Sidebar Advisors

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Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Sidebar Advisors Attorney Podcast explores the career moves, risks, and decisions that shape a life in law. Hosted by Niraj Chhabra , financial planner and founder of Sidebar Advisors, the show features candid conversations with attorneys, legal leaders, and professionals connected to the legal industry. Guests share how they navigated firm changes, leadership, business growth, career pivots, and the moments that pushed them to bet on themselves. Each episode offers a practical look at the professional, personal, and financial choices attorneys face as their careers evolve.

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60 recent

August 19, 2026Episode 911 hr 10 min

Quinn Murphy of Gordon Rees: Building a Career by Playing the Long Game

Send us Fan Mail Quinn Murphy has built his legal career around a simple philosophy: play the long game. Now Managing Office Partner of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Tampa office, Quinn joins the SideBar Advisors Podcast to share the career decisions that took him from a Division II basketball player and aspiring therapist to trial lawyer, business developer, and law firm leader. Quinn discusses why he began building his network years before he expected it to generate business, why he was willing to step backward in title to create better opportunities for his future, and what younger attorneys often misunderstand about the business of law. He also shares how athletics shaped his approach to criticism and delayed gratification, and how surviving stage four cancer changed his perspective on faith, family, and time.

August 12, 2026Episode 901 hr 1 min

Ryan Kimler of Financial Clarity: Hiring, Pricing, and Growing a Law Firm with Confidence

Send us Fan Mail Building a successful law firm requires more than great legal work. Ryan Kimler, founder of Financial Clarity and fractional CFO to professional service firms, joins the SideBar Advisors Podcast to discuss the financial decisions that shape a growing law practice. From hiring your first attorney to setting profitable rates and balancing personal income with business growth, Ryan shares practical advice for firm owners looking to scale with confidence. We also discuss why many attorneys wait too long to hire, the hidden costs of underpricing legal services, how to think about profitability beyond revenue, and why building the right financial team around your business can make all the difference.

August 5, 2026Episode 8948 min

Brent Wible of White & Case: Success, Family, and the Doors You Choose to Walk Through

Send us Fan Mail What does a successful legal career actually look like over the long term? Brent Wible , partner at White & Case LLP and former senior official at the U.S. Department of Justice, joins the SideBar Advisors Podcast to reflect on a career that took him from small-town Kentucky to Yale Law School, the Peace Corps, and ultimately some of the DOJ's most significant corporate enforcement matters. Our conversation goes beyond the cases themselves. We discuss career ambition, public service, balancing family with demanding work, transitioning to private practice, and why some of the biggest career opportunities come from simply recognizing the doors that open along the way. It's a thoughtful conversation about leadership, career evolution, and how success changes as life changes.

July 29, 2026Episode 881 hr 0 min

Val Dahiya of Morrison Foerster: Building A Career Through Change and Challenge

Send us Fan Mail Not every career transition is driven by ambition. Sometimes it's driven by life. Valerie Dahiya , partner at Morrison Foerster and former SEC attorney, joins the SideBar Advisors podcast to share how an unexpected family circumstance led her from a career she loved in government into private practice—and what she learned adapting to an entirely different side of the legal profession. We also talk about leadership, mentorship, business development, balancing career and family, the realities of becoming a managing partner, and why continuous learning has shaped every stage of her career.

July 23, 2026Episode 8741 min

Ryan Fayhee of Akin Gump: DOJ to Private Practice - Risk & High-Stakes Decisions

Send us Fan Mail What does it look like to make legal decisions when the stakes extend far beyond the courtroom? Ryan Fayhee , partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and former senior official in the U.S. Department of Justice's National Security Division, joins the SideBar Advisors podcast to discuss his career investigating some of the government's most consequential sanctions and export control matters before transitioning into private practice. We explore how complex cross-border investigations unfold, what companies often misunderstand about regulatory risk, why strong leadership matters during a crisis, and how Ryan navigated leaving what he calls "the best job" he ever had to build a new career advising global organizations.

July 15, 2026Episode 861 hr 7 min

Carolyn Daly of Cohen Seglias: Building, Growing, and Letting Go of a Law Firm

Send us Fan Mail What does it actually take to build, and eventually walk away from, a successful law practice? Carolyn N. Daly has experienced nearly every stage of a legal career: associate, partner, law firm owner, and now partner at Cohen Seglias . In this episode of the SideBar Advisors podcast, she shares what she learned from building her own firm, why succession planning is often overlooked, and what ultimately led her to join a larger platform after more than a decade of running a successful practice. We also discuss business development, retirement planning for firm owners, burnout, authenticity in the legal profession, and how attorneys can make career decisions that align with both their professional and personal goals.

July 9, 2026Episode 851 hr 0 min

John Hellerman of Hellerman Communications: Why Great Lawyers Still Need Marketing

Send us Fan Mail Most attorneys assume good work will eventually speak for itself. John Hellerman isn't so sure. John is the founder of Hellerman Communications , where he helps lawyers and professional service firms build credibility through thought leadership, media exposure, and strategic communications. In this episode of the SideBar Advisors podcast, we discuss why reputation is what drives business development, how attorneys can become known for the work they want to do, and why the goal of marketing isn't simply getting noticed — it's creating trust before a client ever picks up the phone. We also explore positioning, media strategy, career development, and practical ways lawyers at every stage can build authority in a competitive market.

July 6, 2026Episode 8452 min

Shannon McClure Roberts of Blank Rome: Leadership, Growth, and High-Stakes Litigation

Send us Fan Mail Shannon McClure Roberts is a partner at Blank Rome, where she represents pharmaceutical and medical device companies in complex product liability and mass tort litigation. In this episode of the SideBar Advisors podcast, Shannon reflects on the decisions and experiences that shaped her career - from building a practice over nearly two decades at Reed Smith to making the move to Blank Rome, and how her perspective on leadership, business development, and long-term growth has evolved along the way. We discuss what it takes to lead in high-pressure environments, why authentic relationships matter in building a practice, how AI may reshape the legal profession, and why emotional intelligence will become an even more valuable skill for lawyers. The conversation also explores confidence, mentoring, career transitions, and creating opportunities for the next generation of women in law.

June 24, 2026Episode 8355 min

Chuck Cotter of Morrison Foerster: Why Being Bad Early Doesn't Define Your Career

Send us Fan Mail What if being "bad early" doesn't disqualify you from long-term success? Chuck Cotter is a partner at Morrison Foerster and has built one of the leading legal practices serving founders and consumer brands. His path there was anything but straightforward. In this episode of the SideBar Advisors podcast, Chuck shares how he went from struggling as a junior associate to building a niche practice that eventually brought him back to Big Law on his own terms. After relocating from New York to Colorado, he found himself starting over with no book of business, no established network, and growing pressure to prove himself. We discuss how he built a practice around industries he genuinely cared about, why authentic relationships matter more than traditional networking tactics, and how tactful translating of complex legal and financial issues became a key differentiator with founders and entrepreneurs. We also talk about leadership, business development, work-life balance, and why protecting time for family and health isn't separate from professional success—it's part of sustaining it.

June 17, 2026Episode 8240 min

Benjamin Softness of King & Spalding: Career Risk, Optionality, and Leaving a Dream Job

Send us Fan Mail For many attorneys, landing an in-house role at a company like Google feels like the destination. Benjamin Softness made the unusual decision to leave. In this episode of the SideBar Advisors podcast, Benjamin, now a partner at King & Spalding , reflects on his path from private practice to Google and back again. We discuss how in-house experience changes the way lawyers think, the tradeoffs between stability and long-term upside, and why career decisions become more complicated as family, ambition, and professional goals evolve. We also talk about AI governance, regulatory risk, dual-lawyer households, and what Benjamin calls the "cranking years" — a period when many professionals are simultaneously building careers, raising families, and investing heavily in their future.