Dr. Larry Perlman thinks of himself as a people person. It's a point he returns to again and again when discussing his unusual career path, which saw the Foley & Lardner partner make a hard pivot from working as a physician to practicing the law as a labor and employment attorney.

“I like people,” Perlman said. “In my practice I deal with other attorneys, but I also spend a good amount of my time dealing with human resources professionals, dealing with the folks on the ground who are supervising others and getting their side of the story. If you did a pie chart of who I talk to … it runs the gamut of folks from all levels.

“And so I'm always speaking with people who don't necessarily have the same degrees as me and don't necessarily have the same viewpoint as me … and that's a wonderful thing. It keeps things interesting.”