Laura B. Friedman

Senior Director of Professional Development Cleveland
Contact Info

Summary

As Senior Director of Professional Development at Taft, Laura serves in a multi-faceted role to support associates with the goal of training, developing, mentoring and advancing their short-term and long-term professional success. This includes guiding and coaching associates throughout their career stages, matching associates to work opportunities with an eye toward achieving a purposeful and equitable distribution of work assignments, and contributing to firm-wide initiatives and programs designed to enhance associate development and retention. To accomplish these objectives, she partners with firm leaders and operational teams to strategically support overall associate advancement and ensure alignment of the firm’s strategies.

Prior to joining Taft, Laura served as the Director of Professional Development and Career Counseling at Case Western Reserve University School of Law where she curated professional development programming for law students and counseled students on all aspects of their job search and career goals. Before this, she served as in-house counsel for a global retailer and worked as an attorney for a prominent national law firm.

Laura earned her J.D., cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University in 2013 and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Aquinas College in 2008.

Education

  • Case Western Reserve University School of Law (2013)

    cum laude

  • Case Western Reserve University Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (2023)

    Certificate, Nonprofit Management

  • Aquinas College (2008)

    B.A., summa cum laude, English

Admissions

  • State - Ohio

Professional Affiliations

  • Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association

    Member

  • National Association for Law Placement

    Member
    Co-Vice Chair, Professional Identity Formation Working Group (2021-2023)

  • Professional Development Consortium

    Member

Community Involvement

  • Case Western Reserve Law Alumni Association

    Board Member