Keith Mendelson has been an anchor of the Northern Virginia corporate legal world since the region first became central to the Internet.

After adventures in college and the Peace Corps, and after a brief tenure in Manhattan, Keith settled in to Northern Virginia when Tysons Corner was barely more than a sleepy crossroads and a distant suburb of Washington, D.C. As the region grew into the central hub of the Internet for the entire planet (through which the majority of the world’s Internet traffic flows every single day now), Keith was at the heart of key companies and key deals. After rising to corporate leadership of a major national law firm, he became top lawyer and general counsel in two of the dotcom bubble’s darling enterprises before taking the nationwide reins of Womble’ s corporate and securities practice.

The grandson of immigrants fleeing persecution in Easter Europe, and the son of brilliant parents who valued education and who taught their son the value of advocacy, Keith is a giant in the corporate world of Greater Washington, D.C. In our interview with Keith, he reflects on the most important aspects of life and career, and provides some good advice about what really matters most.