Calvina Bostick
Partner – K&L Gates

Description of field of expertise

Ms. Bostick is a transactional lawyer with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments and other business transactions. Her clients range from private equity firms to public Fortune 500 companies and cover various industries, including healthcare, financial services, beauty and media.   She regularly advises clients in cross-border acquisitions of entire companies, carve-out acquisitions of business units or specific assets, and complex joint development licensing agreements.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

Building relationships is key to a successful legal career and, for attorneys just getting started in corporate law, relationships with mentors and sponsors are especially valuable. Most firms will assign mentors through formal mentor programs and while this is a good start to finding a committed mentor, I don’t suggest stopping there. Try to develop a mentor-mentee relationship with other attorneys both inside and outside your firm, which can be done by reaching out to your colleagues and getting to know them on a personal level, getting involved in firm initiatives and professional organizations and taking on leadership roles to both build your profile and meet senior lawyers.  Mentors will help you develop critical skills that aren’t taught in law school and give you tips to navigate your workplace, but also keep in mind the need for a sponsor, who can be your mentor but is often someone different. Sponsors have influence and they use it to support your advancement–they essentially promote you when you are not in the room. Some of the best career advice I received is to get out of my office and connect with people–if you do that (and express genuine interest and commitment) the relationships will follow. 

Final thoughts…

Being an effective lawyer and advisor requires that you never stop learning and growing–attend CLEs, including even on topics outside your practice area; set industry and client alerts to remain informed, and learn lessons from everyone you encounter (both good and bad), and periodically access yourself, including where you are in your career, where you want to be and how to get there.