How Adrienne Penta Uses Her Law Degree And Legal Experience To Support Women’s Wealth

Meet a UVA Law and Biglaw alum who's made the jump over to the business side.

Adrienne Penta

Adrienne Penta

“If I had to give you more, it’s only been a year / Now I’ve got my foot through the door, and I ain’t going nowhere.” – Eve & Gwen Stefani

Last week, I had the chance to catch up with Adrienne Penta, a wealth planner and regional trust head at Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH). Last year, she helped launch the BBH Center for Women & Wealth to support women in the creation and management of their wealth. She was generous enough to spend some time with me and share some advice for up and coming lawyers.

I found our discussion particularly insightful as she has leveraged her J.D. and experience as a lawyer to work in a private banking office. Here is an excerpt from our chat:

Renwei Chung (RC): What does being a lawyer mean to you?

Adrienne Penta (AP): Being a lawyer means being of counsel to families, being a guide through legal complexity, and providing comfort in times of stress.

RC: What attracted you to law and how did you choose UVA for law school?

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AP: In college, I loved to write, analyze and frame an argument — law school seemed like the obvious path. UVA Law School is a very special place; it combines academic rigor, inquisitive students and nationally-renowned faculty with a collegial environment filled with people who want to help each other and spend time together. And after visiting Charlottesville in the spring, I couldn’t have chosen any other school!

RC: Could you tell us a little more about your career and what you are doing today?

AP: After law school I joined Choate, Hall & Stewart, a Boston law firm, where I spent five years in the trusts and estates department. I had wonderful mentors, teachers and colleagues at Choate and thought that I might be there for my entire career.

In 2008, I joined Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) as a wealth planner and regional trust head in the Boston Private Banking office. At BBH, we provide wealth management services to families and individuals, as well as lending, advisory and private equity to closely-held companies. I work with these families on their estate planning and philanthropy in concert with their outside trusts and estates counsel.

After more than a dozen years working closely with families, I’ve seen that women’s voices are often missing from important conversations about investing and planning for the future. I started to wonder why this was happening, so I looked at the research on women and wealth. I found that although women are increasingly controlling wealth, they often feel like their advisors do not listen to them and don’t understand them.

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Last year, we launched the BBH Center for Women & Wealth to support women in the creation and management of their wealth. There is a huge opportunity to better meet the needs of women and to support them as they create and manage wealth, which is why we created the Center for Women & Wealth.

RC: What advice do you have for those who are about to embark on the law school journey and/or for those who are about to graduate law school?

AP: First, invest in good training during your summers and after graduation. By this, I mean find the smartest lawyers doing the most sophisticated work and learn as much as you can from them. Often, but not always, this means working at a large law firm. I am grateful to the wonderful lawyers who spent countless hours teaching me about tax and estate planning, client management and communication.

Second, follow your passion. I never could have predicted that I would end up running the Center for Women & Wealth or even conceived of it upon graduation from law school. Without a doubt, however, it is my dream job — it combines my passion for working with women with my expertise in planning.

RC: How can young lawyers and millennials help shape our profession?

AP: I think that younger people are going to drive more diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and financial services. They will demand diversity because it is second nature to them  — first as clients and consumers and later as they become managers and senior leaders. Young lawyers and millennials recognize that diversity drives better business results and solutions.

RC: What does diversity mean to you?

AP: Diversity means having many perspectives at the table — people with different backgrounds, educations, cultures and genders. We are aware of the business benefits of diversity, but in an industry focused on client service we also have to engage clients from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.

For example, we know that many women want to work with female advisors, but women make up only 14% of all advisors. Instead of seeing this as a barrier, young women should view it as an opportunity. Working in the wealth management industry is less about complicated financial analysis and more about connecting with clients and effectively managing relationships — something that so many women do well!

RC: It was great chatting with you — is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?

AP: There is definitely a gap between knowledge and confidence for women when it comes to investing. In the U.S., roughly the same number of men and women — 39% of men and 35% of women – are financially literate. However, many women who are financially literate don’t giving themselves enough credit. Women must align themselves with firms and advisors that value having their voices at the table and help them effectively engage in the decision-making process.

RC: On behalf of everyone here at Above the Law, I would like to thank Adrienne Penta for sharing her experience and wisdom with our audience and wish her continued success in her career.


Renwei Chung is passionate about writing, technology, psychology, and economics. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.