Episode 3
July 28, 2026
Trial by Fire is a podcast featuring women lawyers across the United States who stepped into ownership, built their own firms, and created practices on their own terms.
Through honest conversations, Julia Hensel sits down with women lawyers who have built firms of their own to uncover the real stories behind the work: the turning points, the doubts, the hard lessons, the defining wins, and the moments that shaped them as leaders.
Trial by Fire was created to spotlight the women who are changing the business of law from the inside out.
Each episode features a woman lawyer with a real story of building, leading, and growing a firm of her own. These are not just success stories. They are stories of courage, pressure, resilience, strategy, and growth.
From solo practices to growing firms, from first clients to major turning points, these conversations reveal what it really takes to build a law firm and what happens when women bet on themselves.
Explore candid conversations with women lawyers who have built firms of their own across the U.S. Each episode shares her path to ownership, her “trial by fire” moment, and the lessons she learned while building her practice.
Julia Hensel is the owner of Lexigate and Repspert, where she works at the intersection of law, marketing, business, and firm growth.
Through her work with law firms and legal professionals, Julia has seen firsthand how much courage it takes to build a practice, especially for women stepping into ownership, leadership, and visibility.
With Trial by Fire, Julia brings those stories forward.
As host, she creates space for honest conversations with women law firm owners about the decisions, challenges, and defining moments that shaped their firms. Her goal is to highlight the real journey behind firm ownership and celebrate the women who are building the future of law on their own terms.
Are you a woman who has built a firm of your own?
We want to hear your story.
Whether you are in your first year of ownership or have built a thriving firm over decades, Trial by Fire is a place to share the truth behind the journey: the risks, the lessons, the turning points, and the moments that made you stronger.
Nominate a woman law firm owner for a future episode of Trial by Fire.
We’re looking for compelling stories from women lawyers across the country who have built, led, and grown firms in their own way.
If someone comes to mind, we’d love to hear her story.