Lori Marks-Esterman is a commercial litigator and the Chair of the Litigation Practice Group at Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP. Lori has more than 20 years of expertise in litigating complex commercial disputes and has substantial trial experience in New York’s commercial divisions and the Delaware Chancery Court. She represents a wide range of clients, including hedge funds and private equity companies, shareholder activists, and real estate developers. Her practice emphasizes corporate governance disputes, mergers and acquisitions litigation, director and officer liability, and more.
Lori is a Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society. She was named in Notable Women in Law by Crain’s New York Business, and frequently appears in the New York Super Lawyers list.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- Lori Marks-Esterman talks about her role at Olshan Frome Wolosky and how she progressed at the firm
- How Lori’s leadership role has impacted her both professionally and personally—and why it’s all been worth it
- Lori discusses some of the hardest and most successful decisions she’s made in her leadership role
- Do women approach leadership differently?
- Lori shares some of the issues she’s encountered as a woman leader
- Why waiting for someone to approach first is the biggest obstacle for men and women when it comes to their career progression
- Is leadership training important?
- What Lori has learned from her mentors and the difference between mentorship and sponsorship
- Lori explains why it’s important for people to not be afraid to ask questions and to always come prepared before making an ask
- How to connect with Lori Marks-Esterman
In this episode…
How do you move up the leadership ladder at your firm? Do you jump at any opportunity presented to you at the drop of a hat? Or do you hang back and wait until someone approaches you personally with an offer?
According to Lori Marks-Esterman, Chair of the Litigation Practice Group at Olshan Frome Wolosky, you’re doing your career—and yourself—a disservice if you’re doing the latter. In her 20 years as a seasoned trial attorney, she has progressed from Litigator to Partner, and she did this successfully despite being in contradiction to senior professionals. What made her so successful in navigating her way through a cut-throat business and profession?
In this episode of The Lawyer’s Edge, Elise Holtzman interviews Lori Marks-Esterman, Chair of Litigation Practice Group at Olshan Frome Wolosky, about her strategies for progressing to a leadership role at her firm—and how you can do the same in yours. Lori also discusses whether women approach leadership differently, the biggest and most common obstacles between you and career advancement, and why she believes it’s okay to ask questions as long as you come prepared before you approach anyone with them.
Resources Mentioned in this episode
- Olshan Frome Wolosky
- Lori Marks-Esterman on LinkedIn
- The Lawyer’s Edge
- Lawyers Making Rain
- The Lawyer’s Edge Podcasts
Sponsor for this episode…
This episode is brought to you by The Lawyer’s Edge, a firm based in the New York metropolitan area founded by Elise Holtzman in 2008 to help lawyers become skilled business developers and leaders so that they can grow their practices, retain top talent, and step confidently into leadership roles.
The firm offers customized coaching, consulting, and training programs such as their signature business development program, Lawyers Making Rain.
Now more than ever, it’s not enough to just do good work and hope your law firm will thrive. And no matter how smart and hard-working you are, it can be time-consuming and overwhelming to figure it all out by yourself.
To learn more about how we help lawyers become rainmakers and leaders, visit thelawyersedge.wpengine.com or email us at podcast@thelawyersedge.wpengine.com.
