In 1998, when Regina Pisa was offered the job of chair and managing partner at her firm, Goodwin Procter, she was hesitant to take it at first, because she enjoyed her M&A practice so much. She said she would consider it in 10 years—but her partners said Goodwin couldn't wait.

Goodwin Procter was then a midsized Boston firm of 300 lawyers, focusing on complex litigation, real estate capital markets, financial services and private equity. The firm had lagging revenue, with its $470,000 revenue per lawyer putting it behind several of its Boston-based rivals, despite profits per partner of $730,000 that topped the list of Boston firms.

“I was elected with a mandate for change and told to be bold,” Pisa says. At 42, she was one of the youngest people to ever chair an Am Law 100 firm, and one of the first women to do so. Under Pisa's charge to expand the firm, Goodwin Procter grew by around 600 lawyers, five offices and three key practice areas. Over 16 years, Pisa took the firm from $172.5 million in gross revenue to $775 million in revenue and PPP of nearly $1.75 million.