____________________________________________________________________________________________ Lynn Horwitz- Etsy
and partnered with our tech team to build what became the Cooley D & O questionnaire platform,” she recounts.
The role echoed her programming roots, with a focus on designing processes and building systems people could trust. Over time, she realized that career growth doesn’ t always mean climbing higher. Sometimes, it means shifting laterally to build deeper expertise.“ Careers are a journey, and both the traveler and the road evolve. Reassess your goals regularly,” she encourages.“ I was able to shift roles several times, developing new skills while building deep institutional knowledge.”
Redefining balance
As her children grew, balance took on new meaning.“ While I always protected Shabbat as family time when I don’ t work, in my early years I was focused on gaining experience and building trust,” she reflects.“ As my kids grew, carving out more family time became important, and I opted for a‘ mommy track,’ working a 70 percent schedule for ten to 15 years.”
That flexibility sustained her long-term career momentum. When the right challenge appeared, she was ready.“ When the Etsy opportunity was knocking, I was at the next stage, ready for a new challenge, to return to full-time work, and to meaningfully contribute during the last few years of my legal career,” she shares.
Joining the Etsy Team
In early 2021, Cooley partner Nicole Brookshire approached Lynn about a short-term secondment at Etsy to fill a temporary gap on the Corporate & Securities team. After decades advising external clients, Lynn welcomed the offer.“ I jumped at the opportunity to gain deeper insights into the client’ s perspective,” she recalls.
The experience quickly reshaped her trajectory.“ It didn’ t take long for me to realize that, even though Etsy is a relatively small public company, its global scale and consumer-facing brand made it a particularly interesting place to work as in-house counsel,” she notes.
But beyond complexity, the culture sealed the deal.“ After getting to know the team and seeing how Etsy’ s mission to Keep Commerce Human
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