TRF READS 2020: Wolfpack by Abby Wambach

How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game 

In 2020, TRF kicked off our leadership reading journey with a battle cry: Wolfpack by two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion Abby Wambach. Inspired by her viral commencement speech, this compact manifesto is more than a call to action—it’s a permission slip to lead differently. 

 What It’s About 

Wolfpack challenges the traditional rules that women have been told to follow—rules about staying quiet, being grateful but not demanding, and competing instead of collaborating. Wambach flips those on their head and replaces them with eight new rules that center on boldness, community, and trust. She urges women to break from the old pack mentality and build a new one—together. 

 This book is for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider in leadership spaces or who’s been told to wait their turn. Abby’s message is clear: Don’t wait. Lead. 

 What It Says About Power 

Wambach redefines power as collective, not competitive. She dismantles the myth that power is a scarce resource. Instead, she presents power as something expansive—something that grows stronger when shared. For Wambach, true power is rooted in unity, and leadership means pulling others up with you. 

Power is not dominance. It’s community. And it’s yours to claim. 

How Wolfpack Applies to The Rudnicki Firm 

At its core, Wolfpack is about rewriting outdated leadership rules, building a culture of courage, and amplifying the voices of women and outsiders. That ethos is deeply aligned with what The Rudnicki Firm stands for. 

 1. We Don’t Ask for a Seat—We Build the Table 

Abby Wambach tells women to stop asking for permission. The Rudnicki Firm embodies that every day. We are trial lawyers who own the courtroom, not because it was handed to us, but because we took it—and we prepared harder than anyone else to stay there. 

 2. We Lead With Our Pack, Not Against It 

Wambach’s vision of collective power is echoed in our team-first, women-forward culture. We don’t climb over one another to reach the top—we rise together. Whether mentoring junior lawyers, supporting working parents, or standing shoulder to shoulder at counsel table, we lead like a pack. 

 3. We Turn Failure Into Fuel 

One of Wambach’s “new rules” is to make failure your fuel. That’s trial work in a nutshell. We learn, iterate, and push forward, knowing that every setback is a setup for the next win. Our strength is in our resilience—and our willingness to adapt. 

 4. We Redefine What Power Looks Like 

At The Rudnicki Firm, power doesn’t mean fitting into old molds. It means showing up fully—prepared, passionate, and unapologetically ourselves. Like Wambach, we believe power is something to share, not hoard. That belief informs our leadership, our litigation style, and our relationships with clients. 

 Quote That Defines Our Vibe 

 “Be grateful for what you have. And demand what you deserve.” Abby Wambach, The Wolfpack  

That’s not just a quote. That’s how we negotiate. That’s how we advocate. That’s how we win.