The world of search is a people business; relationships matter. Here at Kerwin, our passion for fostering and maintaining relationships is evident in everything we do. We conduct business with the highest level of integrity. We pride ourselves on our ability to connect with clients and candidates in a personal, friendly and collaborative manner. While our relationships with our candidates are of the utmost importance, our relationships with our clients are what drive our business forward. Our top priority is to deliver exemplary service to our clients by finding candidates who fit their specific job criteria. Below we have outlined the top 5 “must-knows” to help candidates better understand how search firms operate.

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One of the primary reasons candidates are rejected in the hiring process is due to their inability to communicate clearly and succinctly. Clearly articulating your mission statement through a honed elevator pitch can make your candidacy stand out. The interview has commenced and a common top twenty interview question is posed - please tell me about yourself? There is no perfect answer to this open-ended question, but it provides an opportunity to present with subtle confidence a succinct, well-crafted pitch. In this less than one-minute moment, you have the opportunity to share who you are, what you do, and why you do it.

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I really enjoy the collaboration and partnership both internally and with third parties in the regulatory practice area. There is always complex problem solving, particularly when dealing with a regulator, but it makes the work interesting and challenging. Engaging and educating regulators about the hows and whys of financial services products in the Fintech space and exchanging information that creates better partnership and trust, ultimately results in a beneficial outcome for the industry and for our customers who use the technology, products and services that help sellers more easily run and grow their small businesses.

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What I love about working in Fintech is that our industry uses technology to solve real problems. Using FinTech, consumers can get their pay early, get extensions of credit without paying interest, and even buy fractional shares of pricey stocks. FinTech innovations create financial inclusion and that can transform lives.

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Two things. First, the common thread running through most of my hobbies and passions is problem-solving. Whether it's woodworking, electrical engineering, or photography -- my brain is just built to diagnose and evaluate. (It's probably a sickness.) In my initial interview with a former boss (and a fellow builder), he asked me if I "ever just bought a woodworking tool to try it out and figure out how to work with it." I'd never felt so seen in my life. Product counseling is a way to connect an arcane thing that I happen to know about (reg) with people actually creating valuable things. Second, I'm a former software engineer and tried (and failed) running my own startup, so it allows me to partner with Product and dip my toes back in.

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Product regulatory work is very interesting to me because the lawyer plays an integral role in actually shaping the product from a very early stage. A good product regulatory lawyer can help the product team design a better product, one that is compliant with laws and regulations and provides a better end user experience. Ideally, the product regulatory lawyer is involved in the actual conception and early design of the product, helping the company avoid costly mistakes that happen when a product needs to be redesigned or reconfigured to be compliant. Being involved early on means I get to work with creators and be creative myself!

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I love that my role touches on so many aspects of the law - technology, regulatory, banking, payments, data privacy, data security, etc, - and that I have to keep up with all the changing laws in those areas, which can be a lot manage but makes for very interesting work.

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At heart, I am a business-minded attorney who has spent her career helping financial institutions, FinTechs and others in the regulated financial services industry solve complex legal/regulatory/compliance issues, negotiate strategic transactions, and grow and scale. I am passionate about designing, developing, launching and supporting best-in-class, customer-oriented, products, services, and solutions, while navigating the multi-layered regulatory environment that I and my clients live in. Working with smart, creative product engineers and business clients on fast-moving, complex, new implementations really piques my curiosity and leverages a career’s worth of experience.

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I have always loved corporate law. I was a C.P.A. before I became a lawyer and corporate law was the perfect mix of my two backgrounds, business and law. Understanding the rules and engaging in the analytical problem solving process that comes with addressing complex, novel securities and corporate issues is a very rewarding part of my role. I also love being involved in the strategic decision-making process in my role and, as a result, helping to guide the Company.

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I have practiced law for 20+ years in the areas of corporate, securities, governance, finance, executive compensation, M&A, and others. I have practiced both in Big Law world and ‘in house’ at public companies. I love being a lawyer because, at my core, I love problem-solving and learning new things. I appreciate the knowledge gained from drilling into a problem and strategizing on appropriate solutions. I am grateful for my legal training, which supports critical thinking, and for the brilliant colleagues I’ve worked with along the way, who have sharpened my skills outside of my lane.

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I like the corporate practice area because it is less adversarial than some other areas of the law. Generally, there is a lot more collaboration and partnership both internally and with third parties in corporate practice (even in M&A deals). While there can be conflicts between parties, in most situations everyone is working toward a mutually beneficial outcome.

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I love variety -- I fly small planes and teach yoga part-time -- and corporate work really provides a similar mix of work for me. M&A, investing, and cap markets work is especially interesting because it's become an opportunity to learn about other areas like privacy, security, and integration. Using that knowledge to look at each transaction at the macro level is incredibly satisfying, especially when you're able to tie different elements together and see the interdependencies between issues. It's also incredibly helpful on the governance front when pulling everything together to update our execs and board.

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Many years into my career, I honestly feel lucky to have chosen the corporate practice area, particularly in-house. I like action, adventure and problem solving and have been able to see and do increasingly more of each of those things moving from a large law firm practice through a handful of really different in-house opportunities. Corporate lawyers see things through so many different lenses: board members, investors, the c-suite, regulators, potential plaintiffs, acquired companies. The ability to access and apply these perspectives to all sorts of problems is incredibly valuable.

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