Buffalo Office Co-Managing Partner Melanie C. Marotto recently participated in the Buffalo Business First Women in Law event, where women leaders from the region’s legal community discussed their path to leadership and addressed how they are paving the way for women who follow.

The discussion, summarized in a Buffalo Business First article, covered several topics, including the importance of mentorship, training and work-life balance. “I feel like sometimes these younger attorneys get out of law school and they think they should know everything especially if they’re in a big firm where there are a lot of very bright people. They feel like they can never say, ‘I don’t know. I don’t understand’,” Melanie said. “If you can establish a trusting relationship with that attorney, they can come to you and ask questions. If they feel that we are invested in them, and they feel they can trust us, that goes a long way to building a relationship.”

She also highlighted multi-generational workforce training for attorneys at Harris Beach Murtha. “We are really trying to share information and talk to our younger attorneys about their preferred methods of communication or having them understand our preferred methods of communication just so that we are not missing something in the translation,” Melanie said.

Melanie and the other panelists urged young attorneys, particularly women, to have confidence in what they bring to the job. Early on in her career she recalled struggling with feelings that she was a lesser attorney because she had children and worked part-time. “I tell younger female attorneys in my office it is so important to recognize what you are bringing to the office even if you are home two days a week,” she said. “It does not mean you are a less-committed attorney or a lesser attorney.”

A member of the Commercial Real Estate Practice Group, Melanie assists her clients in bringing development projects to fruition. She serves as examining counsel for two major title insurance underwriters and serves as closing counsel to several commercial institutional lenders. As a member of the firm’s Energy Industry Team, Melanie has developed extensive experience in property-related issues in the emerging renewable energy sector in New York.

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