Nneoma Maduike

Associate, Otterbourg P.C.

40 Under 40 Category: Legal Services

Biography:

Nneoma is an attorney in Otterbourg’s nationally recognized banking and finance practice. Nneoma represents financial institutions and other lenders in all aspects of financing transactions and, in connection with such representation. She has established herself with the firm’s clients as an essential and indispensable member of their legal team and brings to her legal practice the ability to formulate and maintain lasting client relationships.

Within the firm, Nneoma has a particular focus in enhancing Otterbourg’s role as a leader in diversity and, through her efforts, Otterbourg was one of the founding member firms of the New York chapter of the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law, a non-profit focused primarily on advancing the recruitment, retention and promotion of women lawyers. 

Nneoma was recognized in 2017 by Best Lawyers as one of 10 women lawyers in private practice who were granted a “Women of Influence” award.

Nneoma serves as the Vice President of the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law – New York and is also a member of its Board of Directors. Nneoma volunteers multiple times per year with moot court programs held at high schools in the city, including the Bronx Academy of Letters and City-As-School.  Nneoma is passionate about ensuring access to legal services and, in partnership with various non-profit organizations, has provided pro bono legal services to victims of domestic violence through her work.

What advice would you give your younger self?

As someone who finished law school at 23 years of age, the entire gamut of professional advice would have been invaluable to my younger self. The most important piece of advice that I wish I could go back and give 23-year-old me, however, is to learn the value that I bring to my work and practice.  Learning my value was a process that experience taught me, but still is something a young professional should work towards from day one.  For instance, I would have liked to know that my value could have been measured by simply keeping a running tally of my areas of strength and contribution, however small they seemed.  In addition, I wish I had more actively solicited feedback in order to quantify the value I added and also to identify what areas could use improvement.  Learning to appreciate the value I bring breeds confidence and a better understanding of what success means and looks like to me.  I hope that all young professionals can learn to approach their process of growth and learning with the added goal of being aware of their value.  Doing so can allow them to become emboldened in their careers to embrace the unknown, define what success would look like to them, and, as a result, allow them to gain appreciation of their role as an important participant in each aspect of their job and career to keep growing professionally. 

What role has mentorship played in your career?

The mentors I have met during my career have played an integral role in where I am today.  I have been extremely lucky to have the chance to work directly with people who had attained the career successes I aim to achieve.  The mentors I have met throughout my career came in many forms, including as my direct supervisor, clients and industry professionals I met outside of the four corners of my office. These mentors were always people who recognized and believed in my skills and capabilities and who supported my career aspirations and generously provided invaluable guidance and encouragement.  These mentors actively helped me advance my career and actively advocated for me at every turn.  Mentorship allowed me to recognize the various opportunities at my doorstep and how to take advantage of these opportunities in order to concretely shape the paths to my career goals.  For young professionals, I would stress the importance of reaching out to the people you meet at networking or social events and, if possible, tailor such networking to people with whom you feel a genuine connection. One may be surprised at the sheer vastness of the community of people willing to sit down with a junior colleague and, if there already is a genuine connection between the two, it fosters the growth of an organic mentorship relationship.