Attorney and technologist Julie Pearl can give the Energizer bunny a run for its money. Her resume gives you a clue to her high-octane personality: bachelor’s from Stanford, master’s from Harvard and a law degree from the University of California-Hastings College of the Law. She’s also the former California deputy attorney general.

In 1995, she founded The Pearl Law Group, a San Francisco-based immigration law firm, with Alan Nelson, the former head of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. But she’s the first to tell you that the secret to her success is technology—and a terrific staff.