Maria Rivera-Diaz

The firm had a tremendous impact on me. Eversheds Sutherland was where I spent my time as a summer associate and the first firm in which I worked as a full-time associate. I practiced with exceptionally smart attorneys who were also decent people, and that’s the kind of counsel I strive to be today. Chuck Ganz, Mike Gurion and Ed Kallal were incredibly supportive mentors, among many others.

Winning the Charles Lester Award for Pro Bono in 2019 for our work following the hurricane in Puerto Rico. Together with fellow alumna Karissa Blyth, I provided legal advice for Puerto Ricans who were victims of Hurricane Maria. My family are from Puerto Rico so working on this case was rewarding personally and professionally. In addition to my pro bono work in Puerto Rico, the firm provided me with the opportunity to draft wills for residents of Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia and conduct legal intake for undocumented minors who had travelled to the U.S. from Central America.

Maybe an early midlife crisis! I wanted to live somewhere other than Georgia. In New York, I worked as a contract attorney as I went to NYU to get a Master’s in Public Administration. I wanted to work for a non-profit organization but discovered it wasn’t for me, so I went back to private practice.

I’ve hit the jackpot with this job. A+E has a range of television programs, such as Hoarders and Cold Case Files, and also owns The History Channel and Lifetime. We’re creating and selling TV shows, so that raises interesting intellectual property questions. Our team supports the corporate development strategy at A+E, which includes M&A and investment work. The business is evolving as streaming networks become more popular.

Responsiveness and succinctness. I appreciate getting a prompt acknowledgment setting out timescales to my inquiries so I can manage the expectations of my internal clients. Likewise, I understand the importance of giving short, accurate legal advice. Any effort to make the deliverables easier to digest is appreciated. We almost always have to distil it even more, but it's nice to be able to save some time on that.

Growing up, I wanted to be a musician. I was a vocal performance major at the University of Georgia before switching to political science, partly due to a little stage fright. I’m playing the guitar again, learning the drums and am the lead vocalist in a band. I’m more confident on stage – as I get older, I care less about what people think. I also volunteer with the Junior League in New York and am a mentor through the iMentor program.

Yes, this concerned a woman from El Salvador who, after miscarrying her baby, was accused of homicide due to El Salvador’s extreme laws. Our client was sentenced to 30 years in an El Salvadoran prison. Her sentence was shortened, but she still had to serve four years in prison. In 2014, she moved to the U.S. and applied for political asylum, and her case is still moving through the legal system. I started on this while I was at Eversheds Sutherland and recently got back in touch to offer assistance in this pro bono case.

My father was a dentist in Puerto Rico and for two days a week at his clinic, he would offer treatment to people who couldn’t afford it. My parents instilled in me that it’s the duty of the fortunate in society to help others who aren’t so fortunate.

I have a lot of fond memories, but the first that comes to mind is my role in the Battle of the Law Firm Bands in October of 2019 with the Atlanta office's band, The Eleventh Circuit Seven. Our group practiced a variety of songs for several weeks which we performed as part of a competition with other law firm bands. A crew from the firm showed up with fan posters and cheered us on. It was a fun escape, and I loved discovering how talented my colleagues were!