SideBar Advisors

Lynda Bennett is a partner and chair for the Insurance Recovery Group at Lowenstein Sandler LLP. Lynda is diligently devoted to empowering women in the legal community. She is a founder of Lowenstein Sandler's Women's Initiative Network and is a board member and past president of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association. Her greatest advice for women junior associates is "Stay in the game. Women often leave instead of raising flexibility concerns and collaborating to present these issues; when it's a group of people bringing attention to a matter, it's much harder to dismiss it." Her work involves much collaboration with the defense counsel and pulling from various practices from the firm to help leverage and pursue coverage for the claim. She correlates reviewing insurance policies to her love for solving jigsaw puzzles. Her dedication to learning makes the variety of her practice area ideal. Tune in to hear her story!

Meet Jacqueline Harounian, who went from being the first associate at her firm to being named Managing Partner of eleven attorneys and eight professional staff at Wisselman Harounian Family Law. Jaqueline's story is unique in how she uses her traditional upbringing as a tool in complex divorce cases. She adjusts her approach to each client's religious and cultural differences by counseling them on the civil court process and how it intersects with their faith agreements and values. Jaqueline is dedicated to clearing misinformation about divorce and shares her knowledge as an author, a community leader, and providing educational webinars. Tune in and learn how her ample experience in matrimonial and family law has revealed considerable progressive changes in gender roles today and their impacts on parents while balancing a busy career.

Meet Stephanie Jones, the first female Co-Managing Partner in the Chicago office of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP. Within her first year of law school, she secured a position as a law clerk, ultimately unfolding her passion for being in front of the bar and advocating for people. She understood the value of community involvement with organizations that empower women in law, eventually leading her to become Vice President of the Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law. Stephanie experienced the pushback women often face in Big Law, with leadership doubting her career's ability to advance as a wife and mother. Fortunately, Stephanie received a call during her maternity leave to accept a position as an Assistant Managing Partner at Gordon & Rees. Tune in to hear how she uses her ample experience and skills as a now co-managing partner to lead her associates in a progressive and supportive technique. 

Meet Tara Schellhorn, recognized as "Lawyer of the Year" in the Newark region Bankruptcy Litigation area for 2023 by Best Lawyers in America®. Tara is a female Partner at Riker Danzig LLP in the Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Group. Her career path began with an English major that secured an internship in corporate public affairs at Wyeth, where her duties often overlapped with the legal department in litigation, ultimately sparking the grounds for her career in law today. Fresh out of law school, Tara was hired as an associate in bankruptcy at Riker Danzig LLP, days after the greatest financial crisis in the history of the US, giving her exposure to the area that would be her future. Early on, she became heavily involved with professional organizations such as the International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC), where she was honored with the prestigious Melnick Award. Tune in to learn how Tara balances her busy career and extensive legal community involvement while being a mother of two. 

Mark Roscoe is both a family law mediation attorney and a fashion designer. He has balanced his practice, Mark Roscoe Law, and leading his fashion line as the CEO and lead designer of Mark Roscoe Design. Tune in to hear Mark's expertise in law and fashion and how he integrates the two. 

Demetria Graves is the managing partner of the Graves Law Firm, which she founded 17 years ago. Demetria focuses her practice on family law and representing clients who need help in matters of divorce, guardianship, or spousal support. Graves has been featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal numerous times and voted on their 'Top 100 Lawyers' list. Graves has also been named on Daily Journal's 2022 list of 'Top Family Lawyers in California.' She's been awarded a Southern California Rising Star for 6 years and on the Southern California Super Lawyer list for seven consecutive years. Listen to her journey as how she became one of California's top Women Lawyers.

Angela Turiano is a partner at Bressler, Amery & Ross where she specializes in securities, regulatory and employment litigation. She has appeared in both state and federal court cases and has prosecuted multiple felony cases. In her free time Angela likes to do fun activities with her son, and spend as much time outdoors as possible. Angela is known to achieve fantastic results while maintaining a calm demeanor, something that is very difficult when it comes to high-profile cases. Today she joins us to discuss her background, her personal achievements, and how she remains on top of her game. It was a pleasure discussing with her.

I recently had the pleasure to speak with Smrithi Mohan, a senior attorney and the creator of Global Innovation & IP Strategy at Dun & Bradstreet. During this interview, we discuss how her innovation and technology skills allowed her to quickly transition into leadership, where she built their team’s innovation and intellectual practice and strategy from scratch. Tune in to hear how she manages to balance being a leader with an intensive workload, education, and quality time with family.

Patricia Costello left the public sector as a judge to become the first female managing partner of Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC , a NJ & NY firm of over 175 attorneys and 285 employees. During this interview, she talks about the path to her success and the challenges she faced along the way. Tune in to hear her proactive implantation towards the Diversity & Inclusion Committee of CSG and her ambition to execute more pro-bono cases.