Name: Kathleen Farrell

Title: Associate in the Real Estate Practice Group 

Company Name: Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP

Real estate association / organization affiliation(s):Member of the New York State Bar Association. She was Co-creator and Treasurer of the Veteran’s Legal Assistance Program. This program helped low-income veterans and their families receive free legal advice and representation from private members of the New York State Bar Association and/or law students.

What are some of your biggest accomplishments in the last 12 months?

In early 2018, I successfully led negotiations for a new 40,000 s/f corporate headquarters, inclusive of a PILOT with the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency. Additionally, in the last year, I have been lucky enough to join Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP as a member of their real estate department. 

What blogs, resources, podcasts or influencers have helped you?

I love anything that motivates me and/or helps me re-structure my thoughts in a positive way. Two specific resources that certainly come to mind are a podcast called “How I Built This,” and a blog by John O’Leary titled “Live Inspired.” The format and topics of each of those programs are very different, but the key take-aways are very similar; they both serve as a reminder that: Hard work should not be feared, but rather it should be something we take pride in; and someone always has it worse than you, so we should all be grateful, each day, for the blessings we are lucky enough to have. 

In one word, describe yourself: 

Dynamic 

How important is it for women to create a personal brand? 

No matter what career field you are in, leaving a lasting impression on the people you interact with is just as important as the work product itself. Maya Angelou was onto something when she said that, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” In my opinion, having a stellar work product is no longer enough on its own (there are a thousand other associates that can draft that document, litigate that case, or represent that client). As a result, branding yourself and setting yourself apart from the pack, is more important than ever. 

How many messages are in your inbox right now and how do you manage email?

Less than 10. Organization is a huge aspect of my professional career; it helps me stay focused, allows me to be more efficient and generally just unclutters my mind (literally and figuratively), which makes it much easier to stay on top of everything that is going on at once. As such, items do not stay in my inbox for very long before I file them into their appropriate folders. 

What do you do like to do for fun? 

Anything on the east end of Long Island (wineries, pumpkin picking, apple picking, exploring the Christmas tree farms etc.), or just about anything with my nieces and nephews.