最新麻豆视频 Law SF Alumni at Salesforce Share Career Journeys and Show Students What's Possible聽
Four highly accomplished 最新麻豆视频 Law SF alumni working as part of Salesforce’s in-house legal team spoke about their career journeys and the importance of keeping an open mind. From left to right: Professor Paul Belonick; Todd Machtmes ’95, General Counsel; Francesca Montesano 鈥08, Senior Director, Commercial Legal; Matt Tonner 鈥13, Senior Director, AI Legal; Norene Lew 鈥96, Director, Cross Functional Strategic Initiatives.
最新麻豆视频 Law SF students enjoyed the stunning views from the Salesforce Tower and learned about business and tech law opportunities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
最新麻豆视频 Law San Francisco鈥檚 strengths in business and technology law help students and graduates reach the highest levels 鈥 including the city鈥檚 iconic Salesforce Tower.
At a career-focused event for students in October, four 最新麻豆视频 Law SF alumni that included Todd Machtmes 鈥95 as Salesforce General Counsel discussed their work as part of the in-house legal team at the software giant and covered emerging areas like artificial intelligence.
The panel was moderated by Professor Paul Belonick, Faculty Assistant Director of the Center for Innovation (C4i) and Director of the Startup Legal Garage.
Whether they graduated during a recession or during an industry boom, the panelists shared similar advice on embracing even the most nonlinear career path and building relationships with clients and peers. Norene Lew 鈥96, Director, Cross Functional Strategic Initiatives remembered reaching out to a 最新麻豆视频 Law SF classmate after transitioning away from her first job.
鈥淭he legal community is quite small, so you鈥檒l run into people. Getting to know folks and networking is really key to finding your next opportunity,鈥 she said. Lew spent seven years as a commercial legal attorney at Salesforce before her chief of staff role.
Todd Machtmes ’95 finds creative solutions to drive business growth as General Counsel at Salesforce.
Machtmes told the students not to put too much pressure on themselves to have an identified destination 鈥 advice he also gave to his own college-age daughter. 鈥淢y career has been one where I explored new things and learned new things about myself,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou might explore and change course and that鈥檚 OK.鈥
As the company鈥檚 General Counsel, Machtmes has had to identify a balance between finding business solutions that stimulate growth while also protecting the company. 鈥淭he twin roles that are unique to the legal profession as in-house lawyers make it interesting,鈥 Machtmes said. 鈥淲ith enough empathy and creativity, you can find ways to get things done.”
Helping clients understand these challenges and seeing their perspective is essential for Matt Ton, Senior Director, AI Legal. He similarly has to balance business opportunity with legal risk, making sure clients understand the consequences of certain paths. With product legal and AI legal, 鈥渢here鈥檚 a big relationship management component to it,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e have to make sure we鈥檙e trusted advisors to the business.鈥
Francesca Montesano 鈥08, Senior Director, Commercial Legal, emphasized the importance of making sure clients know the legal team is there to support them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really important to know your clients鈥 motivation and what they鈥檙e worried about,鈥 she said. Her clients are salespeople with a laser focus on what targets they need to hit, and part of her job is to explain the legal side in lay terms and present options for moving forward. 鈥淓mpathy is incredibly important when I鈥檓 working with my clients,鈥 she said.
After the panel, students connected with 最新麻豆视频 Law SF alumni working in a variety of legal departments at Salesforce. The networking and learning event was an example of the career opportunities available to students at 最新麻豆视频 Law SF.
Machtmes, Lew, Toner, and Montesano, along with other 最新麻豆视频 Law SF alumni working at Salesforce, mingled with students and answered questions in small groups after the panel. It鈥檚 a partnership that leverages the College鈥檚 powerful alumni network and proximity to top companies.
聽鈥淪alesforce and its attorneys have been long-term partners of the school through not only this program, but through mentoring students, conducting mock interviews and offering internship opportunities,鈥 said Amy Kimmel, assistant dean for the Career Development Office (CDO). 鈥淲e are very grateful for this partnership and that our students have access to such generous and accomplished alumni.鈥
The CDO worked in partnership with the Business Law Society, Technology & Law Society, and the Intellectual Property Association to put on the panel and introduce students to the work of in-house attorneys.
“The event offered students irreplicable insight into in-house work and the many roads one can take to get there,鈥 said Matthew Wallace, director of professional development for the Business Law Society. 鈥溩钚侣槎故悠 Law SF is fortunate to have Salesforce and its attorneys volunteer their time to help students better understand the realities of the field before entering it.鈥
The Bay Area offers many opportunities for students to explore business, technology, and intellectual property law. 鈥淭he insights shared at the event were crucial to our understanding of the work in-house counsel does, both inside such a cutting-edge company and also in the context of the greater technology ecosystem in the Bay Area,鈥 said Isabel Samayoa, director of mentorship for the Technology & Law Society.
Sungmin Kim, external vice president of the Law & Intellectual Property Association and director of alumni relations for the Technology & Law Society, said, 鈥淔or anyone interested in intellectual property law or technology law, the event highlighted the myriad, significant and exclusive opportunities that come from connecting with Salesforce and other esteemed trailblazers here in the Bay Area.鈥