Chelsea Bonini is the Chief Legal Officer for the Conscious Inclusion Company, a woman-owned, minority-operated business dedicated to helping organizations do well from a business perspective while encouraging equality in the workplace. Chelsea founded her law firm, Kiski Law, in 2010 and serves as the CEO. She is also the Chief Legal Officer at Freeman Means Business. 

Chelsea was recently elected to the San Mateo County Board of ...

Dr. Heidi Gardner is the Co-founder of Gardner & Co, a research and advisory firm that helps clients across professional services, industry, government, and nonprofit drive change through smarter collaboration. In addition to this, Dr. Gardner is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and a Faculty Chair of the school’s Accelerated Leadership Program and Sector Leadership Masterclass. She was previously a professor of Org...

Sarah Nichols is the Founder and Managing Attorney at Nichols Law, P.C. Sarah has over 20 years of experience in HR and employment law and provides effective legal representation to employers and employees alike. Before founding her own firm, Sarah worked at Ogletree Deakins as an Employment Attorney. 

Sarah has held many positions in the legal field at firms such as Littler Mendelson P.C., Fisher & Phillips, LLP, and Morrison ...

Vishal Agnihotri is the Chief Knowledge Officer at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, a national law firm with over 400 lawyers. Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP delivers a sophisticated legal practice with emphasis in litigation, consumer financial services, environmental law, and much more. As the CKO, Vishal oversees the firm’s knowledge management, legal product management, and research services. 

Before joining Hinshaw & Culbertson...

Mary Abbajay is the President of Careerstone Group, LLC, a full-service organizational and leadership development consultancy that delivers leading-edge talent development solutions to business and government. Mary has over 20 years of leadership experience and is a frequent contributor to print, radio, and television publications such as Forbes, The New York Times, and the BBC. 

In addition to this, Mary currently serves on the Gr...

Kate Mortensen is the Chief Legal Officer at Xact Data Discovery (XDD), a leading international provider of eDiscovery, data management, and managed review services for law firms and corporations. In this role, Kate is responsible for leading corporate strategic and tactical legal initiatives, managing outside counsel, and offering support across all business units. 

Kate is also the Assistant Director for the Phoenix chapter of Wo...

Michael Swanson is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Advocate Capital, Inc., a litigation finance firm that provides funding to law firms, lawyers, and plaintiffs for legal disputes. Michael’s daily role covers a wide variety of responsibilities, including client relations, strategic planning, marketing, and public relations. 

Before joining Advocate Capital, Inc., Michael was the President of We...

Shawn Swearingen is the Chief Innovation Officer at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, a top 50 law firm with locations across the US, the UK, and China. In this role, Shawn collaborates with the executive and operations leadership teams to create a culture of innovation and design. Shawn has an ITIL Foundation Certification and a white belt in Legal Lean Sigma, and in 2011 she was awarded the Minnesota Lawyer Unsung Legal Hero...

Kelly Purcaro is a practicing attorney and Partner at A.Y. Strauss, a law firm based in New York and New Jersey. She is Co-chair of the Litigation Group, specializing in complex and commercial litigation across the United States, as well as the Chair of the Class Action practice group. Kelly has over a decade of experience as a skilled trial lawyer and dynamic litigator, representing both individual and institutional clients on mat...

Uri Gutfreund is the Founder and Moderator of The Managing Partner RoundTable™, a proactive forum where law firm leaders can share their best practices and seek advice from their peers. This unique program has quickly become a leading venue for thought leaders in the legal industry and is the largest regional peer-to-peer professional development group. Uri is a frequent speaker at legal industry conferences and Bar Association eve...

John Mitchell is a lawyer, leader, and the Owner of KM Advisors and Quandary Consulting. John is also a Member of the Core Faculty for the Fellows Program at the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity and an Advisory Board Member and Co-Creator of the CBA Leadership Institute for the Chicago Bar Association. 

Known as “The Purple Coach,” John specializes in helping lawyers and unsung leaders discover and maximize their leadership po...

Mark Goldstein is a Partner at Reed Smith’s New York Labor & Employment Group, where he helps companies in New York and around the world manage their workplace needs. Mark defends employers in a wide range of employment litigation matters and advises clients on a variety of day-to-day and big-picture workplace issues, including policy development, risk assessment, and litigation avoidance. 

Mark is also a passionate mental heal...

Jeffrey Stern is the Co-Chair of Structured Finance Practice at Winston & Strawn LLP, an international law firm with over 900 attorneys in financial hubs around the world. Jeffrey has more than 25 years of experience in structured finance and derivatives, focusing on bespoke transactions and esoteric assets. 

Jeffrey is a regular writer and speaker on topics related to structured finance and previously served as the Chair of th...

Jennifer Rosa is a Partner in the New York office of Mayer Brown’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice. Her practice focuses primarily on the banking and financial services sector where she represents financial institutions in complex commercial and securities litigation in federal and state courts. Jennifer’s experience also includes representing clients in government agency proceedings and internal investigations. 

Jenni...

Lori Marks-Esterman is a commercial litigator and the Chair of the Litigation Practice Group at Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP. Lori has more than 20 years of expertise in litigating complex commercial disputes and has substantial trial experience in New York’s commercial divisions and the Delaware Chancery Court. She represents a wide range of clients, including hedge funds and private equity companies, shareholder activists, and real e...

Andrea Markstrom is the CIO at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, a law firm with over 600 attorneys located in the Midwest. As CIO, Andrea is responsible for leading firm-wide technology and security initiatives across all tax practices and geographies. She has more than 25 years of technology leadership experience, including 15 years in the legal industry. Before entering the legal space, Andrea spent 13 years leading technolog...

Ben Lieber is the Founder and Managing Partner of Potomac Law Group, an all-remote national law firm with an innovative approach to law firm management and technology. Ben has wide-ranging experience in both business and law, having practiced as a Strategy Consultant at McKinsey & Company, a Tax Attorney at Covington & Burling, and General Counsel of several private companies before founding Potomac Law Group in 2011. 

Ben ...

Anushree Bagrodia is a Vice President for Mastercard and the Lead Lawyer for Mastercard’s Legal Transformation department. She leads a global cross-functional team to identify and implement contract processes, technology, system efficiency, and transformation. Anushree has held several roles for Mastercard between New York and London and has also worked in mergers and acquisitions and commercial transactions at Sidley Austin’s Lond...

Caroline Berdzik is a Partner at Goldberg Segalla, where she also serves as the Chair of the firm’s Employment and Labor and Health Care Groups, the Chair of the Women’s Initiative, and a member of the management committee. She represents companies in diverse industries like healthcare, transportation, and insurance, as well as nonprofit organizations and educational and religious institutions. 

Before joining Goldberg Segalla, Car...