Kristin Franceschi actually takes vacations.
This may come as a surprise to those who know the corporate securities and public finance lawyer as a hard-working successful partner with Baltimore-based law firm DLA Piper.
Even more surprising is the fact Franceschi never planned to become a lawyer.
“I was a classics major in college [at Johns Hopkins University],” she said during a recent phone interview from a Florida beach.
“I realized I didn?t want to be a professor of Latin or Greek, and I would have to find something else.”
She applied for both the master?s in business administration and JD program at Stanford University, hoping that move would help her choose her career. She was accepted to both and opted to go after the joint degree.
“The key [to being a successful lawyer] is you have to remake yourself every couple of years based on the market,” Franceschi said. “Once you know everything about your specialty, you can?t rest on your laurels.”
Her area of expertise is tax-exempt bond financing, and she works closely with large health care and education institutions.
“Her depth of knowledge and expertise in the area, which is sort of an arcane area, really shows,” said Anita Molano, a Chicago-based partner with DLA Piper, who has worked on a project with Franceschi. “She is very good at making the client feel comfortable because of her extreme dedication.”
When Villa Julie College needed financing to build an additional campus in 2003, it hired Franceschi.
“Kristin was instrumental in leading me through the process,” said Comptroller Melanie Edmondson. “She really has a full understanding of [tax exemption], and brings that to the table, saying ?Here is the big picture. This is what we need.?”
Franceschi?s advice to professionals seeking a balance between work and life is “learn to say no.”
“I think that was the hardest part for me, but if you think about it creatively, you can do it,” she said. “You may have to go home for dinner and then do more work after the kids go to bed. I was a mom, I was a volunteer, and [my two kids] remember that, but they know that I spend my life on the cell phone.”
Franceschi is active on DLA Piper?s Policy Committee and is part of the Leadership Alliance for Women, a group that seeks to understand in advance the next generation of women who are going to be leaders in the firm.
