The 2025 Game Changers Summit has become known as a large-scale celebration of the accomplishments of the nation’s top law firm owners.
For the third consecutive year, Michael and Jessica Mogill took the stage throughout the two-day Summit to recognize the most committed Crisp Coach members for their incredible transformations and contributions this year.
This highly anticipated set of distinctions has become known as the Crisp Game Changer Awards.
Winners of these carefully vetted, highly prestigious awards were determined based on specific results each firm generated, each leader’s commitment to their goals, and more.
While Firm of the Year Awards at each level (ELITE, PREMIER, SELECT, and CrispX) were reserved for Day 2, four firm owners were celebrated on Day 1 for Excellence in the following categories:
- Excellence in Visionary Leadership
- Excellence in Client Experience
- Excellence in Community Impact
- Excellence in Firm Culture
We are overjoyed to announce that Carnell Johnson and Elaine Nicholson of JN Abogados | Attorneys took home the Excellence in Firm Culture Award!
Meet Carnell Johnson and Elaine Nicholson
Carnell Johnson’s path into law began at 18 years old when he worked for a solo practitioner who inspired him to start his own practice. But it was a decision he made later with his wife, Elaine, that would define the trajectory of their careers.
The couple got married in their home state of New Jersey back in 2007. Carnell previously worked as a Deputy Attorney General with the Office of Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, and Elaine worked as an attorney representing parents in abuse and neglect cases. Both also boasted sterling reputations and a wealth of legal experience in both the public and private sector.
However, when looking toward the future, they were torn. Should they start a law practice in a place where they had connections and familiarity? Or strike out somewhere new? But Carnell and Elaine knew if they stayed, they probably wouldn’t leave. So they made a choice that required courage over comfort.
“We made a decision,” Carnell explains. “Do we start a law practice in New Jersey? If we did, we probably wouldn’t leave. Or do we follow our heart’s desire and move to Charlotte, North Carolina, and then start a practice there?”
They chose the latter.
Shortly after their big move to Charlotte, they began their firm, and as expected, they faced numerous challenges as a married couple building a business together in a city where they didn’t know anyone.
“We have been together now 21 years as a couple, and as law partners we’ve gone on 16 years,” says Carnell. “Sure, there are many times in those 16 years we’ve had some moments where we didn’t know if this was going to work out.”
The challenges they faced were more personal than professional in many cases. As parents to a special needs child, they had to navigate difficult questions about who would be the primary caregiver, how much time each person would spend in different roles, and how to balance their responsibilities at work and home.
“It became this balancing act of who will have what responsibility,” Carnell reflects, “and that became very difficult at times. But our daughter is much older now. We’ve passed those milestones, and now we pretty much have a great balance of responsibilities: who does what and how they do it.”
They’ve hit major professional milestones as well. JN Abogados | Attorneys specializes in immigration law, criminal defense, and family law and has served over 10,000 clients from more than 50 countries. They’ve also earned a variety of other prestigious awards, including Charlotte’s Best in Immigration Law (Gold) for consecutive years in 2022 and 2023, the Martindale AV Rating in 2023 and 2024, recognition as Rising Stars Super Lawyers, and were rated as AVVO Top Rated. The firm also recently received the Avvo Client’s Choice Award in 2025.
Firm Culture at JN Abogados | Attorneys
Perhaps the most powerful testament to what Carnell and Elaine have built is their firm culture. Since they opened their doors in 2007, they’ve learned that instead of avoiding conflict, they needed to create systems for resolution and growth.
A Partnership Built on Communication
The foundation of the firm’s culture starts with how Carnell and Elaine work together. They’ve learned to be reasonable, communicate well, and remain faithful to their shared vision even during difficult moments.
“We are very faithful people, and we work hard and we’re reasonable, and we communicate well,” Carnell explains. “That’s how we’ve been able to resolve any problems that we’ve had.”
This approach to partnership extends beyond the founding duo. The way Carnell and Elaine navigate their marriage and business relationship sets the tone for how everyone at the firm interacts. When team members see their leaders communicate openly, work through challenges together, and maintain mutual respect, it creates a model for the entire team to emulate.
From Control to Empowerment
For years, Carnell’s leadership approach was to centralize all decisions and responsibilities with himself and Elaine. While this gave them control, it created bottlenecks and stress that limited the firm’s potential.
The cultural transformation began when Carnell made a deliberate shift to delegate both tasks and actual decision-making power.
“In the last few years, I’ve delegated more and given up the power to make decisions to other staff members where traditionally I wouldn’t have done that,” he explains. “That, without question, has enabled growth in our firm.”
This wasn’t just about reducing Carnell’s workload. It fundamentally changed the culture from one where people waited for direction to one where team members took ownership. Soon, an Operations Manager joined the firm with the help of Crisp Recruit. That hire didn’t just manage operations; they simplified processes, created efficiencies, and demonstrated what empowered leadership looked like throughout the organization.
The delegation also extended to bringing in managers who could own entire domains of the business. Rather than Carnell and Elaine overseeing every detail, they built a structure where talented people could exercise judgment, make decisions, and drive results without constant oversight.
Intentional About Finding the Right Fit
Human resources has consistently been Carnell and Elaine’s biggest challenge. Finding and retaining the right talent requires more than posting job descriptions and conducting interviews.
“You find the right talent. It goes well for about two to three years. Then you have to hire new people,” Carnell notes. “Now you have to relearn or retrain staff, and that costs money and inefficiency.”
Rather than accept this cycle as inevitable, Carnell and Elaine have become much more deliberate about what they look for in team members. It’s probably more art than science, Carnell admits, but they’ve learned to identify candidates who will not just perform tasks but genuinely fit the firm’s culture.
The firm looks for people who want to help others, who value communication and collaboration, and who can thrive in an environment where they’re expected to take ownership. They’ve learned that skills can be taught, but alignment with the firm’s values and approach is essential from day one.
Being Data-Driven Without Losing the Human Element
Five years ago, if you asked Carnell about his business plan or how he intended to meet targets, he could write it all down on a napkin. The firm operated on instinct, general intentions, and hard work.
Today, JN Abogados | Attorneys runs on data, metrics, and specific planning. They track key performance indicators, set detailed goals, and leverage technology to create visibility into how the firm is performing.
“I had no idea of the levels of complexity or even specificity that you must have in order to be successful,” Carnell reflects. “More specifics are needed if you want to achieve higher goals. That realization that more information, more data, more planning is key and critical to growth.”
But the firm hasn’t sacrificed its human-centered approach in pursuit of better KPIs. The data serves the people, not the other way around. They use information to identify where team members need support, where clients aren’t being served well, and where processes create unnecessary friction. The goal isn’t control through numbers but to achieve clarity through understanding.
Continuous Learning as a Cultural Value
One of the most distinctive aspects of JN Abogados | Attorneys’ culture is the commitment to continuous improvement. Carnell models a mindset of humility and hunger for learning that ripples through the entire organization.
“I realize that I have a long way to go, and I still have a lot to learn,” he says, “because every moment that you think you know something, you’re going to meet someone else who’s doing something that you didn’t even think about. So you’ve got to stay humble and stay hungry.”
This creates an environment where admitting you don’t know something isn’t weakness. Asking for help isn’t failure. Experimenting with new approaches isn’t risky because the culture celebrates growth over perfection.
Carnell actively seeks out learning opportunities, whether through Crisp Intensives, conversations with other law firm owners, or simply staying curious about better ways to run the business. He’s implemented billing models he learned from colleagues. He’s adopted technologies he’d never heard of before connecting with peers. He’s transformed fundamental aspects of how the firm operates by remaining open to ideas from any source.
Impact Over Accolades
At the heart of JN Abogados | Attorneys’ culture is a focus on meaningful work. Carnell and Elaine didn’t move to Charlotte and build a law firm to collect awards or build an empire. They did it to help people navigate some of the most challenging moments of their lives.
“I want to be a very caring lawyer, someone who actually worked hard to help people and is knowledgeable,” Carnell says when asked about legacy. “I care more about that than any other accolade. Really. That we were impactful, that our work meant something.”
This value permeates hiring decisions, client service standards, and how team members are evaluated. Success isn’t just measured in revenue or cases closed. It’s measured in lives changed, families kept together through immigration work, people who avoided criminal records through skilled defense, and clients who felt genuinely cared for during difficult times.
The firm treats clients as partners, apprising them of all developments, promptly responding to their inquiries, and working with them as a team to develop common-sense legal strategies. Team members aren’t just processing cases. They’re participating in meaningful work that changes lives.
Building Something Sustainable
As Carnell and Elaine look to expand into multiple cities, they understand their culture needs to be transferable. Obviously, they can’t be present in every office or personally oversee every decision. The culture has to live in the systems, the people, and the values they’ve established.
That’s why finding the right additions to their team matters so much. They prioritize finding attorneys who embody the firm’s approach to serving clients with care, empowering team members, communicating openly, and staying humble and hungry for improvement.
“We need to find the correct attorney partners,” Carnell explains. “You’ve got to find the right fit.”
Until they find that right fit, they use contract attorneys to maintain service levels while preserving the culture they’ve worked so hard to build. They’re not willing to compromise their standards just to grow faster.
The firm is also rebranding from Johnson & Nicholson to JN Abogados | Attorneys, signaling that the brand needs to represent more than the founding partners. Any lawyer should be able to step into a role, but the brand itself drives people to hire the firm because of what it stands for.
“My wife and I can no longer be the brand,” Carnell says. “We have to be the owners, and that’s a transformation.”
That transformation requires a culture strong enough to survive and thrive without the founders managing every detail. It requires systems that ensure consistency, values that guide decision-making, and people who genuinely embody what JN Abogados | Attorneys represents.
JN Abogados | Attorneys Now
The firm culture Carnell and Elaine have built over 16 years has positioned JN Abogados | Attorneys for ambitious growth. What started as two attorneys who knew no one in Charlotte has evolved into a growing firm with a clear identity, strong team, and bold vision for the future.
“I think in the next five years, we’ll be in multiple cities, and my wife and I will really get to the point where we’re law firm owners,” says Carnell. “We’ve practiced law. We’ve helped a lot of people. We can and we want to continue to help people without question. But we’d rather be just owners and have other lawyers do the work.”
The tools and frameworks they’ve developed through their journey, including insights gained from joining Crisp Coach in 2022, have prepared them for this next chapter. They know what to look for in talent. They understand how to build systems that scale. They’ve learned the levels of specificity required to run a multi-location firm.
“We feel very equipped,” Carnell says confidently, “and the reason why we haven’t made a decision is because we haven’t found the right partner.”
But the real foundation for their expansion isn’t found in systems or strategies. It’s found in the culture they’ve cultivated: a culture where communication matters, where people are empowered to make decisions, where continuous learning is celebrated, and where impact drives everything.
When it comes to legacy, Carnell thinks less about building a multi-city empire and more about the mark they leave on the people they serve and the people they work with.
“I want to be a very caring lawyer, someone who actually worked hard to help people and is knowledgeable,” he reflects. ” I care more about that than any other accolade. Really. That we were impactful, that our work meant something. I hope that’s my legacy.”
