Shaina Wamsley London

Principal, Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP

Shaina Wamsley London is an attorney in the Finance & Restructuring group of Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP.  She advises banks, finance companies, insurance companies and other lenders in all aspects of financing transactions.  Shaina has depth and experience across a variety of business sectors and has represented clients providing loans to retail and other consumer products companies, professional sports teams and leagues, technology companies, and companies constructing and managing entertainment venues.

In the community, Shaina currently serves on the board of directors of Family Independence, a non-profit that provides housing to young moms and other at-risk families in the Boston area.  She is a member of the Young Leaders Council of the Boston Sports Museum.  Shaina also volunteers with Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Friend 2 Friend program, which provides adults with disabilities the opportunity to socialize and be connected to the community.  Shaina earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. from the University of Maryland.  She lives in the Greater Boston area with her husband and their dog, a rambunctious Sheltie.

What is the best professional advice you have been given and how have you implemented it? 

While attending a networking event as a junior associate, I introduced myself to an experienced female banker and told her that “I worked for [a specific partner].”  I was quickly corrected and told that “you do not work for him, you work with him.”  This interaction emphasized the importance of viewing myself as a valuable member of the Choate team, and not just an employee of an organization “low on the hierarchical ladder”.  It also solidified for me that the secured finance industry, from the lenders to the appraisers to the attorneys and other service providers, is a collaborative network.  

After this moment, I truly began to appreciate the (maybe overused) words that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  Although different attorneys have different roles on deal teams based on their experiences, all of the members of each team are incremental in achieving a client’s goals.  Moreover, to achieve those client goals, we all need to work as a team and rely on one another.  In practice, if I see that a junior attorney that I am working with has a significantly longer list of work to complete than I do at that time, I will take items off that junior attorney’s plate (even if those items might be considered “too junior” for my experience) because at the end of the day, we are all working with one another to successfully close a transaction. 

Whenever I now hear junior talent say they work “for” other attorneys in the firm, I similarly remind them that they work “with” those attorneys.  

How do you define a good leader?

A great leader inspires others to be the best version of themselves, including during difficult or stressful times.  A leader is flexible and has the emotional intelligence to adapt to what type of inspiration is needed depending on the circumstances.  A great leader inspires their teammates through both actions and words.  Inspiration can be taking extra time, even when a transaction is very busy, to teach others new skills and concepts and to help others realize their full potential.  Sometimes inspiration requires relentless positive energy and motivating others to excel.  Other times, inspiration may be acknowledging times are difficult and simply expressing empathy.  

What advice do you normally give to the junior talent you mentor?

Every assignment is an opportunity to learn and grow. Some assignments that junior attorneys receive initially appear on their face to be tedious, uninteresting, or trivial – but if the junior talent digs into the assignment (whether it be a closing agenda, due diligence, or exhibits to a primary transaction document), they will further develop their technical skills, substantive knowledge, and people skills.  

Junior associates will grow faster as attorneys if they can be comfortable with being uncomfortable.  There is a very steep learning curve when one jumps from law school (where countless hours are spent reading and analyzing legal opinions) to practicing corporate law (where one is analyzing and drafting contracts in what initially can feel like a foreign language).  Embracing, and proactively seeking, new and challenging opportunities will accelerate growth in the industry.