The Lawyer's Edge

Josh Seidenfeld is a partner at DLA Piper, where he co-leads the Emerging Growth and Venture Capital practice and chairs the Northern California Corporate and Securities practice. Based in Palo Alto, he advises high-growth companies in life sciences, digital health, and technology through every stage of the corporate lifecycle, from formation and venture capital financings to IPOs and M&A. With mo...

Candisse Williamson is a highly accomplished General Counsel known for her creative deal-making and extensive legal expertise across the entertainment and corporate sectors. After graduating from Northwestern Law, she refined her corporate law skills, with a focus on M&A and private equity, at prestigious firms including Paul Weiss and King & Spalding. Her career then transitioned to entertainment...

Megan Morgan is a principal in the Baltimore office of Beveridge & Diamond, a national environmental law firm, where she is an environmental litigator and business counselor with a practice focused on the waste and recycling industry. She leads litigation teams on some of the firm's largest and most critical environmental cases, representing clients in court and before regulatory agencies across t...

Charlie Jimerson is the founder and CEO of Jimerson Birr, a Florida-based business law firm with a national reputation for litigation, regulatory, and transactional work. He's also a U.S. Air Force veteran, a board-certified construction law attorney, and a widely recognized leader in the legal and business communities. Under his leadership, the firm has been repeatedly honored for its workplace c...

Damien Weinstein is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Weinstein + Klein, a Morristown, New Jersey law firm representing small and mid-sized businesses in corporate transactions and employment matters. He leads the firm's business and transaction group, where his work focuses on M&A, partnerships, and complex commercial agreements. Since founding Weinstein + Klein with Brian Klein in 2019, Dam...

Business development can often feel daunting. Even lawyers who recognize its importance frequently grapple with where to begin and how to execute effectively. Without a well-defined strategy, it's easy to become overwhelmed, discouraged, and ultimately disengage from the process. In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman breaks down the process with her 3 Pillars of Business Dev...

Dr. Larry Richard is recognized as a leading expert on the psychology of lawyer behavior and the use of behavioral science to improve performance in law firms and legal departments. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he practiced as a litigator for 10 years before earning his PhD in psychology from Temple University. Since then, he has gathered and analyzed personality data o...

Many lawyers dismiss conferences as a drain on time and money. And frankly, they're right—unless you know how to make the most of them. With the right approach, conferences can transform from missed opportunities into a cornerstone of your business development strategy. In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman shares actionable insights on how to unlock the full potential of in...

Brenda A. Barnes, CPA, MBA, is the founder of Brenda Barnes Consulting, where she works with law firm leaders on compensation design, succession planning, and financial strategy. She brings more than 35 years of experience in law firm financial management to her role, including serving as a law firm administrator in Austin, Texas. Brenda previously founded B2 Legal Management, an outsourced accoun...

Shannon Lombardo is the Director of Business Development at Saul Ewing LLP, a national law firm with more than 400 attorneys. She leads strategic growth initiatives focused on attorney business development coaching, client relationship development, and revenue generation. With extensive experience in legal marketing and business development, Shannon partners with attorneys and law firms to build s...

Michael Mellor is the President and Founder of 742 Advisors, a boutique consultancy focused on law firm revenue generation, pitch operations, and go-to-market strategy. He designs revenue operating models that help firms win more work with less friction, covering pitch infrastructure, business development operations, experience management systems, and governance frameworks. Before founding 742 Adv...

Michelle Citrin is the owner of Michelle Citrin Studios, a personal branding and photography practice focused exclusively on women in law. She has more than 17 years of experience in photography and earned her degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Michelle also brings a background in fashion styling and design to her work, which she uses to help attorneys show up with the same author...

Michael Roch is the founder and principal advisor of MHPR Advisors, where he advises managing partners, boards, and remuneration committees on partner compensation and governance. For more than 25 years, he has worked with law firm leaders across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, as well as with accounting, consulting, and other professional partnerships. Origin...

What do you think is one of the most powerful obstacles to business development success for lawyers? Despite their busy schedules, it isn't a lack of time. It's not about the lack of money, either. It's not even that you don't know how to do it, although law school certainly didn't teach it. Simply put, it's your mindset. It's the stories you tell yourself that stop you from taking (or fully commi...

Joshua Wurtzel is a commercial and real estate litigation partner at Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP , a Manhattan boutique law firm that represents businesses, non-profits, and individuals in complex and corporate matters. He has successfully represented public and private companies and prominent individuals in both federal and state court. With his focus on aggressive litigation and his ability to deve...

Tara Stingley is a Partner of Cline Williams and the Chair of its Labor and Employment Law section. Cline Williams, established in 1857, is Nebraska's oldest existing law firm and is a full-service firm with approximately 60 lawyers working in 5 offices located in Nebraska and Colorado. Tara is the firm's primary representative to the Employment Law Alliance, the largest international network of l...

Leslie D. Davis is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, Inc. (NAMWOLF), a nonprofit trade association that connects preeminent minority and women-owned law firms with corporations and public entities hiring outside counsel. Before taking the helm at NAMWOLF in 2021, Leslie spent 25 years as a trial lawyer and rainmaker, made partner at thre...

Emily Stedman is a commercial litigation partner at Husch Blackwell LLP in Milwaukee, where she handles complex business disputes from pre-suit negotiation through trial and appeal. With more than a decade of experience in practice, Emily brings both Big Law credibility and a practical understanding of what it takes to build a successful legal career without burning out. In addition to her litigat...

Travis Armstrong is the Chief Operating Officer of English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley, also known as ELPO, the largest full-service law firm in South Central Kentucky. He has managed the operations of the firm for 21 years, after beginning his career in public accounting and later serving as a CFO in the insurance industry. Travis holds both a CPA and Certified Legal Manager designation and has overs...

Steve Barham is the president and managing shareholder of Chambliss Bahner & Stophel, PC, a law firm based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Steve has practiced in Chattanooga since 1998 and joined Chambliss in 2004. His litigation practice focuses primarily on healthcare and commercial business matters, and he now splits his time between leading th...

Ryan Lockman is the managing partner of Horn Williamson & Collins, a mid-sized construction and commercial litigation law firm in Philadelphia and Delaware. A trial lawyer representing homeowners in residential construction defect and consumer protection disputes throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Ryan has secured more than $20 million in verdicts and arbitration awards, including a $3.2 mill...

Ivy Slater is the CEO of Slater Success, a boutique coaching and consulting firm working at the intersection of strategic growth and succession planning. Before becoming a coach and advisor, she built and sold a seven-figure business in New York City and has spent nearly two decades since working with leadership teams on the strategy, structure, and leadership development required for sustainable...

Michael R. Caplan is the Chief Operating Officer of Lowenstein Sandler, where he oversees the firm's business, financial, and administrative operations. Before joining Lowenstein, Mike served as COO at an Am Law 50 firm for nearly a decade and spent years leading legal operations at Goldman Sachs and Marsh McLennan, giving him a client-side perspective most law firm COOs simply don't have. With mo...

Jim Pattillo is a litigation partner and litigation practice group chair at Christian & Small, a law firm based in Alabama and Mississippi. With more than 20 years of trial experience and over 70 trials to verdict, Jim represents insurers and corporate clients in high-stakes litigation and is frequently called in for complex, high-exposure matters. In addition to his practice, Jim plays a key role...

Katya Jestin is a partner at Jenner & Block and co-chair of the firm's investigations, compliance, and defense practice. A former federal prosecutor, Katya represents companies, universities, executives, and boards in high-stakes criminal, regulatory, congressional, and internal investigations, particularly in sensitive and crisis-driven matters. From 2020 to 2024, she served as Jenner & Block's c...