By Andrew Cohen
It doesn’t take long for recent UC Berkeley Law grads to climb the ranks and make a meaningful impact early in their wide-ranging careers. We will periodically highlight standout alums who are shining across various practice areas in profiles that amplify what drew them to their current work, what they enjoy most about it, and their path to success.
No one is more surprised at Ingrid Rodriguez’s soaring business law career than Rodriguez herself. Not because the 2017 UC Berkeley Law grad suffers from rampant self-doubt, but because she came to law school with a whole different mindset.
“I planned to pursue a career in the public sector,” she says, noting past internships and volunteer work in nonprofits and government agencies. “It wasn’t until actually attending Berkeley Law that I truly realized just how much it has to offer in business law. These courses — especially M&A (mergers and acquisitions) — ultimately sparked my interest in exploring a different path.”
Rodriguez wasted little time using M&A as a catapult to early-career success. Now an associate at Brown, Gee & Wenger LLP in Walnut Creek, she was recently named a 2024 Super Lawyer Rising Star in Northern California — a distinction given to just 5% of attorneys in the region.
Focusing on corporate and business transactions, corporate law issues, and real estate deals, Rodriguez has represented public and private companies, financial institutions, and private equity funds.
“M&A work is never dull,” she says. “No two companies are alike, and working through the myriad issues that may arise in any given deal keeps things interesting and always surprising. I enjoy the fast-paced nature of M&A and the collaboration not just with your own deal team but the other side’s as well, and the satisfaction that comes with closing a complex transaction.”
“While the work itself can be very challenging — no area of a company goes untouched in a M&A deal — it’s also incredibly rewarding. I’ve helped many founders of companies sell their businesses, retire, and fully reap the benefits of their many years of hard work and dedication. There’s something so gratifying in helping clients bring their dreams to fruition.”
Finding a foothold
Rodriguez calls the Rising Star honor a “wonderful feeling,” and a chance to reflect on her many mentors over the years.
“I’m a first-generation professional and woman of color, and sadly these are not attributes you find often in the legal world,” she says. “It can be difficult when you don’t feel as though you can relate to anyone around you. But I’ve found that mentors come in all different shapes and sizes, some with similar backgrounds as you and some not, and that’s OK. What matters is finding people who lift you up and give you strength when you’re having trouble finding it yourself.”
That inner strength helped fuel Rodriguez’s proudest career achievement thus far. Given a new client with a highly demanding portfolio of work — one with considerable power — she was tasked with learning an unfamiliar area of law.
“It was daunting to say the least, but after several months of working with the client on many projects, I found myself building the skills and an area of expertise that I hadn’t anticipated,” Rodriguez says. “Fortunately, the work was interesting and has continued to inform other areas of my practice to this day. The client was very happy with my work, so it was truly a win-win.”
She also credits her time at UC Berkeley Law, both in and out of the classroom, for fueling her abilities and a belief in them. Involved in numerous organizations, Rodriguez was symposium editor of the Berkeley Business Law Journal, programming director of the Women of Color Collective (WOCC), and a member of both the Policy Advocacy Clinic and the California Asylum Representation Clinic.
“WOCC gave me a social outlet that wasn’t just fun, but incredibly supportive,” she recalls. “I met some of my best friends through WOCC, and am so grateful this organization existed during my time at Berkeley Law. Like the legal profession itself, law school can be stressful and overwhelming at times, so having a support system around you can make all the difference.”
Full circle
Now seven years into her legal career, Rodriguez has begun mentoring young professionals herself. Her advice to aspiring corporate lawyers: Resist the temptation to zero in on a specific career menu item, and lean into the sampler platter.
“Get out there and try different things,” she says. “You may think you know what you want to practice, but honestly, so many of us don’t. Learning about something in a classroom isn’t the same as actually doing it. If you’re interested in different areas of the law, explore all of them in law school.”
Rodriguez recommends taking a class on intellectual property and privacy given its rising importance, applying for an internship, and enrolling in a clinic. As for skills that lead to corporate law success, she cites patience (“you’ll see what I mean once you’re introduced to the world of due diligence”), hard work, and critical thinking.
She warns that barring a concrete corporate background, it takes time to learn how everything fits together, and that there’s no shortage of confusing and complicated issues to untangle.
“So be kind to yourself, take breaks when you need to, and remember that with each new experience, you’ll learn something new and be better equipped for the next project that comes your way,” she says. “And ask yourself: What am I truly interested in? What am I looking for in a legal career? What types of clients do I want to have? Am I competitive and enjoy the rush of winning, or do I prefer to work in a more collaborative environment?”
“I was drawn to the collaborative side of transactional work, as opposed to the adversarial nature of litigation. There’s a common shared goal in transactional work, and because of this the parties generally work together to solve problems rather than create them. I’m very happy to be a part of this world. I still have good days and bad … but as I’ve grown more in my career, I feel more and more confident that I’m not only doing what I’m meant to do, but that I’m good at it.”