We are pleased to continue our Alumni Spotlight series about the experiences, insights and contributions our alumni lawyers and professionals have made to the legal and civic community. 

We recently visited with Karen Litsinger, interim CEO at Mirixa. Over the course of her career, Karen has developed a multifaceted perspective. Having spent significant time working in private practice, in-house and in community organizations at various levels, Karen has a 360-degree view on business and the law. 

Karen began her legal career in private practice before transitioning in-house to AOL, where she ultimately served as vice president and associate general counsel. Karen joined legacy firm Sonnenschein in 2004 as a partner in the Corporate practice in Washington, DC, where she focused on complex commercial transactions in the media and entertainment, Internet, advertising, technology and health care industries. After leaving the Firm in 2008, Karen went back in-house as general counsel and senior vice president of Corporate Development at Mirixa. Last year, Karen transitioned into her current role as interim CEO.

Dedicated to both the legal industry and to Washington, DC, Karen recently finished her term as president of the Washington Metropolitan Area of Corporate Counsel Association. In addition, Karen is deeply committed to community service and social justice issues. For nearly 10 years, she served as a board member for Ayuda, a Washington-based nonprofit.

Who was a significant mentor to you during your time with the firm? What did you learn from your mentor?

I had the great privilege of working with Joe Andrew when I was at the firm. After spending time with Joe, I gained a whole new perspective on the intersection of law and public policy. Even having grown up in Washington and feeling like I understood the city better than many people from outside the Beltway, Joe taught me a lot about how Washington really works. And, we had a lot of fun. 

What was your most memorable experience at the firm?

One of the most memorable experiences is a matter I worked on with Joe. We spent about 18 months working with a client that was looking to renew or change vendors for a very large, $5-billion book of business. Joe orchestrated one of the most extensive vendor bidding process that I've seen outside of the government area.

It was an incredibly interesting process to go through. My take-away from that experience is that law firms, as external resources, can serve business needs as well as legal ones. Using outside expertise in that situation really changed the dynamic for the client, and ultimately improved their outcome in the deal.

Describe an important milestone in your career from your time at the firm.

In that same deal, after quite a bit of the negotiation, we ran into a significant regulatory issue. I worked closely with Chris Janney and Gadi Weinreich to resolve that issue and learned a great deal about healthcare regulatory work from them in that process.

It was an important milestone for my career because, between that deal and other healthcare-related corporate deals I worked on at the firm, I learned a lot about the health care arena. Chris, Gadi, Janice Ziegler, Marci Levine and the rest of the Heath Care team always pitched in to help when we needed them. I admire the strength and depth of that group; they educated me in the health care space. I wouldn't be where I am now at Mirixa without that health care experience.

You have also worked extensively within your community. What perspective has that given you?

Working with Ayuda really helped me grow as a lawyer. By serving on the Board I learned to look holistically at the whole organization, including the staffing, mission, finances and the programmatic aspects. It's one of those things younger lawyers need to experience in order to have a business perspective and understand how issues fit into the bigger picture. You can apply many of those skills and lessons to any organization and in any substantive area.

Personally, I also learned about the immigrant population in the D.C. area, their struggles and challenges, and the needs of that community. Working with Ayuda, and finding ways to help them, made me understand how much support is necessary. There is never enough funding for a non-profit to meet all its needs. But, it was certainly a personally rewarding experience.

What are some of the most important skills lawyers must develop in order to succeed and stand apart from competitors?

The most important skill is a good business sense. Being able to give a solid, technical legal answer is obviously foundational to what lawyers do, but in order to stand apart, you need to have the ability to provide useful, practical advice and help your client sort through the issues in a way that is most efficient and most effective for them. Understanding how an issue fits into the bigger picture of the business is going to help you function as a true business partner and guide a client through the judgment calls they need to make without wasting their time.

Other than demonstrating an understanding of your business, what are some of the key questions your legal counsel can ask you to demonstrate their understanding of your challenges?

The most important questions a counsel should ask include:  How can we serve your needs better?  Is there anything we could be doing differently to help you?   This is reflective and it gives everybody a moment to stop and think about ways we can partner a little more closely or ways we smooth out some edges to the relationship.  Since I always need everything to be smooth and efficient, those questions get to that, and show that my counsel understands my challenges.

You also just finished your term as president of the Washington Metropolitan Area of Corporate Counsel Association (WMACCA) in 2013. What did that mean to you?

I love that organization. It's a great bar association for in-house lawyers because it really speaks to the needs of in-house lawyers. And it's a cool group of people. I encourage any lawyer to get involved in an organization that provides networking opportunities, to meet peers in similar positions with whom you can connect and bounce ideas off of. It's a valuable experience.

What are some of the ways law firms can promote diversity?

From my experience, the biggest challenge to women and minorities in the law firm environment is the amount of information that's shared through informal networks and informal relationships. Firms need to continue to work on how to include women and minorities in those networks or find a better way to share knowledge so that everyone is getting the same information. Lack of information puts folks at a disadvantage.

How do you build trust with your team?

The most important thing is to be straightforward. Tell people what is on your mind, what you're thinking, and where they stand. That is also true with my external team. I want to get the straight story, even if they’re telling me bad news. As long as there is constant communication, nobody should be surprised. If there is a problem, we will figure it out.

As lawyers we have such high standards. We are not always good at giving praise, but we should let people know when they’re doing great or when they are not doing well. If you create a constant feedback loop, then they know you've got their back, that you are interested in seeing them succeed, and you are all working together to the ultimate goal of either serving the client or serving the company.

What do you do during your downtime?

I don't have much downtime; I have two kids under the age of four. But I do love hanging out with my husband and the kids, and occasionally visiting with my fellow Dentons alums.