Up & Coming Honorees: Jessica J. Edwards, 38

Practice Area: Taxation

Law School: Washington University

The best career advice Jessica J. Edwards has received is that what seems to be the best solution to a lawyer may not be the best solution for the client.

“It is important to take a step back and view your client as a whole,” she said. “You will often find that there are other considerations that need to be taken into account when determining the best path forward for your client.”

Finding solutions to problems is what got Edwards interested in law, she said. “When I was in the Peace Corps, I realized how much I liked helping people work out solutions to difficult problems. I knew that the legal profession would enable me to do just that,” she said.

Her favorite moments as an attorney have been ones “where I’m in a room collaborating with clients, working through difficult problems and coming up with creative solutions together.”

If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what profession would you have chosen?

If I weren’t a lawyer, I think I would have become a high school mathematics teacher.

What is your biggest accomplishment this year?

My biggest accomplishment this year was being elected partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.