Page 65 - NYLJ Professional Excellence 2021

DISTINGUISHED LEADERS

CHRIS

LEUNG

Partner at Pollock Cohen

What are some of your proudest recent achievements?
H elping to build and expand on my law firm’s

work during the pandemic. When I joined Pol-
lock Cohen in mid-2019 as an equity partner,
the firm was maybe just 16 months old. I was
concerned about the transition from working
at the New York Attorney General’s Office
to a plaintiff-side contingency fee practice;
how I was going to help bring in business for the firm; and,
how I was going to balance that time (building up the firm)
with the time spent with my family.
The pandemic, of course, expanded those concerns expo-
nentially. Thankfully, however, our menthol work helped to
attract new business for our firm, as well as other fantastic
attorneys who wanted to work on similarly interesting cases. with folks, especially the younger generation of attorneys
Through the pandemic, our firm has been able to grow its work who might be expected to lead the firm later. People want to
and make new hires, which has all been incredibly satisfying. feel good about the work they do, and feel like their work is
I have a great set of teammates who understand the demands having a positive impact on those around them. Because that
of balancing family and work, as well as a wonderful family might mean different things to different people, it’s always
that lets me put the time into growing the firm. good to touch base with folks about how things could be
made better—whether that means the type of work the firm
Name a lawyer or mentor whose leadership inspired you. takes on, the people they hire, or how the work gets done.
Alvin Bragg. Alvin was someone I got to know while at the
New York Attorney General’s Office. He held several high-level What is the best advice for someone considering a career
positions at the office, including Executive Deputy Attorney in law, or someone already in the profession who is seek-
General for Social Justice. He used to roam the floors and talk ing to make a greater impact? If you want to make a greater
to everyone—taking an interest in people’s personal lives, impact in the profession, you have to talk to people. Find
their cases, and just what was going on. His upbeat demeanor out what’s important to them, or even better, what would be
was infectious, and his questions and comments about cases the one thing they would love to change about what they’re
were always incredibly sharp and helpful. dealing with. Before we took on and developed our menthol
After a new Attorney General was elected, Alvin could case, I spoke with quite a few people in the public health
have taken a job most anywhere. But he decided to run for and tobacco-space about what might be the single largest
Manhattan DA early on, and further commit himself to the impact that could be made. People already knew that tobacco
public service life. He’s just a fantastic example of a human use was the single largest cause of preventable death in the
being, and great person to be around. United States. But within that space, people identified menthol
and FDA’s failure to issue a new rule banning menthol as a
How are the business and profession of law changing, and characterizing flavor. With that problem in mind, we spent
how should lawyers adapt for the future? Obviously, the the time to develop our case, and thankfully, the FDA has
pandemic has upended most everything about law firm life. agreed that now is the time to address this long-standing
To adapt, I think it helps to talk about these shared challenges public health issue.

Photo: Pollock Cohen | October 2021 63