Principals
Martha Ann Sisson, Esq.
Martha Ann collaborates with law firms, corporations and other non-firm consumers of legal counsel in structuring and enhancing their search efforts for associate, partner level and practice group additions. Her practice also focuses on working with individual attorneys and practice groups in evaluating and obtaining opportunities most compatible with their interests and practice needs.
She regularly participates in local and national bar association programs and firm retreats and contributes to articles concerning strategic growth prioritization, marketing strategies (for both the employer entity and the individual attorney), attorney development and retention, best hiring and interviewing practices, and career satisfaction assessments. In addition, she has advised corporate law departments on the establishment of offices of general counsel and provided related guidance on the structure and function of roles within legal departments. Recently she served as an advisor to a consulting firm on its inaugural study of corporate law departments' resource allocation strategies.
Martha Ann served on the Executive Committee of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia for six years and is a past recipient of the BADC's Young Lawyer of the Year Award. Prior to the formation of G&S, she was an associate counsel with Mobil Oil Corporation. Martha Ann is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and the University of Richmond, magna cum laude. She lives in McLean, Virginia with her husband and their welsh terriers.
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Nancy M. Palermo, Esq.
Nancy joined G&S as an attorney recruiting consultant in 1999. She became a principal of the firm in 2006 and serves as its president. Previously, she worked as corporate counsel to The Marathon Group, an environmental services corporation, where she advised corporate management on acquisitions and franchise development matters and supervised outside counsel. She also has private practice experience as a litigation associate with a Maryland law firm. In addition to her legal background, Nancy possesses five years of business management experience serving as a marketing and sales executive for two international manufacturing and consumer product companies in New York City.
After developing a strong foundation in associate level lateral recruiting for AMLAW 200 and boutique law firms, Nancy expanded her practice into retained and contingent partner level search placement. She also devotes a significant amount of her time to recruiting attorney candidates at all levels and various practice disciplines for challenging in-house positions at companies in Maryland, Virginia and the District. She has participated in panel presentations to bar association, specialty groups, and law school audiences on topics including interviewing techniques, effective resume drafting, and current market trends.
Nancy is a graduate of Catholic University, Columbus School of Law in 1997, where she served as Co-Chair for the National Conference of Law Reviews and Senior Associate Editor for the Journal of Contemporary Health Law & Policy. In 2007, she was appointed to a three year term on her law school’s Board of Visitors. She is Chairperson of the Board’s Career and Professional Development Committee and serves as a member of the Advancement Committee. Nancy received her B.A. from the University of Richmond in 1989 with departmental honors. She and her husband, a small business owner in the construction industry, reside in North Potomac, Maryland with their three children and basset hound.
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Of Counsel
Charles W. Garrison, Esq.
Charlie assists law firm clients in identifying and evaluating practice expansion needs and opportunities involving associate recruiting and partner, group or firm acquisitions. He also recruits attorneys for in-house counsel positions with corporations, trade associations and consulting firms. Charlie has testified as an expert witness in federal and state courts around the United States in litigation involving the employability or marketability of lawyers.
Prior to the founding of G&S in 1987, Charlie was a regulatory and legislative partner in the national law firm of O’Connor & Hannan, where he also served as the lateral attorney hiring partner. Before becoming a lawyer, he worked as an advertising and marketing executive with corporations in San Francisco, California, and Montreal, Quebec. Charlie is married and has two sons. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland and spends time during the summer at his house on the Maine Coast. He is actively involved in several community non-for-profit organizations.
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Attorney Search Consultants
Sadie J. Madole, Esq.
Sadie joined G&S as an attorney recruiting consultant after practicing law for ten years. Before affiliating with G&S, Sadie served as Senior Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel of the Treasury Department. Sadie advised the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management on employment law, privacy, procurement and appropriations, and health and pension benefits. Prior to public service, Sadie worked for five years as an associate in a litigation boutique in Northern Virginia where she specialized in ERISA and health law matters. Sadie also worked as an editor for NBC Network News, where she researched news events involving Supreme Court arguments and congressional hearings and interviewed Congressional and Cabinet Members, the Attorney General and others for use on NBC Nightly News, the Today Show and MSNBC programming. Sadie’s experience as an attorney in both the public and the private sectors, combined with her work with the national news media, give her a keen understanding of the challenges and demands of legal practice in the National Capitol Area. Her insight enables her to work effectively and productively with attorneys considering a career transition and employers in need of lateral attorneys. To view Sadie’s article entitled “Tell Me About Yourself: The Best Interviews,” published in the Legal Times on September 3, 2007, click here.
Sadie is a 1994 graduate of Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, where she served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Contemporary Health Law & Policy. She received her B.S. in Political Science, cum laude, in 1991 from Arizona State University. Sadie and her husband live in Montgomery County, Maryland, with their son and two Labrador retrievers.
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Susan H. Pope, Esq.
Susan joined G&S as an attorney recruiting consultant after practicing law for more than ten years at DLA Piper, where she focused her practice on antitrust litigation and counseling. Because antitrust issues frequently implicate other disciplines, Susan also worked closely with other practice groups across the firm, including IP, communications, government affairs, corporate and finance, white collar criminal defense, and franchise distribution law. She served as a member of the firm’s Ethics Committee for eight years and was actively involved in interviewing lateral associate candidates considering a move to DLA Piper. Susan’s tenure in private practice and exposure to various practice areas provide her with a deep appreciation of the many challenges and demands of legal practice in Washington, DC. This experience enables her to work effectively and productively with attorneys considering a career transition and employers in need of lateral attorney.
Susan received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989 and her J.D. from George Mason University School of Law with honors in 1996, where she was a member of the Civil Rights Law Journal. Prior to her legal experience, Susan worked in New York as a sales executive with two leading women’s wear designers. She presently lives in Washington, D.C. with her jack russell terrier. An avid equestrian, Susan enjoys spending her free time riding in and around the Maryland and Virginia countryside.
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Jennifer L. Rappaport, Esq.
Jennifer joined G&S as an attorney recruiting consultant after practicing law for over seven years. Jennifer has the distinction of being the only recruiter who also is a former G&S client. Before joining G&S, Jennifer was an associate in the Washington office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. Jennifer advised employers in all aspects of employment discrimination and wrongful termination law including litigation, internal investigations, statutory and regulatory compliance counseling, and the preparation of employment handbooks and agreements. She also served as a member of the firm’s Recruiting Committee for two years.
Prior to working at Paul Hastings, Jennifer was also an associate in the labor and employment department of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in Philadelphia, PA. Her extensive experience as an attorney in private practice and working with and counseling employers on their employee relationships enable her to work effectively and productively with attorneys considering their career advancement and transition as well as employers in need of lateral attorneys.
Jennifer is a 1999 graduate of New York University School of Law, where she served as student article development editor for the Review of Law and Social Change. She received her B.S. in Psychology with honors in 1996 from Brown University. Jennifer and her husband, a pediatrician, are the parents of two daughters.
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Samantha J. Yakutiel
Samantha rejoined G&S in 2003 after working with a federal government contractor providing consulting services to government agencies including the Department of Defense, Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration. Previously, she served as a recruiter with the Corporate Executive Board (“CEB”), a publicly traded research and management consulting firm. While at CEB, Samantha managed the MBA and undergraduate campus recruiting programs, assisted with lateral hiring, and developed and managed a formal summer internship program. In doing so, she conducted interviews, represented CEB at career fairs, made recommendations on hiring, and extended and negotiated terms of offers. In addition, she led diversity recruiting initiatives and created an Internet recruiting and sourcing strategy resulting in over 300 hires in one year. Samantha also served on the company’s Public Relations Task Force, assisting in developing the company’s recruiting brand and producing a recruiting video.
Samantha is a graduate of the Elliott School of International Affairs, at The George Washington University. For two years while attending GW, Samantha clerked with G&S. Samantha lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, a product manager for a technology company, and their daughter.
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Recruiting Assistants
Valerie M. Mooney
For the past 14 years, Valerie has worked in the field of human resources, with specialized expertise in benefits, compensation and human resource management systems (HRMS). She has held various positions with Automatic Data Processing (ADP), the National Research Council, BTI Americas/USTravel, and Titan Corp (formerly BTG, Inc.). Most recently Valerie served as an information technology project manager and functional business analyst with GTSI Corp.
As the firm’s Recruiting Operations Analyst, Valerie is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the firm’s database and Intranet, evaluating and making recommendations to improve organizational efficiencies, developing marketing initiatives, and conducting targeted research projects.
Valerie received her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing, cum laude, from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY. Valerie and her husband, a technical marketing manager at an environmental equipment manufacturer, have two young children and a bichon frise.
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Katherine M. Charlwood
Kathy began employment with G&S in 2007 in the dual role of recruiting assistant and bookkeeper. Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Kathy has resided in Virginia for the past nine years. She has performed office administration and bookkeeping services for companies in the legal, accounting, real estate, and manufacturing industries. Most recently, she served as an office manager for Greater Virginia Realty.
Kathy received her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, CT. She resides in Fredericksburg, VA with her two sons and labrador retriever.
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