Allison M. Leopold Tilley

Tilley works with cutting edge technology developers so she has to stay current on the ever-changing laws that could affect her clients. It’s part of what keeps her job exciting.

“The law is constantly evolving, which makes it really interesting,” Tilley said. “You’re not just doing the same thing every day. There’s always something to learn, but it’s about making sure you stay on top of all of it, so you can share it with your clients and keep them on the right path.”

Part of the challenge is balancing domestic and foreign laws. In a case she led advising business process services company Synnex Corp. in its $2.43 billion acquisition of Convergys Corp., the deal involved more than 20 countries and 20,000 employees.

Tilley is no stranger to working across international borders. She was awarded the Cross-Border Deal of the Year in 2018 for her work with motion sensor producer InvenSense in its $1.3 billion acquisition by Tokyo-based TDK Corp.

“I think the challenge is learning that there are different customs and styles in different countries,” Tilley said. “You come about something from the law that you’re familiar with, and you can’t assume it works the same way in a different country because it doesn’t necessarily.”

When she isn’t advising clients or closing deals, Tilley is giving back to her community. She served on the board of the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford and now is involved with the alumni committee.

“The things that the Ronald McDonald House does, the stories that you hear from the families and how important it was to them to have somewhere to be while they were going through the most traumatic experience of their life; the opportunity to be able to be a part of something like that and to contribute and to help is something that I very much love doing,” Tilley said.

She is also a founder of Outsmart Brain Cancer after her brother-in-law died of glioblastoma brain cancer in 2016.

“Just seeing once again the devastation that that has on families, I wanted to try and do something to help,” Tilley said.

— Nicole Tyau