Karen Brown Williams is the founder and principal of The Williams Firm, P.C., an Atlanta?based family law and probate firm. She has practiced law for more than 30 years, with over 20 years of concentrated experience in divorce, child custody, and probate litigation. Ms. Williams graduated from Howard University and Emory University School of Law and completed graduate work at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. A former staff attorney to both trial and appellate judges, public defender, prosecutor, and magistrate court judge, she brings a well?rounded perspective to complex family and estate matters. Ms. Williams has served on the Executive Committee and Investigative Panel of the State Bar of Georgia’s Family Law Section and remains active in professional and community organizations. In her spare time, she enjoys painting and other art forms, reading, writing, hiking, and travel.

I’m Kristi Browne, a Partner at Patterson Law in Chicago. I focus my practice on business litigation, legal and financial professional malpractice, fraud, class actions and employment law, including representing medical residents being unfairly treated by their programs. I really enjoy digging into a complex case, especially when someone else couldn’t figure it out before the client came to us. In one case another attorney had represented the client through a jury trial and lost. I successfully moved for a new trial and won a jury verdict for the full amount claimed. In another case, I tackled the problem of avoiding nationwide discovery in a legal malpractice case regarding patent proceedings. That case also presented some significant hurdles in calculating damages for lost opportunities. In the end, I achieved a $32.2m jury verdict that was upheld by the state appellate and supreme courts. The law plays an important role in protecting the rights of minorities, LGBTQ individuals and people with disabilities, including kids. As both a parent and a minority, these causes are important to me, so I support them with my time and expertise. I’m responsible for Operations and Diversity and Inclusion at Patterson. Because I’m also passionate about helping young lawyers become great attorneys, I act as a mentor both at our firm and around Chicago. Driven by a strong undercurrent of justice, I aspire to deliver the best possible result for clients based on their situation. A “win” often means more than simply winning a judgement. A master of creative thinking, I can weave a successful resolution from even the most complex cases. I have been named an Illinois Leading Lawyer in commercial litigation and one of Chicago’s Notable Women Lawyer’s by Crain’s Chicago Business for 2018.

Area of Practice: Entertainment Law Mr. Browning graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Trinity College in Connecticut, and Cornell Law School, and is a member of the California and New York Bars. He is an Honorary George F. Baker Scholar at the Harvard Business School and has been a practicing entertainment and transactional lawyer in Beverly Hills, California for more than thirty years, representing clients in literally all aspects of the entertainment industry. Mr. Browning is also a well-recognized Founder and operating principal of multiple consumer product companies. In this capacity, he oversees all aspects of these companies’ worldwide operations, including their conventional retail, home shopping, electronic retailing, e-commerce, and related marketing platforms and channels, and branding strategies. Mr. Browning’s companies have received numerous awards for product innovation, best in class, and best new product. Mr. Browning has been honored as a Southern California SuperLawyer® and a Los Angeles Business Journal Leader In Law®.

Blake focuses on complex commercial litigation and cases involving contract disputes, fraud, tortious interference with prospective and existing business relationships, theft of trade secrets, and other business torts. He has helped clients win verdicts at trial and through settlements at every stage of a lawsuit. His litigation background includes winning one of the top 100 verdicts in the state of Texas in 2019. Prior to joining Calhoun Bhella & Sechrest in 2023, Blake worked in a boutique litigation firm for six years as a partner, and before that, seven years at the world’s largest law firm as a senior associate. During both tenures, Blake developed extensive courtroom experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts across the country in high-stakes litigation across a range of complex commercial litigation matters. He routinely advises clients on all aspects of contract formation and compliance, with an emphasis on non-compete, non-solicitation, confidentiality, and non-disparagement clauses both pre-suit to avoid litigation and during litigation to best position his clients for success.

Yael Brudner is the founder and lead attorney at Brudner Law. She was admitted to the California Bar in 2008. She received her law degree from the University of Haifa, Israel, and is licensed to practice law in Israel as well. Yael is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association as well as the California and Orange County Bar Associations. She has volunteered at the Citizenship Clinic and the Public Law Center. She is fluent in English and Hebrew.