Julie Norma Samuels

I want to take a moment to introduce myself and tell you a bit about what I am doing with Peppercorn Partners.
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I worked in corporate for many years at the New York City Opera, Condé Nast, and Artsy. Good experiences all, but as my experience grew so did my frustration at not being able to be the lawyer that I wanted to be. Thinking about each “job” and my “work” independently of the other clarified for me that I wanted to find a closer relationship between the two so that I could say that I loved doing both.
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My work at Artsy solidified my thinking about the lawyer that I am and want to continue to be –working closely with creatives and young people, bringing personalized care to each interaction. I never had more fun than when a colleague brought an issue to me, and I was able to counsel that person on how I would approach the problem while leaving my teammate room for expansive thinking. I encouraged those with whom I worked to offer their own possible solutions which, more times than not, were the best approach because they worked for them and for the business. It was a rare day when an answer was clear cut, and my joy came from navigating the in-between with my colleagues.
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It is equally important to me to make legal counsel accessible to those who may think that they either can’t afford it or don’t have a need for it. I want to cut through the emotional noise you hear when you think about needing something legal. I want creatives to be able to create, and businesses to streamline operations so that legal isn’t an afterthought. I want my job to be providing clients with services that allow them to do their work, and more than anything I want it to be a fun, supportive, and collaborative relationship. I want to be the lawyer you come to when you don’t need a law firm.
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This is why I created Peppercorn.