My career began at Davis Wright Tremaine, a national law firm based in Seattle, Washington, where I became a litigation partner. Many of my cases involved leases. I attacked leases and defended them, as each case and client required. My reputation as an effective and successful lease litigator drew an invitation to negotiate leases for a rapidly growing Seattle-based coffee company.I accepted the invitation. The coffee company and other clients — national retailers, local landlords, growing technology firms, local businesses — soon offered so many opportunities that I found, given a choice, I preferred lease negotiation to litigation. My analytical skills, strategic thinking, and tenaciousness as a litigator served me well as a lease negotiator. Within two years, leases were the mainstay of my practice.