Angie Nolet Finds Balance at Redfin

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Angie Nolet knew she needed a change. While she met great people and honed her legal skills in civil litigation and government work as a deputy prosecutor in Washington, and as an associate for two Seattle-based firms, maintaining work/life balance was a persistent issue.

“After trying around twenty cases to verdict [at the King County prosecuting attorney’s office], that work became really emotionally draining,” she recalls. “Moving over to the private sector in construction litigation became untenable as well, as I wanted to start a family and found myself under a quite a bit of personal stress.”

In 2021, she joined Redfin as corporate counsel. The technology-powered real estate company helps people find homes and offers brokerage, rental, lending, title insurance, and renovation services.

Initially, Nolet found the transition from private practice jarring—but in a good way. In prior roles, her time was a commodity. She “measured her life in six-minute increments,” so every slight delay became a stressor, she says. At Redfin, she measures the value she provides by how she supports the organization and strengthens its products.

“On the corporate side, building personal relationships is in the best interest of the business because it makes your team stronger.”

Angie Nolet

The shift in culture was just as significant.

“In private practice, you wouldn’t just shoot the breeze with someone for half an hour, because that’s 0.5 and that’s time you’re going to have to make up later,” she says. “Whereas on the corporate side, building personal relationships is in the best interest of the business because it makes your team stronger.”

Today, as senior corporate counsel of litigation, Nolet still emphasizes relationship-building. By streamlining e-discovery processes through technology and software solutions, she has formed strong partnerships with individuals across the organization.

“Jumping into this role, I didn’t realize how far-reaching this work would be,” she says. “It’s allowed me to work cross-functionally with people from engineering, information security, and data analytics to build something that now functions very efficiently and very well.”

Nolet currently runs the high-performing litigation and e-discovery system she created. She and her team review data from each case to analyze where the company litigates most efficiently and where to deploy improvements or alternative strategies.

As a leader, Nolet takes pride in developing others. She gives her colleagues the space to pursue their interests and relevant resources to expand their knowledge. These themes are prevalent in her conversations with a team member during standing meetings.

“We talk through issues we see in cases on a macro and micro level, striving to marry legal and business advice,” Nolet says. “And when a colleague expressed interest in learning more about specific aspects of e-discovery, I took her with me to industry events and gave her resources to explore the topic.”

Past and current supervisors have inspired Nolet’s leadership style, which she believes is key to making her team feel happier and more motivated.

“If someone tells you to be in a box, then you might go in, sit there, and be mildly fulfilled. But if someone shows you six boxes—and tells you to test them out and to build on top of the one you like—that makes you more passionate and creative,” she says. “I don’t just want people to thrive because of the work product they create. I want them to thrive as a person holistically. I matured by leaps and bounds on a personal and professional level by being given that support, so I really want to pay it forward.”

“The message I want to convey to those who work in my orbit is that people have things going on. We owe it to everyone to approach them with kindness and grace.”

Angie Nolet

In part, Nolet’s drive to be flexible and supportive of her team comes from the support they offered her during a tough time. During a challenging pregnancy, she spent hours in the hospital three days a week and even worked from her hospital bed. Then her daughter was born two months prematurely, swiftly putting Nolet out of commission. Her team stepped up.

“It wasn’t a warm handoff to the people who had to cover for me,” she recalls. “It was like walking into the middle of open-heart surgery because I left things where they were. But the second this happened, my team gave me the space to focus on my health and my baby. There was no pressure to pick anything up. My team’s forbearance allowed me to recover from that traumatic ordeal.”

Nolet walked away from that experience with an important insight.

“You never know what’s going on in people’s lives,” she says. “The message I want to convey to those who work in my orbit is that people have things going on. We owe it to everyone to approach them with kindness and grace.”

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