Lynn Axelroth is the managing partner of Ballard Spahr's Philadelphia office. She is partner-in-charge of the construction group and a partner in the real estate group, as well as a member of the health care, energy and project finance, housing, land use, and transactional finance groups. Her practice includes representing corporate, institutional, individual and public owners, public/private joint venturers, prime and trade contractors, design professionals, and lenders in all aspects of real estate development, construction and design contracts, financing, and alternative dispute resolution.

Ms. Axelroth was the first chair and founding member of the Division of Owners and Lenders of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry, and remains a member of its governing committee. She is a member of the executive committees of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the board of overseers of the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts of the University of Pennsylvania. She has received the Philadelphia Business Journal's Women of Distinction Award and the Chapel of the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Award for Outstanding Community Service.

Ms. Axelroth graduated summa cum laude from Temple University in 1977; she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a President's Scholar. At the University of Pennsylvania law school, she was an editor of the law review and graduated cum laude in 1983.

What traits or attributes do you look for in a good lawyer?

Fundamentally, I look for somebody smart, but on top of that, you need intensity and whatever the healthy version of attention deficit disorder would be-someone who's not just comfortable, but enjoys juggling lots of things at the same time.

Do you think law school adequately prepares people for a legal career? Perhaps there's a presumption in the question that law school is supposed to completely prepare people for the practice of law, and I'm not sure that's entirely their function. I think law schools are supposed to help people learn a critical way of thinking, evaluating and approaching issues, and by and large it does a pretty good job of that. I really don't think you can learn what it's like to practice law without practicing, and law school's not the place for that.

What advice do you have for young associates who worry about balancing professional commitments against personal goals and desires?

Work hard at it. Don't give up; try to figure out how you can balance and do the things you want to do. And really decide what you want. The question assumes that a person wants a certain type of practice, but people need to think hard about whether they really want that practice or think they do because that's what so many of their colleagues said they should do. You shouldn't go into this kind of practice unless you truly love doing it. Don't go into it for money or prestige; go into it because you have a passion for it. If you have the passion, there are ways to work out the other things you want to do, but you just have to keep at it.

What rewards have you found in practicing law?

First of all, we get paid to think, which has got to be one of the world's great luxuries. And as you get more senior, and you work with clients on every aspect of their business in the role of counselor, you really feel like you're part of their success. Of course, you have to take a little responsibility for being part of what doesn't work out as well, but when you succeed it's really a wonderful feeling, and it allows you the opportunity to do several different kinds of things.

What has surprised you the most during your legal career?

I guess what's surprised me the most is that I'm still doing what I'm doing, how enjoyable firm practice can be and how different it can be even if you're still at the same firm. When I started, I thought for sure that after three or five years I'd have left firm practice; I'm not sure what I thought I'd be doing, but I was sure I'd be doing something else.

If you weren't practicing law, what would your dream job be?

That's easy: commissioner of baseball. That has some of the attributes of being a counselor and arbitrator, of being a judicious voice. And I'm general counsel of the Phillies, so I love baseball. But if I were commissioner, I'd be fair and equal! (laughs)

Any thoughts on where the industry is headed?

We were a little slow to embrace the positive things about a corporate business model, but I think we're doing more of that and will keep doing more to run our operations in a more business-like manner. We really need to do that so we can continue to do the other things we do so well, like protecting the legal rights of individuals and those with limited access to the legal community, and continue to be leaders in our community. If you look at the leaders in any community, you'll often find lawyers there in disproportionate numbers. Not just among elected officials, but, say, the business community-certainly in terms of making commitments to charity and to the underserved, from their own pockets or from the firm's budget. If you compare a firm's gross revenues to a business's, you'll see a disproportionate percentage of money going from lawyers to the underserved. I think that's a great thing, but to continue doing that, we need to make sure our profession is run in a business-like manner.