Kevin Andrew Chambers

Kevin Andrew Chambers
Partner, Co-chair Litigation & Trial Department in Washington, DC, and Global Chair Diversity Leadership Committee

Education: JD, Yale Law School; BS, State University of New York at Albany
Company Name: Latham & Watkins LLP
Industry: Law
Company CEO: N/A
Company Headquarters Location: N/A
Number of Employees: N/A
Your Location (if different from above): Washington, DC
Words you live by: Actions, not words.
Who is your personal hero? My mother
What book are you reading? A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
What was your first job? Paperboy
Favorite charity: Brotherhood/Sister Sol
Interests: Playing golf poorly
Family: Wife, Damara Chambers, and three children, Kadence, Kaia, and Kingston

The Best Advice I’ve Ever Received

I firmly believe that success always results from collaboration and team effort. This is no less true for personal success. No one does it alone. In my case, as I consider the road that has led me to what some may call a successful legal career, I know that I have greatly benefited from mentors and sponsors along the way who took an interest in my academic or professional career and took the time to provide encouragement, present opportunities, and dole out a little tough love when the situation called for it.

These mentors are far more than an important part of my success; they are the reason that success was possible at all.

Young professionals often ask, “How do I find a mentor?” The answer is that you must take ownership of your development and pick your mentors. You may be fortunate enough to have a mentor step up and offer to guide your career, but you cannot count on that. Instead, when you find a person who embodies the values you hold dear and who has trodden the road you hope to travel, be the one to take the first step. Ask her to be your mentor. Some may decline for any number of legitimate reasons, but most will be honored to be asked and happy to play a role in your development. Either way, it will demonstrate that you take your career seriously. Keep in mind that we all have the need for mentorship. To this day, I can point to several of my colleagues who continue to provide guidance, and I am grateful to have these people in my corner.

Since we’re talking about mentors, I’d like to take a moment to share some of the best advice I’ve ever received: Make a plan, but always be ready to abandon it. Too often we create these elaborate road maps to success, and we are so afraid to step off the path that we miss out on tremendous opportunities and experiences that, in the long run, will make us so much better at whatever it is we want to do. Walk the path you lay out for yourself, but always be open to taking a detour. When I think about my career, the most interesting things I’ve done are those things that were far off the path that I so painstakingly built. In retrospect, these detours were some of the best decisions I’ve ever made.