Meghan Dillon Rohan, 41, Partner at Sullivan and Worcester, New York, New York
Practice area: Securities regulation and compliance/securities litigation and enforcement
Law school and year of graduation: Boston University School of Law, 2010
The following has been edited for style.
How long have you been at the firm?
What was your criteria in selecting your current firm?
I wanted a mid-sized firm where I could be part of a team and make a meaningful contribution to growing the firm’s practice in my area of expertise.
Were you an associate at another firm before joining your present firm? If so, which one and how long were you there?
I was at Wilmer, Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr until early 2019. I started at WilmerHale in September of 2010. I was in FINRA’s department of enforcement from 2019 to when I joined Sullivan in April 2022.
What do you think was the deciding point for the firm in making you partner? Was it your performance on a specific case? A personality trait? Making connections with the right people?
I joined the firm as counsel when the practice was really growing and, in some cases, busting at the seams. I didn’t come in with the specific goal of making partner, I just wanted to roll up my sleeves and help. Over time, clients started calling me directly, freeing up time for my overburdened partners. I am very grateful to have mentors and colleagues at Sullivan who trusted me with a lot of responsibility quickly, providing me the opportunity to show my value to both the firm and our clients. And also for partners who then advocated for my elevation to partner shortly after joining the firm.
Who had or has the greatest influence in your career and why?
I have been blessed with many great mentors throughout my career, including David Danovitch at Sullivan. Early in my career, Peter Macdonald, a now retired partner from WilmerHale and the former head of the business trial group, was the greatest influence. Peter was a dynamic and talented practitioner who believed in me from when I was very junior and pushed me out of my comfort zone. He and I went to trial together several times, and I learned about effective oral presentation and argument as well as strong and legal writing from Peter. Peter is also a kind and empathetic leader, who provided me unwavering support and guidance when I was faced with both professional and personal challenges. To me, he was a role model of both the kind of attorney and human being I aspired to be.
What advice would you give an associate who wants to make partner?
Focus on being excellent and taking responsibility and ownership of matters. Don’t wait until partners tell you to do something. Partners are busy, if you know how to do a task, do it and move the case forward. If you don’t know how, raise your hand and say “teach me.” Once I stopped focusing on my title and poured my energy into being an effective advocate and team player, the door opened for me.
When it comes to career planning and navigating inside a law firm, in your opinion, what’s the most common mistake you see other attorneys making?
Waiting to be called on instead of raising your hand. Partners are invariably overwhelmed; we manage not only the practice of law but also the business of the firm. We delegate as much as possible but nothing pleases me more than when an associate comes up to me and says “I want to help.” They almost always can, and I am always grateful for the initiative.
What challenges, if any, did you face or had to overcome in your career path and what was the lesson learned? How did it affect or influence your career?
My greatest challenge has been overcoming self-doubt. Whenever a new challenge presented itself, whether it be questioning a witness for the first time or starting a new role, I would feel like a fraud. Like I tricked someone into giving me the opportunities that kept getting presented to me. So far, this default reaction of “I cannot or should not be the one doing this” has never completely gone away. But recently, instead of staying stuck in the doubt, I have started to tell myself in the moments just before I embark on a new challenge “I can’t wait to meet the future version of me who has done this.” Constantly seeking opportunities to grow and pushing through self-doubt has allowed me to collect a breadth of professional accomplishments and experiences that, over time, made me an attractive candidate for partnership.
Knowing what you know now about your career path, what advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t focus on a dream of who you will become; put your nose in the work and be great now, at every step. From paralegal, to associate, to counsel to partner.
Do you utilize technology to benefit the firm/practice and/or business development?
This is one area where I would like to grow. I disavowed all social media in my life other than LinkedIn a few years ago but am consistently impressed how my colleagues leverage it and other platforms for business development. I want to better incorporate technology to benefit my practice and my firm.
How would you describe your work mindset?
My work mindset is, “I am here to help.” That goes for my clients and my colleagues. I take the responsibility of advocate and advisor seriously and in my practice—clients are often facing significant challenges. Being on my clients’ teams and ensuring they know that they don’t have to face the uncertainty of litigation or regulatory scrutiny alone is the most rewarding part of my work.