Spotlight
Larren M. Nashelsky ’91
{ Successful Thinking L
arren Nashelsky ’91, the recently elected chair of the billion-dollar law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP, adamantly believes that in the legal
world there are very few “right answers.” Accordingly, he
‘‘
Nobody pays lawyers to answer
has found great success in achieving what’s best for clients in the gray areas.
questions that are black and
clear-cut equations, where the numbers always added up.
‘‘
As an undergraduate in finance, Nashelsky reveled in
white. Certain situations are very
However, when he got to Hofstra Law, he took a 180 degree
gray, and clients are looking for
turn. “Law school highlighted the reality of the world rarely being black and white. Law school says, ‘Think about it
advice, experience and counsel
this way; argue it that way,’ ” Nashelsky explains. “What I took out of law school was a different way to think and
when answers aren’t clear.
analyze issues.” Nashelsky credits his professors at Hofstra Law with teaching him how to look in the shadows for a clear path to the answers to complex legal questions. “Nobody pays
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