www.negociosnow.com
40 February 2018
Age: 30
Title: Co-founder and COO
Company: Paladin
Bio: Kristen Sonday is the co-
founder and chief operating offi-
cer of Paladin, which helps legal
teams run more efficient pro bono
programs while increasing access
to justice. In her role, she works
with Fortune 500 companies, law
firms, law schools and bar asso-
ciations to staff, manage and track
pro bono work and to visualize the
organization's impact.
Prior to Paladin, Sonday
worked on international cri-
minal matters in Mexico and
Central America for the U.S. De-
partment of Justice and served
on the founding team of a New
York-based tech start-up. As a re-
sult of her work closing the jus-
tice gap, she was named a 2017
American Bar Association (ABA)
Woman of Legal Tech to Watch,
an ABA Journal Legal Rebel, and
a Fastcase50 honoree. Paladin
was also part of the recent Te-
chstars Chicago cohort, and par-
ticipated in the joint accelerator
program from the Illinois Hispa-
nic Chamber of Commerce and
1871.
Last year, Sonday served
as Google for Entrepreneurs'
Code2040 Entrepreneur-in-
Residence at 1871, representing
and promoting black and Latinx
founders. Her work included
events and programming to
connect entrepreneurs of color
across Chicago's tech ecosystem
and culminated in a Latinx Star-
tup Weekend to foster early en-
trepreneurship. In her free time,
Sonday volunteers as an advisor
to young founders through the
Princeton Entrepreneurship
Council.
Kristen Sonday
The founder
helping others
with pro bono
work
"D
on't be afraid to fail. If
you're not constantly failing
or getting rejected, you're not
moving fast enough or learning."
Kristen Sonday