Sidebar Advisors
Sidebar Advisors Attorney Podcast explores the career moves, risks, and decisions that shape a life in law.
Hosted by Niraj Chhabra, financial planner and founder of Sidebar Advisors, the show features candid conversations with attorneys, legal leaders, and professionals connected to the legal industry.
Guests share how they navigated firm changes, leadership, business growth, career pivots, and the moments that pushed them to bet on themselves.
Each episode offers a practical look at the professional, personal, and financial choices attorneys face as their careers evolve.
Episodes
101 episodes
Dennis DM Meador of Legal Podcast Network: Why Trust Matters More Than Credentials
Being a good attorney matters. But when prospective clients are comparing lawyers with similar credentials, experience, and services, what actually makes one stand out?Dennis DM Meador, founder of The Legal Podcast Network,...
%20(1).png)
Tara Raghavan of Benesch: Rethinking Success and Taking Control of Your Career
What happens when the definition of a successful career starts to change? Tara Raghavan joins Niraj to talk about taking greater control of her career, learning business development, navigating change when it doesn’t come naturally,...
.png)
Sarah Coyne of Ropes & Gray: The Judgement Behind A Successful Legal Career
What does it take to make good decisions when the stakes are high? Sarah Coyne, Partner at Ropes & Gray and former federal prosecutor, joins Niraj to discuss the judgment she developed handling complex investigations and high-profile cases,...
.png)
Thomas Chou of Morrison Foerster: Building A Career By Betting On Opportunity
Thomas Chou’s career has rarely followed a predictable path.Now Managing Partner of Morrison Foerster’s Los Angeles office, Thomas spent nearly two decades practicing in Shanghai and Hong Kong, building a corporate practice across the U....
.png)
Nema Milaninia of Freshfields: From Prosecuting War Crimes to Advising on Global Risk
Nema Milaninia’s legal career has taken him from BigLaw to The Hague, inside one of the world’s largest technology companies, and ultimately back to private practice.Now a partner at Freshfields, Nema advises companies and senior executi...
.png)
Cody Barbo of Trust & Will: How Technology Is Reshaping Estate Planning
Cody Barbo has spent his career building technology companies, but his latest venture brought him into one of the legal profession’s most traditional practice areas.Cody is the co-founder and CEO of Trust & Will, a digital estate pla...
.png)
Michael Gordon of Gordon, Fournaris & Mammarella, P.A.: How A Niche Trusts Practice Became A National Business
Michael Gordon didn’t initially plan on becoming a trusts and estates attorney. Today, he leads a national estate planning practice at Gordon, Fournaris & Mammarella, P.A.In this episode, Michael joins Niraj Chhabra to share h...
.png)
Pat Murphy of King & Spalding: Why In House Isn't The Easier Path
Pat Murphy has experienced the legal profession from almost every angle.Before returning to King & Spalding as a partner, Pat spent 26 years in-house, including senior litigation roles at GE Healthcare and Fresenius Medical Care. His...
%20(1).png)
Stacey Brown Randall of Building A Referable Business: How Attorneys Can Build Referrals Without Asking
Most attorneys know referrals matter. Far fewer have an actual system for generating them.Stacey Brown Randall, founder of Building A Referable Business and creator of the Referrals Without Asking methodology, joins the SideBar Advisors ...
.png)
Markus Funk of White & Case: Inside Operation Family Secrets and a Career In Public Service
Markus Funk has prosecuted mob murders, helped shape rule-of-law initiatives overseas, and built a career advising companies facing complex government scrutiny.In this episode of the Sidebar Advisors Podcast, Markus, a partner at White &...
.png)
Quinn Murphy of Gordon Rees: Building a Career by Playing the Long Game
Quinn Murphy has built his legal career around a simple philosophy: play the long game.Now Managing Office Partner of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Tampa office, Quinn joins the SideBar Advisors Podcast to share the career decisions th...
%20(1).png)
Ryan Kimler of Financial Clarity: Hiring, Pricing, and Growing a Law Firm with Confidence
Building a successful law firm requires more than great legal work.Ryan Kimler, founder of Financial Clarity and fractional CFO to professional service firms, joins the SideBar Advisors Podcast to discuss the financial decisions that sha...
.png)
Brent Wible of White & Case: Success, Family, and the Doors You Choose to Walk Through
What does a successful legal career actually look like over the long term?Brent Wible, partner at White & Case LLP and former senior official at the U.S. Department of Justice, joins the SideBar Advisors Podcast ...
.png)
Val Dahiya of Morrison Foerster: Building A Career Through Change and Challenge
Not every career transition is driven by ambition. Sometimes it's driven by life.Valerie Dahiya, partner at Morrison Foerster and f...
.png)
Ryan Fayhee of Akin Gump: DOJ to Private Practice - Risk & High-Stakes Decisions
What does it look like to make legal decisions when the stakes extend far beyond the courtroom?Ryan Fayhee, partner at Akin Gump Strauss Ha...
.png)
Carolyn Daly of Cohen Seglias: Building, Growing, and Letting Go of a Law Firm
What does it actually take to build, and eventually walk away from, a successful law practice?Carolyn N. Daly has experienced nearly every stage of a legal career: associate, partner, ...
.png)
John Hellerman of Hellerman Communications: Why Great Lawyers Still Need Marketing
Most attorneys assume good work will eventually speak for itself.John Hellerman isn't so sure.John is the founder of Hellerman Commu...
%20(LinkedIn%20Post).png)
Shannon McClure Roberts of Blank Rome: Leadership, Growth, and High-Stakes Litigation
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 ...
.png)
Chuck Cotter of Morrison Foerster: Why Being Bad Early Doesn't Define Your Career
What if being "bad early" doesn't disqualify you from long-term success?Chuck Cotter is a partner at Morrison Foerster and has buil...
Benjamin Softness of King & Spalding: Career Risk, Optionality, and Leaving a Dream Job
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
Laurin Johnson of MB Law Firm Consulting, LLC: What Lawyers Need to Know About Running a Firm
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®<...
Abe Kwon of Lowenstein Sandler LLP: Career Risk, Success, and Building a Life That Actually Fits
Success gets a lot more complicated once you actually start achieving it.Abe Kwon is a partner at Lowenstein Sandler LLP, where he ...
.png)
Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli: What Law Firms Can Learn From Healthcare Leadership
Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli has built a career at the intersection of medicine, law, leadership, and public communication. A practicing physician, healthcare executive, bioethicist, an...
