But keeping up with her would not be easy .
In addition to Queenie ’ s incredible professional accomplishments , she is also an elite endurance athlete . An ultramarathoner and 10-time Spartan Trifecta finisher , Puja runs an average of a 10k a day while spending hours in the gym each week .
“ All I do is work and work out ,” Puja explains . “ Always have to be pushing myself . And I love it . Just love to compete against others but really competing against myself . Against my own limits .”
To her surprise , however , the Czar performed to her satisfaction on the mountain trek , even carrying her bag at a point when the terrain slipped beneath her foot and she suffered a minor knee injury .
“ I ’ m not going to lie . I was impressed ,” Puja admits . “ He was beat up , but he was still strong enough to help me at times — which I really was not expecting . And he never complained until the hike was over . And that is exactly the sort of grit and determination I wanted to see . Business is tough . There are going to be ups and downs . And really tough times . But you have to stay focused and see it through . Get to the objective . He was able to do that , and I thought ‘ Hey , this might work .’”
And it has worked , indeed . The incredible tandem behind Troutman Amin , LLP has created a powerhouse law firm that is nationally recognized in class action defense , privacy litigation , privacy counseling , CIPA , AI , and — of course — TCPA and telecom issues .
But it is Puja who has brought the majority of the clients , contacts , and enduring relationships — as even the Czar concedes .
“ The truth is , people don ’ t always connect with me . They may need me . But very rarely do I connect with people ,” the Czar acknowledges . “ Puja , on the other hand , everybody appreciates her . Everybody respects her . And damn it , people really like her . It ’ s pretty cool to see . And it makes our brand uniquely powerful and also attractive and very sticky . ”
There were a few terms , however .
“ My name was going on the door .” Puja says chuckling . “ And we were going to have a physical office . And everyone was going to dress great and look good every day . No more black T-shirts for the Czar .”
“ I didn ’ t like that part . I liked my T-shirts ,” says the Czar as he shares a proud smile before adopting a serious tone . “ But the truth is , from the day Puja stepped in as a partner here , it has been her firm . People know me as the Czar . They know what I am capable of . And they assume I run things around here . But the truth is , I simply do not .”
“ It ’ s pretty equal , actually ,” Puja chimes in . “ We really respect each other and work well together . So there is a lot of room for compromise . Then again , I do
end up making most of the final decisions . . . so maybe I do run the firm after all .”
When asked about what the future holds Puja does not mince words : “ Look , we ’ re here to take over the world . We are going to do things the right way , day in and day out . We want every business in the nation to be our client . We want every lawyer in the nation to want to earn the right to work alongside us . We want to win every case . We want to push forward with initiatives that no law firm has ever dreamt up . We want to be the gold standard for the entire legal profession because we work hard enough to earn it . And it ’ s going to be tough . It ’ s going to be grueling . And we want that . We welcome that .”
And ultimately , it seems , that is the true secret to Puja ’ s success — an earnest desire to be challenged , and to push herself for her clients . “ The winner most often is going to be the one who works the hardest ,” Puja says . “ And that is always going to be me . Always .”
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