Trust Your Instincts: Susan Pravda on Leadership, Relationships, and Resilience

Foley partner Susan Pravda is a business lawyer focused on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, initial public offerings, and related securities transactions and is head of Foley’s Health Care & Life Sciences Sector. She also serves as the firm’s chief strategic talent acquisition partner.

In a conversation with Chief Talent Officer Rebecca Bradley, Pravda reflects on how a relationship‑driven approach has informed her work with clients, guided her growth into firm leadership, and influenced her willingness to take calculated risks and trust her instincts along the way.

Bradley: Relationships are a central theme throughout your career. How did that focus begin?

Pravda: It really started on my very first day practicing law, when I had a chance encounter with a prospective client that blossomed into a professional relationship and friendship that has now lasted more than four decades. That experience stayed with me and shaped how I approach my work. It reinforced how important relationships are — not just to business success, but to resilience and long‑term fulfillment.

Bradley: You’ve advised emerging companies while also growing into leadership at Foley. How have those experiences shaped your approach?

Pravda: Foley’s entrepreneurial, collaborative, and people‑driven culture is what has kept me here for more than 20 years and given me the runway to deepen my connections with clients. Today, as a board member for several clients, I’m not just another lawyer in the Rolodex. I’m a trusted business advisor, in the room helping clients decide how to move their vision forward.

Bradley: You’ve said your approach to business prioritizes the people behind the law. What does that mean in practice?

Pravda: A client isn’t a faceless entity. It’s the founder, general partner, managing director, or executive, as well as their families, their passions, and their inner circle. That means the calls often come after hours, and the issues aren’t always strictly legal.

In moments like those, there’s no playbook. You draw on the trust you’ve built, personal empathy, and the ability to act quickly and creatively in uncharted territory.

Bradley: How has that people-first mindset contributed to your resilience throughout your career?

Pravda: Understanding clients at a human level has meant being there during pivotal moments, from advising through family tragedies to navigating legal terrain where there was no clear roadmap. Those experiences reinforce that resilience comes from trust, empathy, and relationships built over time, especially when you’re facing uncertainty.

Bradley: Today, you lead the firm’s Health Care & Life Sciences Sector. What lessons have stayed with you along the way?

Pravda: I’ve had to adapt and take calculated risks throughout my career, and those experiences have shaped who I am today as a leader and advisor.

If I could give advice to my younger self, it would be to trust your instincts. Don’t worry so much about picking the perfect path. Instead, look for the people you want to invest in, the relationships you want to nurture, and the challenges that stretch you.

That’s where you’ll find the strength and resilience to keep going.

The content for this blog post draws from Susan Pravda’s recent “In Her Words” Bizwomen column published by The Business Journals.

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