Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
I said, ‘I think I am, because I’m a lawyer, and all lawyers are assholes on some level.’
— Lisa Solbakken, co-founder and managing partner of Arkin Solbakken, recalling the answer she gave when famously combative white-collar litigator Stanley Arkin asked her, “Are you an asshole?” when he recruited her in 2006. Solbakken, then a Willkie Farr associate, secured an offer on the spot. She now serves as a trusted adviser to Biglaw partners and other elite professionals plotting their workplace exits, earning a reputation as Wall Street’s “lioness,” according to Bloomberg Law.
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.