Are You an Outlaw? Meet Cynthia Voth

Who has redefined what it means to think outside the law (aka OUTLAW) and is helping each of us in the process?

Meet Cynthia Voth, Director of Client Engagement & Innovation at Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP. She is an experienced legal marketer and law firm administrator with a passion for collaborating with and coaching attorneys on business development and delivering excellent client service. She is skilled at team building, strategic thinking and creative problem solving, and project management. Dedicated to the advancement of the legal profession and active volunteer with the Legal Marketing Association, Cynthia is currently serving as 2018 President-Elect.

Enjoy getting to know this Outlaw!

Q: What is your idea of happiness?
A. Hiking on a mountain ridge with people I love. I try to always have an upcoming hike on my calendar. This summer will bring a trip to Iceland backpacking the Laugavegur Trail with my daughter and husband.

Q: Who is your real life hero?
A. Ellen DeGeneres. The world needs more kindness, courage, compassion, and dancing. Ellen embodies and inspires all four.

Q: What is your motto?
A. I have several, but will limit myself to three: “The love is in the details,” “Whatever you do, do it well,” and “You don’t stop dancing because you grow older, you grow older because you stop dancing.”

Q: What is your greatest fear?
A. Having regrets in life … and heights. Ironically, for someone happiest on a mountain ridge, I have an irrational and dizzying fear of heights.

Finish this sentence, If I could have one super-power, it would be ….
A. …the ability to have people see things from another person’s perspective. Whether professionally, personally, or for society as a whole I would love the ability to help people instantly step into an objective, compassionate space and truly understand someone else’s point of view. If I could have two super powers, I would also like to be able to talk with animals.

If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
A. Freddie Mercury. I have been enchanted by his voice since the 80s and he features prominently on many of my playlists. I would love to spend an evening listening to him tell stories.

Q: What got you into working in the legal industry?
A. When I was in college I got an internship at a marketing consulting boutique whose clients were primarily law firms. They hired me after I graduated and I spent my first several professional years working with attorneys largely editing or ghost writing their newsletters and client alerts. I found the work very interesting and loved the challenge of working with clients who pushed me to deliver very high-quality work product. I stepped away from legal for several years to do contract writing, work nonprofit, and raise kids. When the kids were in middle school, I decided to go corporate again and return to what I enjoyed most. This time I went in house and I have loved being back in legal for the past eight years.

Q: Your favorite musician/ band?
A. Tough question, since I can’t limit myself to just one. I am a child of the 80s and some of my favorites are U2, a very wide range of New Wave artists, and ABBA (they count as both 70s and 80s) … but I also groove to the Killers, Rihanna, Imagine Dragons, P!nk, David Guetta, and Mumford & Sons.

Q: What is your favorite virtue?
A. Honesty. Hands down.

Q: What would you consider your greatest achievement?
A. I have to go with my kids and, more specifically, maintaining a positive and healthy relationship with them through their teen years. My son is now a junior in college and my daughter is a freshman. They are both kind, engaged individuals who spend their time doing great work, helping others, and pursuing their passions. I coached both of their soccer teams for a total of 15 years and deejayed their middle school dances (full disclosure: my kids fired me after the first dance, but then re-hired me after two other DJs the school hired did not stack up), and somehow I managed to not embarrass them to any scarring degree along the way. I consider that an achievement.