Holly Buckley on Bad Career Advice and Breaking the Mold in Big Law 6-3-25
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What is the worst career advice you've ever received?
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast. We're thrilled today to be joined by Holly Buckley. Holly leads the healthcare department at McGuire and Woods. She works at the intersection of healthcare and private equity and is a tremendous leader, a force of nature. We're going to talk to her today about a subject that we don't often get to visit with, but used this subject recently with another guest and just had a wonderful podcast. The podcast topic today, Holly, is what's the worst career advice or professional advice you've ever received? You don't have to note who it was from. I hope it wasn't from me, but, but give us a second on what, what do you think of as bad career advice? What have you heard? What have you ever been told? Give us a few thoughts on what is bad career or leadership advice?
Oh, uh, it's funny. Cause I think that the two things that first, uh, came to mind are probably not very profound or helpful to, uh, a broader audience, but I will share them nonetheless, just because they're the first thing that came to mind and you took me by surprise with the topic. But I think maybe there's a broader lesson that can be pulled out of them.
How did a professor's opinion shape your career?
So the first was when I was in law school and I was looking for work after law school. And I'm a first generation lawyer in my family. And I didn't really even know what a law firm was. When I went to law school, I kind of knew I was doing healthcare transactions and didn't really know the venues to do that. And there was a particular professor that had a pretty defined view of what a big firm lawyer looked like. And he told me that he did not think that I was big law firm material and that maybe I should seek a job in government, which is obviously a great place to work also and has a lot of opportunities. He judged me based on his perception of what he felt big law was and what government was and what he thought I was capable of or fit for. And it was a surprise to me that he would have made that pronouncement. And he apparently was wrong because I'm pretty, pretty far in on big law and have done relatively well for myself. And I think
Maybe the lesson from that is don't let others project onto you their impressions and go with your own gut and make your own decisions and freely try to decide the advice of people.
What lessons can we learn from bad advice?
Yeah, so let's take a second on that because I think that's absolutely fascinating because there's so many different ways. One is I'll vouch for Howie. She's become an equity partner, a leader, one of the top lovers in the country, does tremendously well in leadership and in debt for clients. economically does well, all those kinds of things and also runs a fantastic family with her husband and two daughters. So in terms of her success, it's been incredible success. It continues to grow in that success. So obviously you ended up being right at this and choosing where you ended up doing. The second thing is I always have this concept I work with and almost anything anybody's ever done successfully and there may be exceptions to this, there are going to be naysayers. And I'm a huge believer in the concept, don't believe the naysayers, and thank God how he did it.
Third is, and I'd like to dig into this a little bit further, the person who gives that kind of guidance, when he gave that guidance, and I think it's a he, I'm not sure, but you'll tell me, or he or she, because I might know who you're talking about, I'm not sure, but that person said, probably did it with your best interest at heart versus in a negative way. But help me work through that.
How to deal with naysayers in your career?
What was your perception of that? Were you taken aback? Did you view that as fuel for your fire? I know that I have a daughter who's incredibly talented, incredibly motivated. And if you ever tell her she can't do something, She may be upset for the moment. And when she's upset sometime, I will make the mistake once in a while of coddling her. And that goes very poorly. And then she jumps back after whatever she's trying to do. She's quite determined and has a high motor. And then ends up doing whatever. I told her, oh, don't worry. It's OK. And she goes after it. How did it feel? Was the advice meant in a good way? And how did you respond to that advice?
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the worst career advice you've ever received?
0:00–1:09
2
How did a professor's opinion shape your career?
1:09–2:26
3
What lessons can we learn from bad advice?
2:26–3:48
4
How to deal with naysayers in your career?
3:48–5:42
5
What does it mean to break the mold in big law?
5:42
6
How has the perception of law firm success changed?
5:16–11:16
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast
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