Lisa R. Castle, By Lisa R. Castle

My path to becoming an attorney was a unique one -- or at least I like to believe it was. In college, I knew that my life would lead to the practice of law, but before I embarked on a lifetime of lawyerdom, I wanted to experience another life; one on which I could look back with fondness as a little old lady and tell my grandchildren these great stories (completely unembellished, of course) about how I saw the world and explored it on my own terms. So, in the spirit of living life to the fullest, after college I moved to Japan for two years, backpacked through Southeast Asia, traveled to all the places I'd ever wanted to go and made memories that will last a lifetime.

When that was all done, I returned to the U.S. for law school with a new and unique appreciation for this country and the world around me. I also came home with a host of stories; including nearly losing my life several times in the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh City among rickshaws, tuk tuks, motor bikes and anything else on wheels, and my Indiana Jones-like running jump onto the last ferry leaving Siem Reap in Cambodia. I learned a real lesson on how much I should appreciate things I'd always taken for granted such as clean water, hot showers, traffic lights, and air conditioning. I also walked away knowing that if I could handle these situations I was ready for anything life as an attorney could throw at me.

As I started a new life in the legal world, I approached it with the newfound perspectives that the world at large is so much grander than the things that make up MY world and that problems are most efficiently solved through the collaboration of people with diverse perspectives. At Valorem, I have the benefit of working with some of the most brilliant legal minds and innovative business people this industry has ever seen. By capitalizing on the creativity and collaboration that are the hallmarks of this practice, I have had the opportunity to become the kind of lawyer I have always wanted to be - one who is sharp, creative, forward-thinking, and client-focused.