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Amy Walsh, Partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

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Where are you from and what was it like growing up there? Geneva, NY and Salisbury, Maryland

What is your Hometown famous for and what do you think about it? Geneva is famous as being home of the Suffragette movement. I think it’s wonderful, especially since I ended up going to Vassar College, one of the first women’s colleges in the US.

Does your Hometown have a famous dish and do you like and why/why not? Salisbury, Maryland is famous for steamed crabs. I love crabs. I love that there is a specific crab-picking method in order to get any meat and that this method mainly involves your hands instead of complicated utensils and tools. To successfully open and eat a crab is extremely basic and very satisfying.

What brought you to NYC? I attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY and law school at Fordham in NYC.

What inspired you to pursue your chosen career path? I took a Constitutional Law class in college and was hooked. I found it so interesting (and sometimes disturbing) that this one foundational document could affect so many lives in so many different ways depending on who was sitting on the Court at a particular moment in history.

What was a defining moment in your career? A defining moment for me was when as a prosecutor, as federal agent lied to me in order to cover up the fact that he had engaged in misconduct relating to a defendant. I discovered the lie because the account he was giving me was not lining up with the accounts of the other agents who had been in the room. I learned to always trust my instincts and never assume people are telling the truth.

What about NYC has made you stay? The vibrancy, the entrepreneurship, the work ethic, and the access to amazing food, restaurants and art!

What’s the biggest cultural difference you’ve noticed between America and your home county? In rural areas, where I grew up, people are afraid of others who don’t look, act, or speak like them. There is enormous pressure to conform and a lack of tolerance for cultural differences.

What do strong European-American relationships mean to you, your life, and your organization? Europe means a tremendous amount to me: my family is from Europe, many of my colleagues and clients are in Europe, and it is extremely important to me and to Orrick to maintain close ties with our European colleagues and clients to discover new opportunities and to address issues that equally affect both Europe and America.

Thank you, Amy, for sharing your story !