Fresh Perspectives: An Introduction, and Building Your Brand

By Alex Stathopoulos

Alex Stathopoulos, a senior associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, defends employers in complex wage and hour class actions and single plaintiff cases, and provides creative and practical counseling on a wide range of employment issues including new and developing areas of the law. She is the California Young Lawyers Association Liaison to the California Lawyers Association Labor and Employment Law Section. She can be reached at astathopoulos@orrick.com.

Welcome to the inaugural "Fresh Perspectives" column, a new addition to the California Labor and Employment Law Review that will focus on topics relevant to labor and employment attorneys in their first eight years of practice. When I became the California Young Lawyers Association (CYLA) Liaison to the California Lawyers Association (CLA) Labor and Employment Law Section, I was tasked with finding ways for both groups to serve labor and employment lawyers across the state who are still establishing themselves in the profession. My hope is that this column becomes a way for labor and employment practitioners of all stripes to find useful tips, advice, and information as we become the next generation of employment law trailblazers.

This first edition of Fresh Perspectives focuses on building your brand. Whether you are management-side, plaintiff-side, neutral, in-house, or a government attorney, there comes a point when just being good at legal work is not enough to take your career to the next level. Some might call building a brand "business development" but I prefer to think of it as figuring out what unique qualities you have to offer apart from your substantive legal knowledge. This column explores the topic through various lenses and will hopefully help you further refine your personal brand as well.