Kathleen Barnett Einhorn 

Managing partner
PEM Law LLP

What is your proudest professional achievement?

Starting PEM Law LLP two-and-a-half years ago.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

AI.

What was the best career advice you’ve ever received (or what’s your best advice for the next generation)?

My best advice for the future generations is to ask questions, listen and learn. Utilize senior lawyers as they are a great asset to becoming a better you.

John Fanburg 

Managing member and chair, Healthcare Law
Brach Eichler LLC

What is your proudest professional achievement?

My proudest professional achievements include leading the firm through the COVID crisis with an unwavering commitment to our clients and our values; launching our DEI efforts in 2019 to help build a more inclusive workplace where our professionals can reach their full potential; and continually strengthening a dynamic, collaborative culture across the firm.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

AI will change in the legal industry because it will reshape how lawyers work and how clients define value. Routine tasks like research, contract review, and discovery will move faster, raising expectations around speed, cost and efficiency. However, AI also brings real risks including privacy concerns and inaccurate outputs. The strongest lawyers will be those who use AI effectively, spot risks early, and apply the judgment, ethics and practical advice that technology cannot provide.

Paul Fishman 

Partner
Arnold & Porter

What is your proudest professional achievement?

I had the privilege of serving as U.S. attorney during the Obama administration. In that role, I had the chance to lead a group of spectacular lawyers and staff whose guiding principle was always and only to exercise our authority in the right way for the right reasons. With absolute integrity.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

I suspect that AI would probably win the title as the answer from practitioners. But I think that the increased attention and pressure on the courts at this moment in our nation’s history, and the enormous tensions among the three branches of government, will tax the strength and resilience of our constitutional system in unprecedented ways.

What was the best career advice you’ve ever received (or what’s your best advice for the next generation)?

Practicing law is a privilege. And with that privilege comes the obligation to use our special skills and training to make a difference — for the clients to whom we owe a duty of zealous, committed and ethical representation, but also to the society that depends on us to lead by example. Find a space where you can make a difference on issues and problems that matter to you.

Karl Fowlkes

Managing partner
The Fowlkes Firm

What is your proudest professional achievement?

Building a practice that helps producers, songwriters, and artists transform creative success into long-term ownership and wealth. Over the past year, I negotiated multimillion-dollar publishing, producer, and catalog transactions while representing clients responsible for more than 10 Billboard Hot 100 records, multiple No. 1 albums, and several gold-certified releases. Helping creators secure life-changing opportunities remains my greatest accomplishment.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

The most disruptive change will be the integration of AI into legal services. AI is already transforming contract review, due diligence, legal research and content creation, allowing firms to deliver work faster and more efficiently. The challenge for lawyers will be balancing these efficiencies with ethical obligations, confidentiality, and professional judgment. Those who successfully combine technology with trusted legal counsel will have a significant competitive advantage.

Vito Gagliardi Jr.  

Managing principal; co-chair, Litigation Practice Group, and co-chair, Education and Employment Team; president and CEO of Porzio Compliance Services (PorzioCS) and Porzio Governmental Affairs (PGA)
Porzio, Bromberg & Newman PC

What is your proudest professional achievement?

I’m most proud of helping lead Porzio through a decade of growth during my 10 consecutive terms as managing principal. We’ve expanded our attorney roster by nearly 25%, grown our presence in key markets, and evolved into a multidisciplinary organization that brings together legal, compliance and government affairs services. Just as importantly, we’ve maintained the collaborative culture and client-first approach that always have defined the firm.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

AI will continue to be the most disruptive force in the legal industry. It is already changing how lawyers research, draft and analyze information. It is also disrupting how we manage workflows, and the capabilities are advancing at a remarkable pace. The opportunity is significant, but so is the responsibility. The firms that succeed will be those that embrace innovation while continuing to provide the judgment, strategic thinking and trusted counsel that technology simply cannot replace.

Angie Garasia

Partner
Lee & Garasia LLC

What is your proudest professional achievement?

My proudest professional achievement is not defined by one single case or award, but the privilege of helping thousands of individuals and families navigate the U.S. immigration system. Earning my clients’ trust during some of the most important and vulnerable moments of their lives is an honor I never take for granted. Knowing my work helps reunite families, create opportunities, and provide hope is my greatest accomplishment.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

The use of AI will reshape the legal workforce by automating routine tasks and increasing demand for higher value work. It will also level the playing field, enabling solo practitioners and smaller firms to perform work that once required much larger teams. AI-assisted legal research, document drafting, and contract review will reduce the advantage of sheer manpower, allowing firms to compete more on expertise, judgment and client service than on headcount.

Angelo Genova 

Co-founding partner
Genova Burns LLC

What is your proudest professional achievement?

My proudest achievement has been helping build Genova Burns LLC into a firm that has remained strong, relevant, and successful for more than 35 years. We’ve navigated economic downturns, industry changes, acquisitions and departures while never losing sight of our clients or our culture. Seeing the firm continue to evolve and thrive across generations of leadership is a legacy that brings me the greatest sense of pride.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly be the most disruptive force in the legal industry — not simply because of what it can do today, but because of the questions it raises that we have yet to answer. From intellectual property and privacy to deepfakes, cybersecurity, and evidentiary issues, the legal landscape will continue to evolve rapidly. The challenge for the profession will be embracing innovation while ensuring that sound judgment, ethics and accountability remain at the center of leg

Frank Giantomasi  

Co-chair, Executive Committee
Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC (CSG Law)

What is your proudest professional achievement?

My proudest professional achievement has been the successful integration of the various, disparate governmental entities to enable the acquisition and development of Netflix studios in Monmouth County.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

The most disruptive change on the horizon is the implementation of AI. It’s going to help small firms gain better footing with larger firms as it will put more ability and resources at their fingertips. However, unless you’re able to implement and integrate an AI platform into your practice successfully, this could lead to the end of the law practice as we now know it because competition will demand greater and greater efficiency, lower price points for clients and increased accountability.

Jessica Gonzalez 

Attorney
Rudick Law Group PLLC

What is your proudest professional achievement?

I’m deeply grateful to have helped spearhead NJ CAN 2020, the coalition behind adult-use cannabis legalization in New Jersey, then to be awarded the state contract to build the NJ Cannabis Training Academy, the most comprehensive cannabis technical assistance program in the country and the only one fully translated to Spanish. This year, I proudly founded the Latino Cannabis Alliance, a nonprofit ensuring our community has a seat at the table as this industry grows.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

In my corner of the legal world, it’s the potential reclassification of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. While Schedule III won’t address the harms of cannabis prohibition on communities of color, it will change banking, taxes, research and potentially add another layer of compliance at the federal level. The real work is helping clients navigate the dichotomy between state legality and federal uncertainty as that shift unfolds.

CJ Griffin

Partner, director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center
Pashman Stein Walder Hayden PC

What is your proudest professional achievement?

I have litigated a number of cases over the past few decades that have significantly expanded police transparency in this state, including cases that made body-worn camera videos, dash camera videos, use of force reports and police internal affairs reports accessible to the public. As a result, the public has more information than ever about police misconduct and police matters.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

I think AI can be helpful in some ways, but in many ways it creates more work. There is a significant uptick in inquiries from the public sending AI-generated “ready-to-file case briefs” and they are convinced they have a strong case, when they likely do not. It is also difficult because many clients believe what AI tells them over what their lawyers tell them.

What was the best career advice you’ve ever received (or what’s your best advice for the next generation)?

The best legal advice I ever received is to always be courteous to adversaries, court staff and judges.

Deborah Hays

Partner, chair of the board
Archer & Greiner PC

What is your proudest professional achievement?

My proudest professional achievement is being elected to serve as the first female chair of my firm. When I graduated from law school there were few women in law firm leadership positions, so it was not something that I initially aspired to achieve. By serving in various firm leadership roles, I gradually shaped my own management style and gained the respect and trust of my peers. Most importantly as chair I can now mentor younger female attorneys to become future leaders in the legal profession.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

AI will be the major disruptive change for the legal industry. Lawyers will continue to struggle with how to best utilize the technology in their individual practices while avoiding missteps related to data security, confidentiality, privilege and ethical obligations. Appropriate AI investment and training will permit smaller firms and legal departments to effectively complete work traditionally done by firms with much larger staffs, and to also challenge the traditional hourly billing model.

Elie Honig

Senior legal analyst; counsel
CNN; Lowenstein Sandler LLP

What is your proudest professional achievement?

In media: helping normal people understand and care about new developments in the law, which often can be confusing or conforming, in a fair and nonpartisan manner

As a prosecutor: exercising the broad power given to a prosecutor aggressively but responsibly for 14 years, federal and state, and making our communities safer in the process

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

The president surely will continue to seek expanded executive powers, sometimes in unprecedented ways. Despite common and predictable partisan reactions either way, he’s not always right or wrong. But we know for sure his actions will cause us to consider previously unasked questions about our constitutional structure.

What was the best career advice you’ve ever received (or what’s your best advice for the next generation)?

Do the work first. You can’t skip any steps.

Maha Kabbash

Partner
Tucker Ellis LLP

What is your proudest professional achievement?

Just last week, I was part of a trial team that earned a complete defense verdict in the City of St. Louis, representing a manufacturer of formula for premature infants. It was the hardest I have ever worked on a case and was so proud of our team for the focused defense we presented.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

How the efficiencies of AI services (both perceived and real) need to be reconciled with adjustments to law firm’s increased billing rates and costs to be profitable.

What was the best career advice you’ve ever received (or what’s your best advice for the next generation)?

Whether in front of a judge, jury or colleagues, present confidence in your speech and body language even when you are not feeling it. Project your voice through any hesitation. Because ultimately, the effectiveness of your presentation will linger beyond the particular merits of the issue that was on the table that day.

Matthew Karmel

Principal, practice group leader – Environmental and Sustainability Law
Offit Kurman

What is your proudest professional achievement?

My proudest professional accomplishment is earning the long-term trust of my clients. Some have relied on me for more than 10 years to help them navigate environmental matters, and I’m proud that they continue to see me as a trusted advisor and friend.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

Outside of AI, one of the most disruptive changes I foresee is the generational transition as senior partners retire. Much of the profession’s judgment, client history and institutional knowledge resides with lawyers who have practiced for decades. Firms that transfer that knowledge intentionally will be best positioned to serve clients seamlessly. We must continue to train lawyers even as technology compresses legal teams.

What was the best career advice you’ve ever received (or what’s your best advice for the next generation)?

The best career advice I’ve received is to take charge of your own career. There are many possible paths, and throughout your career, many people will have opinions about what you should do next. Those perspectives can be valuable, but ultimately only you know what kind of career will be meaningful and satisfying to you.

Scott Kobler

Partner
McCarter & English LLP

What is your proudest professional achievement?

The legal work on financing most of New Jersey’s institutional healthcare facilities over the past 45 years, throughout the continuum of care and sizes — acute care and specialty hospitals, subacute, assisting living, behavioral health, etc., coupled with decades of work on merging (and unwinding) system relationships. Most New Jerseyans have used a facility that I have touched, in the figurative sense.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

While many would point to AI, the constant challenge is the appreciation that legal work is not commodity work. It is important for clients to embrace depth of experience and serial effectiveness. Effectiveness necessarily includes the value proposition of great lawyering. Are lawyers worth $2,000/hour simply because of their firm name? Or $1,000? Or $500? How can a good result be achieved and reported for good value in a business where that is not always quantifiable?

Barbara Koonz

Managing partner; partner, Environmental Practice; chair, Energy & Renewable Resources Practice
Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLP

What is your proudest professional achievement?

I am proud of my work on many complex renewable and clean energy projects in N.J, which include the development of solar generation and storage projects, renewable projects on landfills and brownfields and the employment of fuel cells to replace fossil fuel generation. As my firm’s managing partner, I’m proud of the opportunity to champion new professionals in the legal field. I am also honored to serve as a fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

The legal industry continues to face a fundamental shift driven by advancements in technology, the changing dynamics of client needs and the evolution of the workplace. The adoption of new technologies that increase efficiencies, and heightened sensitivity to the economic challenges faced by clients, is critical. Change can be challenging, but the disruption of certain longstanding practices is both inevitable and necessary in order to serve clients in an effective and responsible manner.

Cecilia Lassiter

Member of the firm; chair, State and Local Incentives Practice Group
Sills Cummis & Gross PC

What is your proudest professional achievement?

There are so many, but one of my proudest professional achievements is becoming president of CREW NJ and serving on the global board of CREW Network Foundation. Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) promotes women in commercial real estate. Being a woman and a minority in a male dominated field, this organization means so much to me. I strive to give back in everything I do, from serving on these CREW boards to mentoring young women at Rutgers Center for Real Estate Advisory Council.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

The most disruptive change in the legal industry is the shift from passive AI to agentic AI. AI is no longer just a retrieval tool; it now has reasoning capabilities. Agentic AI can analyze voluminous discovery documents, review corporate contracts, and build case strategies. Our Fortune 500 clients now require outside counsel to incorporate AI into their work. The most effective lawyers will be those who proactively integrate these tools into their practice to deliver faster, high-quality work.

Charles Lizza 

Partner; vice chair, Litigation
Saul Ewing LLP

What is your proudest professional achievement?

Having one of my pharmaceutical patent cases (in which we prevailed at trial) heard by the United States Supreme Court. (See last year’s NJBIZ article).

In public service, currently serving on the board of trustees of Saint Peter’s University and previously as the chairman of both the Covenant House New York Board of Directors and the Saint Peter’s Prep Board of Trustees.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

Management of artificial intelligence.

What was the best career advice you’ve ever received (or what’s your best advice for the next generation)?

Pay attention to details and always provide strong advocacy for your clients.

Lawrence Lustberg 

Partner
FBT Gibbons LLP

What is your proudest professional achievement?

I am proudest of my role in developing Gibbons’ White Collar and Investigations practice, the premier such practice in the state, and having been the first John J. Gibbons Fellow in Public Interest & Constitutional Law, and directed it for the last 36 years, during which time it has been involved in the most important legal issues of our time. Now, I am proud of the succession plan I have developed and implemented for both, which have been left in the hands of great leaders going forward.

What do you foresee as the most disruptive change in the legal industry in the coming year?

Since COVID, the remote practice of law has become commonplace, but much is lost in not practicing law together, in terms of both collegiality and quality of legal thinking. The profession must come to terms with this and balance the advantages of each in the years to come, even in the face of resistance from many young lawyers. Likewise, AI presents the challenge of availing ourselves of fantastic new technology without jettisoning the unique human abilities associated with legal analysis.

2026 NJBIZ Law Power List Index:
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