Maja Lacevic, 31

Born in war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina, part of the former Yugoslavia at the time, Maja Lacevic and her family became refugees in Croatia and Germany before a church in Kentucky sponsored them to come to the United States.

She says her chaotic upbringing gave her “a healthy respect for the rule of law” that motivated her career choices. Her mother worked as a physician, so it’s fitting that Lacevic has become an lawyer specializing in health care law, particularly corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions involving hospitals and health systems.

Lacevic’s formative years also taught her, she says, “to be a lot more empathetic and to look at the world with a much more global perspective, which is so important in this day and age when we are connected to anyone, anywhere with the click of a button.”

In her corporate law practice, Lacevic doesn’t litigate, but that’s the way she likes it. “I like to work with people at the forefront and solve their problems before they become problems,” she says, adding that even in business law, passion, commitment and authenticity are keys to success.

“In this day and age, clients can tell if you're not interested,” Lacevic explains. “They can tell if you're really just about the bottom line and if you're not genuinely interested in who they are, helping them grow and helping them achieve their goals. So having authenticity in your relationships, in your networking, I think is very important, especially in the legal industry.”