Legal Rebels Profiles

This is our fourth iteration of the ABA Journal’s Legal Rebels, our annual nod to lawyers who are helping change the profession in ways both big and small. These are the innovators—the folks who’ve found a different path, some new way to blend the needs of their clients or their…

Sep 1, 2012 10:40 AM CDT

The Point Man: Steven Berrent, WilmerHale

Forecasting where technology can take litigation and understanding the steps needed to get there are great strengths of Steven Berrent’s, say those who know the managing director of WilmerHale’s Discovery Solutions. The in-house document review program uses technology that searches and organizes information. “The old way of doing document review…

Sep 28, 2011 1:54 PM CDT

African Adventurer: Jeffrey Krilla, SNR Denton

A prime-cut filet might be the centerpiece of a New York or Chicago meal between law firm partners and business executives, while in Los Angeles they might dine on halibut and baby artichokes while discussing multimillion-dollar deals. And in some parts of Africa, the meal might be made up of…

Sep 26, 2011 1:49 PM CDT

Making It Lean: Lisa Damon, Seyfarth Shaw

When you get paid by the minute, becoming more efficient might seem like a bad idea. Lisa J. Damon, a member of Seyfarth Shaw’s executive committee, has moved past that notion. Her firm has developed a plan that borrows heavily from the corporate management plan known as Six Sigma with…

Sep 21, 2011 1:50 PM CDT

The Deal Maker: Paul Sweeney, Foley Hoag

Paul Sweeney didn’t intend to make any money off a $250 startup incorporation package that Foley Hoag offered on the deal site LevelUp. But the marketing aspect of the email, sent to thousands in the Boston area, was priceless. “In terms of business development, the old rules of communication still…

Sep 19, 2011 1:51 PM CDT

Back-to-School Boss: Mel Immergut, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy

When Mel M. Immergut first heard the proposal from his Munich-based colleague Norbert Rieger, the methodical chairman of white-shoe law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy did something unusual. “I immediately told him it was a great idea,” Immergut says. “Then I more characteristically asked for the two-page memo on…

Sep 14, 2011 2:00 PM CDT

The Disrupter: David Perla, Pangea3

India, with its booming economy and wealth of young, educated lawyers eager for work, was at the forefront of David Perla’s mind the day he met with his good friend Sanjay Kamlani to hatch a plan that would turn the traditional law firm model inside out. “We wanted to effect…

Sep 12, 2011 1:37 PM CDT

Career Conversations: Michael Subak, Pepper Hamilton

The interactive sessions of Pepper Hamilton’s summer associate interviews are exactly what they sound like, says hiring committee chairman Michael P. Subak. Done during callbacks, the discussions are not meant to be a test or come off as argumentative. But the sessions are also more than the usual elevator-speech chatter…

Sep 7, 2011 1:56 PM CDT