Leading Questions: Buchalter’s Mary-Christine Sungaila

Lawyers are great at asking questions, but how are they at answering them? Bloomberg Law is talking with lawyers and other legal industry players at the top of their fields to find out what makes them tick, what challenges they face, and how they do what they do.

Mary-Christine “M.C.” Sungaila, the chair of Buchalter’s appellate practice, expects to see plenty of appellate work in the year ahead around employment, insurance, and other issues coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Simultaneous aggregate and class litigation is possible in many countries across the globe,” Sungaila says. “The potential for far-ranging networked collective litigation has never been higher.”

Previously a partner at Haynes & Boone, Sungaila joined Buchalter in August. She leads a team of 12 appellate lawyers and works out of the firm’s office in Irvine, Calif.

Sungaila recently established the Kaufman Appellate Fellowship Program to help train the next generation of appellate lawyers. “Appellate practice can be hard to break into, particularly right out of law school, and the fellowship aims to bridge that gap,” she says.

Bloomberg Law spoke to Sungaila about the disproportionate impact the pandemic is having on women lawyers, her made-for-tv moment during a trial, and the importance for associates to focus on their writing and researching skills during the early stages of their careers.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Bloomberg Law: What has it been like to join a new firm remotely in the middle of a pandemic?

M.C. Sungaila: Challenging. It requires creativity and persistence to find ways to integrate with new colleagues.

Prior to arriving at the firm, I set up individual calls and Zoom coffees with partners who were recommended to me as having complementary practice areas, or with whom I might particularly hit it off.

Several women partners hold Zoom cocktails when new women partners join the firm, and that has been tremendously helpful, laying the groundwork for referral relationships within the firm.

BL: Is the pandemic disproportionately hurting women lawyers, and what is the profession failing to do to close the gender gap?

MCS: The Covid pandemic and its associated lockdowns spanning nearly a year have impacted women disproportionately, as children are kept out of classrooms and engage in online learning at home. Parents, particularly mothers, have to juggle even more responsibilities. And women also tend to take on responsibilities for parents and grandparents as well.

The profession would benefit from focusing not just on developing a pipeline of women associates, but on bringing women up to become equity partners. If women associates become nonequity partners but do not advance to equity partner or do not take on leadership roles within the firm, they will leave.

BL: What legal question keeps you up at night?

MCS: With regard to Covid, there are pretty clear areas where appeals are likely to happen. They include employment, insurance coverage, college tuition refund lawsuits, privacy issues, potential new risks posed by virus lockdowns, and novel issues arising from remote jury trials.

Given that, what truly keeps me up at night is this: the effects of a global pandemic occurring at a time when simultaneous aggregate and class litigation is possible in many countries across the globe, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands.

The potential for far-ranging networked collective litigation has never been higher. The downstream effects and emergent properties from such coordinated litigation would be unprecedented.

Mary Christine “M.C.” Sungaila

Photo courtesy of Buchalter

BL: What specific strategies are you using to attract and retain clients? What’s the biggest challenge?

MCS: One of the most surprising benefits of Covid and the lockdowns is that there are more opportunities to have personal conversations with clients and co-counsel. Pets and family get discussed a lot more, and sometimes when you’re on Zoom meetings you can meet furry creatures and other members of the family.

I have been able to reconnect with clients in simple, human ways—through handwritten notes or text messages—and by sharing with them some of the award-winning inspirational quote books I have published through Crystal Cove Press.

Being active on LinkedIn or the new audio social media app Clubhouse is also a helpful way of remaining top of mind with folks you already know and provides opportunities to meet new people. And in a socially distanced world, participating in podcast interviews offers another helpful tool because people get to know you through hearing your insights.

BL: What’s your best war story from your legal career?

MCS: Unless major motions are being argued, appellate lawyers are usually silent observers at trial who collaborate on legal strategy, conduct legal research during court breaks, and craft jury instructions, verdict forms and major motions once a trial has ended for the day.

In one case, I played a significant role in crafting arguments to limit and exclude testimony by a key plaintiff’s expert, and as a result paid particularly close attention to the hearing outside the presence of the jury at which portions of the expert’s testimony were excluded.

During plaintiff counsel’s closing argument, I discovered that several of the PowerPoint slides he was using contained testimony that the jury had never heard, and which had been excluded.

In a scene better suited for television, at one point I leapt up to object from the audience section. The trial judge, who was aware of my presence and role in the case, looked only mildly surprised and then turned his full attention to my argument. I reiterated the concerns made by trial counsel and explained that we needed the slides, which were certainly not confidential once they had been broadcast to the entire courtroom, to be able to determine the extent of prejudice to our client. We got the slides.

BL: You’ve recently established the Kaufman Appellate Fellowship Program at the firm. What inspired you and how will this help the next generation of appellate attorneys?

MCS: The fellowship program is named in honor of California Supreme Court Justice Marcus Kaufman, who founded the appellate practice at Buchalter upon his retirement from the bench thirty years ago.

I am thrilled that the firm will play a significant role in growing the next generation of appellate lawyers, by providing mentoring and one-on-one training. Appellate practice can be hard to break into, particularly right out of law school, and the fellowship aims to bridge that gap.

Appellate departments are by their nature small, and can only hire a few associates. Having the appellate fellows rotate through gives us the opportunity to develop more new lawyers than we otherwise would be able to. And it gives us the opportunity to lend more diversity of experience to appellate practice.

BL: I’m a new associate, fresh out of law school, what should I do to stand out and advance my career in the best way possible?

MCS: First, be committed to excellence in the foundational work of your practice. You need to gain experience writing and researching at the highest level to be in a position to become a great appellate lawyer, and you need to develop an instinct to persist in creating a winning argument, even when things may appear hopeless. Work on those skills the first five to six years, and seek editing and feedback from more senior lawyers.

Second, while business development should not be your first priority early in your career, you should still work to develop relationships outside the firm. This will give you a foundation for business development as you progress in your career. If you wait until you are almost up for partnership to begin to develop relationships or become involved in bar association activities, you will have some significant catching up to do.

Third, treat the partners and senior lawyers who supervise you as clients. Meet their deadlines, provide work in the format they prefer, and be responsive to them. This is great practice for serving outside clients. And it will help you obtain more client exposure and opportunities. If you treat partners well, they will feel more comfortable that you will treat clients the same way.