MEET: Kayla N. McDaniel
Kayla McDaniel is an attorney at Cranfill Sumner LLP located in Charlotte. She specializes in Employment and Municipal law. Kayla recently graduated from the Campbell University School of Law in 2021, and we're excited to introduce you to her!
What drew you to the practice of law and to a litigation and trial practice? I have always had a strong sense of justice, so I knew I wanted to be in a field where I had the opportunity to make a difference with my work. In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve also always appreciated a good argument. Litigation is a great fit for me because no two days are alike, and I find the variety and challenging nature of this work to be very rewarding.
What are your future goals and aspirations for your career? I can’t see myself being anything other than a litigator, and my goal is to continue to expand my practice defending private employers and municipalities facing employment actions in the Charlotte area.
Who and/or what inspires you? Possibly a corny answer, but I have tremendous respect for the people I work with at my firm. I feel extremely lucky to be surrounded by such talented partners and associates and they inspire me to be a better lawyer.
If you could meet one person, dead or alive, to grab a coffee with, who would it be and why? Jon Krakauer because he wrote some of my all-time favorite books, and has had an incredibly fascinating life.
What are you reading or listening to? I tend to juggle multiple books at once because I have a fairly short attention span, so right now I’m reading Hello Beautiful and The Secret History for fun, and Happy Place for my book club.
What excites you the most right now? Traveling! I just got back from Germany and am planning a road trip in California next year.
Describe your perfect day outside of work. My perfect day outside of work would be spent hiking around the Blue Ridge Parkway with my shih tzu Buttons (she’s 12 but surprisingly adventurous!) and then going to my favorite used bookstore and to yoga, and ending the day with a concert.
If you could have any superpower what would it be? I’ve actually thought about this a lot before, and I would definitely pick teleportation strictly for the convenience, because I love traveling and would be able to see so much more of the world if I didn’t have to deal with the whole “getting there” process.
How do you define success? Professionally, I define success as the feeling of satisfaction in your work that comes from knowing that you put everything you had into it, no matter the outcome. Outside of work, I would say that success means having a life that is centered around meaningful relationships with friends and family.
Connect with Kayla!
