Women Leaders in Tech Law: Dominique Shelton Leipzig

Dominique Shelton Leipzig, a partner and leader for global data innovation as well as ad tech privacy and data management at Mayer Brown in Los Angeles, is being recognized as one of 30 Women Leaders in Tech Law as part of The Recorder’s California Legal Awards.

Leipzig recently shared with The Recorder her accomplishments over the last year and advice for women starting out in tech.

What’s your proudest professional achievement of the past year and why?

I organized and hosted a first-of-its-kind ‘Digital Trust Summit’ at the Watson Institute at Brown University on March 31, 2023. With the support of Bank of America, The Conference Board and NASDAQ, I convened more than 70 CEOS, corporate board members and industry leaders to talk about AI, privacy and digital trust with the goal of identifying ways to shape digital culture in companies while driving value and reducing exposure to loss.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a woman starting out in tech law?

Maintain your own vision of your career. Along the way, others might try to define you. But your own definition is what is most important. Also, dedicate yourself to being the best professional that you can be. It is rewarding to be able to get to a place where you have delved in deeply into issues and can help guide the path forward for clients for complex problems.

What is a group or tool that has helped you grow in your career or contributes to the development of pipelines for women leaders in tech law?

I think the single most important thing for me has been steeping myself in the legal developments, connecting with people making key decisions, whether they are regulators, CEOs, Board Members or academics, and then doing my best to add value and share perspectives so that practical and scalable solutions to large problems—like privacy, generative AI and data security—can be tackled effectively by companies.

What aspects of your work do you find meaningful?

My passion for improving diversity in the c-suite and on boards, led to my co-founding NxtWork, a nonprofit group that supports business’ goals of fully embracing a diverse leadership culture. NxtWork has developed a seven-step process for meaningful engagement, derived from the members’ experience building and leading diverse teams in organizations with a market cap of more than two trillion dollars.

Reprinted with permission from the October 9, 2023 edition of The Recorder © 2023 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.