Terence Cushing, also known as Terry Cushing, is a senior corporate counsel at Republic Services in Phoenix, Arizona. He has built nearly two decades of experience across complex civil litigation and corporate law. His career is marked by steady growth, strong follow through, and a willingness to take on tough work.
He was born in Schenectady, New York, and raised in Exton, Pennsylvania. Growing up, he played soccer and joined a ski club that took him across the Northeast. Those early years shaped a routine of discipline and travel that still shows up in his life today.
Terence graduated from Downingtown High School in 1992. He earned a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University in 1996. In 2003, he earned his law degree from Pennsylvania State University and passed the Arizona bar exam that same year. He later became licensed in Nevada and Texas.
He began his legal career clerking for Federal Judge Earl H. Carroll in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. He then moved into private practice, handling product liability cases for major auto manufacturers and medical malpractice matters at Bowman and Brooke LLP. After that, he expanded into commercial litigation, loan default servicing, personal injury, and more at Jennings Strouss, where he became a partner in 2011.
Later, he spent more than 11 years as a partner at Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, building a large client book and managing teams of associates and paralegals. After nearly 20 years in large law firms, he shifted into corporate life. He now supports a Fortune 300 company focused on environmental services, recycling, and waste management. He has also been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2012 and 2013 and has served as a volunteer attorney.
Q&A: Terence Cushing on Success
When you think about success, what comes to mind first?
Success is doing hard work well over a long time, without burning your values down to get there. I think about consistency more than big moments. In law, one strong year is nice, but twenty steady years is what builds real trust. Success also means being able to change direction when your life or your goals change, and still keep your skills sharp.
What early experiences helped shape how you work today?
Team sports mattered. I played soccer while growing up, and you learn fast that effort has to be repeatable. You show up, even when you are tired. The ski club was another early lesson. Traveling across the Northeast for skiing taught me planning, patience, and how to handle changing conditions. That mindset carries over to complex work where the facts shift and timelines move.
You studied International Affairs before law. How did that help you later?
It trained me to see systems. International Affairs forces you to think about incentives, institutions, and how decisions ripple outward. In litigation and corporate work, you are often solving problems that sit inside a larger system. It helps to step back and ask what is really driving the conflict, not just what is written in a complaint.
What did your clerkship teach you about building a strong career?
Clerking for Federal Judge Earl H. Carroll taught me respect for the record and respect for clarity. You see how arguments land when they are stripped of drama. You also learn that good writing and careful logic can change outcomes. That experience made me focus on preparation and precision, because those things travel well no matter what role you take later.
You worked in product liability and medical malpractice early on. What did those areas teach you about success under pressure?
They taught me to get comfortable with complexity. Product liability work can involve technical details, experts, and huge amounts of documents. Medical malpractice can be emotionally heavy and fact dense at the same time. The success lesson there is simple: you cannot fake your way through complicated material. You have to build a method. My method became: master the timeline, understand the technical core, and communicate it in plain language.
You made partner in 2011 and later built a large client book while leading teams. What separates people who grow into leadership?
Two things: reliability and development of others. Clients want someone who is steady and responsive, especially when the stakes are high. Teams want someone who sets clear expectations and follows through. Over time, I found that building a strong practice was not only about winning cases. It was about building a repeatable process, training associates well, and giving paralegals the structure and respect they need to do great work. Another practical piece is service recovery. When something goes wrong, you fix it fast, take ownership, and keep communication clean.
After nearly 20 years in large law firms, you moved in house. Why was that a success move for you?
It was a shift toward impact and focus. In a firm, you handle a wide range of matters across many clients. In house, the work is tied to one mission and one operating reality. At Republic Services, the business is environmental services, recycling, and waste management. That means the legal work connects to real operations that affect communities. The success lesson for me is that career growth is not always moving up the same ladder. Sometimes it is choosing a new ladder that fits the life you want and the kind of problems you want to solve.
What habits do you rely on to keep improving?
I keep learning on purpose. That shows up in my interest in languages and politics, but also in how I approach legal work. I block time each week to review what changed, what risks are emerging, and what patterns repeat. I also keep a simple after action routine. After a major matter, I write down what worked, what failed, and what I would change next time. It is not complicated, but it keeps me from repeating the same mistakes.
What advice would you give to someone who wants a successful career without losing themselves in the process?
Build skills that compound, like writing, analysis, and relationship trust. Do the unglamorous basics extremely well. Seek roles that teach you how decisions are made, not just how tasks are completed. And give yourself permission to pivot. I passed the Arizona bar in 2003, later added Nevada and Texas, built a long litigation career, and then moved into corporate work. None of that was accidental. It was a series of choices to keep growing while staying grounded.