ABAW Mentorship Committee Presents:
Navigating Your Path to Partnership
Join us in this fireside chat to hear from attorneys as they share their experiences in their journey to law firm partnership.
Our panelists:
Ruby Alexander, a shareholder in the Seattle office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, collaborates closely with clients, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, to provide guidance and expertise in matters of corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, financings, and securities regulations. She enjoys getting to know clients and their businesses and serving as a reliable and trusted resource for guidance on a variety of legal matters.
Prior to joining Schwabe, Ruby worked for seven years at Cray Inc., most recently as Associate General Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary. Previously, Ruby also worked at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York, and another large firm in Seattle. Ruby’s experience working in-house with one of the leading tech companies in supercomputing and her experience in private practice gives her unique skills and perspective to better understand and serve clients.
Nelson Dong is a senior partner in the Seattle office of Dorsey & Whitney, an international law firm, and heads its National Security Law Group. He advises technology companies, professional societies, universities, and research and scientific organizations on export control, economic sanctions, classified defense contracts and other national security matters. He is a recognized author and teacher on international technology law issues and has served as an adjunct professor of international law at the Seattle University Law School. He was a White House Fellow and U.S. Department of Justice official in the Carter Administration with responsibility for international and national security matters, and he later served as a federal prosecutor in Boston. He is a director of the National Committee on US-China Relations in New York City and of the Washington State China Relations Council in Seattle, and he is also an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Committee of 100. He has been named as a Trailblazer among Asian American attorneys by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). Nelson is a graduate of Stanford University and the Yale Law School and has served as a trustee of Stanford University.
Abha Khanna is a partner at Perkins Coie in its Litigation group. She has experience in a range of matters, including intellectual property, antitrust, commercial contract disputes, constitutional issues, and political law. Abha has represented both plaintiffs and defendants before numerous courts across the country, from state and federal courts in Washington, Texas, Florida, and the District of Columbia, to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Prior to joining Perkins Coie, Abha served as a law clerk to Judge Judith W. Rogers of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Judge Robert S. Lasnik of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. As a law student, she served as Comments Editor of the Yale Law Journal and directed a clinic providing legal advocacy for victims of domestic violence. Before law school, Abha was a high school English teacher. Abha's pro bono work includes matters related to civil rights, international law, and custody determinations in child abuse and neglect cases.
John Laney is a partner in Stoel Rives’ Corporate practice group and represents clients in corporate governance matters; mergers and acquisitions; and corporate, securities and financing transactions, with an emphasis on the development, structuring, financing and acquisition of renewable energy projects. John has recently advised clients in the business consulting, energy, food & beverage, healthcare, manufacturing industries and other industries.
Prior to law school John was a senior account executive with HSBC, Consumer Lending. John was an extern for the Honorable John C. Coughenour, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (2007); a law clerk at Forsberg & Umlauf, P.S. (2007); and a legal extern at the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (Summer 2006).
Tana Lin is a partner with Keller Rohrback LLP’s nationally-recognized Complex Litigation Group. She has won landmark victories for shareholders of mutual funds in suits alleging breaches of fiduciary duty by investment advisors in violation of the Investment Company Act. Tana was recently part of the trial team that recovered almost $90 million for 20,000 nurses who alleged an antitrust conspiracy by healthcare providers to depress compensation. Tana’s pro bono work includes Doe v. Trump (W.D. Wash.), where she obtained a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s suspension of follow-to-join refugee admissions which was part of the latest installment of the Muslim travel ban.
Tana began her legal career as a trial attorney with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Tana then joined the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and subsequently the Chicago District Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where she enforced federal discrimination laws. She also served as the Litigation Coordinator for the Michigan Poverty Law Program, developing statewide projects to address issues facing low income individuals.