the years.

It is impossible to mention everyone, but working with Hugh Verrier and Greg Dolan over the last 10 years has been an incredible experience. Learning leadership and management from Hugh has helped me so much in improving my ability to lead the M&A group, while I really admire Greg’s grasp of all aspects of the Firm and his ability to maintain a sense of humor under pressure.

“It is all too common for people to think their achievements are due to their own abilities, but my good fortune started with my parents.”

Would I do anything differently if I had my time again? No. I’m not one to re-live things and I’m very happy with where I am and what I’ve done.

I owe a lot of that to my parents. It is all too common for people to think their achievements are due to their own abilities, but my good fortune started with my parents. I am what I am because of them.

Showing gratitude and having empathy are really important. I feel very grateful every day of the week and I take that into account as I try to help people in any way I can.

None of us got to where we are for any reason other than hard work and good luck.

That’s why I like doing pro bono work, because I know that any of us could so easily be in the place of the person we are representing if our luck had been reversed. I am very grateful for everything White & Case has given me.

I want to live my life in a way that sets a strong example both in the workplace and at home. Most of all, I am grateful for my wife Sheri and my three children, Spencer, Michael and Jennifer. I want them to be proud of the person I am.