Shearman & Sterling’s Sylvia Favretto, a Washington, DC-based Counsel in the Financial Institutions Advisory & Financial Regulatory Group was featured as a “Mover and Shaker” on The Glass Hammer, an online community designed for women executives in financial services, law and business.

The profile covers Favretto’s tenure at Shearman & Sterling from summer associate in the leveraged finance practice group, to counsel in the financial advisory regulatory group, where she says she is always learning something new. “There is often not a large body of precedent for complying with new rules and regulations, so helping financial institutions adapt to the changing regulatory environment is both challenging and stimulating,” she says.

Throughout her decade at the firm, Favretto says she has been fortunate to find fantastic female mentors. “What was most valuable — and surprising to me — was that my mentors truly cared about my success and advancement,” she says. “They were generous with their time and had a genuine desire to invest in the careers of their mentees, rather than just doing so in order to check a mentoring ‘box.’ It really made a strong impression.” On finding a work-life balance, she says that she takes it day-by-day. “It’s difficult to plot out in advance how precisely you’ll achieve balance between your professional and personal life, but every person’s situation is different, and I believe everyone can find a balanced path forward that works for them.”

View The Glass Hammer profile on Sylvia Favretto.