Liz Austermuehle is our newest partner; she leads our litigation team.
I started at Jayaram on March 2, 2020. Maybe at that point, some people anticipated Covid-19 and how it would impact our lives, but I certainly didn’t. I arrived at our office on my first day, and Vivek asked me to start drafting a motion for summary judgment. We were off to the races! However, before that motion was ever filed, the world changed and instead of getting to know my new colleagues over lunches and drinks after work, I was working from my bedroom while my husband and I tried to piece together childcare for our two small kids.
As the rest of 2020 unfolded and one stay at home order after another was issued, I began to learn what it meant to practice law at Jayaram. I learned I had joined a collaborative team, where my advice and opinions were valued and respected. I learned about our varied and diverse clients, and enjoyed getting to know each of their unique businesses and challenges. I was able to develop real friendships with colleagues I had never met in person. Perhaps most importantly, I learned that I had joined a team that was able to roll with whatever punches 2020 had for us. We embraced the changes brought by the year, rather than resist them. Welcoming the benefits that come with challenges – forcing ourselves to find creative solutions to tough problems, leaning on our colleagues for more collaboration and teamwork, embracing new technology – not only improves the work-life balance we’re all searching for, it also enhances the work we do for our clients. It allows us to meet our clients’ needs from a more positive and solution-oriented place. And, it means that we keep our clients’ future goals in mind, even when as litigators, we’re generally focused on figuring out what happened in the past.
In March of 2021, Vivek, Wendy, and Heidi elevated me to Partner. I was so honored and grateful, and am even more excited about the future than I was when I first started at Jayaram last year. I look forward to the challenges that 2021 and beyond will bring: helping to grow a firm that doesn’t just talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion, but actually practices it; continuing to find creative solutions to complicated legal problems; and on a personal front, welcoming our third child in the fall. Whatever else 2021 and beyond throws at us, I know that the entire Jayaram team will undoubtedly rise to the challenge and be better for it.
Words About Liz
Vivek Jayaram
“Liz focuses on calmly driving a case towards a client’s goal, perhaps more efficiently than anyone I have ever met. She has an uncanny ability to immediately detect what’s important and what’s just adversarial noise. For anyone that’s ever litigated a case, that skill is gold.”
Wendy Heilbut
“I feel honored to be Liz’s partner. When she shares, I just hang on each word, ready to follow her guidance. Liz always brings a measured perspective. While I know we are celebrating Liz, I feel that I’m the one deserving of congratulations for getting to work alongside her.”
Heidi Yernberg
“Liz’s competence and work ethic are assets that every law firm loves to have. Her litigation expertise is top-notch, and she inspires confidence in all she does. I am grateful to have her as a partner – her guidance and unflappable demeanor ground us as a partnership and help us make wise decisions. Congratulations to Liz! We are lucky to have her!”
Zahreen Ghaznavi
“I can’t say enough good things about working with Liz. She is whip smart, calm under pressure, an excellent conductor of the litigation trains, all while being a good friend and colleague. I feel lucky that I have had the chance to work with her.”
Palak V. Patel
“Liz is a tenacious litigator with the unique ability to balance her zealous advocacy with a calm temperament. Above all else, she is an amazing mentor who gives associates space to grow with steady guidance and open lines of communication. Liz generously provides her time, experience, and patience to Jayaram associates and clients alike.”
Kelly Caputo
“Liz is incredible to work with! She’s one of the most patient and nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. She is so knowledgeable, but conveys information in a way that is so easy to understand, especially as a non-lawyer. I have so much to learn from Liz!”