A family law attorney at Stein Sperling, Julie Christopher concentrates her practice on the full spectrum of domestic matters, including separation and divorce, complex custody suits, child support and alimony, property distribution and valuations, modifications to existing agreements, contempt and enforcement, and pre- and post-nuptial and separation agreements. Christopher approaches each client as a partner, listening carefully, communicating regularly and advising at every stage of the process. Trained to represent children in court, she is frequently appointed as counsel for disabled persons or as a guardian of property, reflecting her standing among colleagues and the judiciary alike.

What is the biggest challenge facing your industry today?

In my observation, the biggest challenge facing the legal profession is the responsible use of artificial intelligence. AI tools are revolutionizing the practice of law, but AI will not eliminate the need for critical thinking by lawyers. Human judgment must continue to overlay AI technology.

AI is creating ways for attorneys and support staff to enhance efficiency surrounding time-intensive tasks such as drafting documents and reviewing discovery. These innovations in machine learning result in cost-saving measures for clients. At the same time, legal professionals are navigating unknown territory as we grapple with issues of confidentiality, privacy, bias and disclosure of the use of AI tools.

Responsible AI use will continue to demand detailed and careful review by the user to ensure the ethical use of AI tools. Meticulous oversight of work product is more important than ever to prevent reliance on information that has not been properly vetted. Machine learning is evolving at a rapid pace, and the legal industry must strive to become competent with the use of AI tools to maximize obligations of zealous representation while avoiding running afoul of legal ethics and duties of confidentiality.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice I ever received was in my driver’s ed class taught by my high school’s football coach: “When in doubt, yield.” For my 16th birthday, I went to the DMV to take the road test. I executed all tasks successfully, sans one. To reenter the DMV parking lot, I had to make a left-hand turn. While waiting to make the turn, the stoplight turned red. I wondered whether I could make the turn. Unsure, I proceeded. This resulted in an automatic failure of the test, and at the time, my humiliation telling friends and family I failed my driver’s test. Almost immediately, I remembered what coach had said, “When in doubt, yield.”

Since that day, I have incorporated that advice in my personal and professional life. I do not simply react. I develop a plan with my clients to achieve their goals. When I don’t know the answer, I figure out the answer and seek guidance from those that do.

In today’s culture of polarizing extremes, too often opposing parties and attorneys engage in high conflict communications. It can be especially hard not to react when an opposing party seems to engage in unnecessarily difficult and unproductive communications. In those moments, I refrain from sending a snarky missive. I wait and send the measured response that the legal profession requires and my clients deserve.

How do you define success?

Success is making a positive and measurable difference for my clients. It is mentoring younger attorneys. It is making sure my actions reflect positively on my profession, my law firm and my partners. It is giving back to the legal community and assisting underserved populations. It is being able to articulate how my contribution has impacted my community with a positive and long-term influence.

A founder of her own firm before joining Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny LLC, Alisa Cummins brings deep experience to her role as a partner leading the firm’s family law practice. Her work spans separation and divorce, alimony and spousal support, child custody and support, adoptions, guardianship and collaborative family law. Although a skilled litigator, Cummins pursues mediation and collaborative practice whenever possible. She has lectured for the Maryland State Bar Association, the Baltimore City Bar Association, the Institute for Paralegal Education and the University of Maryland School of Law, and has earned Super Lawyer recognition annually since 2009. She volunteers as a mediator before the Circuit Courts of Baltimore City and Baltimore County, and supports the Howard County Bar Association Family Law Assistance Program. ****

What is the biggest challenge facing your industry today?

One of the biggest challenges in family law is that people often think they are confronting a contained legal issue, when in reality, they are moving through a major life event with profound legal, financial and personal consequences. A family law matter is rarely just about the immediate dispute. It can affect a closely held business, long-term financial security, estate planning and the future stability of an entire family.

That is why meaningful representation in this space requires far more than technical command of the law. It requires judgment, perspective and the ability to see the full picture. The strongest family law advocates are not simply reacting to the issue in front of them. They are helping clients navigate a deeply personal transition with clarity, strategy and a comprehensive view of what is at stake now and in the future.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

To listen first and listen well. Not only for the facts but for what truly matters to the client. In family law, two matters can appear nearly identical on paper and still require entirely different approaches because the people involved, their priorities and their definitions of a successful outcome are different.

That advice has shaped the way I practice. Experience is invaluable, but it only serves the client when it is paired with discipline, curiosity and the willingness to resist assumptions. My job is not to impose a template. It is to understand the person I have the privilege to represent, help them make informed decisions and chart the right path forward with them.

How do you define success?

Helping a client move from uncertainty to clarity in a way that protects what matters most to them. In family law, success is never formulaic. Sometimes it means achieving an exceptional result in court. Sometimes, it means resolving a matter with discretion and thoughtfulness through mediation or collaborative practice and sparing the client unnecessary conflict along the way.

At the end of the day, success is measured by whether the client feels heard and well-positioned for what comes next. The best outcome is not always the most aggressive or the most visible one. It is the one that protects what matters most to them and helps them step into the next chapter with strength and peace of mind.

A family law practitioner for more than two decades, Ilene Glickman brings deep litigation experience and a commitment to amicable resolution to her role as partner at Landau, McGee & Glickman. Her practice encompasses divorce, alimony, marital property, child custody and support, and complex financial matters involving closely held businesses and executive compensation.

A trained mediator, collaborative law practitioner, parent coordinator and child’s attorney, Glickman earned her law degree magna cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1994. She currently chairs the Family & Juvenile Section Council of the Maryland State Bar and serves as president of the Collaborative Professionals of Baltimore.

What is the biggest challenge facing your industry today?

One of the most significant challenges facing the field of family law today is the increasing level of conflict that mirrors broader societal trends. Families are coming into the court system more entrenched than ever, often carrying complex and deeply rooted issues. High-conflict custody disputes frequently involve allegations of parental alienation, mental health concerns affecting a child or one or both parents, and breakdowns in communication that make resolution extraordinarily difficult.

At the same time, conflict resolution skills, both within families and in society at large, appear to be diminishing. As a result, courts are being asked to solve problems they were never designed to fix. The legal system is structured to make decisions, not to heal relationships or address the underlying emotional and psychological dynamics that drive many of these disputes. This disconnect places a tremendous burden on the courts and often leaves families without truly sustainable solutions.

It is within this environment that my passion for collaborative law has developed. I believe that the way families resolve their disputes is just as important as the outcome itself. The collaborative process offers a multidisciplinary approach that prioritizes respectful, thoughtful negotiation and seeks to create durable, family-centered agreements.

In my role as president of Collaborative Professionals of Baltimore, my goal is to expand awareness of this process and to help families access a more constructive path forward. By promoting collaboration over confrontation, we can better support families in crisis and create outcomes that are not only legally sound but also more humane and enduring.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Always be kind and professional in every interaction. In the practice of family law, where emotions run high and the stakes are deeply personal, this guidance has proven invaluable. Whether working with clients, opposing counsel or other professionals, maintaining a steady commitment to respect and civility helps create space for more productive dialogue.

Kindness does not mean weakness, and professionalism does not require detachment. Rather, together they foster trust, credibility and more effective advocacy. When individuals feel heard and respected, even in difficult circumstances, they are more likely to engage constructively and move toward resolution.

In an area of law often defined by conflict, this advice serves as a constant anchor. It not only improves outcomes for clients but also contributes to a more respectful and functional legal community.

How do you define success?

Personally, at its core, success to me means living in a way that reflects what matters most to me. That includes showing up for my family, maintaining meaningful relationships and contributing positively to the communities I am part of. Success is present in the quiet consistency of doing the right thing, even when it is difficult or goes unnoticed. It is found in the ability to navigate challenges with resilience and to grow from experiences rather than be defined by them.

Professionally, I define success as making a meaningful difference in the lives of others. It is not simply about outcomes but about how those outcomes are achieved, through thoughtful advocacy, ethical decision-making and a genuine effort to understand and support people in complex situations. Success means ensuring that my clients have the knowledge and tools they need to feel empowered to make informed decisions about how to resolve their family law matters in a way that aligns with their personal values and long-term goals. When I can help bring clarity, stability and a sense of agency to someone during a difficult time, that is success.

A Howard County native deeply rooted in Maryland’s legal community, Lauren N. Leffler serves as managing partner of Leffler, Bayoumi & Oliver LLC, a boutique firm she leads alongside partner Gauri Bayoumi. Her practice spans family law, trusts and estates, and guardianship matters, bringing an integrated perspective to clients navigating divorce, custody, estate planning and long-term asset protection.

Leffler serves on the Maryland State Bar Association’s Family Law Section Council and speaks frequently at continuing legal education programs. She has been named to the Maryland Super Lawyers list each year from 2017 through 2026 and was selected to The Daily Record’s 2025 Family Law Power List.

What is the biggest challenge facing your industry today?

The biggest challenge facing the legal industry today is that the practice of law has become more complex, more human and more demanding. Clients are no longer coming to us with isolated legal issues; they are coming to us with layered, deeply personal challenges that intersect with mental health, family dynamics, financial complexity and long-term planning. A divorce is not just a divorce. An estate plan is not just a set of documents. These matters require thoughtful, strategic and highly individualized guidance.

At the same time, clients expect more than ever before. They expect accessibility, responsiveness and clarity. They want to understand the process, feel supported and trust that their attorney truly sees the full picture of their lives, not just the legal issues that brought them to our doors. That level of service is essential, but it is also time-intensive and not always aligned with the traditional law firm structures.

Additionally, the rapid rise of technology and artificial intelligence is reshaping how legal services are delivered. While these tools create opportunities for efficiency, they also raise important questions about accuracy, ethics and the risk of losing the human judgment that is critical in high-stakes, emotionally charged matters.

The real challenge is for firms to evolve to address these new developments and expectations of our service. We must move beyond a transactional model and embrace a more holistic, relationship-driven approach, while still operating efficiently and providing top-tier legal services.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice came from my father: Do what you genuinely enjoy, and the rest will follow. That perspective has guided every stage of my career. I have always been driven by a desire to help others, whether through my early work at the White House or in my current practice supporting families through some of the most challenging moments of their lives.

That sense of purpose has shaped not only the work I do but how I do it. I approach each client with empathy, strategy and a deep understanding of the trust they are placing in me. It is that commitment to meaningful work and to the people behind each case that has allowed me to build lasting relationships and be entrusted with some of the most complex and personal matters my clients face.

How do you define success?

I define success not by titles or accolades, but by the impact I have on the people I serve and the team I lead. In my practice, success means helping clients navigate some of the most difficult moments of their lives with clarity, dignity and a sense of stability on the other side. It also means building something meaningful beyond individual cases. At my firm, I view success as creating a culture where our team feels supported, challenged and proud of the work they do and where we consistently deliver thoughtful, high-quality representation. On a personal level, success is doing work that matters, making a difference in my community and continuing to grow both professionally and personally.

A law clerk background and dedication to family advocacy define Bianca Pinnock’s career at Shulman Rogers, where she serves as a shareholder representing clients across the full spectrum of family law, from adoption and custody to complex financial matters, property division and prenuptial agreements.

Pinnock completed the 40-Hour Mediation & Interest-Based Negotiation Skills Training and Best Interest Attorney Training and regularly serves as a Best Interest and Child Privilege Attorney. Since 2021, she has been named to the National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 list and has been recognized as a Maryland and D.C. Super Lawyers “Rising Star” since 2022. She earned her law degree from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in family and human Services from Towson University.

What is the biggest challenge facing your industry today?

One of the biggest challenges in family law today is shifting the culture away from adversarial litigation toward resolution-focused approaches. Clients are best served when their attorneys prioritize practical outcomes over prolonged conflict.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

My grandma often says to me, “The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.” I keep that reminder on a sticky note in my office. Thinking that way, focusing on one moment, one decision, one client at a time, allows me to be fully present and give each person the thoughtful guidance and attention they deserve.

How do you define success?

I define success as guiding clients through complex, high-stakes situations with sound judgment and steady advocacy. When a client can look back and feel their case was handled thoughtfully and effectively, that is success.