Pavan Agarwal Featured in Leadership Q&A – 'Reflecting our firm’s core values drives me to do my best'
Foley & Lardner LLP partner Pavan Agarwal is featured by Law.com for his career journey, legal practice, and leadership in the article, “How I Made Practice Group Chair: ‘Keep Listening and Keep Learning,’ Says Pavan Agarwal of Foley & Lardner.”
“I love following technology,” said Agarwal, chair of Foley’s Innovative Technology Sector, on what led him into his practice. “It’s exciting to engage with such a vastly enormous and fast-moving space. I think innovative technologies like AI, robotics, autonomous vehicles, crypto, and the like will change core business and societal functions across the board. My colleagues and I are seeing this happen as we serve an entire range of clients – from nascent start-ups to some of the Fortune 20 – with their development and deployment of cutting-edge technology.”
Describing the Innovative Technology Sector’s priorities, Agarwal said the firm “follow[s] those of our clients.” He described the unprecedented evolution of technology, noting recent advancements in AI, robotics, blockchain, and autonomous driving among other areas, and emphasized how the opportunities for companies in the sector “are essentially limitless.”
Highlighting his contributions in developing the firm’s broader strategic plan, Agarwal outlined Foley’s desire to “experience the market as our clients do – around key economic sectors including Innovative Technology, Energy, Health Care and Life Sciences, and Manufacturing.”
“We put clients at the center of how we operate and pride ourselves on delivering an exceptional experience,” he explained. “We’ve got a business partnership mentality and deep sector knowledge – among other things – that is driving our continued success.”
Agarwal credited his successful legal journey in part to the power of mentorship. “Especially in my earlier years, my mentors closely looked after me and gave me opportunities to gain real, tangible experience in all aspects of patent litigation, licensing, and counseling, as well as related practice areas,” he recalled, highlighting that today, he values returning the favor to younger attorneys.
Describing his leadership approach at Foley, Agarwal identified emotional intelligence, optimism, vision, and a commitment to uplifting the entire team as essential traits for effective leadership. “Knowing how great the team is and reflecting our firm’s core values drives me to do my best,” he added.
On advice he would give to those looking to follow in his footsteps as a leader, Agarwal recommended attorneys “stay focused on the privilege” of working with talented attorneys and business professionals and of having clients “trust us to help them drive their business forward.”
“Our colleagues want to do good for clients and the organization. I say keep listening and keep learning. Ask questions along the way,” he added.
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