The Lawyer's Edge

Marcie Borgal Shunk is the founder and president of The Tilt Institute and creator of Leadership Foundations, a high-impact virtual program designed to give law firms essential leadership skills and practical solutions. For nearly three decades, she has worked with more than 3,000 law firm leaders on talent, culture, and leadership, helping dozens of AmLaw firms anticipate and prepare for the futu...

Estelle Winsett is a former litigation attorney who now works as a style strategist for women in law. After seven years practicing law and more than a decade in legal professional development, she saw firsthand how perception, presence, and visibility influence who is trusted with leadership roles, client relationships, and partnership opportunities. Today, Estelle helps women lawyers align their...

Niraj Chhabra is the founder of Sidebar Advisors, a financial planning firm dedicated exclusively to serving attorneys at every stage of their careers, from rising associates to equity partners. For more than 20 years, Niraj has helped lawyers navigate the financial complexity that comes with success, including partnership compensation, tax strategy, equity, retirement planning, and the competing...

Dennis Meador is the CEO of The Legal Podcast Network. DM has been an entrepreneur since he was a teenager, building businesses in everything from shoveling snow to SEO before finding his fit helping attorneys share their voices. A lifelong communicator from his years as a pastor to his more than 20 years in legal marketing, DM believes the best ideas don't come from selling, they come from conver...

Adam Severson is the Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Baker Donelson, a leading national firm with more than 700 lawyers and 25-plus offices in the United States, primarily in the southeastern U.S. Adam's role is unique compared to many who hold that title in that he spends a lot of his time meeting with clients and actually selling the firm's services. Adam is a past president...

Abby Remore is a member at Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi (CSG Law) in Roseland, New Jersey, where she leads the firm's trademark and copyright practice group. Her practice focuses on protecting brands and creative works through litigation, enforcement, clearance, counseling, licensing, and prosecution of trademark and copyright applications. She has particular expertise litigating trademark and co...

Dawn Anderson is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Butler Snow LLP, a law firm with nearly 400 lawyers across 25 offices. With more than 30 years of HR experience and both an MBA and law degree from the University of Georgia, Dawn brings a unique perspective to law firm leadership. After two decades in HR leadership roles in retail and manufacturing, Dawn transitioned to the legal industry wher...

Stacy Ackermann is the global managing partner of K&L Gates, one of the world's leading law firms with more than 45 offices across the globe. A trailblazing leader and accomplished finance lawyer, Stacy brings a rare blend of strategic vision, authenticity, and deep industry insight to her position. Drawing on her extensive experience advising on complex transactions and a long track record in key...

Elise Buie is the founder and CEO of Elise Buie Family Law in Seattle, Washington. After losing everything in Hurricane Katrina, she rebuilt her life and career from scratch, bringing lessons in resilience and New Orleans hospitality to her practice.  Elise is a passionate and creative family law attorney who has lived the life you're living now, juggling the endless tasks of a lawyer and law firm...

Lisa Sawyer Derman is the Founder and CEO of Five Springs Infused Bourbon, a bourbon brand that blends Kentucky roots with modern, mixable flavor. Before launching Five Springs, Lisa spent more than 30 years in the global spirits industry, building and leading some of the world's top alcohol brands. Her career includes serving as Chief Operating Officer at Stoli Group, Head of Legal at Absolut, an...

Ryan Kimler is the founder of Net Profit CFO and host of the Net Profit Podcast. He and his team help law firm owners understand their numbers, make better business decisions, and build more profitable and sustainable practices by using accounting and finance to give firm leaders clear information they can act on, so their businesses stay financially healthy and have the resources to grow. WHAT'S...

Lisa Smith is a principal in the Washington, D.C. office of Fairfax Associates. She advises leading law firms domestically and internationally on strategy development, mergers, management and governance, partner compensation and structure issues, and financial and operational performance and management. She has been advising law firms for more than 35 years. She is a frequent speaker at industry e...

Dusty Holcomb is the Founder and CEO of The Arcqus Group, an executive coaching and leadership consulting firm that helps leaders connect purpose to performance through clarity, consistency, and accountability. With a background that spans senior leadership, operations, and culture building, Dusty works with executives and their teams to unlock potential and lead with intention. Before founding Th...

Ken Falcon is the Co-Managing Partner of Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP (FRB), where he has led the firm's expansion from a small Long Island practice with twelve staff to a multidisciplinary firm of more than 120 professionals with offices across the tri-state area, Florida, and California. Under his leadership, FRB has become a destination for ambitious associates, lateral partners, and small fi...

Vicki Odette is a Partner at Haynes Boone, an Am Law 100 firm with more than 700 lawyers across 19 offices worldwide. Based in Dallas, she serves on the firm's Executive Committee and is Global Chair of the Investment Management Practice Group. Her practice focuses on advising fund sponsors and investors on structuring and negotiating private equity, hedge fund, and venture capital investments, as...

Erika Steinberg is the founder of CMO2Go, which provides fractional and interim marketing leadership to midsize law firms across the United States. She launched the company more than six years ago with the belief that expert marketing is not just for the largest law firms. Before founding CMO2Go, Erika held senior marketing leadership roles at Sidley Austin, Kaye Scholer, and Arent Fox. With more...

Beth Huffman has more than 40 years of experience in communications, media, and marketing. After two decades as a reporter, she spent the next 20 years helping major law firms, legal organizations, and global clients create strategic narratives that elevated their reputations and work. She served more than a decade at Dechert and later as head of marketing at Nelson Mullins before returning to Pen...

Hilary Gerzhoy is a partner at HWG LLP, where she represents lawyers, law firms, legal tech companies, and in-house counsel navigating the full range of legal ethics matters. She serves as outside general counsel to law firms nationwide, advising on risk management, conflicts and disqualification, and firm formations and dissolutions. Hilary is the Chair of the D.C. Bar Rules of Professional Condu...

Tina Solis is a partner at Nixon Peabody. She has built a national practice advising lawyers and law firms on high-stakes professional and business transitions. She's particularly known for representing individual attorneys and groups making lateral moves, helping them navigate complex partnership agreements, fiduciary obligations, and departure issues to protect their interests and minimize risk....

John R. Kormanik, Esq., is on a mission to help attorneys reclaim their purpose, energy, and impact. As a Certified Professional Coach, former trial lawyer, and author of Break the Law: A Story of a Reimagined Career and a Reclaimed Life, John brings decades of experience from the courtroom to the coaching space. Today, he guides attorneys to say "no" to burnout and "yes" to building sustainable c...

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...

Aaron Y. Strauss is one of the leading legal advisors in the commercial real estate industry, providing insight and guidance on billions of dollars' worth of transactions during his career. As founder and managing partner of A.Y. Strauss, he has positioned the firm as one of the region's most respected legal organizations for commercial real estate owners, lenders, and sponsors, serving the needs...

Jeffrey Bast is a nationally respected attorney with over 30 years of experience in insolvency and commercial litigation. He represents debtors, creditors, trustees, and business stakeholders in workouts, reorganizations, and bankruptcy-related litigation, with a strong focus on avoiding bankruptcy when possible and guiding clients through complex financial transactions and restructuring. Jeff com...

Lexlee Overton is a former trial lawyer who spent more than 30 years in the courtroom before choosing a different path. After experiencing firsthand how the legal profession can wear lawyers down, she founded Mind Over Law to help lawyers move beyond burnout and lead with greater clarity, resilience, and purpose. Today, she works with both individual lawyers and legal teams using a science-based a...

Ken Vrana is a Senior Director at Western Alliance's Juris Banking Group. He specializes in crafting customized capital solutions for law firms, alternative legal service providers, and legal tech companies. With a deep expertise in complex banking relationships, he provides his clients with in-depth guidance on operating and fiduciary account setup and ongoing management, including advising on fr...