Superstar Speakers
Michael Cohen
Debbie Foster
Debbie Foster is a nationally recognized thought leader on efficiency and innovation in professional legal organizations. Her 20+ years of experience, combined with a mix of strategic management and strong leadership skills, has enabled Debbie to develop a unique ability to work with law firms and legal departments to help them navigate the ever-changing legal services delivery landscape.
Debbie has been working with law firms and legal departments since 1995, earned her Lean Six Sigma Certification, and is relied on by firms all over the country as a management consultant. Debbie is very active in the Association of Legal Administrators, the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association, and was the Co-Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2018.
Michael S. Cohen is a partner in Duane Morris’ Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group. Michael concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law training and counseling. He has trained and counseled employers throughout the country on subjects including harassment prevention; diversity, equity and inclusion; combatting implicit bias; performance management; discipline and discharge; hiring and recruiting practices; performance evaluations; FMLA, ADA and FLSA compliance; leave of absence policies; LGBTQ+ issues in the workplace; substance abuse testing; workplace violence; records retention; conducting background checks; and more. Michael also has conducted investigations into claims of harassment and discrimination and has drafted employee handbooks, employment agreements, non-compete agreements and post-termination agreements. Michael regularly conducts in excess of 200 trainings each year. He has represented clients throughout the country in EEO and other administrative proceedings.
Michael has been cited as a national authority on employment issues by The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today, MSNBC.com, HR Magazine, SHRM On-Line, Employment Law 360, Inside Counsel Magazine, as well as many other publications. Michael serves as an Advisory Board Member of GenHERation and as a Board Member of Serve, Inc.
Michael has a passion for education and for taking on a challenge. Both of these traits likely were sparked by his mother, a former high school teacher who, after being fired from teaching due to her being pregnant with Michael, challenged a mandatory maternity leave policy all the way up to the United States Supreme Court where she won a victory for all working women, in a case captioned Cohen v. School Board of Chesterfield County Virginia. Michael is a proud husband to Jamie and father to Maddie and Mia, a travel softball coach for the Philadelphia Phillies Urban Youth Academy and a fanatical Philadelphia and University of Michigan sports fan.
Alan Wilson
Alan Wilson started working with GLJ Benefit Consultants (GLJBC) in 2004 as an Employee Benefits Specialist. Since 2006, Alan has spearheaded the effort within GLJBC to reach out to law firms nationally regarding their benefits and business operations and how to use them to help attract and retain quality personnel. While in his current role, Alan and GLJ have created 10 National VIP Business Partner Programs for the Association of Legal Administrators with hundreds of firms attorneys and tens of thousands of their employees enjoying the value- added benefits of these businesses.
Alan has written articles for the Association of Legal Administrators’ Legal Management, speaks frequently on benefits, leadership and client relationship building at conferences, and consults with individual law firms nationally.
Braeden Anderson
K. Braeden Anderson is a Partner at Gesmer Updegrove LLP, where he leads the firm’s Securities Enforcement & Investigations practice, and chairs Mackrell International’s Blockchain & Digital Assets Group and Securities Enforcement & Investigations Group. He is a nationally recognized securities regulatory and enforcement attorney whose practice sits at the intersection of traditional financial regulation and emerging technology.
Before joining Gesmer Updegrove, Braeden founded a Washington, D.C.–based law firm. He previously served as Assistant General Counsel at Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD), advising on high-stakes regulatory and enforcement matters, and earlier practiced at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Sidley Austin LLP in New York and Washington, D.C.
Braeden is a prominent voice in securities and crypto regulation and a leading example of how lawyers can build brand through education and content. He publishes a weekly newsletter reaching more than 20,000 legal and financial professionals, runs a YouTube channel with over 160,000 subscribers, and regularly produces written and multimedia thought leadership through his blog, Anderson Insights. His work focuses on enforcement trends, fintech regulation, and the evolving role of digital assets in capital markets.
He has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America (2025) for Financial Services Regulation Law and Securities Regulation, and was named the #1 most-read fintech thought leader in the United States in Mondaq’s Spring 2025 Thought Leadership Awards.
Maria Mason
Stephanie Everett
As Chief Operating Officer at Lowndes, Maria Mason oversees the firm's administrative and business functions, including finance, technology, human resources, facilities, communications, marketing, and general operations. Her role spans from managing day-to-day business operations to strategic planning and long-term organizational development.
With 25 years of experience in legal management across diverse markets, including Texas, Hawaii, Maine, and Washington, D.C., Maria is known for implementing innovative solutions to complex operational challenges. Her collaborative leadership style strengthens teams and creates effective partnerships across departments.
A long-time member of the Association of Legal Administrators, Maria has held numerous leadership positions and has spoken at several events, both nationally and locally. She is a Certified Legal Manager (CLM) and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Stephanie Everett helps lawyers build modern law firms that actually work—for their clients, their teams, and themselves. She knows firsthand how hard that can be. After starting her career in BigLaw, she co-founded and scaled her own real estate litigation firm to 20 people in just seven years. That experience sparked a new mission: helping law firm owners stop feeling stuck and start leading with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
In 2016, Stephanie was tapped to design and launch Lawyers for Equal Justice—an incubator program supported by the State Bar of Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court, and Georgia’s five law schools. Since then, she’s worked with hundreds of lawyers across the country to rethink their business models, embrace innovation, and lead future-ready firms. She joined Lawyerist in 2018 to launch the Lab coaching program and now leads the Lawyerist team within Affinity Consulting Group, focusing on strategy, growth, and AI transformation across the legal industry.
Stephanie is a nationally recognized voice in legal innovation. She’s a 2020 ABA Women of Legal Tech honoree, a member of the Fastcase 50, and co-author of the best-selling book The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited. She also hosts The Lawyerist Podcast, where she talks with legal leaders and disruptors about what’s next for the profession.
She previously served on the boards of the Sigma Sigma Sigma Foundation and Mikell Camp & Conference Center. At home, she’s a proud soccer mom, Atlanta United superfan, and travel enthusiast—as long as there’s no RV involved.