How Sidley Creates A Positive Culture At The Firm with Yvette Ostolaza and Mike Schmidtberger - Episode 116

The Jabot

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Yvette Ostolaza and Mike Schmidtberger of Sidley Austin LLP, about the rationale behind dedicating different resources to the members of the firm without fearing them leaving. They also share what the twists and turns of their careers were to where they are now. Yvette also talks about her goals and priorities as she takes over the role of the first female chair of Sidley's management committee. Together, Yvette and Mike describe how they keep the balance between all of their responsibilities as leaders and everything that’s on their plate right now.

Episode Resources

• https://sidley.com/
• https://www.sidley.com/en/people/o/ostolaza-yvette
• https://www.sidley.com/en/people/s/schmidtberger-michael-j Episode Highlights
• What the rationale is behind Yvette Ostolaza and Mike Schmidtberger’s decisions to go to law school
• What sort of twists and turns did their career take off to get them to where they are now
• How it’s been like being the first woman chair of Sidley's management committee
• What Yvette’s goals and priorities are as she takes over the role as the female chair of a top seven firm
• Why it is important to dedicate different resources to the members of the firm
• What were the challenges the firm faced during the pandemic
• The firm’s highest priority is to make sure everyone feels comfortable and fully functional in the new normal
• What goes into creating the kind of firm culture that they want to see at Sidley
• How do they balance all of the responsibilities of leadership and everything else that’s on their plate

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