Haimavathi (Haima) Marlier, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Senior Trial Counsel, is partner in MoFo's Securities Litigation, Securities Enforcement, and Investigations + White Collar Defense groups. Her practice focuses on representing public companies and financial services providers in internal and government investigations, SEC enforcement proceedings, securities class actions, and complex commercial litigation.

The Women's History Month theme for 2021 is "Valiant Women and the Vote: Refusing to Be Silenced." Can you share what that means to you personally?

I think giving women the right to vote helped to mitigate some day-to-day impacts of gender inequality. My grandmothers were born in British-occupied India, where women lacked the right to vote until independence in 1947. Despite their lack of any formal education, they gave equal educational opportunities to all of their children, male and female. Getting the right to vote empowered women to create a more equal world for their daughters.

Is there a woman you admire who you know personally or professionally whose achievements you would like to celebrate?

Kamala Harris, of course. (And I don't know her personally but found out that I am related to her three different ways by marriage!)

If you could meet any historically significant woman, who would you choose? What questions would you ask her?

I would like to meet the poet Phillis Wheatley, who was an enslaved woman who lived in Massachusetts from 1753-1784. She wrote critically acclaimed poetry and was fluent in English, Greek, and Latin. I would have too many questions to list!

Learn more about MoFo's long history of advocating for and advancing women here.

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