The Legal Power List
The Legal Power List
The Legal Power List is Counsel Collective’s standing recognition of the general counsel, chief legal officers and advisors defining how modern enterprises are built and protected. It is fed by Leaders to Watch — our cross-function recognition engine — where each legal segment names its own watch list and the standout names flow up into the Power List. A living series: the lists grow, the stories accrue, and recognition compounds as leaders are nominated, vetted and featured.
John Finley
Senior MD & CLO
Katie Sudol
CLO & General Counsel
Kate Heinzelman
General Counsel
Neena Reddy
CLO, GC & Secretary
Jennifer Chu
Partner, CLO & GC
Kathy Choi
GC & Founding Partner
Naseem Sagati Aghili
Partner, GC & Secretary
Christina Lema
CLO & Co-Head Legal
Steven Schwab
MD, GC & CCO
Fred Ebrahemi
Partner, COO & GC
Dipo Ashiru
GC & CCO
Joshua Peck
Partner & GC
Michelle Bergman
GC & CCO
Nancy Mitchell
Partner, CALCO & MD
Command of the enterprise
Legal leadership that shapes strategy, capital and risk — not just the contract. Lawyers whose judgment moves the business, from fund formation to landmark transactions.
A public voice
Leaders who show up to explain the craft — building the function, navigating regulation, and where legal leadership is heading next.
Building what lasts
Operators who build durable legal departments and advisory practices — and lift the people and standards around them.
The Legal Power List 2026
The inaugural class — the general counsel and chief legal officers Counsel Collective named the legal leaders to watch in 2026. The anchor of the series, and where the segment watch lists lead.
Leaders to Watch: Private Equity, Venture Capital & Finance
Forty names shaping the legal architecture of private capital — twenty in-house legal chiefs and the twenty private-practice partners who serve them. A segment watch list feeding the Power List.
Leaders to Watch: Venture Capital & Emerging Companies
The company-side general counsel building today’s venture-backed and AI-era companies, and the private-practice partners who advise them. Next segment on deck — nominations open now.
Read the legal features
The stories behind the names — long-form profiles and conversations with the general counsel and advisors shaping the enterprise.
Know a legal leader who belongs here?
Nominations are open and reviewed on a rolling basis. The series grows as leaders are nominated and vetted — it takes two minutes, and recognition often turns on someone deciding to put a name forward.
Legal Leaders to Watch is Counsel Collective’s recognition series for the general counsel, chief legal officers and advisors building the modern enterprise — gathering our recognition editions (beginning with the Legal Power List) alongside the legal stories we publish. The full cinematic series experience is rendered by the Legal series elevation snippet once activated.
