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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – A Roundtable on Leveraging Compliance Connections

Welcome back to the Great Women in Compliance podcast. In today’s episode, we kick off our new roundtable format with two special guests joining Hemma and Lisa in discussing leveraging our connections to have an impact at scale in our work. As compliance professionals, we take on more and more and are often involved in complex and novel issues that are difficult to solve alone with confidence. Tune in to hear how Fatema Merchant and Karin Johnson have navigated this during their professional journeys and how they not only send the elevator back down but also help each other ensure they support each other when they are on their way up. Tune in to hear how Karin and Fatema have prioritized connection in their compliance work both from an in-house and outside counsel perspective.

We acknowledge that we are in an incredibly challenging moment as we watch with deep sadness and emotion what is happening in Israel, Gaza, and beyond. These events were very much on our minds during the recording of this podcast.

Karin Johnson is the VP of Ethics and Compliance at VF Corporation. VF is the parent company of iconic brands such as The North Face ®, Vans®, Timberland®, and Smartwool ®. Prior to joining VF, Karin was Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer for 21st Century Fox. Fatema Merchant is a partner in the law firm Sheppard Mullin, where she is co-managing partner of the Washington, D.C. office. Fatema leads the sanctions team at the firm and is a partner in the Governmental and Corporate Investigations Practice Groups. Prior to joining the firm, Fatema seconded as a Special Assistant Attorney General with the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General.

The Great Women in Compliance Podcast is on the Compliance Podcast Network with a selection of other Compliance-related offerings. GWIC is also sponsored by Corporate Compliance Insights, where we have a page where you can hear every episode. If you are enjoying this episode, please rate it and/or provide a review.

Corporate Compliance Insights is a much-appreciated sponsor and supporter of GWIC, including affiliate organization CCI Press, publishing the related book, “Sending the Elevator Back Down, What We’ve Learned from Great Women in Compliance” (CCI Press, 2020). If you enjoyed the book, the GWIC team would be very grateful if you would consider rating it on Goodreads and Amazon and leaving a short review. Don’t forget to send the elevator back down by passing on your copy to someone who you think might enjoy reading it when you’re done, or if you can’t bear parting with your copy, consider it as a holiday or appreciation gift for someone in Compliance who deserves a treat.

If you enjoyed the book, the GWIC team would be very grateful if you would consider rating it on Goodreads and Amazon and leaving a short review. Don’t forget to send the elevator back down by passing on your copy to someone who you think might enjoy reading it when you’re done, or if you can’t bear parting with your copy, consider it as a holiday or appreciation gift for someone in Compliance who deserves a treat.

You can subscribe to the Great Women in Compliance podcast on any podcast player by searching for it, and we welcome new subscribers to our podcast.

Join the Great Women in Compliance community on LinkedIn here.

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Great Women in Compliance

Breaking the Glass Ceiling for Muslim Women in Private Practice


Welcome to the Great Women in Compliance Podcast, co-hosted by Lisa Fine and Mary Shirley.In this episode of GWIC, Lisa speaks with Fatema Merchant, who is an  International Trade and White Collar Defense partner at Sheppard Mullin.  She is also the first hijab-wearing woman to make partner at a Washington, D.C., Am Law 100 firm.
Fatema talks about wearing the hijab in the context of how each of us expresses our identities and some common misconceptions.  Many of us, women and men, may feel like our identities impact how others view our roles  in meetings and investigations and Fatema speaks about her own experiences.  When Fatema made partner, many South Asian, Muslim and women attorneys reached out to her and she talks about the role of mentorship in creating diverse leaders in the compliance and legal professions.
Fatema is also a member of the steering committee for Sheppard Mullin’s Organizational Integrity Group.  OIG helps clients avoid potential crises by identifying and addressing threats to companies’ integrity through proactive solutions.  As Lisa works in-house, Fatema turns the tables on Lisa and asks her some questions about working with outside counsel.
Join the Great Women in Compliance community on LinkedIn here.