Women’s History Month: Emily Schultz

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Robinson Bradshaw is highlighting women from the firm throughout March. Meet litigator Emily Schultz.

Describe what you do at Robinson Bradshaw.

I’m a litigation associate and I specialize in defending sophisticated clients who find themselves involved in complex commercial litigations. I’m also a co-chair of RB+PRIDE (Robinson Bradshaw’s new LGBTQ+ affinity group) and a member of both RBWin (the firm’s women’s initiative) and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

Litigating with Robinson Bradshaw feels like playing on an all-star team: each of my colleagues is truly outstanding at what they do. In addition to their remarkable intellect and practical skillsets, these people are funny, helpful and kind.

What advice would you give a younger version of yourself?

• Take work seriously but not overly personally, at least in the early years when you’re still figuring out what you really want to be.
• Study abroad and learn a useful language (while I loved my time in Ms. Jenkins’ Latin class, I wish I could travel and speak fluently in another language now).
• Go to office hours, they are for you!
• Be open to saying yes to exciting opportunities, even if they don’t quite fit into the plan.
• Enjoy where you are when you’re there — life changes quickly and unpredictably.
• Set high and diverse goals for yourself.
• Don’t let go of the handlebars, look where you want to go, and just keep pedaling.

What brings you joy?

I have a 95-pound Bernedoodle puppy named Tipper. A lot of people assume he is named after Tipper Gore, but in fact he is named in acknowledgement of the little-known loophole in the insider trading laws which carve out a safe harbor from criminal liability for dogs who pass along material, non-public information in exchange for personal benefit.

Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn't learn from your website bio.

In 2019 I took a leave of absence and solo backpacked the entire Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine. The hike took me five months and 15 days and covered 2,192 trail miles (the length shifts a little each year) across 14 states. I’m beyond grateful that I had the necessary professional, financial and personal circumstances to embark on that journey. One lesson I took away from the experience of thru-hiking is that you can make surprising things happen if you simply resolve to do so. If you are considering a long hike (or you are interested in picking up backpacking at all) please reach out to chat!