Legal Lady Boss- Angelique Okeke
Angelique Okeke’s career has taken her from coast to coast for opportunities at a couple of companies you may have heard of (ahem, Amazon and Nike). All the while, she’s remained committed to giving back to the community and supporting young attorneys. Angelique inspires us to be bold and always stay true to who you are.
Angelique Okeke
Let’s start from the beginning. Why did you enter the legal field?
I decided to become a lawyer following a career in public relations. Initially I wanted to become a Sports and Entertainment lawyer. I found it very difficult to break into sports through the communications path that I started on, so I thought that I would become a lawyer and negotiate high net worth individual agreements. I wanted to combine my love of sports with drafting and negotiating. Although, I followed an interesting trajectory with my practice; I could not be more pleased with where I am now and the options for the future.
Did you always intend on working in-house? What did your path look like to get there?
Yes, I knew early on that I wanted to work in-house, but valued the training and the learning that only a law firm environment can provide. I intentionally chose to work in private practice upon my graduation from law school. I started my career at Bingham McCutchen in Boston in the Corporate, M&A group and worked at Cooley (formerly Dow Lohnes) in Washington, DC in the Corporate group for nearly 7 years. As I became more senior in my practice, my family started to grow and there were macro events happening within law firms nationally, so I decided to explore opportunities in house. I started my in-house journey at Lotame, a Maryland start-up company where I served as General Counsel. Following Lotame, I worked at Amazon Web Services, supporting the Sales & Marketing and Professional Services business unit. Now, at Nike I am the lead lawyer for Nike Direct, Nike’s direct to consumer business.
You started your career on the east coast and have now made it out west. What has that transition been like?
Initially, it was incredibly difficult to leave my family and network that I had developed, but what I found personally and professionally is that the connections between individuals (especially lawyers) are remarkably linked. Leaving yourself open for new experiences including new environments allows you to break some old habits, including the way you socialize or your approach to certain matters. I am forever an East Coast girl, but I love the PacificNW!
What does your day to day look like?
No day is the same. I usually start my day on a conference call, in a Global role, there is usually a call with my European colleagues or cross functional team calls that are set at times that accommodate a number of time zones. I am usually in back to back meetings during the day; often during those meetings I am presenting the outcome of a risk analysis performed on the proposed business activity. I also am drafting and negotiating with vendors/partners. I have an incredible team of lawyers and paralegals that I lead, so I can usually be found providing guidance, counsel and advice to my team. Usually end the day with a call with Geo colleagues in Asia.
Tell us about one of your female mentors that has played an important role in your career.
An incredible friend and mentor, Crystal F. Gaines. Crystal is an incredible business executive who has always encouraged me to take new risks with my legal career. She is a practical person with extremely good judgment. She has helped me negotiate my salary when taking on new roles, she has helped me think about how to research prospective employers and understand the businesses that I support from a strategic lens not just from a legal perspective.
You’ve worked for two incredibly influential companies. How have you used those opportunities to promote diversity in the workplace?
I am passionate about Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in the law and have used my role at Amazon and Nike to consistently push the companies into making change not only for the internal legal departments but for the overall industry. I currently co-lead the D& I strategic team within Nike’s legal department and have developed a new strategy to address talent acquisition, promotion and retention of attorneys of color. I serve as a mentor to women and people of color at Nike. I am very active in the Nike United, employee resource groups.
What is something you wish you could tell your younger self when you were starting your legal career?
You don’t have time to waste trying to be someone else. You do you better than anyone else—get to it.