Sidebar Advisors

Send us Fan Mail Most attorneys assume good work will eventually speak for itself. John Hellerman isn't so sure. John is the founder of Hellerman Communications , where he helps lawyers and professional service firms build credibility through thought leadership, media exposure, and strategic communications.  In this episode of the SideBar Advisors podcast, we discuss why reputation is what dr...

Send us Fan Mail Shannon McClure Roberts is a partner at Blank Rome, where she represents pharmaceutical and medical device companies in complex product liability and mass tort litigation. In this episode of the SideBar Advisors podcast, Shannon reflects on the decisions and experiences that shaped her career - from building a practice over nearly two decades at Reed Smith to making the move to Bl...

Send us Fan Mail What if being "bad early" doesn't disqualify you from long-term success? Chuck Cotter  is a partner at Morrison Foerster and has built one of the leading legal practices serving founders and consumer brands. His path there was anything but straightforward. In this episode of the SideBar Advisors podcast, Chuck shares how he went from struggling as a junior associate...

Send us Fan Mail For many attorneys, landing an in-house role at a company like Google feels like the destination. Benjamin Softness made the unusual decision to leave.  In this episode of the SideBar Advisors podcast, Benjamin, now a partner at King & Spalding , reflects on his path from private practice to Google and back again.  We discuss how in-house experience changes the way lawyers thi...

Send us Fan Mail Most attorneys spend years learning the law, but very little time learning how to run a business. In this episode of the SideBar Advisors podcast, Laurin D. Johnson, Esq., LL.M., CEPA® ,  consultant with MB Law Firm Consulting, LLC® , joins Niraj to talk about the operational side of running a law firm — the part many lawyers are forced to figure out only after they become owners,...

Send us Fan Mail Success gets a lot more complicated once you actually start achieving it. Abe Kwon is a partner at Lowenstein Sandler LLP , where he advises founders, startups, and venture-backed companies. But this conversation was really about the decisions behind the resume — career pivots, risk, family, and figuring out what success actually means as priorities change over time. In this episo...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli has built a career at the intersection of medicine, law, leadership, and public communication.  A practicing physician, healthcare executive, bioethicist, and JD, he’s spent years leading in environments where decisions carry real human and institutional consequences.  In this episode of the SideBar Advisors Podcast, we explore what law firm leaders and seni...

Send us Fan Mail Seth Rokosky , partner at Duane Morris LLP , didn’t build his career by following a straight line. From choosing New York over D.C. to make a dual legal career work, to carving out an appellate practice where few opportunities existed, Seth shares how long-term thinking, tradeoffs, and persistence shaped his path. In this episode, we talk about how he approached career decisions a...

Send us Fan Mail Elie Honig  — former federal prosecutor and now CNN’s senior legal analyst — has built a career that doesn’t follow the traditional legal path. After more than a decade prosecuting major federal cases, Elie stepped into private practice and eventually into media, where he’s become a trusted voice translating complex legal issues for a national audience. In this episode, he shares...

Send us Fan Mail Kenneth Nunnenkamp , partner at Blank Rome LLP , has built a career that certainly didn’t follow a straight line. Early on, he made a high-risk move leaving big law for an in-house role at a startup, trading stability for equity and opportunity. When it didn’t play out as expected, he had to recalibrate — eventually finding his way back to private practice with a clearer perspecti...

Send us Fan Mail What actually separates durable law firms from those that won’t make it through the next decade? In this week's episode, Niraj Chhabra, CFP, MBA, CLTC, CRPC sits down with Bruce MacEwen , founder of Adam Smith, Esq., LLC , to unpack how law firm economics and structures are being reshaped in real time.  They discuss why the traditional business model is breaking down, how the...

Send us Fan Mail Negotiation, compensation, and advancement shape a lawyer’s career — but most attorneys are left to navigate those decisions without much transparency. In this episode of the Sidebar Advisors Podcast , Niraj Chhabra sits down with Jill Cruz , executive coach, career strategist, and founder of JLC Consulting .  Before launching her practice, Jill spent years in senior HR and talent...

Send us Fan Mail Michelle Calcote King, Principal & President of Reputation Ink, joins the podcast to break down how professional services firms — especially law firms — can turn their expertise into real visibility, credibility, and growth. At Reputation Ink, Michelle works with law and other B2B firms to help them become known authorities, earn meaningful media coverage, and build reputation...

Send us Fan Mail Trini Ross spent over 30 years in federal service, ultimately serving as the United States Attorney for the Western District of New York — overseeing major cases involving violent crime, civil rights, and public corruption.  In this conversation, she shares what that level of responsibility actually looks like day to day — from leading through high-profile, emotionally charged cas...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Sidebar Advisors Podcast , Niraj Chhabra sits down with Kathryn Hatfield and Stefani Schwartz , the founding partners of Hatfield Schwartz , a women-owned labor and employment law firm that has grown steadily since launching during the uncertainty of COVID. The two first met while practicing at a 60-lawyer firm and quickly realized they shared a similar visi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Sidebar Advisors Podcast , we sit down with Juliet Starrett - a former Big Law commercial litigator, world-champion whitewater paddler, and co-founder of The Ready State , a global platform focused on mobility, recovery, and longevity. Juliet’s career didn’t follow a straight line. Before law school, she spent years competing internationally as an elite athl...

Send us Fan Mail Lateral moves look straightforward from the outside. In reality, most fail for reasons attorneys don’t always see coming. In this episode of the Sidebar Advisors Podcast , Niraj Chhabra sits down with Melissa Peters , founder of MP Legal Search , to break down what’s actually happening in the lateral partner market — and how firms evaluate candidates behind closed doors. Melissa s...

Send us Fan Mail A lot of people in Big Law hear the phrase “professional development” — but don’t always know what it actually means in practice. In this episode of the Sidebar Advisors Podcast , Niraj Chhabra sits down with Hedieh Fakhriyazdi , Chief Engagement & Development Officer at White & Case , to talk about how growth really happens inside a global law firm — for associates, busin...

Send us Fan Mail Few people have a clearer view into the legal talent market than Merle Vaughn , Partner and Law Firm Diversity Practice Leader at Major, Lindsey & Africa . In this episode of the Sidebar Advisors Podcast , Merle joins Niraj Chhabra to share her journey from practicing attorney to one of the most respected legal recruiters in the industry — and what she’s learned from advising...

Send us Fan Mail As the year closes and a new tax landscape takes shape, attorneys can’t afford to rely on outdated assumptions about withholdings, deductions, or firm structures. In this episode of The Sidebar Advisors Podcast, Niraj Chhabra sits down with Larry Pon, CPA/PFS, CFP® , a nationally recognized tax expert, to break down what the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and recent tax change...

Send us Fan Mail Some career stories unfold neatly. Andrea N. Rivers story isn’t one of them, and that’s exactly why it resonates. This week on the SideBar Advisors Podcast, I sat down with Andrea, an associate in the Antitrust & Competition group at Baker McKenzie , whose path into law has been shaped by grit, community, and a whole lot of real-life juggling. In this episode we talk about:  ⚖...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Neel Chatterjee , one of the nation’s leading IP litigators and a finalist for ALM’s Attorney of the Year award. We cover a wide-ranging conversation, including: His path into law and the mentors who shaped him The bold decision to leave Goodwin for King & Spalding and his vision for building out an IP powerhouse in Silicon Valley Strategies f...

Send us Fan Mail Bree Herman didn’t set out to specialize in legal accounting, but a childhood spent learning how to “find the missing penny” sparked a passion that eventually led her to launch Herman Ledger Services , a boutique firm supporting solo and small law practices with bookkeeping, trust accounting, Clio and QuickBooks integrations, and fractional CFO support. Today, Bree helps attorneys...

Send us Fan Mail When Emma Smizer started law school, her path was anything but traditional. From a rescinded Big Law offer to finding her niche in video game law , Emma carved out a career that blends creativity, advocacy, and authenticity. Now an associate at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz , Emma is part of the firm’s Interactive Entertainment Group , advising top developers and publishers on...

Send us Fan Mail After two decades in litigation, Courtney Schulnick, Esq. stepped away from the courtroom to pursue something equally demanding, helping others manage the pressures of law with clarity and balance. Now a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor, Courtney teaches attorneys and other professionals how to use mindfulness not as an escape from their work, but as a tool to...