Jay Sullivan is the former Managing Partner, and currently leads the firm’s Law Firm Group. He is an award-winning author and columnist and was an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law Center and Fordham University School of Law. His book, Simply Said: Communicating Better at Work and Beyond, was released by John Wiley & Sons in 2016, and has since been translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, Korean, and Russian. As a contributing writer for Forbes.com, Jay brings relevant and timely advice on enhancing one’s communication skills to the business community.
Jay joined Exec-Comm after nine years as a practicing attorney. He received his J.D. from Fordham University in 1989. That year, Jay was named among the first class of Skadden Fellows by the Skadden Foundation. For two years he acted as in-house legal counsel at Covenant House, a crisis shelter for runaway and homeless teenagers. He then practiced corporate law for seven years on behalf of Lloyds of London.
J.D.
Bachelor's Degree, English Language Literature
Jay spent two years in the Jesuit International Volunteer Corps teaching English. His book about that experience, Raising Gentle Men: Lives at the Orphanage Edge, was named the 2014 Best Book by a Small Publisher by the Catholic Press Association. Jay sits on the Board of Directors of Dot Foods, Inc., the nation’s largest food redistributor. He and his wife, Mary, live in Pleasantville, New York, where they raised their four children. Jay plays squash weekly (and weakly, but with great enthusiasm).
04/02/2025
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When the world and the workplace seem fraught with negativity and a lack of trust, here are some assumptions that might help you maintain your
10/22/2024
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As lawyers, we’re not in the legal industry; we’re in the relationship business. That applies both internally within our firms or organizations and externally in
10/07/2024
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When you put together materials for a presentation slide deck, you should keep one overarching principle in mind. Avoid the “Ugh Factor.” When any given
09/16/2024
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Our word choice matters. It determines the tone of our messages and whether those messages have impact. Years ago, I was sitting with a group
09/12/2024
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Last week I had the honor of participating in a panel discussion about how we can all promote more civil discourse. The discussion was hosted
08/20/2024
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As everyone returns from summer vacations and refocuses on business, there’s usually a renewed energy put toward business development. Particularly in Q4, firms look to
08/26/2024
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As the election approaches, we’ll be inundated with ads and messages about a wide array of important topics. Effective democracy requires engagement by all of
07/29/2024
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When experienced professionals share complex ideas in meetings or in formal presentations, their delivery can, on occasion, be flat and matter-of-fact. Sometimes it’s because they
07/08/2024
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We are all better communicators when we focus less on ourselves and more on other people, always asking ourselves, “Why is this person reading my
07/01/2024
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The main difference between strong, confident speakers and speakers who seem nervous in front of the room is in how relaxed and conversational they appear.
06/07/2024
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When Bob Dylan wrote The Times They Are A-Changin’ in 1963, he chose a tempo that seems quaint and measured today, but is in keeping
05/28/2024
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The next time you have to share an update at a meeting, give an important presentation, or deliver a speech in front of large audience,
04/30/2024
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In an article earlier this month, I shared three questions we can ask ourselves in the moment to avoid allowing our snap decision about someone’s
04/18/2024
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Being human, we are prone to two behaviors that impact our ability to both think critically and communicate effectively. First, we tend to make assumptions
03/18/2024
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We’re all now six weeks into our New Year’s resolutions. We’ve already figured out which ones we’re likely to stick with and which ones we’ve
11/14/2023
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AI looms over every conversation these days, equal parts promise and threat. While there is much talk about how chatbots and generative AI will start
09/13/2023
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Law firms are organic entities. They grow, they evolve, they expand their capabilities, and they incorporate and absorb new people. All firms experience growing pains
08/16/2023
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Every firm operates on its own annual timetable regarding when and how they promote attorneys into the partner ranks. All, however, have a “partner candidate
