How to Thrive in a Law Firm: Playing the Long Game for Long-Term Success

Miriam A. Benor, Director of Attorney Coaching | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

Miriam A. Benor is the Director of Attorney Coaching at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where she provides individualized coaching, facilitates group forums, and delivers original presentations on a wide variety of professional development and legal industry topics. Drawing on her dual background as a former complex commercial litigator and a trained professional coach, Miriam supports attorneys at every level of the firm on the personal and professional matters they want to work through, gain support on, or build accountability around — including people and workload management, goal-setting, confidence and imposter syndrome, business development, work/life balance, and career satisfaction. Her work bridges legal practice and human development, helping lawyers navigate the demands of the profession with greater clarity, intention, and resilience.

• Education & Credentials

Miriam earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2004 and her B.A. in Psychology, summa cum laude, from Columbia University in 2001. She received her coaching training and certification from the Coaches Training Institute. She is admitted to practice in New York and before the United States Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

• Recognition & Leadership

Miriam is a sought-after voice in the legal professional development community and regularly presents at major industry conferences, internal firm events, law schools and universities, and for Pillsbury clients. She has taught NALP’s Foundational Coaching Skills series since 2019 and has served as faculty for the NALP Newer Professional’s Forum, where she developed and presented a new coaching skills workshop. Her published work and podcast appearances include “Acting the Part: Tips for the Legal Workplace” on the LA County Bar Association’s ADMITTED Podcast, and articles in the NALP Bulletin on hybrid work, associate morale, and integrating new staff into career services teams.

• Professional Involvement

Miriam has held various leadership positions in NALP, the Professional Development Institute, the Los Angeles Area Legal Recruitment Association, and the Southern California Law School Career Advisors Consortium. Her sustained engagement with these organizations reflects her commitment to advancing the field of legal professional development and supporting the next generation of attorneys and career professionals.

• Experience

Miriam began her career as a complex commercial litigator before transitioning into legal professional development as the associate director of career development at Pepperdine University School of Law. She joined Pillsbury in 2017 as the manager of talent development, where she oversaw the firm’s litigation training, ran the mentorship program, conducted new-hire orientations, planned firmwide conferences, and assisted with the annual attorney review process before stepping into her current role as Director of Attorney Coaching. Her representative presentations span the full spectrum of professional development concerns facing today’s lawyers, including “Confidence, the Imposter Syndrome, and Lawyers … Oh My!”, “Your Brain on Feedback: Giving, Receiving, and Implicit Bias”, “Burnout”, “Reframing Stress and Reclaiming Self-Care”, “A Conscientious Approach to Lawyer Mental Health and Wellbeing”, and “Taking Charge of YOUR Career: Practical Tips for Advancement”.

Lauren Krasnow, JD, PCC | Lauren Krasnow, LLC

Lauren Krasnow is an executive coach and strategic advisor to senior law firm leaders, and a sought-after speaker. Named a Global 100 Leader for Legal Strategy and Consulting by Lawdragon every year since 2023, she is the founder of The American Lawyer’s Fully Human Lawyer™ column. As one AmLaw 200 talent leader put it: “Lauren is the best outside coach in the business.”

• Education & Credentials

Lauren holds a degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (magna cum laude), trained in business and financial analysis, and her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School (cum laude), where she was elected Class Representative all three years. She clerked in federal district court in Philadelphia and serves on the Board of Directors of her chapter of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She is also a trained ADHD coach.

• Recognition & Leadership

Lauren has been interviewed by the media about law firm talent issues. She was also selected to be interviewed for the book Breaking Ground: How Successful Women Lawyers Build Thriving Practices (PLI Press, 2026).

Through her Fully Human Lawyer™ column, Lauren says the quiet part out loud about the human dynamics shaping performance inside law firms, with topics ranging from “The Secret Thoughts of Lateral Partner Hires” to “Failure to Give Effective Feedback Can Cost You Dearly,” among many others. Her columns are at LaurenKrasnow.com.

• Professional Involvement

Law firms, companies, and organizations invite Lauren to speak at their events, retreats, and client programs. She has been an invited panelist alongside law firm chairs, including an AmLaw 25 firm, and General Counsel of major corporations. Clients consistently describe her sessions as highly engaging, practical, and grounded in real-world examples that stick. She helps lawyers and leaders see and own the power they already have. Then she helps them use it to lead and inspire others.

• Experience

Lauren’s perspective is shaped by a rare combination of external and internal vantage points.

As a management-side employment lawyer for more than 12 years in New York at leading firms, including Morgan Lewis (top-ranked labor & employment), Latham & Watkins, Hogan Lovells, and Torys, she had a front-row view of leadership in action. Advising on conflict, culture and risk, she saw how avoidable leadership missteps became costly legal and talent problems.

She then became a top-producing legal recruiter, gaining a clear view into why lawyers and laterals leave, what draws them to new firms, and how firms succeed or fail at attracting and integrating talent.

Lauren also draws on her experience as a practicing lawyer on the receiving end of leadership, both effective and ineffective, across four firms, multiple practice groups, and offices. Those experiences inform a practical “what works and what doesn’t” lens. She has stayed close to the leaders who impacted her most, several of whom now serve as her mentors and trusted advisors. Clients say they value her ability to cut through noise and get to the heart of what needs to shift.

“Besides being incredibly smart, Lauren is strategic, incisive, and practical. She is also psychologically attuned to her clients and passionate about their success.”

— Vice President of Integration, Fortune 50 Company

“She meets people where they are with deep empathy, genuine warmth, a ready sense of humor, and finely tuned coaching skills. Put simply, Lauren cares – and she delivers.”

— Chief Professional Development Officer, AmLaw 50 Firm

Stephen Embry, Lawyer, Publisher & Writer | TechLaw Crossroads

Stephen Embry is a lawyer, speaker, blogger, and writer focused on the intersection of technology, innovation, and the practice of law. He is the founder and publisher of TechLaw Crossroads, a blog devoted to examining the tension between legal technology, the law, and how lawyers actually work. A former partner at a large law firm for the better part of 30 years, Stephen built his practice as a trial lawyer in mass tort and, later, in data breach, privacy, and cyber insurance matters before turning his focus to commentary, speaking, and advisory work on how artificial intelligence and emerging technology are reshaping the legal industry. He writes frequently on the clash of cultures between tech and innovation on the one hand, and the traditional, precedent-grounded legal profession on the other.

• Education & Credentials

Stephen earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law (1975–1978), where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif.

• Recognition & Leadership

Stephen received the 2017 John Appleman Award from the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC) for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of the FDCC’s education goals as the inaugural chair of its Substantive Law Section on Data Breach, Privacy and Cyber Insurance. He has been selected to deliver the Opening Keynote for ABA TECHSHOW 2026 in Chicago. He is a regular panelist on LegalTech Week, a weekly roundtable of legal tech journalists discussing the most significant legal tech stories of the week, and a contributing author to Above the Law. He also writes regularly for Kentucky’s Bench & Bar Magazine and the One Legal blog, in addition to publishing TechLaw Crossroads.

• Professional Involvement

Stephen is the past chair of the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Division and previously served as vice chair of the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center. He is the past chair of the Data Breach, Privacy, and Cyber Insurance Section of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC) and chair of the Kentucky Bar Association’s Law Practice Committee. He is a frequent speaker at major legal industry events, including ABA TECHSHOW, and his work has been featured on podcasts including Seyfarth Shaw’s Pioneers and Pathfinders, The Tech-Savvy Lawyer, Technically Legal, and Legal Talk Network.

• Experience

Stephen spent the better part of three decades as a partner at a large law firm, building a trial practice first in mass tort and later expanding into data breach, privacy, and cyber insurance matters. He is the co-author of Mass Tort Claims Resolution Facilities, as well as the 2016, 2017, and 2020 editions of the American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Survey Report. Today, his writing and speaking center on practical questions facing the profession, including the limits of attorney-client privilege when lawyers and clients use public generative AI tools, the Solow paradox as it applies to legal productivity, the failure of law firms to retrain their workforce or restructure compensation around AI, and the broader cultural and business-model shifts the profession must confront to stay relevant.

SESSION 1 – Understanding Firm Politics: Navigating Influence, Credit, and Culture | 12:20pm – 12:50pm

This session gives attorneys a practical framework for navigating law firm dynamics, including work allocation and origination credit. Attendees leave with actionable tools for managing assignments, identifying unwritten power structures, and advancing their careers strategically.

SESSION 2 – Your First Year Decoded: What the Firm Expects and How to Exceed It | 12:50pm – 1:20pm

This session demystifies the metrics and behaviors driving first-year associate success, from billable-hour targets to hidden KPIs partners track but rarely explain. Attendees leave with a concrete framework for exceeding expectations and avoiding mistakes that derail early careers.

BREAK | 1:20pm – 1:30pm

SESSION 3 – Finding Your People: How to Identify, Attract, And Work with Mentors and Sponsors | 1:30pm – 2:00pm

This session equips associates with a practical framework for distinguishing mentors from sponsors and cultivating each. Attendees will learn to position themselves for high-value advocacy relationships and build a network that actively supports their progression toward partnership.

SESSION 4 – Own Your Review: How to Solicit, Receive, and Act on Feedback at Every Stage | 2:00pm – 2:30pm

Most associates dread reviews and think about them wrong. Handled well, reviews accelerate development and deepen key relationships. This session covers formal reviews and year-round feedback, teaching attendees to receive input in ways that build advocacy and investment.