You pass them in the halls, see their faces on Teams calls, and exchange emails. You know their job title and department and might even know their extension by heart. But do you truly know who you’re working with? Get to know Micki Mersky, Senior Managing Director of our Legal Services specialty area.

Who are you?

I grew up in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia with my parents and two sisters. After high school, I decided to go to Emory University in Atlanta. Living in Atlanta was a great experience and I absolutely loved college. After graduating, I came back home to Philly to go to law school at Temple and jumped right into a litigator role when I wrapped that up. I was a regular Ally McBeal for quite some time.

Soon after, I was on vacation at Club Med in Turks & Caicos where I met my husband. After the vacation, I was not sure I would ever see him again since he lived in New York and I lived in Philly. However, we were able to keep a long-distance relationship going! There were a lot of late-night conversations on our landlines (yes, this was before the days of cell phones). After 6 months of our long-distance relationship, we decided to move in together. He did not want to move to Philadelphia (he’s a big NY sports guy). So, I decided to take a chance and moved to New York City. We’ve been together ever since and currently live in the suburbs of New Jersey with our twin daughters and our dog named Casey, who is my third child and attached to my hip.

Who were your inspirations / heroes growing up?

I was extremely close with both of my grandmothers growing up. They were early risers and worked long hours in the luncheonette industry. They, and later along with my mom, taught me that women can be there for their families, but can also have their own careers and make a living too. They were my inspiration and motivation for being such a dedicated and committed employee throughout my career.

I know you’re a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan and your husband and daughters are diehard NY Giants fans. How do you all manage getting along on game day at your house?

Get along on game day? Are you kidding me? That’s out of the question! There’s no getting along on game day! During this year’s game where they played against each other in the playoffs, I went upstairs to watch by myself while my family watched it downstairs. They probably didn’t talk to me for about 48 hours after that game ended. They definitely heard me cheering and stomping the whole time. I can’t help it! We destroyed them and Philly finally has an awesome football team to root for again (except let’s not talk about the Super Bowl outcome).

What is your hidden talent or a fun fact that most people wouldn’t know about you?

Get ready because I have a fun fact that many people are not aware of. My name isn’t Micki, it’s actually Laura and my middle name isn’t a variation of the name Micki at all either.

(interview paused for 5 minutes as I pace back & forth around the room trying to figure out how I didn’t realize this over the last decade of working together)

So, here’s the deal: when I was 3 years old, I went to Disney World a couple of times with my family and was obsessed with Mickey Mouse to the point that I told my parents they had to call me Mickey. They entertained it and my older sisters did too, but I was very adamant about it being my name everywhere. When I was in nursery school, I started crying when they would take attendance or call me Laura, so the teachers began calling me Mickey too. From then on, it just stuck. I’d introduce myself as Mickey to anyone and everyone I knew. I never legally changed my name, but it’s been my nickname ever since.

Here’s the thing: I spelled it M-I-C-K-E-Y (like the mouse, of course) all my life until I befriended a girl in law school who was named Michaela and she spelled her nickname M-I-C-K-I. I liked that way better, so I took it on as my own. To this day, everyone calls me Micki. I guess it’s good I didn’t fall in love with Donald or Goofy when I was at Disney, right?

How did you get into legal recruiting?

This is an interesting story. I was working as an attorney at a law firm in Philly when I decided to come to NYC to be with my husband. I did not want to take the NYS Bar because I already completed and passed both the NJ and PA Bar. It’s a grueling, difficult process and I just didn’t want to put myself through that marathon again. I called a friend from law school who was working in legal staffing, and I asked him to tell me everything he could about the industry. He pretty much said, “You’re a great people person and you’ll still be able to work with attorneys, but you won’t have to go to court and work crazy hours.” They had an office in NYC and I decided to interview. I had nothing to lose so I went in, and I got the job the next day. I have been in legal recruiting for over 20 years now!

What is your ideal sandwich?

It’s funny you’re asking me this because my friends and I were recently having a conversation about my favorite food. The ideal sandwich is from a famous Jewish deli in Livington, NJ called “Eppes Essen.” So let me tell you, this is not a typical deli sandwich, but this is THE BEST sandwich ever. It’s a bagel (scooped of course) with cream cheese, white fish salad, nova lox, sliced tomato, and muenster cheese. It is incredible! There’s nothing better than that sandwich. Runner up is this other sandwich they have called “The Sloppy Joe,” which is corned beef, turkey, coleslaw, and Russian dressing on rye bread. I love talking about food, what can I say? I am a caterer’s daughter.

Did you find Tandym or did we find you?

Tandym found me! Before I joined the company in 2011, I was working for Kelly Law Registry (Kelly Services) and my friend and neighbor Lisa Carver, was asking me if I was happy in my job because she had just recently joined Tandym. I wasn’t necessarily unhappy at my current job, but they were going through some management changes, so I was intrigued. Lisa was raving about the company, its proximity to our town, and the flexibility it offered. She asked if I would be interested in starting the legal team here. We all know how persistent Lisa is, so I checked it out and fell in love with the company too. The Parsippany office became my “work family.”

What TV game show are you confident that you’d be successful at?

(without hesitation) Wheel of Fortune! I’ve been watching Jeopardy at the dinner table with my family for years. It is our daily tradition. While I love learning, I will not lie and say I am a bit competitive with my husband and it irks me watching him dominate that game show. I, on the other hand, get about 5 out of 20 answers correct. But everyone knows what comes on TV after Jeopardy — Wheel of Fortune and that is where I shine. I can guess entire words or phrases with only 2 letters on the board. I would love to be on that show!

What are your goals for yourself and your team for 2023 and beyond?

I would love our team to scale. I am pretty certain the legal group is one of the smallest teams at Tandym, but we are mighty and have great energy. We would love to double or even triple our headcount over the next year and grow nationally. We’ve been working with the marketing team to create content to highlight our industry expertise and leadership capabilities. Our staffing managers account executives, and account managers hustle every day to develop strong relationships with candidates and clients. We just need to do more networking on a larger scale. I am privileged to manage such a supportive and collaborative group.

If every time you entered a room you had entrance music, what would the song be?

Oh, that’s too easy. You should know this. (begins to sing) “Oh Mickey, you’re so fine! You’re so fine you blow my mind. Hey, Mickey!” That song was written in the 80’s by Toni Basil and is still played today. It is a little cheesy, but people who know me associate that song with me either way, so it makes the most sense. It’s fun and upbeat. It makes me laugh and smile any time I hear it.