1. What makes you an innovator?
Working with my colleagues to meet the growing industry need for high quality real estate legal services at a cost that is in tune with the industry's needs.
2. What obstacles have you overcome to get where you are today?
In 1990 there weren't a lot of women in the industry, but that has changed significantly.
3. What motivates you to succeed?
Distinguishing myself by the quality of my work and my relationships with clients and all parties to a deal and modeling those qualities for my children.
4. How do you stay ahead of the curve?
Participation in trade organizations events (ICSC, Newire and NAIOP) are excellent for keeping up with and forecasting industry issues
5. Who/what has been the strongest influence on your career and why?
I was hooked on real estate when in law school I by chance worked for some small real estate firms and since then working with some of the best real estate lawyers in the field.
6. What impact has social networking had on your success?
Social networking is responsible for my finding my current position and is a great way to break the ice to form new business relationships.
7. How has the need to create a more sustainable environment influenced the way you do business?
In a paper-dependent profession like the law, recycling and use of electronic documents whenever possible is not only environmentally friendly, but cost effective as well.
8. What excites you most about this industry?
While its monetary value sometimes fluctuates, land is a constant. Each new development presents its own opportunity to create a sense of place unique to the location of the land.
9. My goals for the future are....to build a practice based on the highest quality legal work combined with service that reflects the reality of development costs in the current market.
10. The biggest challenge facing the real estate industry in 2010 is....keeping existing projects intact and keeping quality projects in the beginning stages on track until the financing markets reestablish their footing.
11. The "silver lining" in the cloud of the current economy is....an overall flight to quality with developers and tenants to focusing on quality sites, creative development options, and green initiatives.

Name: Susan Murphy
Title: Real Estate Counsel
Company/firm: Brennan, Dain, Le Ray, Wiest, Torpy & Garner, P.C.
Years with company/firm: <1
Years in real estate industry: 19
Address: 129 South St., Boston, MA 02111
Telephone: 617-542-4800
Email: smurphy@bdlwtg.com
URL: www.bdlwtg.com
Responsibilities include: Purchase, sale, leasing, development and financing transactions
Real estate organizations / affiliations: ICSC, NAIOP, NEWIRE
Guest lecturer: MIT Center for Real Estate