NEW YORK — Ryan Murphy’s newest Hulu series “All’s Fair,” starring Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash-Betts, Glenn Close, Teyana Taylor and Sarah Paulson, puts the spotlight on women in power through the story of an all-female law firm. Off-screen, LVLUP Legal is bringing that same story to life every day.
Founded by Shermin Lakha, LVLUP Legal is a business and intellectual property law firm based in New York City. As a student at Seattle University School of Law, Lakha followed all the traditional steps in her pursuit of a successful legal career, from prestigious internships to a role at the U.S. Attorney’s Office to a position in Big Law. Still, she found herself unfulfilled.
At 29, she took a risk and launched LVLUP Legal to represent startups, brands and content creators.
“We like to represent the underrepresented founders,” Lakha explains. “We got busier and busier because people wanted to work with women that they related to, and that’s kind of how LVLUP was born.”
Since then, Lakha’s team has grown to include two interns as well as two full-time business and intellectual property associates, Alexa Panganiban and Lauren Madonia.
“Working on an all-female team has been amazing,” says Panganiban. “We work together on everything, we really have each other’s backs.”
Together, the team also has built a growing following on social media where they share “Day in the Life” and “Outfit Check” videos. Creating this content allows the LVLUP team to bring their whole selves to work and reject traditional expectations of what attorneys should look or act like, which is a big part of Lakha’s philosophy.
“Don’t let angry old men opposing counsel back you into a corner just because you’re a woman or just because you wear cool outfits,” Madonia adds.
Lakha believes women bring a unique approach to law and works hard to uplift more women in the field beyond her team. Through one of their many mentorship initiatives, Lattes with LVLUP, the firm builds community and offers guidance to young legal professionals and students, especially women.
Through more representation of professional, powerful and fashionable women in law, both on television and in real life, Lakha hopes conceptions of what women are capable of will change for the better.
Don’t miss the premiere of the Hulu Original series, “All’s Fair,” premiering November 4th. Streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
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