In her career so far, Julie Herzog has handled more than $4 billion of business transactions. Her work has ranged from corporate transactions, securities and mergers and acquisitions to entity and fund formations, debt and equity financings, management buyouts, joint ventures and strategic alliances, according to her nomination for Law Week’s Top Women.
Herzog has worked across the country and across the Pacific Ocean. Earlier in her career, when she practiced corporate and securities law for major international law firms, she was based out of Chicago, Denver and Hong Kong.
But it’s been a while since Herzog has worked for a big law firm. She joined a partnership in 2003 with some of her former colleagues. 11 years later, she would join up with her longtime friend and former colleague, Chrstine Lamb, to create Fortis Law Partners through a merger of their law firms.
Herzog told Law Week that the original Fortis law firm was founded by three men, and that she joined because she wanted to offer high-quality legal services to entrepreneurs at reasonable prices. She said the 2014 merger combined the decades of experience and values of integrity, collaboration, problem solving and dedication to client service that she and Lamb shared. But there was also something intrinsic to Herzog in the decision to create Fortis Law Partners.
“My entrepreneurial spirit, which began with selling lollipops in junior high, played a significant role in my decision to co-found Fortis Law Partners,” Herzog said. “I enjoy the challenge of running a business and making strategic decisions alongside my partners to achieve collective success. Leaving Big Law to join a startup law firm was a huge risk, but I believed that doing so would improve the quality of life not only for myself but also for other employees, particularly women.”
Herzog described both of her parents as hard workers and leaders in their community and in business organizations. Her mother was a German immigrant who grew up in foster homes in Berlin after being orphaned at five years old. Her father grew up on a Michigan farm, served in the army and was a first-generation college student thanks to a Pell Grant, Herzog noted. Her father went on to be a partner at one of the nation’s top accounting firms.
“Their journey inspired and motivated me, and because of their example, I’ve never questioned my ability to do hard things,” Herzog said. The choice to practice law came from a decision to follow in her father’s footsteps in pursuing a professional career.
“Ultimately, I chose law because I wanted to help people and ensure their voices were heard,” Herzog said. “My college background in accounting and political science provided a strong foundation for my legal career. As I explored my personal and family history, I realized my passion for helping others thrive and reach their goals without constraints,” Herzog said.
The draw to the transactional world of law came early in Herzog’s legal career, when she was an intern and spent time in both litigation and transactions groups.
“Litigation is all about winning and losing; you’re constantly arguing, fighting and trying to prove that you’re right. That was not appealing to me at all,” Herzog said. “I love the corporate side, where I’m striving to create win-win situations for my client and their vendors, customers, investors, etc. It’s all about making the pie bigger for everybody, having a positive impact, and helping people thrive.”
“I especially love mergers and acquisitions because they represent life-changing opportunities for founders and buyers,” Herzog added. “I get to guide entrepreneurs and public companies through the complexities of the legal landscape and help my clients reduce risk, increase profitability, and expand their market reach, all of which is incredibly rewarding.”
In the past year alone, Herzog has closed 11 transactions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, according to her nomination. Three of those, which closed in the same two-month period, were valued at $130 million collectively.
One example of her transaction work involved an entrepreneur who began his career as a janitor without a college degree at a petroleum products distribution company. Herzog said that, through sheer determination, he climbed the ranks to a customer service role, where a customer noticed his talent and dedication.
“That customer saw his potential and offered to seed him $100,000 to start his own business. Seizing the opportunity, he went on to build a multimillion-dollar company and is now partnering with private equity to invest in and acquire other businesses, helping other entrepreneurs grow and thrive,” Herzog recounted. “His story is a testament to resilience, hard work, determination, and the transformative power of opportunity.”
Her ability to bring people together to achieve their goals extends beyond her transactional work. In addition to her work as managing partner of Fortis, Herzog co-founded a consulting firm that provides businesses with fractional C-level executive experience, coaches attorneys in the firm and recently spearheaded and co-hosted a networking opportunity aimed at empowering and inspiring women to pursue careers in M&A and finance, according to her nomination.
She’s also a founding partner and chair of the underwriting committee for the Women Inspiring Leadership Development Summit; a member of several organizations focused on uplifting women in business, the Association for Corporate Growth and the Entrepreneur’s Organization, where she was recently selected as Tenured Member of the Year.
Herzog said that she began supporting women in law when she noticed many of her female colleagues leaving to focus on their family, and she said she felt compelled to create a work environment that allowed women to balance their careers and personal lives. That informs both her community involvement and her work as a managing partner at Fortis.
“I saw many women like me, who wanted to have a family and be engaged parents, drop out of law altogether because they could not find a firm that allowed them to achieve that balance,” Herzog said. “Because I was willing to risk pursuing what I wanted, my partners and I have created a successful law firm and consulting company that offers work/life balance and growth opportunities to everyone on our team, regardless of gender, age, or life stage.”
Even with her myriad professional and community responsibilities, Herzog finds the time to give back to the community with her time and resources. Her experience volunteering her time began at an early age, when she delivered Christmas gifts and meals with her father to a family in need. She’s carried that into her legal and personal life, volunteering for the Boys and Girls Club and the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center.
One significant focus of her time is advocating for those with disabilities, a cause that’s personal to her. Herzog is a mother of triplets, one of whom has significant disabilities due to a brain injury during her pregnancy. Since her daughter’s birth, she has supported organizations that help her daughter and other children with special needs, including the Anchor Center for Blind Children, the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado and the Tennyson Center for Children.
Herzog told Law Week that when her daughter was born, doctors warned her that she might never walk or talk.
“Although she has endured 39 brain surgeries and faced many other challenges throughout her life, today, she is a healthy and thriving 11th grader who is passionate about learning, determined, and curious,” Herzog said. “Her resilience inspires me every day. In a sense, her journey reminds me of the challenges entrepreneurs face. I think that’s why helping my clients overcome obstacles, defy expectations, and push forward with determination feels very intuitive and natural to me.”