Talia Saypoff
Senior Employment Counsel, Apple
Fox Rothschild, 2016-2018
- J.D., UC Hastings College of the Law, 2012
- B.A., New York University, 2008
What attracted you to your current position at Apple?
I was generally interested in leaving full-time litigation behind to go in-house. At Fox, I defended and advised companies in a variety of employment law matters, but my focus was litigation. At Apple, I’m in more of a collaborative, problem-solving role. I love connecting with stakeholders, understanding what they care about and thinking creatively about how to meet their goals with as little risk as possible. I also like that Apple places great emphasis on doing the right thing for its employees, which is very important to me.
Is there anything you miss about working at Big Law?
I’m always asking for constructive feedback at work. I want to be great at my job and to improve however I can. I found constructive feedback easier to nail down at Fox. At Apple, I have wonderful managers who care about my development, but the nature of the work – giving on-the-spot advice to see around corners and mitigate risk – makes it harder to review. At Fox, when I asked for constructive feedback, a partner could redline my motion or depo transcript and provide clear and actionable pointers. The San Francisco partners were always open to doing so, which I appreciated.
For example, on several occasions, San Francisco-based litigator David Faustman sat down with me, red pen in hand, to edit my briefs. We always spent a lot of time on the introduction as well as the headings (which would make up the table of contents). He used to say that the table of contents for a brief should tell the whole story. He said the table and introduction should be punchy, clear and compelling enough to win the motion without even reading the rest of the brief. Though of course we made sure the rest of the brief was great too! I apply these principles today when I’m reviewing briefs prepared by outside counsel.
What professional associations or networking opportunities accelerated your success?
For employment lawyers, I recommend checking out the National Employment Law Council (NELC). It’s open to management-side attorneys in-house, at firms, in government, at nonprofits, etc., as well as HR/people folks. NELC has a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. It is a wonderful community where people are open to mentorship, providing career advice, having frank conversations and paying good deeds forward. I was at Fox when I first discovered NELC. I’ve made some great friends and professional connections through NELC and can’t recommend the organization highly enough.
I would also advise junior lawyers to go to conferences/events (when safe to do so), meet as many people as possible and get curious about their roles. Ask questions. People are happy to talk about themselves (see, e.g., this article). I had previously met two of my interview panelists at Apple through attending conferences (NELC and HNBA). One is now my manager, and one is my colleague!
What did your 8-year-old self think you wanted to be when you grew up?
I was going to be a super famous singer, of course. I wasn’t too picky but was thinking probably Broadway or perhaps a pop star. Before Covid, I was singing in cover bands, but recently have saved my performances for lucky audiences such as my husband and dog. When I was at Fox, the firm was generous enough to sponsor my cover band’s performance in a Battle of the Bands contest through an organization called Law Rocks. We raised money for Legal Services for Children. It was both fun and rewarding.
