Orlando senior associate Olivia Share focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, representing clients before federal and state courts. She has been devoted to client success in an array of commercial litigation fields, including contract and business disputes, real property litigation, commercial landlord/tenant matters, construction litigation, probate matters, higher education litigation, tax assessment, and governmental zoning and land use litigation. 

In 2023, Olivia was recognized by Best Lawyers Ones to Watch in the area of Commercial Litigation. She is also a member of the Young Lawyers Division for The Florida Bar and the George C. Young American Inn of Court.

What do you like the most about your work?

Being a commercial litigation attorney is often a difficult career path, but many of those challenges are what I actually enjoy most about my job. While my work is not as specialized as some other legal practices, I love that it provides me the opportunity to constantly continue to learn and broaden my legal knowledge, sharpens my critical thinking skills, and allows me to use my experience to navigate the best strategies for my clients to succeed in a wide variety of complex litigation matters. 

While it might initially be intimidating to be given higher-level responsibilities, I love that my mentors provide me autonomy and support to draft substantive legal briefs, argue hearings, handle depositions, negotiate with opposing counsel, interface with clients, and sit as lead counsel at trial. And while advocating on behalf of clients in substantial, complex matters can be stressful, overcoming these challenges to achieve a successful outcome for my clients is one of the most rewarding accomplishments — there is no feeling quite like working hard and taking home a win!  

As a woman, what empowers you in your legal career?

I find myself most empowered when I succeed and prove myself to those who underestimated me in the first place. As a young female attorney, I’ve often felt intimidated by the legal world as it is a heavily male-dominated profession, especially in the industry of commercial litigation. However, I’ve come to realize how powerful it is to be able to disprove others’ preconceived notions of my competency as an attorney, which are often based on my age and gender. I swiftly learned that, just because I may not have the most experience and my voice may not be the loudest in the room, that doesn’t mean that my voice shouldn’t be heard or that my perspective is not worthy of being shared. 

My mentors at Nelson Mullins have been hugely impactful in empowering me and helping me realize my full potential as a lawyer, as well. I am lucky to work for a partner who not only meaningfully takes my thoughts and ideas into account, but also provides me the opportunities to put those strategies into practice by allowing me to argue hearings, handle depositions, and attend trials on my own. I have experienced how a partner’s confidence in me can influence the way clients, opposing counsel, and judges view me and my work, which in turn has strengthened my own self-confidence and empowers me to succeed.  

What kinds of challenges have you overcome that you think other women/lawyers could learn from?

My biggest challenge is the day-to-day, internal self-doubt that a lot of young women face, not only in my industry of commercial litigation, but in the legal profession generally. I’ve come to learn, from personal experience and in speaking to peers, that women tend to let feelings of inadequacy, fears of being wrong, or worries of being “too” assertive influence the way in which they practice law, most of the time subconsciously. For example, I’ve seen significantly more emails from women, myself included, that extend an apology for making a request or lightly suggest someone do a task, as opposed to a straightforward request or delegation of work. 

Learning to recognize these habits and taking practical and actionable steps to overcome these subconscious, daily challenges has allowed me not only to appear more confident, but also inspires me to feel more self-assured and comfortable in demanding that others take me more seriously, as well.