Lori Marks-Esterman | Ask and You Shall Receive: A Proactive Approach to Leadership

The Lawyer's Edge

Lori Marks-Esterman is a commercial litigator and the Chair of the Litigation Practice Group at Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP. Lori has more than 20 years of expertise in litigating complex commercial disputes and has substantial trial experience in New York’s commercial divisions and the Delaware Chancery Court. She represents a wide range of clients, including hedge funds and private equity companies, shareholder activists, and real estate developers. Her practice emphasizes corporate governance disputes, mergers and acquisitions litigation, director and officer liability, and more.

Lori is a Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society. She was named in Notable Women in Law by Crain’s New York Business, and frequently appears in the New York Super Lawyers list.

In this episode…

How do you move up the leadership ladder at your firm? Do you jump at any opportunity presented to you at the drop of a hat? Or do you hang back and wait until someone approaches you personally with an offer?

According to Lori Marks-Esterman, Chair of the Litigation Practice Group at Olshan Frome Wolosky, you’re doing your career—and yourself—a disservice if you’re doing the latter. In her 20 years as a seasoned trial attorney, she has progressed from Litigator to Partner, and she did this successfully despite being in contradiction to senior professionals. What made her so successful in navigating her way through a cut-throat business and profession?

In this episode of The Lawyer’s Edge, Elise Holtzman interviews Lori Marks-Esterman, Chair of Litigation Practice Group at Olshan Frome Wolosky, about her strategies for progressing to a leadership role at her firm—and how you can do the same in yours. Lori also discusses whether women approach leadership differently, the biggest and most common obstacles between you and career advancement, and why she believes it’s okay to ask questions as long as you come prepared before you approach anyone with them.