Life After Law School: Ashanté Smith
Partner Ashanté Smith is profiled in the latest edition of UVA Lawyer, University of Virginia School of Law’s biannual magazine. In a full-page interview, Smith describes her work at Troutman Sanders, career expectations and outside hobbies. She is quoted, saying, “When envisioning my future career at TS it always felt more like fact than fantasy, which made me determined to fulfill the vision I had for my future. Now I’m a partner at TS and my plan clearly came to fruition, but I attribute that 2L confidence to women’s intuition combined with divine intervention and a sprinkling of naiveté. I also freely admit that I never imagined myself thriving as a multifamily housing attorney — frankly, because I didn’t know that niche existed at the time. I’m grateful that I allowed myself some leeway on the specifics of how I would reach my goals, because I otherwise may have missed out on a tremendous practice and some of the best colleagues I could have ever imagined.”