Lisa Gordon Stella has represented clients in litigation, negotiation, employee relations, strategic personnel planning, and stakeholder communications for over twenty years.   In 2009, leveraging her experience as a former big firm litigator and general counsel, Lisa formed her own firm focused on providing non-profits, schools and small businesses with legal and strategic advice in all aspects of their operations, including employment and human resources matters, student discipline, contracting, pre-litigation counseling, training, and policy development. 

As part of her practice, Lisa is a DRC certified mediator and also serves as special counsel to law firms, multinational corporations and non-profit organizations, investigating allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, misconduct and conflicts of interest.  

Passionate about serving her clients and her community, Lisa has received numerous pro bono awards for her work on International Child Abduction cases and served on numerous non-profit boards, including past-President of the Elna B. Spaulding Conflict Resolution Center, and Vice President of Maureen Joy Charter School.

She received her A.B from the University of California at Davis, Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, her law degree from the University of Minnesota, Order of the Coif, Magna Cum Laude, and served as a judicial clerk for Michael Daly Hawkins of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Lisa lives in Durham with her husband, dog, and cat. She has two daughters, one in college and the other in professional school.

Stephanie Klupinski recently relocated to North Carolina from Ohio, where she spent over a decade as a charter school attorney. After earning her law degree in 2010, she served as Vice President of Legal and Legislative Affairs for the Ohio Alliance of Public Charter Schools. Her career then took her to various charter school authorizers, including the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and the Hawaii Public Charter School Commission, before she joined Callender Law Firm as an associate attorney.

Stephanie’s passion for education began as a Teach For America corps member in Los Angeles, where she taught high school English. She later spent three years as an education reporter for Catalyst Cleveland magazine, deepening her engagement with education policy and advocacy.

She holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.P.P. from the University of Michigan, and a J.D. from The Ohio State University. Stephanie now resides in Durham with her husband and two daughters, who attend a local charter school.