The purpose of the series is to bridge the gap between junior and senior business lawyers in Oregon, fostering understanding and camaraderie. For this quarter’s installment, we interviewed Ambyr O’Donnell, M&A and IPO advisor and the winner of the 2025 James B. Castles Leadership Award. Read on to learn how what’s important to Ambyr—tech, ethics, and ringing the bell on Wall Street—has informed her successful career.
- Tell me about your path to being a lawyer. What inspired you to pursue this career?
I started my undergraduate degree as a computer science major and quickly realized I didn’t love living in a computer lab. An advisor pointed out that law fit my interests in policy, history, and international relations. I took the LSAT, applied to law schools, and never looked back. My interest in tech never went away.
- What is your practice area?
I work with technology companies going through transformational phases: IPOs, M&A, international expansion, and other major growth moments. I’m a general business lawyer focused on corporate law, M&A, IP, and employment law. I work closely with board members, CEOs, founders, and executive teams to structure and drive strategic outcomes for their business. - How long have you been in your current role?
I’ve spent about fifteen years as a general counsel or chief legal officer after starting in-house right out of law school. Over time, my work has evolved into broader business advisory roles, which I absolutely love.
- How have you seen the practice change since you started practicing?
Lawyers used to do legal research in physical libraries with books and send faxes or letters for written notice. Now so much of what we do is digital and far more efficient, but also less personal. In the last couple years, AI has also changed how I work. I use AI to get smarter faster, synthesize lots of data, create presentations, and simplify complex communications. I learn new things I can do with AI agents every week. I never outsource judgment and I always carefully vet any AI output before it goes to anyone.
- What do you wish you had known before you started working as a new lawyer?
Your career path might not look like everyone else’s. You may not look like the other lawyers in the room. What is important is what you have to contribute. Listen more than you speak, and speak when something needs to be said.
- What are your career highlights?
I’ve always wanted to stand on the platform to ring the bell on Wall Street. In 2021, I had the privilege of doing that at the New York Stock Exchange with my team at our company’s IPO. What made it even better was being able to bring my son, who was in high school at the time, onto the NYSE trading floor.
Every deal we close for the purchase or sale of a company feels like an important career milestone. None of my career highlights were achieved alone. Business law is a team sport.
- What is your favorite part of the job?
Solving hard problems with smart people and helping companies turn bold ideas into reality. At the end of the day, it’s all about people working toward something meaningful.
- What parts of the job do you wish you could outsource to AI?
Scheduling and expense reports! Oh, and resolving meritless claims. Those can be so distracting and wasteful.
- What advice would you give a new business lawyer?
There are many ways to create a successful career using your law degree. Seek out projects and people doing interesting things early on and put in the time. Many very successful business people started out in law.When I was in law school, I read a quote by former Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. O’Connell, who said: “Without ethics ours is a crass calling.” This is especially true for business law. Choose to work for good people and businesses doing good things. It matters.
- What advice would you give a senior lawyer who is charged with mentoring a new lawyer?
Move past the day-to-day work. Work with the new lawyer to create a vision for what they might want to do (or at least what they could be qualified to do) in a few years. Identify specific skills and experiences they should pursue to advance their career toward their vision.
Remind new lawyers that it is okay to take risks and support the businesses they advise in taking smart, calculated risks, so long as everything is legal and ethical.
I had the benefit of working with an incredible mentor early on and it had a very positive impact on my career. ♦