Credit: Shutterstock.com

Stephanie Friese, 45, Chamberlain Hrdlicka, Atlanta.

Title: Co-managing partner of the firm's Atlanta office.

How long have you been at the firm? Two and a half years.

Stephanie Friese Stephanie Friese/courtesy photo

How did you get started in the legal industry? I started my own firm when I graduated law school, with my father as my mentor and my father-in-law helping me with connections in the real estate community. I have traveled a very unconventional path, never having been an associate at any firm. I merged my then-existing practice, which I started building in 1999, with Chamberlain in 2019.