Natalie Pierce

Pierce believes in working closely with her clients and developing trust to best advise them.

"I am a huge believer in early case assessment and I think that you cannot be reactionary when it comes to labor and employment matters," Pierce said. "Being a trusted advisor means you have to get as much information as possible, as unfiltered as possible. And I think that it does take developing that kind of relationship over time."

This honesty policy helps get the best result for clients by identifying early on if matters can be resolved in or out of the courtroom, Pierce said.

"They've got businesses to fund. They don't have time for litigation," Pierce said. "They don't want the press that's sometimes associated with the litigation. And then sometimes you're just right and you fight."

One case Pierce wasn't afraid to litigate was for global e-commerce site Rakuten USA Inc.

One of the company's former in-house attorneys filed a disability suit. A jury unanimously sided with Rakuten after just an hour of deliberation.

In addition to the jury's decision, the presiding judge asked Pierce to argue a nonsuit while the deliberation was going on.

"When he shared the jury's verdict was a complete defense verdict in favor of Rakuten, he said, 'For the record, I want to say that I would have granted the nonsuit,'" Pierce said. "It was sort of a way to cement it so that the other side wouldn't want to appeal a case like that."

Despite the overwhelming victory of the Rakuten case, Pierce said she's most proud of the cases that never make it to the public sphere. She said of all her successful summary judgments that have been appealed, none has been reversed.

"It's really gratifying because it's very hard to win a motion for summary judgment, but if you can spare the client the resources, expense, time that goes along with the trial, it's the best thing. It's so gratifying."

-- Nicole Tyau