“ WHEN PEOPLE MEET ME , THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHO I AM AND WHAT I AM ABOUT . WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET . HONESTY . INTEGRITY . A TON OF EXPERIENCE AND A TON OF KNOW HOW . PLUS , A REALLY SINCERE DEDICATION TO TAKING CARE OF THE CLIENT AND PUTTING THEIR NEEDS FIRST .”
MEET QUEENIE CONT ' D
“ WHEN PEOPLE MEET ME , THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHO I AM AND WHAT I AM ABOUT . WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET . HONESTY . INTEGRITY . A TON OF EXPERIENCE AND A TON OF KNOW HOW . PLUS , A REALLY SINCERE DEDICATION TO TAKING CARE OF THE CLIENT AND PUTTING THEIR NEEDS FIRST .”
While Puja suggests the formula for her success is simple , in truth , there was tremendous hard work behind her meteoric rise to national prominence .
“ Puja is the only person I have ever met in my entire life that works harder than I do ,” says her partner , Eric J . Troutman — better known as the “ Czar ”— whose own work ethic is something of legend . “ I mean that . Puja is absolutely incredible . She never stops . Never gets tired .”
Her track record seems to support the claim .
Puja began her career as a machinegun litigator in one of the Czar ’ s heavy artillery class action defense shops before pivoting to an in-house position at one of the nation ’ s largest mortgage lenders — loanDepot .
It wasn ’ t long before she was tasked with providing legal support for the entire enterprise marketing machinery for the company — including assisting its rise as the official mortgage lender of Major League Baseball and helping to guide the marketing team through the rigors of an IPO .
“ My time at loanDepot was absolutely incredible . I was helping with marketing for Derek Jeter ’ s Marlins one minute and approving a national ‘ Home Means Everything ’ campaign the next ,” Puja recalls fondly . “ There was so much to do , and things moved so quickly at the enterprise level . It was really an incredibly unique set of challenges . And the company had great leadership in my view — including my direct supervisor , General Counsel Peter MacDonald .”
Most germanely to her current practice , Queenie found herself tasked with vendor onboarding and compliance reviews for lead generation vendors that worked with loanDepot ’ s direct marketing division . “ I took the role extremely seriously since [ Telephone Consumer Protection Act ] risk stems directly from the quality of lead providers the company worked with ,” Puja says . “ I had to get to know these people fairly closely in order to assure that I could trust the product that was being sold .”
As a result of her role with loanDepot , Queenie quickly made hundreds of contacts in the marketing world and found herself on the board of a major industry trade group dedicated to assuring a sustainable ecosystem in the direct-to-consumer marketing world . There , she quickly gained notoriety as a sharply opinionated lawyer who would never back down from a conflict and would push initiatives forward with confidence and speed .
“ Look , nobody gets things done the way I do . Not trying to be cocky here , but if you want something done , you need a hammer . And I know how to hammer ,” Puja relays . “ It is actually one of the advantages I have as a woman . The men are busy being gentlemanly . None of that for me . I can speak plain and simple and get it done .”
It was Puja ’ s otherworldly confidence and renowned ability to push things forward that led the Czar to seek her out to create a new law firm , Troutman Amin , LLP . “ There are very few people on Earth who can keep up with me ,” says the Czar . “ I am constantly in motion . Constantly moving forward . Puja was always right there , step by step with me . And just so incredibly talented . The best lawyer I ever worked with — hands down . There was no question in my mind that I wanted Puja at my side for my new firm .”
There was just one problem , though . Puja said “ No .”
“ I remember his face when he first asked and I declined ,” Puja says with a chuckle . “ Here he is — literally one of the most powerful men on Earth , so very , very capable — pouting and unable to form a sentence because he was so shocked I turned him down .”
“ That ’ s not quite how it happened ,” the Czar recalls . “ But I was definitely surprised and determined to get her on board .”
So Puja devised a test . If the Czar could complete a grueling 26-mile hike through the Cascade Mountains — through a treacherous zone known as Aasgard Pass — she would take the plunge and partner up .
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