Speaking with Authority: Persuasive Advocacy and Ethical Client Conversations

Karen Muñoz | Roaring Grace

Karen Munoz is the founder of Roaring Grace, a legal wellness company dedicated to fostering healthier, happier human lawyers through holistic support, consulting, coaching, and education. A former managing partner at a Chicago boutique injury firm, Karen has spent her career advocating for clients who have suffered traumatic injuries and been victims of crime. Her passion for well-being in the legal profession led her to pursue a master’s in counseling psychology and become a certified yoga instructor.

Karen serves as Secretary of the Illinois Lawyers Assistance Program, co-chair of the CBA Well-Being & Mindfulness Committee, and a board member of the Mindfulness in Law Society. She actively contributes to legal committees and provides wellness support to law firms and organizations, believing that prioritizing mental health, mindfulness, and balance allows lawyers to thrive—both personally and professionally.

Claire Shaw | Claire Quinn Shaw

Claire Shaw is a vocal coach and communication strategist who applies her extensive 20-year background in voice training to help legal professionals enhance their advocacy and persuasion skills. Through a structured yet holistic approach, Claire teaches lawyers how to overcome common communication barriers, refine vocal clarity and authority, and harness their voices as powerful tools for litigation, negotiation, and client advocacy.

Claire has coached attorneys at environmental, human rights, and civil rights firms, equipping them with the vocal presence needed to argue persuasively, lead with confidence, and command respect in high-stakes legal settings. Her clients include trial attorneys, corporate lawyers, law firm partners, and in-house counsel across the UK and USA who seek to advocate with authority and communicate with impact.

With a background in opera and extensive experience working with prestigious institutions – including Wigmore Hall, The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, and The Guildhall School of Music and Drama – Claire brings a unique, performance-based methodology to legal communication. Her training combines traditional vocal coaching with proven mindfulness and somatic techniques, ensuring attorneys not only refine what they say but master how they say it. Maximizing their credibility, influence, and courtroom presence.

Arthur D. Burger | Jackson & Campbell, P.C.

Mr. Burger is a national leader in legal ethics, legal malpractice, and the law governing lawyers. He has been representing prominent law firms and lawyers for over two decades. Selected repeatedly as a Best Lawyer® in Ethics and Professional Responsibility by Best Lawyers of America© and as a Super Lawyer® in Professional Liability Defense, Art litigates in the areas of legal malpractice, fiduciary duties, motions to disqualify, internal law firm disputes, and Bar disciplinary proceedings. He also serves as outside counsel to law firms and provides guidance regarding potential conflicts of interest and other ethical dilemmas.

In addition to his experience as a practitioner, Art has a deep background in the jurisprudence of ethics law. He was a member of the Editorial Board of the ABA/Bloomberg Law-Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct and is an Adjunct Professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University, teaching a night class in Professional Responsibility. He was a member of the ten-person American Bar Association (ABA) Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility from 2014 to 2017; an elected District of Columbia Bar Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates from 2011 to 2012, where he worked with the ABA Ethics 20/20 Commission; a member of the District of Columbia Bar Legal Ethics Committee from 2003 to 2009; a member of the District of Columbia Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee from 1998 to 2004; and he has taught numerous District of Columbia Bar continuing legal education courses (CLE) on legal ethics and has lectured around the country.

Art also serves as an expert witness on legal ethics and the standard of care for lawyers. In Diamond Resorts vs. Newton Group Transfers, LLC, 2022 WL 1642865 (S.D. Fla. 2022), the court found him “more than qualified to give his expert opinion in matters of legal ethics.”

Session I – Finding Your Legal Voice: Communication Strategies for Confident Advocacy | 1:00pm – 2:40pm

• Mindful communication: How self-awareness and presence improve tone, clarity, and impact in legal advocacy
• Persuasive delivery: Communication tools such as pitch, cadence, and posture to enhance credibility and influence

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

• Confidence in advocacy: Use mindfulness and vocal techniques to better advocate and communicate

Session II – Navigating Difficult Conversations with Clients: Conflict Resolution and Ethical Communication | 2:40pm – 3:50pm

• Considering client sophistication in their degree of understanding the legal issues in a matter
• Dealing with bad news
• Advising clients when decisions must be made

Break | 3:10pm – 3:20pm

• Communications with organizational clients
• Ethical consideration
  • Rule 1.2 – Scope of Representation and Allocation of Authority
  • Rule 1.4 – Communication
  • Rule 1.6 – Confidentiality of Information
  • Rule 1.13 – Organization as Client
  • Rule 1.16 – Declining or Terminating Representation
  • Rule 8.4 – Omissions and Misleading Information