Meme Peponis, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

How long have you been working for your current company?
I was a summer associate in 1995 and started working at Cleary full time in 1996.

Did you have a mentor or role model in your career or while you were studying law? Who were they and how did they help you? 
I have had and continue to have a number of mentors at Cleary. They are colleagues whom I admire tremendously and from whom I have learned so much, both about the substance of our work but also the softer skills of providing client service and exercising judgment. 

How effective do you think corporate diversity initiatives are? What methods do you think are most effective and why? 
Diversity is a very high priority at Cleary.  It has been a part of our firm culture from its inception.  Making a commitment to diversity and standing behind it is the most effective way to promote the various individual initiatives we pursue.

Were there any points in your career when you felt you were at a disadvantage or at an advantage because you were female? 
No.  While I have encountered some less than enlightened people from time to time, I have always felt like gender did not matter to my colleagues.