Empowering Women in Law: Leadership, Business Development, and Financial Strategies for Long-Term Success

Charlotte Smith | Level7Legal

Charlotte Smith is an Executive Coach and Management Consultant who blends deep legal expertise with a passion for guiding teams, leadership, and organizations to reach their full potential. She began her career in the UK, becoming a partner at a top-tier firm by age 30—recognized for her forward-thinking approach, including launching a subscription-based employment law service for the travel and hospitality sector. 2014, she moved to Silicon Valley, pivoting from lawyer to entrepreneur and coach.

Charlotte is also the author of How to Attract, Engage, and Retain Top Legal Talent, Globe Law and Business, a resource for teams that embrace change, leverage technology, and optimize human performance. Her consulting engagements have included a range of law firm organizations and in-house legal teams.

By integrating energy management, human performance, and mindset strategies, Charlotte empowers General Counsels, law firms, and in-house teams to tackle leadership dysfunction, align teams, and thrive in today’s rapidly evolving legal landscape. Balancing technology, AI, and emotional intelligence, she ensures leaders drive meaningful results without sacrificing well-being. If you’re ready to transform how you lead, Charlotte is here to help.

Patricia Gillette | Occidental College Alumni Board

Pat Gillette is one of the country’s leading experts and most sought-after speakers on gender diversity and equality. Rated as a top employment litigator and trial lawyer by Chambers and other organizations for 40 years and as a leader and rainmaker in her firms, Ms. Gillette’s legal career focused on assisting Fortune 500 companies with their most difficult issues and challenges. At the end of 2015, she resigned from her firm to pursue her passion for empowering women through keynote speaking and writing. She now tours the country speaking on issues that help women advance into leadership positions in their organizations. Ms. Gillette was invited to join JAMS in 2016 and she now spends most of her time mediating employment cases.

Ms. Gillette has been recognized for her work to advance women in the profession by many organizations. She is the 2018 recipient of the ABA Margaret Brent Award, the highest honor given to women lawyers for professional achievement and for advancing the interests of women lawyers. She has also received the ABA Golden Hammer Award, the California Women Lawyers Association’s Fay Stender Award, the Transformational Leadership Award as one of the Top Women Rainmakers, and the Barristers Association of San Francisco Award of Merit.

Ms. Gillette is the co-founder of the Opt-In Project, a nationwide initiative focused on changing the structure of law firms to increase the retention and advancement of women. The team she co-chaired at the 2016 Hackathon created the Mansfield Rule, which has now been adopted by several law firms and corporations across the country as a means of immediately impacting the opportunities for qualified diverse candidates to advance into leadership positions.

Ms. Gillette has been a Commissioner on the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, a member of ABA’s Gender Equity Task Force, Co-Chair of the BASF No Glass Ceiling Initiative, and she has served on several non-profit boards dedicated to protecting and promoting diversity.

Ms. Gillette’s best selling book, “Rainmakers: Born or Bred” is in its second edition and is filled with practical tactics and strategies that can be easily implemented to enhance business development skills and expand books of business. In the book, Ms. Gillette highlights the nationally acclaimed Rainmaker Study and includes helpful tips from rainmakers and clients across the country. This groundbreaking study, coupled with Ms. Gillette’s insights from her own experiences as a successful rainmaker in her firms, brings a fresh perspective and approach to business development.

Ms. Gillette is the proud mother of two successful and enlightened sons and lives in Kensington, California with her husband of 50 years. She has served as an elected official of her town and is active in political and community organizations and activities.

Visit Ms. Gillette’s website at www.patriciagillette.com or contact her at 510.604.6252.

Niraj Chhabra | Sidebar Advisors

With nearly two decades of experience, Niraj Chhabra helps the firm’s clients, primarily attorneys, gain clarity and confidence in their financial decisions. As the founder of Sidebar Advisors, he’s built a firm dedicated to simplifying the financial side of life so lawyers can focus on what matters most: building their careers and securing their family’s future.

Niraj is not only a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) but a Behavioral Financial Advisor™ (BFA™) as well, a certification that reflects his commitment to helping clients align financial decisions with their personal values, mindset, and long-term vision. His behavioral-based approach allows the firm’s clients to make clearer, more confident financial choices.

Sidebar provides comprehensive financial planning tailored to the legal profession, including goal-based planning, protection planning, and tax-efficient wealth management. Beyond one-on-one planning, the firm also offers CLE-accredited seminars, including DEI-focused programming, along with attorney networking events and personalized consultations.

Niraj also hosts the Sidebar Advisors Podcast, where he shares the stories of legal professionals and creates space for insight, growth, and connection within the legal community.

Favorite quote: James Dean, who says, “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.”

Niraj loves brewing his beers. He enjoys spending time outdoors, running marathons, gardening, and snowboarding. Inside, he likes to start his day by meditating and catching up on his favorite books. When he’s not working, Niraj enjoys international travel with his wife and son and giving back to his community.

Niraj received his MBA in finance at Rutgers University in 2015. Before, he attended Montclair State University and graduated in 2005 with a bachelor’s in business administration, management, and marketing.

Session I – Women in Legal Leadership and the Future of Sustainable Success | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

• Confidence that sticks: Reclaiming presence & authority
  • Reframing imposter syndrome as a growth signal
  • Leading from your zone of genius
  • Building executive presence without performance
• Emotional fluency: The hidden superpower in leadership
  • Core emotions: Mad, sad, glad, bad
  • Spotting and managing your stress signature
  • Leading with clarity—even under pressure
• Time budgeting & sustainable success
  • The wheel of legal life: Seeing imbalance clearly
  • Energy-first planning, not just time management
  • Designing days that support your goals
• Career navigation & invisible barriers
  • The motherhood penalty, caregiving bias, and burnout cycles
  • Defining success on your own terms
  • Expanding your sense of choice and clarity—wherever you are in your career

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

Session II – Business Development & Strategic Growth for Women Attorneys | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

• Rainmakers: Born or bred?
  • The personal traits of successful rainmakers
  • Strategies for developing those skills inside and outside of the firm
• Personal branding & positioning for success
  • Positioning yourself as an expert and thought leader in your practice area
  • Enhancing visibility through speaking engagements, writing, and professional involvement
  • Leveraging social media and digital presence for career growth
• Leveraging your power as a rainmaker to advance your career
  • Self-promotion and branding within the firm
  • Recognizing and dealing with gender biases
  • Asking for opportunities to advance within leadership

Break | 3:10pm – 3:20pm

Session III – Financial Empowerment for Women in Law | 3:20pm – 4:20pm

• Education planning
• Preparing to be a caretaker for parents
• Life insurance & protection planning
• Retirement planning
• Budgeting
• Tax reduction strategies