Rachel Rawson

Partner, Jones Day

Biography:

Rachel Rawson represents lenders and borrowers in a wide variety of financing transactions. She advises private equity funds and their portfolio companies in connection with complex leveraged buyout financings and ongoing financing transactions and lenders and borrowers in asset-based secured loans, investment-grade company financings, private placements, and subordinated debt placements, many with multijurisdictional and multicurrency components.

Rachel’s practice also includes representing lenders and borrowers in connection with workouts and restructurings of troubled credits, including out-of-court restructurings and debtor-in-possession financings and exit financings. Recently she has been advising a variety of clients on intercreditor issues, helping them navigate through transactions with multiple debt tranches and multiple lien priorities.

Clients for which Rachel has worked on substantial matters include Bank of America, The J.M. Smucker Company, KeyBank, PNC/National City Bank, The Riverside Company, and TSG Consumer Partners.

Rachel has spoken at numerous professional conferences and seminars on commercial financing and restructuring topics. She is an officer of the Cleveland Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and is active in community and charitable affairs.

What advice would you offer to women just starting out in the industry?

I would offer the same advice to anyone starting out in any industry - (a) take advantage of opportunities that present themselves and (b) anticipate next steps, be proactive and plan ahead.  For women in particular, especially in a male-dominated industry, I encourage them to show up and be visible, and to speak up, to be heard and resist interruption.  Part of that includes taking  advantage of all kinds of networking opportunities, including those that present themselves in informal or non-traditional settings.  

What do you know now that you wish you knew in the beginning of your career?

If you make yourself valuable,  and are confident in your abilities, you have can have a tremendous amount of agency over your career path.  If you are willing to take charge, you can often set the agenda for whatever it is that you take on.   It is also important to recognize that not everyone has to be on the same traditional promotion timeline.   If the other parts of your life make it necessary, be willing to approach your employer to explore whether they are amenable to a non-traditional promotion schedule, interim titles or other options that provide flexibility without dead-ends.  

What kind of role has mentoring and/or sponsorship played in your career?

I have been very fortunate to have a number of mentors, both men and women, throughout my career.  Each of those persons provided different support over time — some were active in supporting my career and were crucial for my promotion, others were sounding boards for different issues that arose at times, and others were central in increasing my profile externally.   Mentors included senior partners at my firm, clients, and people in my community.  Each of them offered different, but equally valuable, advice and support.  These relationships developed over time and were based on sound foundations.  Some of the mentors found me, while with others, I took affirmative steps to develop those relationships.

What do you think the industry could do to attract and retain the best and the brightest today?

The best and the brightest are attracted by opportunities that maximize self-satisfaction.   People generally want to have “meaningful” lives and careers, but meaning is deeply personal.  People derive meaning from all sorts of things — money, power, intellectual curiosity, and altruism to name a few.  People need to be offered the opportunity to have meaning, whatever that means to that individual.   That means incentives and rewards might not be the same for all employees.  But while incentives and rewards may not be the same,  if they are not equitable, retention may be difficult.