Last Friday, the summer associates and I had the honor of meeting Bilzin Sumberg Partner and Construction Group Leader, Joy Spillis Lundeen. Joy, a recent addition to Bilzin Sumberg, is regarded as the reputed go-to person for all things construction and has an impressive roster of clients.
Born and raised in Miami, Joy reflected on the dramatic changes to Miami’s skyline since her childhood and recalled the excitement she felt, and continues to feel, when admiring the City’s continued development. Interestingly, her passion for construction was largely inspired by her upbringing. Growing up, Joy’s family owned a leading, Miami-based architectural firm that contributed to the development of many well-known structures throughout South Florida. This familial backdrop inspired Joy to study architecture in college and when contemplating an area of law in which to specialize, construction seemed to perfectly align with her interests. Since then, Joy hasn’t looked back as she continues to trail blaze through an often male-dominated construction field.Continue Reading Constructing Our Future-One Attorney Spotlight at a Time
As law students, we are often told that we have to choose one of two paths for our career trajectories. We can either go the public interest or the private sector route. While we are by no means locked into one route for the remainder of our careers, our starting point is critical. This crossroad was particularly difficult for me because I have always been passionate about service and giving back to my community. Part of me wanted to start my career in public service, while the other part wanted to explore what “big law” had to offer. After much thought, I decided to go the private sector route, but I made it a priority to find a firm that values Pro Bono work as much, if not more than, billable work. This, among many other factors, made accepting the opportunity to work at 
Throughout the summer we have been reminded of how important it is to build relationships throughout the community — someone who truly embodies this statement is 
On Wednesday, the other summer associates and I had the opportunity to teach a group of middle school students the relationship between freedom of speech under the First Amendment and cyber bullying.