__________________________________________________________________________________ Heather Maly | McDonald’ s
with a small team, so younger lawyers got to contribute beyond casework.“ I really liked the litigators I was working with, and that felt like a natural fit,” she remembers. Along with her litigation work, she helped run the summer associate program and joined in recruiting, which let her shape the office’ s culture and build her legal skills.
After several years at Venable, Heather made her next move for personal reasons. She wanted to be closer to her family in the Midwest, and to senior team members; she looked for stronger sources, better documents, and ways to soften the impact. That habit of coming with options, not just obstacles, became a key part of how she worked with litigation teams.
As her foundation at Ice Miller grew, Heather became more reflective about her own development and the evolving demands of legal practice. Such reflections ultimately led her to consider new career directions and, eventually, to explore an in‐house role.
You build trust by being responsive, prepared, thoughtful, creative, calm, and reliable
Chicago offered the right balance of geography and opportunity. She joined Ice Miller, a firm with deep roots in Indianapolis.“ I was familiar with Ice Miller. It’ s an Indianapolis based firm, where I grew up,” she notes.
At Ice Miller’ s Chicago office, Heather built her litigation applied ability with a close-knit team. After nearly 20 years in private practice, she handled disputes that called for careful navigation between legal analysis and business realities. Through that experience, she developed a practical, partnership-focused approach to advising clients.“ You build trust by being responsive, prepared, thoughtful, creative, calm, and reliable,” she explains.
For Heather, providing good counsel is more than spotting risks. Early in her career, she learned to think through possible solutions before bringing problems to colleagues. If she found a tough case or document, she didn’ t just hand it
The in-house shift
Moving in house started a new chapter for Heather as she shifted from outside advisor to business partner. Joining McDonald’ s gave her the chance to put her litigation skills to work in a dynamic, global organization.
The transition meant working with teams across the company. Every day, she collaborates with colleagues in the legal department and with groups throughout McDonald’ s. Working in house changed how she sees her“ clients.” Now, they are her business colleagues, responsible for operations, strategy, and growth.
Understanding how her colleagues operate is essential to giving practical advice. Heather focuses on their goals and how their work fits into McDonald’ s larger operations. That outlook shapes her approach to litigation. She highlights partnership in problem-solving, not just legal analysis in a vacuum.
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