Women in Law - On The Record

Today on Women In Law On The Record, I'm talking with Amber Russell. Amber founded LOAR, PLLC to help injured Texans get justice before expanding the firm nationally. Her passion for the law started at an early age, and she has worked with victims her entire adult life. Amber graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelors in Psychology before graduating with distinguished honor to the Order of the Coif, in the top 10% from the University of Texas Law School. Amber started her career working for an international defense firm, before switching sides to represent individual plaintiffs. Since then, Amber has helped hundreds of clients who have been seriously injured, including victims of trucking and auto crashes. In her community, Amber is known for being a fierce advocate. She and her husband launched and serve on the board of Scholarship Opportunities and Relationships or SOAR, a scholarship and mentoring program that provides $100K in annual scholarships, to help open doors for "first females." SOAR selects twenty high achievers each year to receive the scholarships in support of young women who are the first in their family to pursue higher education or who have overcome significant challenges. The scholarship program goes beyond financial resources by giving access to professional development and mentoring resources for these women as they go through school. If you haven't figured it out by now, Amber is just a very cool woman lawyer. I truly admired her during our conversation. I'm proud of and proud for her in all she has accomplished in her career so far and I look forward to watching her bright career continue to shine.

Today I'm talking with Aparna Williams, Chief Legal Officer of Sophos (a cybersecurity company. Aparna was born and raised in the Washington D.C. area. She attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where she obtained a bachelors degree in English literature and history. She then went on to the University of North Carolina for law school. Through experiences and teachers early in life, the seed to become a lawyer was planted in Aparna's mind from a young age. Her family immigrated to the United States and she is a first generation American, so doing something special with her education was important to her. Aparna took a non-traditional path out of law school, securing her first job in-house during the tech boom. She has remained in-house her entire career, rising through the ranks and making strategic moves along the way. Aparna and I also shared stories about being a mom and a lawyer. Her insight and support was incredibly meaningful to me. It is a great example of why I do this podcast - to shine a light on women lawyers who inspire others. I hope you enjoy.

Today I'm talking with Rachael Bosch, Founder of Fringe Professional Development. Fringe helps people learn how to communicate better at work and stems from Rachael's belief that when you improve your communication skills, you also improve your work performance. Fringe PD brings coaching and training to professionals across disciplines and experience levels, and they're dedicated to putting humanity back into workplace environments, providing customized and progressive programming, and helping ambitious, high-achieving professionals excel at work. Rachael has worked inside some of the top global organizations with research-backed performance and coaching tools and that's given her the skills to identify strategic paths to advance teams and individual careers and she integrates that into Fringe's neuroscience backed training and coaching. As someone who has worked in a law firm for nearly 10 years, I was fascinated by Rachael's perspective and ideas. Please enjoy my conversation with her.

Throughout her life, Mary Ellen O'Connor has had a passion for standing up for what's right. As the founder of O'Connor Law PLLC, she considers it a privilege to be able to help those in need in the White Plains, Yonkers, and Bronx areas access the benefits that can help them provide for themselves and their families. After earning her Bachelor's of Science from SUNY Albany and her Master's from the College of Mount St. Vincent, Mary Ellen became a teacher. She soon discovered that many of her young students with learning disabilities were unable to access the services they needed to succeed in the classroom. Their parents either didn't know about the resources available or struggled to navigate the legal red tape that was required. Mary Ellen initially hoped that earning her law degree would allow her to be a more effective advocate for children with special needs. Life took an unexpected turn, however. Although Mary Ellen entered law school with the goal of focusing on special education law, she soon became frustrated with the ineffectiveness of the system and how it was being manipulated by the wealthy to provide extra advantages for their children. After an extended period of soul-searching, she channeled her desire to help others into a focus on workers' compensation benefits law and Social Security disability law. Mary Ellen strives to put a client's mind at rest from the very first meeting or telephone call. She draws on her background as a teacher to explain complex concepts without the confusing legal jargon other attorneys use and empower clients to take control of their situation by fully understanding their legal rights.

Today I'm talking with Denise Haugen, Corporate Counsel at Matheson where she has spent the last nearly 18 years of her career. Prior to that, Denise was in private practice. She attended University of Texas Austin where she obtained a Bachelors in political science. She then obtained her law degree from the University of Houston. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Denise. Our conversation was honest, her responses and insight were thoughtful, and I am confident there are lots of good takeaways for all of you listening.