Kimberly G. Miller
Photo by Bill Klotz |
Born: Dec. 29, 1974; Minneapolis
Education: Cornell University Law School, J.D., 2002; Brown University, B.A., 1997
Employment: Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, associate, 2002-present
Professional Associations: American Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Federal Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association
Community Activities: Brown University Alumni Association, Children’s Law Center of Minnesota, Women on the Edge
Hobbies/Interests: Family activities, reading, running, yoga
Family: Husband, Michael; one daughter, one son
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, L.L.P.
Education: Cornell University Law School, J.D., 2002; Brown University, B.A., 1997
Employment: Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, associate, 2002-present
Professional Associations: American Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Federal Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association
Community Activities: Brown University Alumni Association, Children’s Law Center of Minnesota, Women on the Edge
Hobbies/Interests: Family activities, reading, running, yoga
Family: Husband, Michael; one daughter, one son
As a summer associate at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, Kimberly G. Miller kept a list of all members of the hiring committee, executive board and other players in the firm. She then made sure she had some face time with each of them, “so when they’re making a decision whether to hire me, they could speak from personal experience,” she says.
Now an associate, Miller was part of the legal team that won a $26 million verdict against Mary Kay cosmetics for infringing on a skin cream patent. Miller was also on the trial team for a plaintiff in three infringement cases involving digital camera technology.
“I’m a trial junkie,” Miller says. The trick is to make yourself invaluable: You do whatever needs to be done, you’re always the last person to go to sleep and you offer to help everyone, including the paralegal or the secretary, she says. “I’m good at managing the chaos, and I can work on pretrial submissions in my sleep.”
The mother of two young children, Miller says she’s been blessed to have mentors who understand the competing demands of family and litigation, particularly Jan M. Conlin and Annamarie A. Daley. Miller frequently works at home in the evening, but she also picks up her daughter at school every day. It takes discipline, and her expectations about her schedule have to be very clear, she says.
The firm also helps the work-life issue stay balanced, Miller says. For example, when she chose to leave town for a trial six months after her daughter was born, the firm agreed to pay to have breast milk shipped back home, she says.
Miller in turn mentors others. Even though she came to the firm as a summer associate, Miller says she has become aware that lateral hires sometimes have difficulty adjusting to the new culture. So Miller takes them to lunch or coffee and helps them learn the ropes.
