PODCAST

Khurram"s Quorum

Khurram Naik

Deep conversations with underrated lawyers.

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

00:59:48

045 Joe Ahmad: sincerity over polish, and empathy and...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2026/01/08

Joe Ahmad is a trial lawyer who’s tried 100+ cases and built his entire approach around a simple premise: trials are a risk sport. If you need certainty, don’t go to trial.In this conversation, Joe breaks down what separates persuasive advocates from “polished” advocates, and why the jury can sense the difference immediately. He shares specific stories (including a New Year’s Eve mistrial decision he’d never repeat) and practical techniques for dealing with bad facts, corporate narratives, and the

75:40

044: Patti Burris on going from teen mom to funds...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/10/31

Patti Burris had two kids and an associate's degree when she started her path towards law school. Yet she made her way to the top of her class by building systems to succeed even when there wasn't a safety net. And she's reframing her biglaw path from a necessary drudge to an opportunity to build a rewarding life. Patti's law school story begins with walking into the wrong job interview, which led to a life-changing mentorship. She shares the principles she used to call her shot in law

86:57

043: Priyanka Timblo on the strategy behind a $101...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/10/14

Priyanka Timblo left the comfort of Paul Weiss to join a five-year-old litigation boutique, betting on a place where she could practice the skill she knew she was best at: being on her feet in court. That calculated risk paid off spectacularly, culminating in a $101 million jury verdict against Walmart in Arkansas, one of the largest verdicts in the state's history.Her path wasn't conventional. A Canadian law school graduate who was told by recruiters to pursue business development instead

43:48

042: Judge Vince Chhabria on case management as...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/08/29

Judge Vince Chhabria is a district court judge in the Northern District of California. When I shared with previous podcast guests I was interviewing Judge Chhabria, the excitement was palpable - these experienced litigators think of Judge Chhabria as "insightful", "focused", and "sharp", and this is a rare opportunity to learn how an influential judge thinks.Judge Chhabria and I talked about:- his unexpected path from the office of the San Francisco City Attorney's Office to the bench, any

97:02

041: Rakesh Kilaru on decision-making tools hones at...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/08/18

Rakesh Kilaru is a partner at Wilkinson Stekloff, a litigation boutique. In this episode we discuss these frame-shifting principles:- Be a trial generalist, not a subject-matter silo. Position the firm (and yourself) as first resort for trials across domains, so calls keep coming even as subject areas cycle.- Choose environments that improve decisions. A fixed-fee model (no billables) removes distortions, encourages collaboration, and lets teams right-size effort to outcomes. - Working with

74:10

040: Dai Wai Chin Feman on optionality as a career...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/08/18

Dai Wei Chin Feman is Managing Director and Corporate Counsel at Parabellum Capital, a litigation funder. This conversation gets practical about career advancement though building a durable book with optionality, karma-as-a-system, and policy work. In this conversation, we discuss:How business development differentiates youHow parallel “optionality” compounds opportunityTurning affinity bars/CLEs into firmwide BD platformsWhy deliberate generosity is a diversification strategyFunding

87:41

039: Ambika Kumar on defending free speech, building...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/06/27

When tech platforms face “bet-the-company” speech fights, they call Ambika Kumar. We dig into how Ambika built a First Amendment practice from Seattle, argued a 7:30 a.m. TRO that blocked the first TikTok ban, and balances high-stakes litigation with raising two kids.Ambika explains why eagerness is an asymmetric bet, how concise emails and phone calls keep clients calm, and what Section 230’s future means for AI. She also opens up about career inflection points, from early mentor hacks to

105:24

038: Manisha Sheth on leaving partnership for...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/05/30

Quinn Emanuel partner Manisha Sheth has moved twice between elite private practice and high-stakes public enforcement. In this wide-ranging conversation we discuss:how to bet on yourself to cultivate new skillshow she ran 250 lawyers at the N.Y. Attorney General’s office and sped up investigations with two simple process tweaksthe hottest state-level enforcement trends in climate, consumer finance, and AIdangling from an ice face at 19,000 ftListen for practical insights on career strategy,

50:34

037: Sunny Kim on quitting biglaw, publicly owning...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/05/16

Want a 20-minute bootcamp for your LinkedIn presence? Episode 037 for Khurram's Quorum is a little different. My guest is Sunny Kim, who went from biglaw to make a big reset for her career helping lawyers find their voice in social media. We cover how Sunny tinkered her way into discovering some of the best ways for lawyers to share their stories to build trust and authority with peers and clients, and get into brass tacks about how to position yourself on LinkedIn through your profile and

85:29

036: Randy Gaw on case selection, niching, and...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/05/09

Randy Gaw is the co-founder of Gaw Poe LLP. Randy left biglaw for a more direct path to first-chair trial work and strategic autonomy. At his boutique, Randy focuses on complex business litigation and high-value contingency work. We discuss:why case selection is about narrative, not just legal theoryhow poker and parenting made him a better litigatorwhat he learned from jury consultants that changed how he prepares for trial

90:10

035: Hilary Gerzhoy on emotional drivers of ethical...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/05/02

As a partner at HWG, Hilary Gerzhoy advises law firms, partners, and GCs on the messiest, most human decisions lawyers make. In this episode, Hilary and I talk about why most ethics violations are rooted in fear, not greed, what really motivates risky behavior during lateral moves, and why great lawyers lead with empathy - and still set boundaries.

73:42

034: Jaimie Nawaday on disrupting drinking,...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/04/25

Jamie Nawaday is Head of Seward & Kissel's Government Enforcement and Internal Investigations Practice and the founder of Disrupting Drinking, where she speaks on personal change and cultural change to disrupt the corporate cocktail culture. Jamie has the unique insight that drinking isn't just about wellness - it reflects how the legal profession handles stress, bonding, and belonging. We explore how storytelling and authenticity are not side skill, they’re core to both legal

87:37

033: Vishal Shah on moving to the other side of the...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/01/24

Vishal Shah is the founder of Shah Litigation, a high-stake employment litigation firm. This is a unique opportunity to examine the strategy and values a biglaw associate used to launch and grow a successful law firm. We talk about the decision to switch to the other side of the v., how he researched the opportunity to identify his niche, his approach to a national trial practice, the unique dynamics of the plaintiffs' bar, and business development strategy.(01:30) - from small-town Alabama

109:47

032: Pratik Shah on the market for appellate...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/01/16

Pratik Shah is the Practice Head of Akin’s Supreme Court and appellate practice. Pratik breaks down his achievements and shares the values and principles he used to challenge himself and create opportunities. This conversation explores three underdiscussed topics, the market for appellate litigation, the business of appellate litigation, and the seismic shift in appellate practice in the past couple decades. We also explore how to make decisions about the kind of practice to join and

100:43

031: Tim Yoo on what lawyers can learn from...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2025/01/10

Tim Yoo is a partner at Bird Marella and probably one of the few lawyers who can reference both the second fundamental theorem of calculus and The Undertaker. This free-ranging conversation explores how lawyers can use basic concepts from applied mathematics for decision principles and strategy. We also cover what lawyers can learn about storytelling and character development from professional wrestling.

91:12

030: Lora Krsulich on fear as fuel as a first-gen...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2024/12/20

Lora Krsulich is an associate at Goodwin and a rising star. After clerking in the Central District of California and the Ninth Circuit, Lora litigated at Susman Godfrey before joining Goodwin. She shares her story of finding her voice and confidence in law as a first-gen lawyer, and the values she's followed as she's pursued success and excellence. (00:58) - - “Covered in Masking Tape”: Lora's father’s pride in his work and how it influenced her.(08:01) - - “Fear as Fuel”: Facing debt and

91:35

029: Sonal Mehta on making decisions in the face of...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2024/07/19

This episode with Sonal Mehta is a masterclass on decision-making. We explore her early rise to partner and the path that led her to the management committee at WilmerHale by walking through the tradeoffs and opportunities she identified at each step. We also explore the role intuition plays in legal analysis. And we discuss Sonal's journey through challenging parts of her practice and what's led to her success. Sonal is remarkably down-to-earth for her accomplishments, so this was a fun

67:06

028: Silpa Maruri on creativity, self-advocacy, and...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2024/06/28

Silpa Maruri graduated from law school in 2011, but she's already been partner at renowned trial firm Quinn Emanuel and is now founding partner at Elsberg Baker Maruri, an elite commercial litigation firm. How did she do it? In this episode, we discuss the techniques and principles Silpa used to practice creativity and self-advocacy. Launching a new firm can seem daunting, but Silpa breaks down some of the key components and the path that got her here.

94:52

027: Samuel Levine on the prestige trap, changing the...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2024/06/21

Listening to this episode, you can't miss Samuel Levine's passion for consumer protection. It would be a mistake to look at his remarkable ascent from Harvard Law School to become Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC as a strategic arc to power. Samuel's story illustrates why lawyers should get their hands dirty and find work you're passionate about.I've largely advocated for a more strategic approach to career, and Samuel's approach is a nice counterbalance. I enjoyed

69:57

026: Heather Stevenson on moving from law to business...

Khurram"s Quorum ·

2024/06/14

Heather Stevenson went from litigator at Sullivan & Cromwell to running a juice bar, then returned to law as a transactional lawyer at the Boston Globe where she rose to Deputy General Counsel, then became General Counsel at Red Cell Partners, an incubation firm. I've been influenced in more ways than one by Heather's adventurous career, and I admire her first-principles approach to thinking about what's important in career.

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