Katie Rak is an employee benefits attorney at McGuireWoods LLP.  She also serves as the Treasurer of the Coalition.  Katie's practice focuses primarily on assisting clients in the structuring and legal compliance of retirement and health and welfare benefits, representing clients before the IRS and the DOL, and counseling benefit plan fiduciary committees.

What do you enjoy most about the practice of law?   I enjoy interacting with immensely talented people and the ability to challenge myself intellectually to find solutions for clients that help them sleep better at night.  The nature of my practice is such that we often develop long-standing relationships with clients over the course of years and I talk to several of them almost daily.  It's a privilege to be the person they call on when the answer isn't easy.  I also enjoy the process of learning and, as we all know, being a lawyer involves constant development and evolution - the answer that worked yesterday may not be the same one that works today and developing that ability to think on your feet and build expertise is something that I find both infinitely challenging and rewarding.

Why did you get involved in the Coalition?  I have really benefitted in my life by surrounding myself with strong, gifted, and graceful women who challenge me to do things that I never imagined I could or would do.  The Coalition provides a space for all of us to find examples of the type of women and lawyers we want to become, fall into friendships with women who challenge and support our professional endeavors, and provide us with opportunities to be supportive of other women who may be on their way to doing things they never imagined themselves doing either.

What are your outside interests?  My kids, Declan and Maeve (both 3.5 years old) and Gavin (our 5 year old), keep me moving from the moment they show up way-too-early at my bedside (note: not Dad's) to the moment we all collapse in bed.  We love to be outside - playing sports, hiking at the arboretum, getting out to the beach - if we can expend energy doing it, it means everyone sleeps better.    I really enjoy watching college football, dabbling in running/triathlon when I find a spare season, and reading fairly-mindless novels.   I also serve on the Board of Step Up and my husband and I serve as co-Presidents of our local alumni club - GO IRISH!

What is one piece of advice that you want to share with other women lawyers? Stretch yourself - I think we are all far more capable than we believe ourselves to be - we'll never know the outside limits of what we can achieve if we stay in a place that's comfortable.