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Cardinal Systems GC Sara-Ashley Moreno discusses her biggest challenges, what she seeks in outside counsel, what they need to know about her and her career in this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook.
Lawbook: What are the factors you consider when deciding about hiring outside counsel?
Sara-Ashley Moreno: I know the right answer is probably expertise or length of practice, etc. But to me, the best part about hiring outside counsel is being able to choose the people you like to work with. For me, I look for people I genuinely enjoy working with who I respect and admire and that I trust either have the expertise I need or the confidence to find me the right person in their firm that does. I’m a strong believer, probably thanks to my time at Kirkland, that collaboration isn’t just good, it’s required. I always want people on my team who aren’t afraid to ask for help or say “I don’t know” — so long as they’re willing to work with me to figure it out. Finding women or minorities that fit the bill are always my preference.
Lawbook: What does outside counsel need to know about you?
Moreno: That I try to always think about the bigger picture and always welcome ideas and advice outside of the scope of the discrete task we are working on together. Working at a single family office (and especially for the first generation) means that while I am focused on an immediate task or transaction, I should always be thinking about the next generation. So, if we are doing an acquisition, I want our counsel to be thinking about it, too. I want them to also be thinking things like, “Is this a time we should think about estate planning?” or “Should we put certain assets in a different structure for future financing plans?” or “Should the structure be set up in a way to allow easy bolt-on acquisitions?” etc. Since the ultimate goal of Cardinal is multigenerational ownership, looking years and decades into the future, and planning for it, is crucial. I also place a very high value on efficiency — if an email instead of a call works, I want an email.
Lawbook: Have you had any life-changing experiences or events in your life that truly determined your career path?
Moreno: Without a doubt it’s the random seat assignment I had during a recruiting dinner my first winter holiday at UT Law. I was being recruited for my 1L summer at Fulbright and was seated next to Adrian Patterson at dinner that night. At that point, Adrian was a senior associate at Fulbright and he encouraged me to join the firm for the summer and spend time in the public finance group. Before starting at Fulbright after law school, Adrian left to be a partner at Andrews Kurth (where I joined him), and while there is so much more history since then, Adrian has been an incredible mentor, confidant and friend to me. He’s been my first call on anything related to my career since I’ve met him, and I know he always will be. I’m not sure I’ll ever have such a fortuitous random seat assignment again.
Lawbook: What has been your best day working at Cardinal?
Moreno: I think my best day should have probably been one of my hardest days. Cardinal’s founder and I were in Florida for depositions with outside counsel — two attorneys I formerly summered with at Norton Rose Fulbright. The day was grueling, and it required our founder to talk, at length, about his experience and the history of Cardinal and its different operating businesses. While none of this was really new to me, hearing it again from him was inspirational, and sitting in a room with him and two of my friends from my summer associate class felt somewhat unreal. I remember knowing how little we knew as summer associates, and now we had “grown up” professionally and were sitting together advising Cardinal’s founder.
Lawbook: What am I not asking that I should be asking?
Moreno: You should be asking “What’s my primary job?” My oldest son asked me a while ago if I have a job — he’s 5 and I’ve been working since he was born. While I was initially a little taken aback that he didn’t know I was a lawyer, I was also incredibly proud. My first and most important job will always, always, be being a mom to my two boys. I do drop off and pick up from school every day, am present at every activity (how are kids so busy these days?), do bath and bedtime every night, build the Legos, play tag at the park, chase them down the street on their scooters, you get the idea. While this means that my job continues after bedtime and on the weekends during nap time and in the evenings, I wouldn’t change a thing. Even in Big Law, my family came first. I think that’s why Adrian was so insistent that I meet with the Cardinal team and the Taylor family — he knew I would never find a better opportunity than one where, ultimately, family is the most important thing. I’m incredibly blessed to have such a fulfilling, meaningful and joyful career, while still having the opportunity to do my primary job of being my kids’ mom — and I can do both because I work for a family that puts family first.
Click here for the full profile of Sara-Ashley Moreno.