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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.