In their early careers lawyers can go years without meeting — never mind speaking to — a client. Being locked in a basement room reviewing documents wasn’t for Maya Fishman, 34. Luckily, the Cornell University psychology graduate went to work for Seward & Kissel after earning a JD from the Fordham University School of Law in 2006. The New York law firm has a significant investment management practice, and Fishman immediately began interacting with clients and helping to find solutions to their dilemmas. She especially enjoyed working with New York–based Aksia. When the investment advisory firm, which advises on $28.5 billion in assets, was looking for an in-house general counsel in 2010, it hired Fishman, who made partner this January and is now head of legal and compliance. The Israeli-born attorney immigrated to the U.S. with her mother and father, who work in the semiconductor and computer consulting industries, respectively, settling in Bergen County, New Jersey.
