Kristin Calve At the Table
Client-Focused, With a Collaborative Spirit Yvette Ostolaza, chair-elect of Sidley Austin’s management committee, discusses her leadership style, what she looks for in lawyers for her team, and the best career advice she’s ever received. CCBJ: What led you to join Sidley? Yvette Ostolaza: What originally attracted me to Sidley was the global reach of the firm, its premier brand, and the strength of the firm’s leadership team. I was very impressed with Larry Barden and others I met early in the process. Larry is the current chair of the firm’s management committee, whose giant shoes I’ll be filling as I transition into this role. One of our early meetings was over dinner and I was struck by the fact that Larry and his wife joined us. That spoke volumes to me and is something I’ve referred to as a “triple scrabble points” with my team. In business and in life, it’s about seizing opportunities to be genuine and human because that is what people react to in various settings, including at the office. Authenticity is very important to me. As I learned more about Sidley’s collaborative culture, its global client base, diverse leadership, and the vision that management had for the firm, I became intrigued. For example, Sidley already had women in meaningful leadership positions running large groups and offices. I was impressed by the firm’s track record of diversity. It became clear to me that the firm was motivated by attracting and retaining talent that reflects the clients’ priorities. Sometimes it really is as simple as giving clients exactly what they want. At the time, I was also referring a significant amount of business to firms in Southern California and Chicago. As my practice grew, I found myself needing talent in markets where Sidley already had significant strengths and strong
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ties to local business communities. The firm’s practice depth, including transactional, litigation, and regulatory work, along with its regional strengths make for a potent combination that I knew I could leverage and build upon. The team of lawyers who worked with me for two decades and joined the firm with me felt the same way, which made it easy for me to pick Sidley over other firms. Please tell us about your leadership style, and who or what has influenced it. I try to focus on making sure we get the best out of all of our talent, as well as understanding that leading an organization is not one size fits all, especially when you are working with professionals in different parts of the world who have different practices and cultural norms. I apply a flexible leadership style that focuses on the individual while also trying to look around the corner for trends that others may be
