Legal Management Talk

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In this episode, ALA Executive Director Eryn Carter, CAE, chats with her long-time friend Darwin Conner, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Eversheds Sutherland, about where DEIA stands now in the legal industry. Don't miss their discussion on how law firms are responding to the current DEIA environment and how administrators can support DEIA efforts at their firms.

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In this episode, recorded live at ALA's Association Leadership Institute, ALA President Travis Armstrong, President-Elect Elyssa Goldstein and Future Readiness Advisory Council Vice Chair Laurence Winters discuss some of the biggest takeaways from the Advisory Council's 2025 membership survey. Learn more about issues like staff succession planning, DEIA and mental wellness, along with what ALA is doing to help our members with each one.

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In this episode, Alex Tring, Director of Operations, Resource Management at BigHand joins us to talk about his company's 2025 Resource Management report. We discuss the latest hiring trends, staff attrition statistics and how firms can use data and technology to better allocate their employees' time. We also dive into some alarming stats on client attrition and what firms can do stem that tide.

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Law firm leaders are no strangers to the many inefficiencies that come with legal work. Many policies and procedures are over-complicated, time-consuming and require staff energy that could be used elsewhere. Now with AI, there's hope that some of those pain points can be alleviated. Renee Jackson, Professor of Law at the University of New Hampshire and Founder of Dyspute.AI, joins the show to discuss the dispute mediation tool she developed along with what innovations firms should be looking forward to — and what clients are looking for from their firms.

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Managing change at a law firm is never easy, especially when people have different comfort levels with change. Dave Collins, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Oak and Reeds, joins the show (in-person!) to discuss how to meet people where they're at when introducing change so you can maximize buy-in. We also talk about the latest innovations in workplace communication, including how AI is being used.

Catch Dave's session at ALA's 2025 Level Up: Legal Management Fundamentals on Friday, September 12 at 12:15 p.m.

Register now for Dave's ALA webinar — Difficult Conversations: Collaborative Conflict — on September 24 at 2 p.m. Central. Visit alanet.org/webinars.

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As the legal industry continues to evolve, it's important to always manage a law firm with an eye toward the future. In this episode, Laura Richardson, General Counsel at Agiloft, gives her perspective on what clients are looking for from the firms they work with, such as their approaches to talent management, AI adoption and creative thinking. She also discusses the need for "radical acceptance" among firm leaders.

This episode is brought to you by NetDocuments. NetDocuments enables legal professionals to do their best work with an intelligent document management system (DMS) that goes beyond getting organized and brings to life seamless AI, powerful workflows and smarter experiences. The #1 trusted cloud-native DMS for 25+ years, NetDocuments delivers tools to make work easier throughout the document lifecycle — from award-winning automation and AI to email management, search, collaboration, document bundling, advanced security and more. Learn more at netdocuments.com.

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As legal organizations continue to assess if, how and when to implement AI tools, Hunter Steele, Chief Executive Officer of Smokeball, joins the show to give an update on the tools that exist right now, what their capabilities are and what to look forward to in the coming months. We also dive into AI products that are being developed to help with specific practice areas, such as personal injury and family law.

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As we navigate our professional lives, we can sometimes put on a public face that betrays what's really going on, even if it affects our work. Nikki Korson, Practice Manager of Complex Litigation and Arbitration at Paul Hastings, joined the show to offer her thoughts on the importance of authenticity and honesty at work, including during the hiring process. She also discusses hybrid work and getting the most out of the experience of working at a modern law firm.

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Although we're now five years from the start of the COVID pandemic, many firms are still trying to perfect their hybrid and remote work policies. How many days should employees be in the office? Should everyone be brought back in-person? How effective is hybrid work as a recruiting tool? Micah Remley, CEO of Robin, joined the show to help answer these questions and much more!

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How do you give your firm a competitive edge? There are many answers, but one of the biggest is having an ability to adapt to new technology swiftly and deftly. Jacob Morvay, President and Chief Executive Officer of Morvay Consulting Group, joins the program to explain how firms can prepare for tech changes in a way that's effective, supports long-term growth and invests in the firm's people and ideas.

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Communication is key in any workplace, but that's especially true in a high-stakes environment like legal. Sammi Sadicario, CEO of The Voice Experts, joins the show to discuss how firm leaders can use their voice most effectively to accomplish their goals and get people to listen, and get their employees to do the same. She also demonstrates a helpful exercise you can use every day to help calm your nerves before any big speech or meeting.

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Lateral recruitment remains a key element of law firms' hiring strategy, but what do firms need to know to ensure they're in the best position to succeed in that area? Greg Hamman and Julie Henson of Decipher Intel joined the show to discuss their report from earlier this year on lateral hiring trends and what the process does and should look like in 2025. They also delve into how AI is impacting hiring and where the technology is heading.

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In the latest episode of ALA's Meeting the Moment series, ALA President Amanda Koplos, CLM, CPA; President-Elect Travis Armstrong, CLM, CPA; and Immediate Past President Geoffrey Williams, CLM, MBA, M.Div. sit down for the first-ever live taping of the podcast to discuss their leadership journeys and how to become a leader in the Association. They also address some other hot topics, including DEIA and artificial intelligence.

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In this episode of ALA's Meeting the Moment series, Professional Development Advisory Committee members Matthew Sullivan, JD, and Catherine Alman MacDonagh, JD, discuss one of their favorite topics: running a law firm like a business. Learn about why it's so important for firms to shift their mindset about how they operate and the resources ALA provides to help administrators do just that.

To check out past podcast episodes, visit alanet.org/podcast.
To read the February 2025 article about KPIs, go to alanet.org/legal-management.
ALA members can visit the Online Community at ala.tradewing.com/community.

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Poring over contracts with cybersecurity providers may not be the most glamorous part of an administrator's job, but it's an important (and necessary) way to ensure your firm is getting the peace of mind it needs. Rob Scott, Co-Founder and Chief Innovator of Monjur, joins the show to break down what firms should be looking for when signing with a cybersecurity service, what pitfalls to avoid and how to practice "cyber hygiene" in your contracting.

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With all the information law firms take in every day, it can be difficult to keep track of the numbers, who's communicating with whom and much more. Mike Mellor, Founder and President of 742 Advisors, joined the show to discuss how firms can improve their information-gathering processes, which will in turn help attorneys when it's time to pitch clients. One key is creating a centralized database to reduce having to log the same info again and again, but that's not all! Tune in to learn more.

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It's no secret that the legal industry is stressful, and that can often translate into burnout and other negative impacts on mental health. But why does it have to be that way? Attorney Jonathan Baum, Founder of Avenir Guild, offers his insight on how the industry can work to mitigate some of those stressors, including reassessing billable hour requirements, setting firmer boundaries and more. Every positive step will help your attorneys, staff and even your clients.

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Making sure your firm's lateral integration process is solid can be a key way to win the battle for top talent. Craig Budner, Chief Strategic Growth Partner at K&L Gates, joins the program to talk about the lessons he's learned from managing lateral hires. From cross-selling to succession planning, the lateral integration process should play a role in your firm's innovation and growth. Plus, we talk a little "inside baseball" in honor of the World Series, which was happening during the episode's recording.

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It’s not too often when we get a chance to hear from both ALA’s President, Amanda Koplos, CLM, CPA, and Executive Director, Eryn Carter, CAE, in the same room at the same time. This is one of those times! In this episode, Amanda and Eryn take the opportunity to discuss how ALA is meeting the moment when it comes to hiring struggles in the legal industry. Gather some ideas about how to address some of the latest hiring trends — such as recruiting, compensation packages and integrating Gen Z — and learn about the resources ALA provides to help you. Let us know what topics you'd like to see us talk about next!

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One of the best ways to make sure your firm can withstand economic headwinds is having enough cash on hand. But given the many things you have to spend money on, it can be hard to make sure reserves are plentiful. Business finance expert M.C. Laubscher joins the show to talk about the best ways to make your firm resilient during turbulent economic times and offers some creative ways to ensure positive cash flow and profitability.

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This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Innovative Computing Systems' Chief Operating Officer Eric Hoffmaster joins the program to discuss how creating layers to your organization's cybersecurity is one of the most effective ways to prevent an attack. Plus, he explains which layers may be necessary to qualify for cyber insurance and how bad actors are using AI to make their attacks even more complex.

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Amid the current political and social climate, several organizations have begun to roll back their diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) programs. But is this just a passing trend or a more permanent reassessment of the role DEIA plays in the workplace? Ann Thomas, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Stinson LLP, joins the program to discuss the state of DEIA today, how firms of different sizes should approach their DEIA initiatives, and how clients are still looking for their firms to show progress on diversity and inclusion.

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When the Middle Tennessee Chapter lost one of their own to suicide, chapter members worked through their grief by taking action and forming a Mental Health Task Force. In this episode, task force members Teresa J. Walker, CLM, Tennessee Private Trust Services Director at Holland & Knight LLP, and Dana L. Holsomback, CLM,Office Administrator at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC, share what they’ve learned, issue a call to action for other ALA chapters and remember their friend Jennie and their #LovedJennie movement.

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Customer service may seem like a lost art nowadays, but for your legal organization, that means it's more important than ever to get it right. In this episode, Richard Culberson, Chief Executive Officer of Moneypenny and Voice Nation, North America, discusses how to ensure your intake process makes a great first impression on potential clients and how to adapt it to the market you're in.

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Amid everything your firm does on a daily basis, digital marketing may not seem like a top priority, but it can be one of the most important ways to grow your business and find new clients. Join Bo Royal, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pareto Legal, as he shares his insights on how you can use marketing to cut through the online noise, track analytics and get a large return on your investment. ALA's Marketing Administrator (and resident Swiftie) Meghann Krone also joins the show to explain how capitalizing on trends is a great way to gain exposure.

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A robust mentorship program can be an important recruiting and retention tool for your firm, but it also requires commitment from everyone involved. In this episode, Elise Powers, Founder of Eleview Consulting, talks about how to structure a mentorship program and convince partners to dedicate time to supporting the next generation of senior attorneys. She also gives a preview of her presentation at ALA's 2024 Annual Conference titled, "How to Reenergize Your Firm's Mentorship Program."

For more information or to register for Annual Conference, visit alaannualconf.org.

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Recognizing the need for succession plans at your firm is a good first step, but what does that plan look like in practice? In this episode, David Wood, a former trial attorney and Principal of David Wood Consulting, talks about the plan he created and used to successfully transition his clients to the next generation of attorneys. He also discusses the role firm administrators play in ensuring a succession plan runs smoothly.

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Why is change such a tough thing to manage in firms (well, for people in general)? We delve into that question in this episode. Catherine Alman MacDonagh, JD, the Founder of Legal Lean Sigma Institute and a member of ALA’s Professional Development Advisory Committee, discusses steps for managing change, the importance of creating small change “wins,” how to avoid change burnout and more. Plus, we leave on a positive note about how to feel hopeful about changes.

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What can penguins teach us about instituting change at your firm? Shaun Jardine, lawyer and author of Ditch the Billable Hour, and his sidekick Declan the Penguin answer that question through the lens of shifting your billing method to value-based pricing (VBP). VBP can be a good way to consolidate the many different billable hour policies attorneys have while offering clients the quantity and quality of service they desire. We also talk about managing mindset changes and how billing policies can affect other key areas of legal administration, such as succession planning and recruiting young talent.

Speaker Bio:

As a lawyer and former Chief Executive Officer of a Top 250 UK law firm, Shaun Jardine has insight into what makes firms and their staff tick. He is the author of Ditch The Billable Hour! Implementing Value-Based Pricing in a Law Firm, which was published in January 2024. Jardine founded Big Yellow Penguin in 2021 with the aim of encouraging and helping lawyers and law firms to adopt practices, including value-based pricing, that will make their futures more secure — both financially and operationally — and enjoy practicing their craft again.

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In Part 2 of our conversation with Kriti Sharma, Chief Product Officer of Legal Tech at Thomson Reuters, we talk about the questions you should ask when choosing AI software to use at your firm, what the regulation landscape looks like and how AI will change the future of talent recruitment.

Speaker Bio

Kriti Sharma is Chief Product Officer of Legal Tech at Thomson Reuters, focusing on leveraging technology to transform professional work. Sharma was named in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for advancements in technology. She is a Google Grace Hopper Scholar and a winner of the Google Women in Engineering Award. Her TED talk has been viewed more than two million times. In 2017, Sharma founded AI for Good UK, an organization that's using AI and data to help solve some of the toughest global challenges of our time.

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In the first of our two-part conversation with Kriti Sharma, Chief Product Officer of Legal Tech at Thomson Reuters, we discuss some of the latest ways artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving in the legal space, such as by simplifying research and administrative tasks, as well as how to avoid some of the common AI pitfalls like hallucinations. But don’t worry! The robots aren’t taking over our jobs just yet. After all, they still need us to tell them what to do. Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon!

Speaker Bio

Kriti Sharma is Chief Product Officer of Legal Tech at Thomson Reuters, focusing on leveraging technology to transform professional work. Sharma was named in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for advancements in technology. She is a Google Grace Hopper Scholar and a winner of the Google Women in Engineering Award. Her TED talk has been viewed more than two million times. In 2017, Sharma founded AI for Good UK, an organization that's using AI and data to help solve some of the toughest global challenges of our time.

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No attorney wants to think about what happens when they stop practicing, but it’s crucial to have those conversations now. Debbie Foster, Partner at Affinity Consulting, joined Legal Management Talk to discuss how to bring up those difficult conversations and why it’s important to not only your firm, but your clients, to have a solid plan in place in case a lawyer retires or has to stop working.

Speaker Bio:

Debbie Foster is a nationally recognized thought leader on management, efficiency and innovation in professional legal organizations. Her 20-plus years of experience — combined with a mix of strategic management and strong leadership skills — has enabled her to work with law firms and legal departments to help them navigate the ever-changing legal services delivery landscape. Foster has been working with law firms and legal departments since 1995, earned her Lean Six Sigma Certification and is relied on by firms all over the country as a management consultant.

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2023 has been an exciting year for LMT, and we wanted to celebrate by compiling some of our favorite moments from the year’s episodes. Check out snippets from our conversations that covered legal ops, mental wellness, AI and much more. If you want to hear more from these episodes and others, be sure to go to alanet.org/podcast, ALA’s Youtube channel, or download episodes wherever you get your podcasts. And please subscribe to our Youtube channel so that you can get notified every time a new episode drops. Thanks for watching and listening! Have a Happy New Year, and stay tuned for all new episodes in 2024!

Featuring clips from episodes:

Understanding Legal Ops with Tom Stephenson
Can AI Make Your Firm More Efficient? with Hamid Kohan
A Peek Around the Corner with PDAC: Imposter Syndrome in Legal (and Life)
Mental Health: Shifting the Conversation from Stigma to Support
Building an Inclusive Workplace with Terry Isner
Becoming a Certified Legal Manager with Rita Nielsen, CLM, PHR, SHRM-CP

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In this edition of Peek Around the Corner with PDAC (ALA’s Professional Development Advisory Committee), we talk about the parts of leadership that can impact an employee’s connection and experience at your firm. Christine Wilbur, MBA,Associate Executive Director, Orange County Bar Association and a member of PDAC, discusses what prospective or existing employees really need. From support and resources to intangible parts of good leadership, we cover how to get your staff showing up as their best selves each day so they can feel connected to their work and see how it fits into the firm’s overall purpose.

Speaker Bio:

Christine Wilbur, MBA, is the Associate Executive Director of the Orange County Bar Association and a member of ALA’s Professional Development Advisory Committee.

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Neurodiversity — especially ADHD — is quite prevalent in the legal industry, but few know how to address it. Casey Dixon of Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson of Stinson LLP joined Legal Management Talk to discuss Stinson’s new program to promote well-being among attorneys and staff with ADHD, as well as what firms can do to help make life easier for employees with executive function disorders.

Speaker Bios

Casey Dixon is a Professional, Board and Senior Certified Life Coach. She is the founder of Dixon Life Coaching.

Krista Larson is the Director of Well-Being at Stinson LLP.

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So many of us struggle with mental health challenges, and admitting it isn’t cause for shame. The fact is, conversations about mental health need to continue in order to dismantle the stigma attached to it. We do just that in this episode with ALA Past President James Cornell, Director of Office Administration at Shook, Hardy & Bacon. James opens up about his own recent mental health struggles and shares his thoughts on why burnout is so prevalent in the legal industry. Plus, we discuss what you can do if you suspect a colleague is struggling.

Resources mentioned in the podcast:

https://www.alanet.org/legal-management/2021/march/features/making-mental-health-matter

https://www.alanet.org/events/2021-events/mental-health-first-aid-certification-program

Speaker Bio

James Cornell is the Director of Office Administration for Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP. He served as ALA President from 2019–2020.

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If you haven’t yet thought about how to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into your firm’s operations, now’s the time before you get left behind. Hamid Kohan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Legal Soft, joins the show to talk about how AI can make your firm more efficient from the intake process through litigation, as well as the risks that AI still poses. We also discuss virtual support staffing and other ways to take advantage of the technology available today.

Speaker Bio

Hamid Kohan is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Legal Soft, spearheading the revolution of the legal industry and virtual legal staffing. Kohan is also the Founder of Magic Law Group, a national law firm specializing in personal injury, lemon law, employment law and workers' compensation. Kohan has authored several books, including How to Scale Your Stupid Law Firm, How to Scale Your Stupid AI Law Firm and the upcoming How to Tune-Up Your Practice.

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Today, we’re talking about insurance. Wait, don’t click away yet! Cyber insurance is one of the key ways you can protect your firm if and when you’re hit with a cyberattack. Jeremy King, Partner at Olshan Frome Wolosky and Chair of the firm’s Insurance Coverage Law Practice, walks us through what to look for when choosing or changing your cyber insurance coverage and how policies have changed to accommodate cloud servers and remote work. Plus, find out how your or your clients’ cyber reporting requirements may have changed thanks to a new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule for public companies.

Speaker Bio

Jeremy M. King is a Partner at Olshan Frome Wolosky in New York. As the firm’s Chair of Insurance Coverage Law Practice, King concentrates his legal practice on insurance coverage actions and other civil litigation matters.

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Imposter syndrome — we all experience it in our daily lives. Talking about it is one way to get through it. We did just that with Roberta Bauer, Regional Office Administrator of Ogletree Deakins and 2023-2024 Chair of ALA’s Professional Development Advisory Committee. Plus, find out the solid advice The Berenstain Bears offer for working through feelings of insecurity.

Check out the PDAC roundtable on imposter syndrome here. (Note: You must be logged in to view.)

Speaker Bio

Roberta Bauer is the Regional Office Manager of Ogletree Deakins and is the current Chair of ALA’s Professional Development Advisory Committee.

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Legal operations shares many similarities with firm administration, and thinking with a legal ops mindset can help make your firm more efficient. Tom Stephenson, Vice President of Community and Legal Ops at Legal.io, joins us to talk about the six key elements of legal ops and how using those principles allows your firm to streamline processes ranging from billing to client management to e-discovery.

Speaker Bio

Tom Stephenson is Vice President of Community & Legal Operations at Legal.io where he devises and executes community & operational strategies for the fastest-growing legal talent & community marketplace. Previously, Stephenson served as Director of Legal Operations at Credit Karma and as Teladoc Health’s first legal operations executive amid the pandemic while supporting the largest merger and acquisition (M&A) transaction in virtual care history. Stephenson is also the co-founder of the Dear Legal Ops podcast, which shares valuable insights and empowers listeners across the corporate in-house and legal operations profession.

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The cloud may seem like a nebulous idea, but it could also be one of the best ways to make your firm’s operations more efficient and secure. Amy Kosey, Account Executive at Innovative Computer Systems, joins us to talk about what the cloud is, why firms should transition to the cloud if they haven’t already and what they need to do to prevent any cybersecurity risks. If you’re looking to make the switch, we also discuss how to determine which cloud service provider is best for your firm.

Speaker Bio

Amy Kosey has served as an account executive with Innovative Computing Systems since 2016 and has more than 25 years of legal technology experience.

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Are we in a recession? Yes? No? Maybe so? The fact is, the threat of an economic downfall shouldn’t be what spurs you into taking action. We talked with Dan McCormack, CLM, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Dan McCormack & Associates LLC and a member of ALA’s Professional Development Advisory Committee. He has 18 years of experience in finance, which made him the perfect guest to offer advice on what firms should be doing throughout the year to sew up their financial outlook.

Speaker Bio

Dan McCormack, CLM, MBA, is the Chief Executive Officer of Dan McCormack & Associates LLC and a member of ALA’s Professional Development Advisory Committee.

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Do you send your lawyers to conferences, but they don’t come back having generated any business? They might just be playing the wrong roles. Hear from business development experts and entrepreneurs Ioana Good, Adrien Maines and Peter Johnson about how to use data to identify your lawyers’ characteristics that will help maximize the business they bring in. Whether an attorney is a closer, a networker or an analyst, each can play a crucial part in drumming up business and reducing unnecessary legal spend.

Speaker Bios:

Peter Johnson is a former managing partner and founder of Law Practice Consultants. Johnsonhelps law firms with compensation structuring and business development training and coaching. He also holds two graduate degrees in counseling and psychology in addition to his law degree. Johnson was inducted as a fellow-elect in the College of Law Practice Management, an international professional, educational and honorary association dedicated to “the improvement of the law practice management and the enhancement of the professional quality of and public respect for the law.”

Ioana Good and Adrien Maines are the founders of Find A Rainmaker (FAR), an online assessment tool that provides behavioral insights to help companies generate revenue. Good and Maines spent decades working in-house before consulting. They developed FAR to help their clients gain a competitive advantage. Good is a former journalist with a master's degree in Corporate Communication and Technology. Maines has helped hundreds of companies with strategic marketing & branding initiatives in the legal and tech industries. She holds a degree in Marketing and Communications.

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Creating a diverse and inclusive culture can put your firm ahead of your competition in both recruitment and business development. Terry Isner, Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Jaffe PR, joins us to discuss what that looks like in action and share his experience as a gay man working in the legal industry. Tune in for his insight into how to encourage your employees to bring their whole selves to work, especially in circumstances such as client pitches and meetings.

Speaker Bio:

Terry M. Isner is the Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Jaffe PR and a marketing philosopher, brand consultant and dynamic speaker for the professional services industry. Isner fulfills a niche as a business strategist with an extensive background as an award-winning creative director and artist. He helps preserve brand equity by helping firms adapt to these changing times and sharing their unique stories in creative ways across multiple channels, including print, digital and social media. He also uses his passion and expertise to empower marketers to be effective agents of change within their own organizations and help drive their firm’s sales, branding and culture.

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What does it mean to build a meaningful Pride campaign at your firm? We sat down to discuss this topic with Laurence Winters, Chief Community Officer, SurePoint Technologies, and Chair, ALA’s Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility. Through a vulnerable and honest account of his own struggles growing up as a gay man, Winters puts a face to why supporting the LGBTQ+ community in your legal organization is critical all year long. Plus, we chat about the benefits and joy of being able to bring your whole, authentic self to work.

Resources mentioned in the podcast:

www.alanet.org/legal-management/2023/may/features/how-to-build-a-meaningful-pride-campaign-and-why-its-important
www.alanet.org/deia

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How are paper straws related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) efforts? Find out in the second of two Annual Conference-themed episodes, featuring David Sarnoff, Esq., ACC, and Joy Stephens, MBA, of Loeb Leadership. They preview their presentation, “Performative vs. Authentic Allyship,” and we discuss what it means to be a DEIA ally, as well as how DEIA initiatives have faltered as we get further removed from the social justice movement of 2020.

Don’t miss Sarnoff’s and Stephens’ presentation at ALA’s 2023 Annual Conference & Expo in Seattle, Washington, on Tuesday, May 9, at 11:15 a.m. Pacific. There’s still time to register! Visit alanet.org/conf23 to learn more.

Speaker Bios

David B. Sarnoff, Esq., ACC, is an International Coaching Federation-certified Executive Coach and leadership trainer with Loeb Leadership. As a former attorney, experienced executive search consultant, business owner and former board of education president, Sarnoff understands the mindset, demands and challenges of attorneys, directors, corporate executives, managers and individual contributors.

Joy Stephens, MBA, brings a unique and varied collection of work experiences to the table. She has dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, as well as a Masters of Business Administration. Stephens spent her more than 20 years in corporate America with companies like Proctor & Gamble and Kimberly Clark. She believes that empathy and compassion are the keys to better leadership, better communication and stronger working relationships. She imbues all her workshop facilitation with the goal of recognizing the humanity in each other.

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In this episode, Leadership Trainer Julie Holunga, MBA, PCC, and Margee Fawley, Chief Talent Officer at Davis, Graham & Stubbs, LLP, sit down with Legal Management Talk to preview their presentation — “Mastering the Art of Influencing Difficult Conversations” — at ALA’s upcoming Annual Conference. Hear their take on how remote work has affected the ability to talk about serious topics with your employees and how to address the professional development gap that has taken hold among partners and associates. We also talk about recent TikTok trends, such as quiet quitting and “bare-minimum Mondays,” and what they mean for office productivity.

Be sure to attend Holunga’s and Fawley’s presentation at ALA’s 2023 Annual Conference & Expo in Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday, May 10, at 1:30 p.m. Pacific. If you haven’t registered for Annual Conference yet, there’s still time! Visit alanet.org/conf23to learn more.

Speaker Bios

Julie Holunga, MBA, PCC, is a Leadership Trainer and Executive Coach with Chinook Executive Solutions, which guides professional service firm leaders to elevate their influence and authority. She is a Global Master Trainer with Emergenetics®, facilitating teams to create a more engaging culture, stronger collaboration and meaningful communication. Holunga’s work with Harvard Business School, Fortune 500 companies and top professional service firms gives her a unique perspective for the future of female leadership.

Margee Fawley is the Chief Talent Officer at Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP. She has more than 20 years of experience championing law firm attorney talent management strategies, especially as they relate to professional development and DEI initiatives. She works closely with her firm’s leadership to design and direct processes to maximize culture and collaboration. Fawley ensures alignment of the firm’s commitment fostering a more diverse, inclusive, equitable profession and community. Her efforts have helped secure Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP’s national recognition for advancing gender parity.

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ChatGPT exploded into the artificial intelligence (AI) scene in November 2022 and quickly became the most downloaded app in history. We sat down with Matthew Sullivan — Chief Operating Officer at Sullivan Law & Associates, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of consulting firm Unravel Legal and a member of ALA’s Professional Development Advisory Committee (PDAC) — to discuss how this fast-moving AI is impacting legal. We talk about how ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI can improve efficiencies at firms as well as ways legal administrators can use this tech now. Sounds exciting, right? But are there downsides? For that, we pull out our crystal ball to discuss how disruptive it might be for the legal industry and whether this tech puts us in the middle of a robot uprising.

This is the first in our ongoing series with members of the PDAC, where we’ll take a deeper dive into what’s trending in legal.

Speaker Bio

Matthew Sullivan is the Chief Operating Officer of Sullivan Law & Associates and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of legal consulting firm Unravel. He currently serves as a member of ALA’s Professional Development Advisory Committee.

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If you’re feeling stressed amid the transition to hybrid work, you’re not alone. Fortunately, executive coach Laura Terrell joined Legal Management Talk to discuss ways to adjust your mindset so that you can be prepared to take on the challenges ahead. Learn about how best to communicate with your employees to ensure everyone is on the same page and how to balance in-person events with remote work so the whole office stays included and connected.

Check out the Harvard Business Review article mentioned in this episode, “When Your Feelings Conflict with Your Leadership Role.”

Speaker Bio

Laura Terrell is an executive coach with over 25 years of experience as a legal and business leader. She offers an insider’s perspective for business, legal and corporate professionals, working to help her clients to improve and achieve success in their work lives. Prior to coaching, she was a Special Assistant to the President at the White House, a senior level appointee at the U.S. Department of Justice, an equity partner in two large, global law firms, and in-house counsel at a publicly traded company. Laura has also led and managed teams of people across multiple countries, serving as a top advisor to many Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies. Partnering with her clients, she enjoys helping them reach their goals and build confidence in their careers. Learn more about Laura and follow her blog at www.lauraterrell.com.

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Client demands are always changing, which means you and your firm have to keep up. In this episode, Andre Wouansi of Accurate Legal Billing, Inc. discusses how client guidelines have changed in recent years and how it behooves your firm to comply with them. Plus, learn about how new technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), can help you manage complex billing and timekeeping requirements, along with what factors you should be tracking to ensure your firm is providing the best possible service.

Speaker Bio

Andre Wouansi is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Accurate Legal Billing, Inc. He is a serial entrepreneur with expertise in legal spend management, enterprise legal management, legal invoice auditing, building applications using Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), accounting, and international taxation.

Wouansi spent nearly two decades auditing legal invoices from law firms across 55 countries. Using each client’s outside counsel billing guidelines, Wouansi reduced legal invoices by $1.5 billion dollars. In 2018, he switched sides and devoted his time to building legal billing software applications that help law firms comply with their client’s billing guidelines and drastically reduce legal e-billing reductions while saving firms time formerly spent on the legal invoice appeal process.

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Business development is often overlooked amid the day-to-day bustle of law firm management. In this episode, David Freeman, JD, Founder of Lawyer BookBuilder, talks about how important business development is to the success of your firm and why now — during economic uncertainty — is the best time to ramp up those efforts. Plus, don’t miss Freeman’s advice on how to best measure your and your lawyers’ progress in growing your firm’s reach and profitability.

To read Freeman’s February 2023 Legal Management cover story, “5 Essentials for Your Business Development Toolkit,” click here.

Speaker Bio

David H. Freeman, JD, is a member of the National Law Journal Hall of Fame for being voted the top law firm business development coach and consultant in the United States for several consecutive years. He is a two-time best-selling author who has written and co-authored 14 books on law firm leadership and business development and has trained and coached over 10,000 lawyers and leaders in hundreds of firms worldwide. Additionally, he is the creator of Lawyer BookBuilder®, an online, self-study program that shows lawyers how to transform themselves into major rainmakers.

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Are your attorneys frustrated by the time it takes to access a client’s medical records? In this episode, Jared Vishney of Arctrieval discusses upcoming changes to HIPAA regulations that will make the records retrieval process easier. The new rule, scheduled to take effect later in 2023, imposes limitations on health service providers regarding how long they can take to respond and what fees they can charge. Tune in to see how your firm can take advantage of these changes.

Speaker Bio

Jared Vishney is an entrepreneur with more than 30 years’ domestic and international experience with Fortune 500 enterprises and small-to-medium sized companies. He holds a dual Economics and Business degree from UCLA. His involvement in the healthcare and legal industry began 13 years ago when he founded Arctrieval, a business providing health information management services to hospitals and doctor’s offices. Using knowledge and experience gained from delivering records, he built Arctrieval Legal to solve medical record challenges for legal professionals.

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In this episode, Rita Nielsen, CLM, PHR, SHRM-CP, Office Administrator at Locke Lord LLP and ALA Chicago’s CLM Director, talks about what ALA’s Certified Legal Manager (CLM)® program is, the benefits it offers and what the process is to achieve it. Nielsen also offers suggestions on how best to study for the exam, including joining chapter study groups. Tune in if you’re looking to start your CLM journey!

For more on the CLM, visit alanet.org/clm.

Speaker Bio:

Rita Nielsen, CLM, PHR, SHRM-CP, is the Office Administrator for Locke Lord’s Chicago office. Nielsen has been a member of ALA since 1997. She is an active member who has volunteered in numerous local activities, including holding ALA Chicago Board positions as the Professional Development Director, HR advisor and her current role as CLM Director. At the national level, Nielsen has served on the Certification Committee, the Annual Conference Committee, the Association Nominating Committee, has chaired Region 3's Nominating Committee and has served as co-host of HR Roundtable sessions at annual conferences.

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In this episode, Heidi Gardner, PhD, Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School, talks about what qualities make a good leader in the post-pandemic era. She also discusses how collaboration can help managers work through many of the issues law firms face today, as well as how a compassionate approach toward your employees can boost productivity.

Speaker Bio

Heidi K. Gardner, PhD, is a sought-after advisor, keynote speaker and facilitator for organizations across a wide range of industries globally. Named by Thinkers50 as a Next Generation Business Guru, she is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and former professor at Harvard Business School. She is currently the faculty chair and instructor in multiple executive education programs at both institutions.

Gardner works extensively with her team at Gardner & Co., partnering with boards, executive teams and other senior leaders to boost performance by embedding the principles and practices of smarter, agile, cross-silo collaboration within those groups and across the broader organization and ecosystem —resulting in concrete, quantifiable performance improvements. Altogether, Gardner has authored (or co-authored) more than 100 books, chapters, case studies and articles, including her most recent book, Smarter Collaboration: A New Approach to Breaking Down Barriers and Transforming Work.

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In this episode, Dan Atcheson of Jenkins Wilson Taylor and Hunt, PA, discusses the growing use of the metaverse in the legal industry. Learn about how some firms are already renting space in the virtual world to meet with clients and how the metaverse is becoming more conducive for firm operations. Atcheson also offers his thoughts on how government regulation will be required to prevent crimes such as assault and battery from occurring in the metaverse. (Yes, it can happen there, too!)

Speaker Bio:

Dan Atcheson has held various roles in his 20-year legal management career and is currently the Firm Administrator at Jenkins, Wilson, Taylor & Hunt, P.A., a boutique intellectual property firm located in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina. He is currently the Chair of ALA’s Professional Development Advisory Committee and is also an active member of the Raleigh-Durham Chapter. Atcheson has a bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University and a law degree from the University of Maryland.

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In this special episode, hear from Eryn Carter, CAE — ALA’s new Executive Director — about her impressions of ALA so far, her vision for the future of the Association and what she’s most looking forward to heading into 2023 and beyond. And just in time for the holidays, we discuss Carter’s favorite Thanksgiving food and her favorite gift she’s ever received.

Speaker Bio:

Eryn Carter, CAE, joined the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) in October 2022 to serve in the role of Executive Director. Carter has more than 25 years of Association leadership experience — most recently as the Senior Director of Global Markets for the Million Dollar Roundtable, which has approximately 85,000 members in 80 countries. Carter is a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology, and she has been a Certified Association Executive (CAE) since 2010. She is also a member of Association Forum of Chicagoland and is a founding member of Chief Chicago, which is a think tank and network for women executives.

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In this episode, Michael Cohen of Duane Morris discusses how firms are promoting mental health awareness and how the legal industry can do more to make sure its employees are sufficiently supported. Cohen also talks about managers’ responsibilities when it comes to handling implicit bias, microaggressions and workplace harassment. Plus, if you’re a sports fan, you won’t want to miss Cohen’s description of Gritty, the mascot for his hometown Philadelphia Flyers.

To read the Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being, click here.

Speaker Bio:

Michael S. Cohen is a Partner at Duane Morris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law training and counseling. Cohen has trained and counseled employers throughout the country on subjects including harassment prevention; workplace diversity; discipline and discharge; hiring and recruiting practices; performance evaluations; FMLA, ADA and FLSA compliance; leave of absence policies; performance management; workplace privacy; sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace; substance abuse testing; workplace violence; records retention; conducting background checks; teens in the workplace; and managing attendance problems. Cohen has also conducted investigations into claims of harassment and discrimination and has drafted employee handbooks, employment agreements, noncompete agreements and post-termination agreements.

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In this episode, Allison Worley of Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal previews her upcoming presentation at ALA’s Legal Management Fundamentals Conference, where she will teach early-career administrators about legal trends and operations management. Plus, Worley reminisces about her time attending the LMF Conference and offers advice to new administrators about how to keep up with all the knowledge they need to do their jobs.

Speaker Bio:

Allison Worley, CLM, MBA, is the Executive Director at Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal in St. Louis, Missouri. She started her career in legal as a file clerk more than 20 years ago. In her leadership role, she has led her firm through construction projects, technology infrastructure re-designs and the pandemic. In 2021, she was selected for the Susan L. French Emerging Leader Fellowship through the Foundation of ALA.

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In this episode, Cynthia Thomas — owner of the legal management consulting firm PLMC & Associates — answers all your pressing questions about hybrid and remote work, including how to craft a hybrid plan that will get buy-in from your employees and how to best communicate those changes. Plus, Thomas offers her insights on how hybrid work has affected the manager-employee dynamic — such as the advent of “quiet quitting” — and urges administrators to have a plan in place since hybrid work is here to stay.

Speaker Bio:

Cynthia Thomas is Legal Accounts Receivable Department Manager at Frontline Managed Services, and the owner of PLMC & Associates, a law firm management consulting company. With over 30 years’ experience in law firm management, Thomas’ employment has included Firm Administrator, Law Firm Administrative Director, and Chief Financial Officer and Operations Manager.

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In this episode, Heather Oden of Ball Janik LLP and Amalia Mohr of LRS Architects discuss Ball Janik’s recent decision to redesign their office space to adapt to a hybrid-work world and promote their employees’ health and wellness. Watch Mohr and Oden describe how the elements they incorporated into the design — such as a lot of wood and glass — have impacted the firm, and don’t miss the pictures showing off some of the sleek new office!

Click here to read or listen to the Legal Management print issue article, “Walking the Well-Being Walk.”

Speaker Bios:

Heather J. Oden is the Chief Operating Officer at Ball Janik. Her management of operations includes Ball Janik’s four offices in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast. Heather oversees accounting and finance operations, crisis and reputation management, information technology, business development, marketing, human resources, facilities management, attorney and staff acquisitions and career succession planning for firm employees. Heather is a member of the Association of Legal Administrators in the Oregon Chapter.

Amalia Mohr is a Principal at LRS Architects. She has extensive industry knowledge, especially in interior design, space planning design research, civic planning, change management and sustainable design. At LRS, she delivered a process driven approach to change management while weaving sustainable design into her projects. Mohr recently received the DCJ Phenom award in recognition of her career achievements.

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In this episode, we talk with Eric Webber of Caron Treatment Centers about the effects of alcohol and other substances on the legal industry and what administrators and employees can do to limit alcohol dependence at their firms. Don’t miss Webber’s tips for creating an effective strategy to help employees who may be struggling and how to plan events that don’t revolve around alcohol. Spoiler alert: Childhood games such as “Duck Duck Goose” can provide nostalgia and drink-free fun.

Check out the Legal Management article, “An Honest Conversation About Alcohol and Legal,” to learn more about how firms are trying to reduce the prevalence of alcohol at their organizations. Click here to listen to the article or download the PDF.

Speaker BioEric Webber is Program Director for the Legal Professionals Program and Senior Clinician for Specialty Services at Caron Treatment Centers. He provides direct care through specialty lectures and counseling sessions focused on relapse, addiction interaction disorders, work/professional related issues and other targeted needs. Since 2007, Webber has been a clinician at Caron working specifically with adult men and relapse patients in both primary and extended care settings. Prior to his time at Caron, Webber worked as a counselor in an outpatient setting treating those with mental health issues, as well as substance abuse issues. Webber is a certified alcohol and drug counselor and certified clinical supervisor and holds a certificate of competency in problem gambling. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Kutztown University and a master’s degree from Alvernia University, Pennsylvania.

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In this episode, Ben Schmidt of Mattern & Associates talks about the labor challenges the legal industry is facing and how outsourced labor can help address those concerns. Tune in to learn about the innovative ways to make up for staffing shortfalls, such as by moving tasks off-site and hiring employees who can perform multiple roles.

Speaker Bio

Benjamin Schmidt is a consultant at Mattern & Associates. Schmidt received his JD from Villanova and has expertise both as a practicing law firm attorney, in-house counsel as well as on the vendor side at Canon Business Services. Schmidt leads clients in the analysis and negotiating stages of their engagements, leveraging his comprehensive and holistic understanding of the legal marketplace to gain the most strategic understanding of their needs and the most advantageous outcomes.

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In this episode, Kevin Gallagher of AbacusNext discusses the newest trends in payment processing and how the legal industry is adapting to those changes. In addition, learn about how to keep client data safe and whether firms are really starting to accept cryptocurrency as payment.

Speaker BioKevin Gallagher is General Manager, Payments at AbacusNext, a leading software and integrated payments solutions provider. In this role, he drives the automated payments strategy in AbacusNext practice management platforms — including Zola Suite, AbacusLaw, Amicus Attorney and OfficeTools. Kevin brings over 25 years of experience in the payment industry to the role and is an expert in building and scaling private equity-backed payment and SaaS companies.

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This episode features Eric Wangler of BigHand discussing his company's latest report on legal workflow trends for midsize firms. It's based on data from a survey of hundreds of law firm operations, HR and support professionals in North America.

You can find the report, Legal Workflow Trends for Mid-Size Firms, on BigHand's website.

Other materials mentioned during this episode:

The larger Legal Workflow Management Report from BigHand
BigHand webinar from December 16: Legal Workflow Management: A Turning Point for Post-Pandemic Competitiveness in Firms of 50-99 Lawyers
ALA Gateway Chapter's webinar with BigHand and three legal administrators
ALA free white paper: The Changing Role of the Legal Secretary
"Market Research Reveals That North American Law Firms Expect to Lose 58% of Their Legal Secretaries by 2025"
BigHand case studies: DLA Piper Delivers Collaborative Administrative Resource Model and DLA Piper Moves to Remote-Working Practices in 36 Hours During COVID-19 Pandemic

Speaker Bio

Eric Wangler is President of the North American business unit for BigHand, a legal technology company specializing in products that maximize attorney and support staff efficiency in law firms. With more than 20 years of experience in the legal industry, Wangler previously served as Vice President of Ricoh’s legal vertical segment.

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In this episode, we discuss Phillip Perry's analysis of the trends found in ALA's 2021 Compensation and Benefits Survey and 2021 Large Firm Key Staff Compensation Survey.

Download the Executive Summary for free here
Read "Law Firms Move to Retain Staff, Bolster IT in ALA Survey" by Perry
Purchase the complete survey reports
Read the free white paper "COVID-19: Retooling the Legal Machine" by Perry
Browse Perry's other work in Legal Management magazine

Speaker Bio

Phillip M. Perry is an award‑winning business journalist with over 20 years of experience under his belt. A three‑time recipient of the American Bar Association’s Edge Award for editorial achievement, Perry freelances out of his New York City office. His byline has appeared over 3,000 times in the nation’s business press.

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In this episode, we discuss the effect of the pandemic-era virtual environment on everything from law firm culture and creative downtime to client billing and access to justice. Is the future virtual? Or will in-person activities return with a vengeance? For our guest, Etan Mark, hybrid is the best of both worlds for attorneys, staff and clients.

Speaker Bio

Etan Mark is a founding partner of Florida boutique litigation law firm Mark Migdal & Hayden. With more than 15 years of experience as commercial litigator, he serves clients in multiple jurisdictions involved in complex business disputes. His clients include public and private companies, real estate developers, investors and owners, tech entrepreneurs, gaming operators, family offices, hotels and banks. Etan has been ranked by Chambers & Partners USA in commercial litigation for several years.

Mark began his legal career working as a business and securities litigator at a top 10 American Lawyer “Big Law” firm in New York. Since leaving New York for more ... challenging sea levels, he has become a devotee of alternative value propositions focused on efficiency, collaboration and bespoke service (that are sometimes hard to come by in “Big Law”). Mark worked as a law clerk to a federal district court judge in Miami, where he gained an insider’s view on effective advocacy. Following his clerkship, he owned and was the CEO of a company that leveraged the global marketplace by outsourcing certain legal services to top attorneys and other legal service providers in India. Prior to founding MM&H, Mark was a partner at Berger Singerman’s Miami office and manager of the firm’s Dispute Resolution team.

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This episode discusses how legal organizations can create an inclusive workplace for transgender employees and potential recruits. The measures suggested in this episode by Ames Simmons (he/him) of the National Center for Transgender Equity will also foster a welcoming environment for clients and community members.

Check out resources like:

The National Center for Transgender Equality
ALA's Virtual Master Class: A Framework for DEI&A recording bundle
"5 Ways to Make Your Law Firm More Inclusive for the Transgender Community" from Legal Management magazine
A Transgender Experience: A Personal Account, an ALA webinar

Also, you can look forward to the following sessions this October at ALA's 2021 Annual Conference & Expo in Austin, Texas:

LGBTQ 101 for Legal Administrators
LGBTQ: Allies and Inclusivity in the Workplace
You Belong Here: Creating an Inclusive Environment Where Everyone Belongs
A Law Firm Built for 2021 and the Future: Examining Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging and Barriers to Implicit Bias

Speaker Bio

Ames Simmons (he/him) is a queer white trans man serving as Policy Director at National Center for Transgender Equality. He provides vision and direction for NCTE’s policy strategies and approach, including federal and state advocacy to achieve NCTE’s mission of empathy, opportunity, and justice for transgender people. His work is grounded in community-based antiracism, antiviolence and antipoverty efforts.

His previous roles include Policy Director at Equality North Carolina and Assistant General Counsel at a healthcare company assisting uninsured patients with Medicaid. Ames received his bachelor’s in political science and Spanish from Agnes Scott College, and he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Emory University Law School. Ames holds a senior lecturing fellowship at Duke University School of Law.

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The cover story of March's Legal Management is "Making Mental Health Matter," a candid account from Immediate Past President James L. Cornell III's recent struggles with mental well-being. This article also serves as a continuing education (CE) course — it's filled with information about the state of mental health in the legal industry and how legal management professionals can take care of themselves and their staff.

This podcast episode features a source from that article, Bella Sterling, MS, MA. The mental health counselor explains why seeking therapy can be so hard and dispels a number of myths.

If you'd like to earn a CE credit for CLM, HRCI or SHRM, simply read the article and then take a self-paced interactive course that walks you through a model scenario — the first of its kind for Legal Management!

Speaker Bio
Bella Sterling, MS, MA, is a graduate of Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California. She is a Resident Counselor in Virginia, seeing clients at the private practices of DC VA Counseling and Falls Church Wellness. Bella specializes in trauma, relationship issues and family counseling.

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This episode of Legal Management Talk is brought to you by Jelly Marketing. Jelly's free Solutions Series webcast, What Can You Expect and What Should You Pay Your Marketing Vendors?, is happening Tuesday, December 1. Sign up here.

Monique Mahler polled her fellow ALA members about what their firms are planning in the post-COVID-19 landscape, questioning them about everything from remote work policies to the future of their real estate footprint. Read more in the November/December Legal Management cover story, "Law Firm Life After COVID-19."

Mahler's research project is for her master's thesis at the University of Denver Strum College of Law. A scholarship from the Foundation of the Association of Legal Administrators helped fund her studies.

Speaker Bio

Monique Mahler is the HR Manager for BakerHostetler’s Houston and Dallas offices. She is the first recipient of the Foundation of the Association of Legal Administrators’ Student Legal Career Scholarship. Mahler received a bachelor’s in sociology from the University of Houston – Downtown. She will obtain her master’s degree in legal administration from the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law in May 2021.

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Monica Wofford, CSP, joined the podcast to walk us through the newest Legal Management continuing education course, "Where Are Your Markers?" She argues that re-evaluating how you mark your success can make you a more effective leader. Reading the article is enough to gain some insights, but if you complete a short assessment afterward, you can also earn a CE credit.

Legal Management CE courses offer a quick and easy way to earn CE credits, particularly for hard-to-find topic areas like Ethics and Substance Abuse. As such, they’re particularly useful for Certified Legal Manager (CLM)® recertification. Whatever you use them for, it’s simply a matter of reading an article and completing a short assessment. Learn more here.

Speaker Bio

Monica Wofford is a leadership development coach, consultant and keynote speaker. As Chief Executive Officer of the training and consulting firm Contagious Companies, Inc., she and her team assist organizations and their management in developing powerful skills in leadership. She’s the author of Contagious Leadership and Make Difficult People Disappear. She has also been a frequent speaker at ALA’s national conferences and chapter events. Since March 2020, she has had the privilege of consulting as the Interim CEO of a two-county United Way nonprofit.

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Speaker Kathy Gruver, PhD, is presenting two education sessions at the ALA Virtual Master Class: Critical Skills for Legal Management Success: CM10: Welcome and Opening Session: Conquer Your Stress: Go from Worrier to WarriorCM12: How to Get Anything Done with Anyone She joined the podcast to preview these sessions and discuss the importance of "soft skills," which are often devalued in favor of "hard skills." Register now for the virtual conference, happening on October 29!

Speaker Bio

Kathy Gruver, PhD, has graced stages on four continents — including two TEDx talks, three cruise ships and a handful of islands. She hosts a TV show based on her first book, The Alternative Medicine Cabinet, and has earned her PhD in natural health. Gruver is the 12-time award-winning author of seven books, including Conquer Your Stress, Workplace Wellness, Conquer Your Stress at Work and Journey of Healing. She has studied at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and has spent most of her life studying psychology and human behavior. Gruver has been featured as an expert in countless publications and has appeared on over 250 radio and TV shows. For fun and stress relief, Gruver does fly trapeze.

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Diversity and inclusion consultant Michelle Silverthorn is a former columnist for ALA's Legal Management magazine and a speaker at past conferences, including the Brezina session at the 2019 Annual Conference & Expo. Now, with her own company and a brand-new book under her belt, she rejoins ALA to discuss the current state of diversity, inclusion and equity and whether a permanent shift is coming to the workplace.

You can read an excerpt from Michelle's book, Authentic Diversity: How to Change the Workplace for Good, in the next issue of Legal Management, which is out on October 9. Visit her website to find out how to purchase the book,

Read past Legal Management columns by Michelle here. In this episode, she mentions the Nice White Parents podcast and the Mansfield Rule. Listen to that podcast here and read more about Mansfield Rule here.

Speaker Bio

Michelle Silverthorn is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion Nation, a diversity consulting firm that partners with forward-thinking organizations to design authentic, inclusive workplaces built for success. A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Michigan Law School, she lives in Chicago with her husband and two daughters.

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In the September cover story of Legal Management, "Working Around Micromanagement," we learned how a tough employee-manager relationship can make work unbearable. Jill Maganza-Ruiz, a senior human resources and talent executive for the largest firm in the United States, joined Legal Management Talk to provide some additional advice for both managers and employees.

Speaker Bio

Jill Maganza-Ruiz is a senior HR/Talent executive with more than 20 years' experience in the legal industry. She is currently the HR Director for Dentons US LLP and is based in the firm’s New York office. Jill has been a member of ALA since 2006.

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ALA member Krista Hart discusses how and why she established a wellness program for staff and attorneys at her firm, Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel. She also talks about how the program has had to adapt to the new normal of a remote workforce with many additional COVID-19-inflicted challenges.

Look for Krista's "Tough Topics" column in the September 2020 issue of Legal Management. In the meantime, check out these existing ALA resources:

Wellness Strategies During the Pandemic with Lance Breger (podcast)

Keeping Your Head Above Water During COVID-19 (webinar)

Zoom Fatigued? How to Stay Virtually Engaged Without Losing Our Minds (webinar)

Wellness resources and roundtables featuring fellow legal management professionals (COVID-19 resources page)

Speaker Bio

Krista Hart is a Firm Administrator who is dedicated to assisting the Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel attorneys and staff with all their workplace needs. Motivated by the belief that employees are the No. 1 asset of a firm, Hart sees her role as crucial to maintaining Panitch Schwarze’s workplace culture. She currently serves as President-Elect of Association of Legal Administrators’ Philadelphia Chapter.

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ALA member John Jakovenko, CLM, SPHR, MBA, chats about the importance of continuing education in the professional development of staff in a law firm or legal department. After all, the lawyers do CLE, don't they?

Jakovenko is the instructor for ALA's HR-themed web-based courses, which delve deep over six weeks into the knowledge needed for success as a legal management professional. You can register now for HR2: Performance Management and Compensation, which begins on September 17, 2020.

Speaker Bio

John Jakovenko, CLM, SPHR, MBA, is the Firm Administrator at Sparks Law, LLC, in Alpharetta, Georgia. His career spans two decades and includes leadership roles in human resource departments in law firms in Los Angeles and Atlanta. He is also an adjunct professor at Kennesaw State University, teaching courses on human resources.

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GrowthPlay Consultant Brianna Leung returns to the podcast to discuss her recent Legal Management cover feature about change, which turned out to be a prescient topic as the COVID-19 pandemic alters our professional and personal lives.

Read the article, "Leading Through Change," and take a short exam if you'd like to earn a continuing education credit. You can hear Leung's last appearance on the podcast here.

Speaker Bio

Brianna Leung is a Principal Consultant with GrowthPlay, where she leverages talent analytics to help legal professionals drive innovation and change within their organizations.

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Ross Fishman, JD, expands on his recent Legal Management column about avoiding slashing all marketing costs due to the COVID-19-related business downturn ("The Top 5 Budget Items Law Firms Will Try to Slash in Response to COVID-19"). Instead, he advocates for hustling for new business, emphasizing busy practice areas and focusing your spend where it counts in order to stay competitive.

Fishman's newest books can be found on Amazon: The Ultimate Law Firm Associate's Working-From-Home Marketing Checklist and The Ultimate Law Firm Partner’s Working-From-Home Marketing Checklist.

Easter egg: See if you can count how many times the host's dog insists her squeaky toy is more important than this interview. Working from home!

Speaker Bio

Ross Fishman, JD, specializes in branding, websites and marketing training for law firms. A former litigator, marketing director and marketing partner, he has helped hundreds of firms dominate their markets. Fishman was the first inductee into the Legal Marketing Association’s “Hall of Fame.” He’s written seven marketing books, which are available on Amazon.

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Lance Breger joins us to talk about how to handle team-building, negative emotions and wellness as we deal with remote work and major stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visit ALA's Coronavirus Response webpage for more resources.

Speaker Bio

Lance Breger is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Infinity Wellness Partners, where he helped create a WorkLIFE Wellness Program and Executive Coaching Program. His company partners with forward-thinking executives, organizations and industries around the world to spread holistic health throughout the corporate landscape to make wellness a priority in the workplace every day.

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Rob Mattern discusses information governance, outsourcing and back-office efficiency as they relate to his latest educational offerings for the ALA audience.

Learn more from Rob through an upcoming webinar, The Getting to Zero Strategy, and his column in the March issue of Legal Management, "The Efficiency of the Attorney Experience in Your Firm’s Back Office."

Speaker Bio

Rob Mattern, MBA, is President and Founder of Mattern, LLC. Mattern has been widely published, including recently in the The Wall Street Journal, Law Technology News and Legal Management magazine. He is an editorial board member of Law Journal Newsletters’ Accounting Financial Planning for Law Firms.

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Rob Mattern and Nathan Curtis discuss Mattern, LLC's first-of-its-kind survey about law firm cost recovery for e-discovery and litigation support.

Find the survey here. Learn more from Rob through an upcoming webinar, The Getting to Zero Strategy, and his column in the March issue of Legal Management, "The Efficiency of the Attorney Experience in Your Firm’s Back Office."

Speaker Bios

Rob Mattern, MBA, is President and Founder of Mattern, LLC. Mattern has been widely published, including recently in The Wall Street Journal, Law Technology News and Legal Management magazine. He is an editorial board member of Law Journal Newsletters’ Accounting Financial Planning for Law Firms.

Nathan Curtis, IGP, is a Consultant at Mattern, LLC, where he is focused on emerging technologies and their application in the legal environment, driving results through Mattern’s customized RFP process, and overseeing service, technology and policy implementations. He is also a Six Sigma Yellow Belt.

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We spoke with IT consultant Michael Kemps about managing the remote workplace and keeping IT systems afloat as law firms and legal departments revise work-from-home policies in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

He's a featured source in the Legal Management article "Surviving COVID-19: Tips for Managing a Healthy Workforce and Keeping Your Clients Informed." You can find more resources on ALA's Coronavirus Response webpage.

Speaker Bio

Michael Kemps is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Innovative Computing Systems, Inc., where he cultivates relationships with clients and partners and, with his management team, provides leadership, strategic and ethical direction and oversight of company operations.

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Stephanie R. Hanna, Esq., the Founder of professional coaching firm The Other 85, discusses how to retain talented associates, teach them the ways of business and set them on a path toward rainmaker status.

Stephanie is speaking at ALA's 2020 Annual Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her Legal Industry/Business Management education session is titled Building Rainmakers: How to Help Set Up the Next Generation for Success. View the session description here.

Speaker Bio

Stephanie R. Hanna, Esq., is the Founder and Owner of The Other 85. She has been coaching law students and attorneys for the past decade — helping them navigate the profession, build their reputation and develop their careers. Having been a prosecutor, judicial staff attorney, solo practitioner, magistrate and law firm associate, Stephanie understands the dynamics at play in each environment.

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Cynthia Thomas discusses how to protect your law firm's operations by succession planning not only for attorneys but also for administrators. She is speaking at ALA's 2020 Annual Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her Human Resources Management education session is titled Don’t Let Institutional Knowledge Walk Out the Door: Succession Planning for Administrative Managers.

View the session description here, and make sure you're registered for the May 3–6 event.

Speaker Bio

Cynthia Thomas is the Interim Operations Manager at A to Z Law and Owner of PLMC & Associates, a law firm management consulting company that provides best practices in human resources and staffing. She is the Associate Editor of the editorial board of Law Practice and the Co-Vice Chair of the ABA LP Lawyer Leadership and Management Committee. She often writes articles on and is invited to speak and conduct presentations focusing on law firm staffing of the future and lean staffing.

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Anna Cates Williams, JD, MBA, shares her thoughts about improving efficiency by increasing your app use. She is speaking at ALA's 2020 Annual Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her Operations Management education session is titled Apps and Social Media: A Firm Administrator’s Toolkit.

View the session description here, and make sure you're registered for the May 3-6 event. As she mentions in the podcast, you can reach out to Anna with questions via LinkedIn.

Speaker Bio

Anna Cates Williams, JD, MBA, is the Executive Director of Walker Lambe, PLLC, a boutique estate planning firm in Durham, North Carolina. She drives marketing, operations and financial initiatives for the firm. Williams has a diverse work history in law firm marketing and operations. She began practicing law with a healthcare start-up in Nashville, Tennessee, where she worked within the legal procurement team, negotiating alternative billing strategies as the client. She later moved into business development and management with a leading legal staffing and recruiting organization, where she partnered with large firm marketing and practice development teams delivering e-discovery and managed services solutions.

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Brianna Leung of GrowthPlay talks about New Year's resolutions for the busy professional. She wrote "Resolve to Balance the Scales in 2020," the Business Partner Perspective column for the January issue of Legal Management.

Speaker Bio

Brianna Leung is a Principal Consultant with GrowthPlay, where she leverages talent analytics to help legal professionals drive innovation and change within their organizations.

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Staffing expert and recruiting consultant Jennifer Hill talks about the conclusions she reached and action items she detailed in her white paper for ALA, "The Changing Role of Law Firm Leadership."

You can also read her previous white paper, "The Changing Role of the Legal Secretary," and register for her webinars, like Is the Legal Secretary Becoming Extinct? and Creating an Empowered Environment. All of ALA's free white papers can be found here.

Speaker Bio

Jennifer Hill is President of JHill's Staffing Services, a Division of Marcum Search LLC. She began recruiting in 2003 and has recruited for top-tier law firms and corporations throughout the United States. Hill also hosts a weekly radio show on LA Talk Radio, “Get Yourself the Job,” for more than 30,000 listeners a month; she interviews experts and authors from around the world about landing one's dream job.

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ALA Executive Director Oliver Yandle joins the podcast to talk about how conferences are going and discuss what your Association has planned for the future.

Here are reference links for some of the things Oliver talked about: Chapter Leadership InstituteLarge Firm Principal Administrators RetreatC4 The Legal Industry ConferenceALA Master Class: Leadership for Legal Management Professionals2020 Annual Conference & ExpoOrganizational pricing optionLegal Management Resource Hub Speaker Bio

Oliver Yandle, JD, CAE, is Executive Director of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA), the largest international organization providing support to people in the legal management profession. Before joining ALA in July 2012, he served as the Executive Vice President of the Commercial Law League and the Executive Director of the International Association of Defense Counsel. He also was an adjunct instructor of legal analysis and writing at the Washington College of Law at American University.

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Dan Lear, a speaker and facilitator for September's C4: The Legal Industry Conference, discusses the event, design thinking and the legal industry challenges attendees will tackle.

The conference will occur September 18-20 in Boston, Massachusetts. The registration deadline for the early bird rate is August 5. Sign up now!

Speaker Bio

Dan Lear is a lawyer, blogger and legal industry gadfly. As a technology-focused business lawyer, Lear advised companies from start-ups to the Fortune 100. He has spoken at marquee legal technology events including ILTACON, LegalTech, ReInvent Law New York, ABA TechShow, CodeX FutureLaw at Stanford Law School, and many others. From 2014 to 2018, Lear worked as the Director of Industry Relations at the online legal marketplace, Avvo, where he spoke frequently to lawyers, bar associations and other legal groups. Find him at rightbrainlaw.co or @rightbrainlaw on Twitter.

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Kim Cannon, David Miceli and Teresa Walker — go over the details of the 2019 Large Firm Principal Administrators Retreat, including some important changes to the format. This year, the annual event will focus less on classroom-style instruction and more on idea exchange among attendees.

The retreat is happening in Nashville, Tennessee, August 1-3, and eligible legal management professionals are encouraged to register now! Sign up by June 27 to get the discounted early bird rate.

Kim Cannon is the Chief Operations Officer at Bass Berry & Sims PLC in Nashville, Tennessee. She serves as Chair of the 2019 Large Firm Retreat Planning Committee.

David Miceli is the Executive Director of Balch & Bingham, LLP, in Birmingham, Alabama. He serves as the Chair of the Large Firm Administrators Caucus Steering Committee and thus functions as a liaison to the 2019 Large Firm Retreat Planning Committee.

Teresa Walker is the Senior Adviser and Chief Operating Officer, Emeritus, at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP, in Nashville Tennessee. She has been a leading member of the Large Firm Administrators Caucus for many years. Teresa is also a Past President of ALA and Vice Chair of the Professional Development Advisory Committee.

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ALA member Nadean Stone, CLM, MBA, describes what it’s like to publish her first book, titled No Stone Unturned: A Remarkable Journey to Identity. She talks about translating painful experiences into a memoir and how her professional background and network of legal management professionals inspire her to keep fighting for justice.

Nadean Stone, CLM, MBA, is the author of No Stone Unturned: A Remarkable Journey to Identity as well as a legal management consultant. She is a member of the South Florida Chapter of ALA and divides her time between South Florida and Vermont.

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ALA members and Administrators Sarah Antonello, Danita Jones and Suzy Klepac have conceived a new way to support early career legal managers: the First Five Community. A part of ALA's Online Community, this members-only forum will provide a space for asking questions, sharing solutions and networking.

As mentioned in the episode, the Legal Management article about the Capital Chapter president can be found here.

Speaker Bios

Sarah Antonello is the Office Administrator of Husch Blackwell LLP in Omaha, Nebraska. She is a member of the Nebraska Chapter.

Danita Jones is the Legal Administrator at Chubbuck Duncan & Robey, PC, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is the Treasurer of the Oklahoma City Chapter.

Suzy Klepac is the Office Administrator at Kirk & Chaney in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is the President-Elect of the Oklahoma City Chapter.

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Lori Hughes, a panelist for a session at September's Intellectual Property Conference for Legal Management Professionals, talks about how she transitioned her own office to a paperless, cloud-based storage system.

Speaker Bio

Lori Hughes is a member of the ALA Board of Directors as the Region 5 Director and has been an ALA member since 2002. Hughes has been with Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP in Portland, Oregon, for 26 years and is the Lead Operations and Information Security Officer. She managed the firm’s “less-paper” initiative and move to its first electronic records system — updated to a cloud solution for records in the past two years — and continues to manage the Records Department as part of her current responsibilities.

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Consultant Tim Corcoran, who's speaking at 2018's Advanced Financial Administration workshops and Regional Legal Management Conferences, talks about why law firms might need to change how they handle partner compensation.

Speaker Bio

Timothy B. Corcoran is a Principal with the Corcoran Consulting Group and a Past President of the Legal Marketing Association. In his practice, he advises law firm leaders, in-house counsel and legal service providers on how to profit during a time of great change. This includes assisting law firm leaders with business strategy, primarily in the areas of operational excellence and business growth, and assisting in-house counsel with managing preferred provider programs.

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Wondering what you missed at ALA's 2018 Annual Conference & Expo? This audio exploration will help you get a partial experience — from speakers like John Quiñones and Vernice Armour to valuable education sessions.

Interested in attending a future conference? Visit alanet.org/events to learn about our fall conferences, including Regionals and the specialty events, as well as information about the 2019 Annual Conference as it's announced.

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Kathy Scourby of KNS Consulting joins us to talk disaster preparedness and business continuity plans. She'll be a presenter at ALA's Annual Conference & Expo in May 2018, and you can find her insights in the April 2018 issue of Legal Management.

Speaker Bio

Kathryn Scourby is the Principal of KNS Consulting, LLC. She works with professional service firms to achieve their goals in the areas of business continuity, disaster preparedness, risk management and compliance. Scourby trains management professionals and all levels of staff at private service firms and facilitates tabletop exercises in these focus areas. Additionally, she served on ALA's Board of Directors (2004–2008), was a trustee for the Foundation of the Association of Legal Administrators (2010–2013), and currently serves on ALA's International Relations Committee.

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Information, data and knowledge are important business assets, but most firms aren't managing them in a way that reflects their true value. That's why ALA is conducting a survey in partnership with Experience Matters (James's company) and the University of South Australia: to find industry benchmarks and recommendation for information assets management.

Speaker Bio

James Price is the Managing Director of Experience Matters. He has more than 30 years' experience in the information industry in a career that has included working for a global hardware manufacturer, a software developer and a systems integrator. During his career James realised that, in and of itself, hardware and software adds no value – it’s the information that the infrastructure delivers that’s valuable. So he formed Experience Matters, a firm that advises on how to manage vital data, information and knowledge as a business asset. He formed Experience Matters to address the problem that, while Information Assets are vitally important to organisations, by and large they are very poorly managed, usually with significant commercial implications. James is internationally recognized as an author of peer-reviewed papers and a presenter to business and academic conferences.

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Mercer Principal Norma Sharara — who works closely with the ABA Retirement Funds Program, an ALA VIP sponsor — describes the current tax and regulatory picture for retirement plans.

Norma Sharara is a Principal in Mercer’s Washington Resource Group, focusing on tax-qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, including ERISA fiduciary rules, state-run retirement initiatives and federal retirement policy. Sharara has more than 25 years of experience with retirement plan issues. Before joining Mercer in 2015, she practiced law in Washington, D.C., and has been a frequent speaker and author on retirement plan topics.

The ABA Retirement Funds Program has been supplying retirement plans exclusively to the legal community for over 50 years. Mercer Trust Company is the ABA Retirement Funds Program’s investment fiduciary, investment manager, and trustee and custodian. Mercer has responsibility for development of the investment policy for the program, subject to acceptance by the ABA Retirement Funds; for implementation of the policy; and for monitoring of the platform of fund investments.

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As law firms continue to grow and merge, the question of office space and configuration is critical to legal management professionals tasked with operations. That's why First American Equipment Finance's Karen Leastman and Christina Floyd have joined us to talk about financing office renovations. You can hear them in full at their 2018 Annual Conference & Expo presentation.

Karen Leastman is the Vice President of First American Equipment Finance and has more than a decade of equipment-leasing knowledge and dedicated experience working with the law firm industry. Since joining First American in 2003, Leastman has been a key contributor in building First American's law firm division, which now serves more than 200 law firms across the United States, including AmLaw 100 and 200 firms. As a Certified Lease and Finance Professional (CLFP), she's a leader in the equipment leasing industry.

Christina Floyd is the Vice President of First American Legal Finance and is a Certified Lease and Finance Professional (CLFP). She has almost a decade of equipment leasing knowledge and dedicated experience working with the legal industry. She holds a bachelor's degree in communications and an MBA from St. John Fisher College. Additionally, Floyd successfully completed the Legal Management Finance Specialist Certificate Program through ALA. In her tenure, Floyd has been instrumental in growing First American's legal business to more than 200 firms.

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Michael Moore, a speaker at ALA's 2018 Annual Conference & Expo, talks with us about law-firm succession planning.

Michael Moore, JD, is the Founder of Moore's Law, LLC, and helps both lawyers and law firms create professional success. Moore specializes in individual marketing, client development, and leadership coaching and advises law firms on strategic planning, growth initiatives and resource optimization. A frequent speaker at ALA events across the country, his current topics have included mentoring, leadership, financial management and strategic planning.

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Corey Saban, a 2018 Annual Conference speaker, answers some of our questions about the promotional and engagement powers of web video.

Corey Saban is a Cofounder and Vice President of TheLaw.TV, a platform that helps lawyers effectively reach prospective clients and communicate their stories through video. He started his media career as a TV journalist, interviewing respectable and recognizable figures and scoring Emmy nominations and AP Awards along the way. An accomplished speaker and 15-year news veteran, Saban is now on the other side of the industry, consulting for law firms on media and content strategies.

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Get the answers to your questions about background screening in today's law firm - domestically and internationally.

Kevin P. Prendergast is the President & General Counsel at Research Associates, Inc., a corporate investigative firm serving clients since 1953. RAI serves the investigative needs for professional service firms and works with law firms throughout the world for pre-employment background investigations, due diligence in transactional work and litigation support investigations.

Kevin oversees the compliance program at RAI and works with clients and their counsel in developing legally compliant background screening programs. Mr. Prendergast graduated from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law and has been licensed to practice law in Ohio since 1987. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association and the Society for Human Resource Management.

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Ginger Brennan is here with us today to talk about how to administer your firm’s retirement plan in a changing environment. She will also be a speaker on this topic at ALA's Annual Conference & Expo, April 2-5 in Denver, Colorado.

Speaker Bio

Ginger Brennan, FINRA Series 6, 7, 24, 26, 63, and Certified Employee Benefits Specialist, is the Senior Vice President and National Director of Sales for the ABA Retirement Funds Program. Brennan is responsible for setting and driving the sales strategy for the program and oversees all of the sales efforts and training for the entire program sales team across the United States. A veteran to retirement plan sales, Brennan brings more than 30 years of experience in sales and sales management.

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Eric Wangler is president of the North American business unit for BigHand. With over 15 years of experience in the legal industry, Eric previously served as vice president of Ricoh’s legal vertical segment. Since joining BigHand, Eric has grown the North American business and the BigHand customer base significantly. In addition, Eric led the acquisition of Esquire Innovations (Now BigHand Office) in Temecula, California, a leading provider of Microsoft Office integrated practice management software, services and applications for the legal market. The acquisition has enabled BigHand to broaden its suite of product offerings and continue its mission of providing innovative workflow efficiency software that streamlines processes and empowers attorneys and law firm support staff to deliver their best work wherever and whenever needed.

Check out Eric's article in the upcoming April issue of Legal Management magazine, at legalmanagement.org.

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Marc Adler is the Vice President of Sales for PerfectLaw Software, a developer of billing, accounting, financial and case, calendar and document management software for the mid to large size legal industry. He is also a committed member of the ALA Business Partner Relations Committee as well as the LegalTech Advisory board. After a few years of managing implementations for some of the leading law firms in the country, Marc moved into sales at PerfectLaw and has worked the last 20 years bringing the leading All-in-One solution to the legal community at more than 200 ALA events over the years.

Marc be available to chat in ALA's Exhibit Hall the Annual Conference & Expo in Denver, Colorado, coming up April 2-5. Stop by to say hello!

www.alanet.org/conf17

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Today our guest is John Gilbert, senior vice president at nQueue and a recent contributor to ALA’s Legal Management magazine. His feature in the November/December issue was titled “The Paper Pyramid Scheme” and offered some surprising insights into how off-site storage can end up eating a major chunk of a firm’s budget. Learn more from John Gilbert in April at ALA’s Annual Conference & Expo in Denver, Colorado. www.alanet.org/conf17

Speaker Bio

John Gilbert is the Senior Vice President of nQueue and has more than 30 years of experience in selling to and supporting law firms throughout the United States. Gilbert helped pioneer the methodology used to customize Microsoft Word for the legal environment — including the awareness and removal of metadata in documents — and has been published in Law Technology News, Peer to Peer, Legal Management and National Law Journal.

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Joining us on our podcast today is Link Christin, an expert on the particular struggles among attorneys regarding substance abuse. Today he’s speaking with us about the ethics and liability concerns surrounding this topic. Hear more from Christin at ALA's Annual Conference & Expo, April 2-5 in Denver, Colorado: alanet.org/conf17

Speaker Bio

Link Christin is the Executive Director of the Legal Professionals Program at Caron Treatment Centers. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of Heightened Performance LLC, a behavioral health consulting firm. After decades of practice as an attorney followed by a second career of treating impaired attorneys in a residential setting, he founded Heightened Performance in order to bring his experience to the law firm and lawyer, the corporation and the law school. Prior to creating Heightened Performance, he founded and directed the Hazelden Legal Professionals Program, the first track of its kind at a major treatment center.

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Today our guest is Al Marcella, here to discuss risk management and cybersecurity in the context of legal management. Al will be in Denver, Colorado, this April to speak at ALA’s Annual Conference & Expo.

Speaker Bio

Al Marcella is an internationally recognized public speaker, researcher, workshop and seminar leader with 36 years of experience in IT audit, security and assessing internal controls. He's authored numerous articles and 28 books on cyber extortion, workplace violence, personal privacy, electronic stored information (ESI), privacy risks in multifunctional devices (MFDs), cyber forensics, disaster and incident management planning, ethics and more.

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Hear more from Kristen at ALA's Annual Conference & Expo in Denver, Colorado.

Speaker Bio

Kristen Brown is an international keynote speaker and facilitator who motivates audiences to strive for maximum impact in their work and personal lives by uncovering the unique characteristics that make you memorable and magnetic. She spent 15 years in sales and marketing leadership roles before starting her own award-winning company and Happy Hour Effect movement. She has worked with Fortune 500 teams across industries to drive sales and market share including companies like Target, Kraft, Bare Minerals, Cargill, Regis, Walmart, Mayo Health, and more.

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Ritu Bhasin explains how a more diverse workplace thrives on authenticity - embracing differences - versus minimization - ignoring and/or stifling them.

Ritu Bhasin, LL.B., MBA, is the Founder and Principal of BCI. Recognized globally for her diversity and leadership expertise, she has received a number of awards and distinctions for her work. She has extensive experience in delivering programming, consulting, and coaching across a range of management areas with a focus on leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and the advancement of women. Bhasin works primarily with senior leadership teams, boards of directors, middle management, and emerging leader groups, including women and diverse professionals.

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What is the role of the law department operations managers? Why is it so crucial to understand this market segment? Find out in this episode of Legal Management Talk, and learn more at ALA's Corporate Law Department Symposium. Register at alanet.org/clds.

Susan Hackett is the Founder of Legal Executive Leadership. Previously, she served as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) for 22 years. Hackett's practice is designed to help legal executives successfully lead law departments and law firms. She helps clients assess and implement best or leading practices, leverage internal and external knowledge, demonstrate and increase value to their clients, and deliver results – rather than just lots of hard work.

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Michael E. McCabe Jr. is a registered patent attorney with 20 years of patent litigation experience. He previously served as risk management counsel for a large IP firm. He presently heads the Attorney Discipline and Ethics group at Funk & Bolton, P.A., where his practice focuses on representing law firms and corporations on matters regarding ethics and malpractice, and representing IP practitioners in disciplinary, reinstatement, and admission matters before the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as well as disciplinary defense before the State Bars of D.C, Maryland and Virginia.

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Joining the podcast today is Alma Asay, former litigator at Gibson Dunn, and now one of the few female founders of a legal tech startup, a cloud-based litigation management software called Allegory. She shares her insights on the legal technology space.

For more on the latest trends, best practices and technologies in the legal management space, check out ALA’s flagship publication, Legal Management, at legalmanagement.org. For more information about any of ALA’s education, events and member services, please visit alanet.org.

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Paula Davis-Laack is a stress and resilience expert who will be speaking at ALA’s upcoming Large Firm Principal Administrators Retreat about “Building Resilient Lawyers and Leaders.”

Paula Davis-Laack, JD, MAPP, is a former practicing lawyer, an internationally-published writer, speaker, media contributor, and a stress and resilience expert who has taught burnout prevention and resilience workshops for thousands of professionals around the world. Her articles on stress, burnout prevention, resilience, and thriving at work are prominently featured on her blogs in The Huffington Post, Forbes, Fast Company and Psychology Today. She also writes a regular column called "On Balance" for Wisconsin Lawyer magazine. Her latest e-book is titled Addicted to Busy: Your Blueprint for Burnout Prevention, available here. Her expertise has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including the Lawyerist, Law360.com, various ABA webinars, and the Women's Law Journal. She is the Founder and CEO of the Stress & Resilience Institute, a training and consulting firm devoted to helping companies and busy professionals build their resilience to stress. She is also a partner in Lawyer Strong, LLC, which provides resilience training to law firms.

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Bill Mech discusses an ongoing project with ALA to help change the way we talk about legal management. Members should look for more information about the ALA UPBMS Taxonomy in the coming weeks!

William (Bill) Mech is currently the Executive Director with Cunningham Meyer & Vedrine, PC. He also serves as a Legal Consultant for the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) and has his own business called ofPartner Consulting Services. Mech is an accomplished Management Executive with a proven record of success improving operations and controlling costs in legal service organizations.

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Have you ever had a question about diversity and inclusion, but didn’t know who to ask or how? Sarah Babineau, managing partner at Compass Metrics, LLC, offers a slew of practical tips on disability etiquette and inclusion in this episode.

Like what you hear? Read Babineau's column in the April issue ofLegal Management magazine and consider attending her session at ALA's Annual Conference & Expo!

Sarah Babineau, MHR, PHR, SHRM-CP, is the Founder and Managing Partner of Compass Metrics, LLC, a woman-owned, disability-owned business enterprise. The consultancy focuses on law and professional services firm diversity analytics, disability inclusion programs and affirmative action planning. Babineau also provides expert witness testimony in matters related to the employment of people with disabilities.

sarah.babineau@compassmetrics.com | 508.333.1128

www.compassmetrics.com

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The Association of Legal Administrators' President-Elect Laura Broomell shares trends in ALA membership and legal management as a whole.

Laura is the Chief Operating Officer with Greene Espel PLLP, a 25-attorney firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has nearly 30 years of experience as a legal management professional, working with three firms. She received her B.A. from Metropolitan State University and earned her CLM designation in 2004.

Laura has held numerous leadership positions in the Minnesota Chapter, including President. She was a Region 3 Representative for two years, followed by serving five years on the ALA Certification Committee, chairing the Committee for two of those years. Laura joined the ALA Board of Directors in 2013, and she served two years as an At-Large Director. Last year, she transitioned to the ALA President-Elect position. She is honored to become ALA’s President in Los Angeles in May.

ALA is the undisputed leader for the business of law, focused on the delivery of cutting-edge management and leadership products and services to the global legal community. We identify and provide solutions to the most strategic and operational challenges our members and customers face today, while we prepare them for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. www.alanet.org

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Learn how firms can foster efficiency to increase value to clients and gain competitive advantage. Want to hear more? Register for ALA's Annual Conference & Expo in Los Angeles, May 22-25, to attend the Advanced Profitability Track of educational sessions.

Catherine Alman MacDonagh, JD, is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Legal Lean Sigma Institute LLC. She is a former corporate counsel and law firm executive who now teaches and provides training and consulting services in process improvement and project management, strategic planning, marketing and business development. A Lean Sigma® Black Belt and certified Six Sigma Green Belt, MacDonagh is an adjunct professor at Suffolk Law School and George Washington University’s Masters in Law Firm Management. She is Chief Enthusiasm Officer of The Mocktail and The Legal MocktailTM and the author of Lean and Six Sigma in Law Firms.

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Jobst Elster joins the podcast to talk about his new column in Legal Management magazine, on cloud technology and cyber security. "The cloud is a bit like social media in legal — no matter how hard we try to ignore it and dismiss its viability, it just won’t go away."

Jobst Elster is InsideLegal’s Head of Content and Legal Market Strategy. He has served as a legal market strategist for the last 17 years, advising companies entering the legal market, involved in mergers and acquisitions, and expanding strategic operations overseas. Elster regularly writes and speaks on legal technology, market research and leveraging market data, technology innovations and futures, legal marketing and big data.

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Ari Kaplan joins the podcast to discuss his upcoming Annual Conference & Expo session, "Recovery, Renewal and Reinvention: Navigating the Next Decade."

Ari Kaplan is the author of The Opportunity Maker and Reinventing Professional Services. After nearly nine years practicing with large law firms in New York City, Kaplan – named to the inaugural Fastcase 50 – has become a leading legal industry analyst. In addition to keynoting events in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, he has had the privilege of addressing administrators in 12 ALA chapters and at the Law Firm Financial Management Conference. He is also the founder of Lawcountability®.

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Catch Jill and Sally's sesson at ALA's Annual Conference & Expo, titled "Fast Forward: Driving Top-Line Revenue for Your Law Firm." Learn more at www.alanet.org/conf.

Jill Weber is Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer for Stinson Leonard Street, where she created Fast Forward®, a nationally recognized revenue program. Weber appears on the National Law Journal's "50 Business of Law Trailblazers & Pioneers" and was recognized as an "Unsung Legal Hero" by Minnesota Lawyer. She has received 22 local and national Legal Marketing Association (LMA) "Your Honor" awards. She currently serves on the LMA Board of Directors, and attended Harvard Law School's "Leadership in Law Firms" executive education program.

Sally Schmidt is President of Schmidt Marketing, Inc. in Edina, MN, which offers marketing services to law firms. She was a founder and the first President of the Legal Marketing Association (LMA). In 1994, she was inducted as a Fellow into the inaugural class of the College of Law Practice Management. Schmidt was also inducted into the LMA first Hall of Fame in 2007 and is the recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Steven Levy joins the podcast to discuss best practices in project management, particularly in law firms. His answer? Simplify. Register for ALA's Annual Conference & Expo to hear Steven speak live.

Steven B. Levy is the author of Legal Project Management and other books. A former senior leader in Microsoft's law department, he now heads Lexician, where he teaches project management, leadership and time management to law firms and departments around the world. His unique and practical approach to project management – based on 35 years managing projects and leading businesses on three continents – has helped numerous law practices become both more effective and more efficient.

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Dr. Jeffrey Magee PDM, CSP, CMC, has been called one of today's leading leadership and marketing strategists. He is the author of more than 20 books, two college textbooks and four bestsellers. He is also the publisher of PERFORMANCE/P360 Magazine, former co-host of the national business entrepreneur program on Catalyst Business Radio, and human capital developer for more than 20 years. Magee has been invited to keynote at many major associations and speak at West Point Military Academy.

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Jennifer Hill began recruiting in 2003 and has recruited for top-tier law firms and corporations throughout California. Since 2008, she has been interviewed on both American radio stations and the BBC, as well as appearing on FOX, NBC, ABC and various other television shows as an expert in the field of recruiting and job hunting. Additionally, she has been a featured speaker for groups such as the Los Angeles Paralegal Association, Legal Secretaries Incorporated and the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of ALA and has been invited to speak at law firms such as Sidley Austin, Katten Muchin and Paul Hastings.

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Kristine Sexter, President of WorkWise Productions and FindTrainKeep Great Employees, is an industrial and organizational consultant who has devoted more than 22 years to studying success and professional commitment. She has an extensive background in recruiting, developing and retaining top talent, and has been called "THE" authority in teaching executives and leadership teams how to find, train and keep great employees. She is a professional speaker, consultant and columnist and is the author of six books, including Rolling Out the Recognition: Employee Retention Strategies for Manufacturers.

Sexter will be presenting two sessions at ALA’s upcoming Human Resources Conference for Legal Professionals, February 18-20 in Orlando, Florida, and she’s here today to give us a little preview “Where to Put Your Recruiting Dollars: The Top Five Undisputed Sources for Finding Right-Fit Employees.”

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Michael Moore, JD, joins the podcast to discuss some of the factors that are affecting law firms’ ability – or inability – to keep their best employees.

Michael Moore, JD, is the founder of Moore's Law, LLC, and helps both lawyers and law firms create professional success. Moore specializes in individual marketing, client development and leadership coaching. He also advises law firms on strategic planning, growth initiatives and resource optimization. A frequent speaker at ALA events across the country, his current topics have included mentoring, leadership, financial management and strategic planning. Moore is also the author of The Lawyers' Toolkit for Creating Both Personal and Professional Success, an essential resource for every lawyer's library. The short, "how-to" chapters highlight all of the non-legal skills necessary for today's professional lawyer and include illustrative, real-life examples.

Catch his session and many more at ALA’s Human Resources Conference for Legal Professionals. Visit alanet.org/hr for more details.

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Dustin Cole has worked with law firms to help them move successfully through changes, challenges and opportunities, and with attorneys to help them build more successful and satisfying practices. He brings more than 35 years of experience in every phase of business management, business development and team development to his work with the legal profession. He has worked with more than 200 individual attorneys, and provided management and marketing consulting services for more than 3000 firms ranging from solo firms to firms of more than 2000 attorneys.

Catch his session, "Seven Ways Law Firms Lose Money," and many more at ALA’s Human Resources Conference for Legal Professionals. Visit alanet.org/hr for more details.

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Leigh Isaacs, IGP, CIP, ERMP, is the Director of Records & Information Governance for White & Case LLP. She has more than 30 years of combined legal and information governance experience. Her expertise includes strategic design and deployment of enterprise programs, development of information management programs, on and off-site storage considerations including outsourcing, process improvements, evaluation and implementation of technology solutions, and the disposition of information for dissolved entities.

Catch Leigh's session, "Outsourcing Records: Risks and Rewards," and many more at ALA’s Human Resources Conference for Legal Professionals. Visit alanet.org/hr for more details.

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With the prevalence of mass shootings in the United States over the past year, and especially the incident in San Bernardino last week, the subject of workplace violence is unfortunately top-of-mind. Learn what law firms can do to prevent tragedy from occuring in the office.

Jack Vaughan is the former Administrative Partner at Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright), having retired at the end of 2012 after 27 years there. He now is a special consultant for Control Risks, a risk management consultancy.

John Lane formerly served for 25 years with the Los Angeles Police Department where he developed its Threat Management Unit and also founded the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP). He currently serves as a Director within Control Risks Crisis & Resilience Consulting practice, focusing on issues of workplace violence prevention. He specializes in threat assessment, case management, and the creation of prevention programs.

www.alanet.org

www.legalmanagement.org

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Jobst Elster discusses the results of the 2015 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey, available at www.insidelegal.com.

Speaker Bio

Jobst Elster is the Head of Content and Legal Market Strategy at InsideLegal. He brings extensive experience in market analysis, market research, public relations and product marketing to the legal industry. He has served as a legal market strategist for the last 15 years, advising companies entering the legal market, involved in mergers and acquisitions, and expanding operations overseas. His clear view of legal trending, market development and market perception uniquely positions him to advise companies, legal associations and law firms as they align their business strategies to reflect market realities. Jobst regularly writes and speaks on legal technology trends, technology innovations and futures, cloud computing, legal marketing and legal big data. He is a member of the ABA’s Big Data Committee. He can be reached at elster@insidelegal.com or via Twitter @InsideLegal.

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ALA's Business of Law conference series kicked off this weekend in New Orleans. Get a preview of the speakers and sessions that are coming back to Atlanta and Las Vegas in October. There's still time to register at www.alanet.org/blc.

Valerie Danner is the managing editor of Legal Management magazine, produced here at ALA staff headquarters in Chicago.

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Why are metrics so important for corporate legal departments, and what are the most useful metrics for driving results in the department? Hear from Corporate Law Department Symposium speaker Kris Satkunas for answers to these questions and more.

Speaker Bio

Kris Satkunas is Director of Strategic Consulting at LexisNexis, where she leads CounselLink's consulting efforts to advise corporate legal department managers on improving operations with data driven decisions. Prior to joining the CounselLink team, she honed her legal industry knowledge by advising and consulting with leaders in large law firms. As Director of the Redwood Analytics Think Tank, she partnered with a group of industry thought leaders to develop advances in analytics and best practices that improve law firm performance.

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What are the key challenges in managing human resources in today’s workplace? What are the most common litigation issues when dealing with employees? Rachel Schaming offers answers to these questions and more in this episode, sponsored by CDW.

Rachel Schaming is Director of Human Resources and a Corporate Coach at Radiology Ltd. Schaming is a senior human resource professional with more than 30 years of proven success in leading people, processes, systems and cultures in innovative change initiatives. Her career includes human resource and organizational development positions at NASA/Houston, the Texas Medical Center/Houston, two New York City law ?rms and a technology company. Schaming is a Past President of ALA and a Fellow in the ABA Law Practice Management Section. Her coaching practice centers on taming abrasive leaders through a co-partnering process.

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How are profit and leadership connected? How can law firm administrators and legal managers engage their employees and provide better client service? Find out in today's episode of Legal Management Talk, and learn more at the Managing Partner / Executive Director Forum, October 19-20 in Orlando, FL.

Judith A. Hissong, CLM, is the President of Nesso Strategies. She facilitates retreats, coaches individuals and groups, and consults with law firm leaders to develop their leadership skills. Her business is maximizing human potential. She is a frequent and highly rated presenter at ALA conferences. Hissong previously served in a variety of ALA leadership roles, including a seat on the ALA Board of Directors. Hissong has a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and a master’s degree in sport management.

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Dr. Jack Singer is a practicing clinical, sports and consulting psychologist, specializing in peak performance mastery and building permanent resiliency to stress. He has spent more than 27 years speaking for legal associations (including ALA and LMA) and Fortune 500 companies, and designing teambuilding programs for large legal practice re-TREATS. He has taught in the Psychology departments of seven universities, including an assistant professorship at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Dr. Jack is a renowned author of four books and more than 170 articles in legal, financial advising, medical, psychological, sales and sports periodicals. Dr. Jack’s most recent book is The Financial Advisor’s Ultimate Stress Mastery Guide.

Contact information: www.developthemindsetofachampion.com

1-800-497-9880

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Click here for information from Nesso Strategies about the Managing Partner / Executive Director Forum.

Steve Wingert, CLM, is a principal at Nesso Strategies, a Past President of the Association of Legal Administrators, and a recognized coach, speaker and writer in the legal industry. He has more than 30 years of executive level experience in higher education and the legal industry, and focuses on leadership, management and communications tied to execution and accountability. He holds a BA from Creighton University, a MA from Truman State University, an MBA from Our Lady of the Lake University, and has done extensive Ph.D. level work in leadership and organizational behavior in law firms.

Wingert will be presenting at the all-new Managing Partner / Executive Director Forum, in partnership with Nesso Strategies, October 19 and 20 in Orlando, Florida. Registration is now open.

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Dr. Brandi Stankovic is an organizational change expert and motivational speaker with a creative and results-driven approach to problem solving and planning. Stankovic is a senior partner of Mitchell Stankovic & Associates, a global strategic consulting firm. She spends her time consulting with CEOs and their teams, writing books and articles related to leadership and organizational health, and speaking to audiences from across the globe. She will be delivering the keynote sessions – about the impact of emotional intelligence in business today -- at ALA’s Business of Law Conferences, with three dates and locations across the nation. Visit the ALA website for more information.

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Felix Oberholzer is the Andreas Andresen Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Dean’s Management Group and serves as the chair of the MBA program. His research and teaching are centered on competitive strategy and international competition. Oberholzer won numerous awards for excellence in teaching, including the Harvard Business School Teaching Award for best teacher in the core curriculum, and the Helen Kardon Moss Anvil Award for best teacher in the Wharton MBA program. He consults globally with law firms and corporations that seek a sharper competitive edge. He will be speaking at ALA's Large Firm Principal Administrators Retreat, August 6-8 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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Kevin L. Cash is Chief Financial Officer at Baker Hostetler and a member of the firm's Operating Group. He is responsible for directing the operations of the firmwide finance department and overseeing the firm's financial systems to support strategic and operational business planning and growth. Among his many accomplishments, Cash developed the firm's profitability and cost model used in pricing negotiations, evaluation of alternative fee arrangements and in the analysis and evaluation of existing client relationships.

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Thomas S. Clay is a principal of Altman Weil, Inc. With 30 years of experience consulting to the legal profession, he is an acknowledged expert on law firm management principles and is a trusted advisor to law firms throughout the U.S. and Canada. He heads consulting assignments in strategic planning, law firm management, organization, law firm mergers and acquisition, and is a thought-leader on the key issues of law firm practice group strategy and leadership. Clay is the co-author of Altman Weil's highly-regarded annual industry survey, Law Firms in Transition.

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Verna Myers is on a personal mission to disrupt the status quo and she knows how to: she's lived it. Myers rose out of Baltimore's working class to become a Harvard-trained lawyer, entrepreneur, author and cultural innovator. Her dynamic, laugh-out-loud presentations inspire audiences to go further - to move beyond leveling the playing field to creating a new field altogether. Author of the best-selling books, Moving Diversity Forward: How to Move From Well-Meaning to Well-Doing and What If I Say the Wrong Thing? 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People, Myers has touched over 100,000 people through her speeches, appearances and transformative message of power and possibility.

Listen to Verna's TED Talk, "How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them," on the TED website.

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When it comes to compensation plans in law firms, one size does not fit all. How do you know if your organization is keeping up with current compensation trends to be competitive? Is your compensation plan aligned with your business plan? What if you have different geographic locations with vastly diverse market drivers? And does your compensation survey really provide you accurate data? Tune into this podcast with top compensation expert Edward Rataj and get actionable information for developing your compensation plan that will keep you competitive and profitable.

About Edward Rataj:

Edward R. Rataj, CCP, CECP, Managing Director of the Compensation Consulting Division of CBIZ Human Capital Services, has 19 years of experience in the area of human resources, focusing on designing innovative compensation programs. His core areas of expertise includes designing market-based and job evaluation-based compensation programs, pay structures, and compensation surveys, as well as developing policies and procedures. Rataj has been recently quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Smart Money magazine and TheStreet.com as a nationally recognized compensation expert.

Contact: CBIZ Human Capital Services

Compensation Consulting - Ed Rataj 625 Maryville Center

St. Louis, MO 63141

1.800.844.4510

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The old ways of leading don’t work in today’s business culture. Tune into this webinar and learn new leadership skills based on motivation and passion. Explore new progressive and actionable approaches to leading and influencing others. Learn the limitations on some of the traditional approaches associated with success today, and how the future lies in effective leadership approaches that are centered on advanced personal and interpersonal communication tools.

About Stephen Friedman:

Stephen Friedman is a recognized executive coach, career coach, facilitator and trainer, working in the areas of leadership and management skills development, group and team development, organizational learning and human resource management. His experience spans more than 20 years. Friedman is on the Faculty at the Schulich School of Business at York University where he teaches Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management and Leadership at both the BBA and MBA levels. He also teaches custom seminars in group development and leadership/management skills for Schulich’s Executive Education Centre.

Contact:

http://www.stephenfriedman.ca/stephenabout

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Much of the work of advancing women in the legal workplace falls on the shoulders of women. Most firms have women’s initiatives run by and for women, and these initiatives have great value. But they are not changing the norms, attitudes and biases that govern law firm advancement, leadership and rewards. Little significant change is possible at the top of law firms, where it really counts, unless those with power – men – take the lead and are accountable for it.

Contact: Ida Abbott Consulting

www.IdaAbbott.com

About Ida Abbott:

Ida Abbott helps employers manage, develop and retain legal talent, and serves as mentor and coach to high achieving individuals seeking professional success. A prolific author and speaker, she has long been a leader in the field of lawyers’ professional and leadership development, specializing in mentoring and sponsorship. Abbott is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, and co-founder of the Hastings Leadership Academy for Women and the Professional Development Consortium.

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What do highly successful law firms know about retirement plans – that you don’t? Tune into this podcast and learn how strategic retirement plans can make your firm more competitive and profitable. From designing and managing retirement plans to avoiding big mistakes along the way, learn the top secrets for successful law firm retirement planning.

About Dan Kravitz

Dan Kravitz, President of Kravitz, Inc., is nationally recognized as a leading expert on retirement plans for law firms. He has been a featured speaker at numerous national retirement industry conferences, is the author of a popular book, Beyond the 401(k) and has been interviewed by The Wall Street Journal and other major publications. Backed by his expert actuarial and technical team, Kravitz has helped thousands of law firms implement innovative, highly successful retirement plans.

Contact: http://www.kravitzinc.com/

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Recruiting and retaining top talent for law firms is one of the biggest challenges faced by business of law leaders today. Tune into top career expert Sally Calloway as she shares proven strategies for attracting and keeping the most qualified candidates in the job market.

Learn how to optimize the talent search process from writing effective job descriptions, to posting in unconventional places to conducting compliant and cohesive interviews to determining if a candidate is the right culture fit.

About Sally Calloway:

Sally Calloway is an expert resume writer, certified professional career coach, and best-selling author. She trains job seekers and HR professionals, revealing new rules and proven strategies to win the job, and employment trends of the 21st century job market. Calloway is also a career journalist who contributes to the Career Girl Network, honored by Forbes as one of the best sites for career advice, and to CNN.com. Currently an entrepreneur career coach and CEO of Sally Calloway International, she coaches and mentors job seekers of all levels from recent college graduates to C-level executives and former military personnel.

Contact: http://www.careercoachsally.com/

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Time is money, which is why all law firms could benefit from software data integration. Well-implemented integrations increase efficiency, reduce non-billable tasks and improve data accuracy. That’s why taking on this type of low-budget technology project is mission critical. Tune into Charles King as he shares cost-saving tips, tactics and strategies for a successful data integration in a law firm environment.

About Charles King

Charles King is the IP Technology Systems Manager at Arent Fox, where he guides decision making and implementation of all intellectual property practice group technology. He has been working for more than 10 years in intellectual property law technology management. King has been a member of the management group for multiple IP docketing database conversions and has led and supported numerous systems integration projects for docketing data, accounting data, internal and external web-based data access.

Charlis t.

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What if you could make each and every day victorious by focusing on daily activities rather than obsessing over results that you can't control? Based on author Ben Newman's popular program, Own YOUR Success gives you the power to make each day a triumph. The most successful people find great success when they focus on having a passion for the process. The key: make today victorious regardless of the obstacles that come your way. Figure out what fires YOU up without exception and ignite that passion so that you can routinely create your prizefighter day.

About Ben Newman

Ben Newman is a best-selling author, international speaker and highly regarded performance coach whose clients include business executives, high-performing sales people and professional athletes in the NFL and PGA. His book, Own Your Success, was ranked by CEO READ as their No. 13 business book of 2012! Newman’s message has inspired tens of thousands of people at companies around the world to do great things each and every day by focusing on process instead of results and turning adversity into opportunity.

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FBI Director Robert Mueller has said it best, when it comes to cyber-attacks “There are only two types of companies in the US; those that have been hacked and those that will be hacked.” The victims of cyber- crime come in all shapes and sizes, not just the big companies like Target. The US National Cyber Security Alliance found that 60% of small companies shut down within six months of a cyber-crime attack. There are ways to limit the severity of cyber-attacks that partners, attorneys and employees of law firms must know. Listen to this podcast and learn what you can do to protect your firm from cyber breaches.

About Charles Bernier

Charlie Bernier, Esquire, is principal professional liability consultant and in-house counsel at ECBM Insurance Brokers and Consultants. Bernier began his law career practicing insurance defense at one of the oldest law firms in the country. He then worked at one of the largest professional liability wholesalers in the country and in 2013 joined ECBM.

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Management or ‘mismanagement’ of human assets continue at every level of the law firm organization. Dr. Tom DeLong discusses how business of law leaders can increase their own leadership value while bringing their firm into management alignment. In this podcast, learn how to foster a culture where those responsible for managing others can be more inspirational, more honest, and learn how to gain commitment to the strategy of their firms.

About Tom DeLong

Thomas J. DeLong is the Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Management Practice in the Organizational Behavior area at the Harvard Business School. Before joining the Harvard Faculty, DeLong was Chief Development Officer and Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Group, Inc., where he was responsible for the firm's human capital and focused on issues of organizational strategy and organizational change.

DeLong teaches globally and consults with leading organizations on the process of making individual and organizational change. His new book, Flying Without a Net: Turn Fear of Change into Fuel for Success, centers on the challenges of helping talented professionals who are resistant to change. DeLong co-authored two books focused on leading professional service firms, When Professionals Have to Lead: A New Model for High Performance and Professional Services: Cases and Texts. DeLong has also coauthored two Harvard Business Review articles focusing on why high achieving professionals often unwittingly sabotage their effort to excel.

Contact: 615-495-5946

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You most likely have a list of people you can’t stand. Some of them are your co-workers and quite possibly your boss. In more politically correct terms, you may categorize them as “high maintenance,” but regardless of what you call them, Dr. Rick Brinkman, author of Dealing With People You Can’t Stand, How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst, has communication tactics to help you get positive results from even the most toxic interactions. In this short podcast, meet “the Tank,” “the Sniper” and a whole cast of high-maintenance characters and how to bring out the best in them.

About Dr. Rick Brinkman

Dr. Rick Brinkman is a holistic physician in public practice spreading his Conscious Communication® message to support people in their health and wellbeing. He is the coauthor of five McGraw-Hill books including Dealing With People You Can't Stand, How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst, an international bestseller with translations in 24 languages and used as a text in business colleges. His clients include Sony Pictures, the astronauts of NASA, LucasFilm, Oregon Law Institute, the Under Secretary of Defense, Manatt, Phelps & Philips, American Judges Association and many more. He has spoken to groups as large as 8,000 people, is frequently used by media as a communication expert and has been featured on CNN, O (Oprah Magazine), The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Contact:http://www.rickbrinkman.com/

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Go behind the scenes of a real-life law firm disaster recovery operation. Mark Norton, Continuity Planning Manager for Agility Recovery shares what went right, what went wrong and lessons learned along the way. It’s a cautionary story every law professional should hear, because disaster can strike anywhere. Listen to this important podcast and then revisit your own disaster plan, you might want to make some changes.

About Mark Norton

Mark Norton is a Certified Business Continuity Planner and the Continuity Planning Manager at Agility Recovery. They are a disaster recovery company that provides access for their 15,000+ members across the continent to the four key aspects of business operations during a recovery: Space, Computer Systems, Power and Communications. Since joining Agility, Mark has responded to more than 600 recoveries ranging from minor disruptions to major regional catastrophes.

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What the heck is QBQ! and what does it do? Tune into this podcast to discover how to practice personal accountability by asking the often ignored QBQ!: Question Behind the Question. Accountability, ownership and latent leadership skills are put into action when we ask better questions such as, "How can I adapt to the changing world?" "What can I do to contribute?" When we think like this, we use our talent, skills and time to solve problems, enhance relationships, and accomplish team and personal objectives.

About Kristin Lindeen

Kristin Lindeen is the daughter of author John Miller who wrote, QBQ! The Question Behind the Question. So growing up, Kristin was steeped in the QBQ! message of personal accountability. With this background, she is uniquely equipped to share it with others. Her clients include corporations, associations, schools, churches, and nonprofits.

Kristin holds an M.A. in Curriculum, Instruction and Corporate Education from Colorado Christian University, and enjoys delivering practical content to groups with a style that is energetic and fun. She is also certified to administer and facilitate the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator and enjoys doing this with individuals and teams.

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Law firms are notorious for fostering high stress cultures, taking a high toll on staff productivity and overall well-being. Law administrators can learn how to maximize their team's creativity, energy and focus under pressure through simple yet infrequently used workday wellness strategies.

About Lance Breger:

Lance Breger is President of Infinity Wellness Partners, a comprehensive corporate wellness company that prepares law professionals for the most productive and healthy work life through onsite/online training in four critical areas of health and wellness: ergonomics, mind/body, nutrition and fitness.

Contact: http://www.infinitywellnesspartners.com/

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No firm can afford a poorly drafted employee handbook. Listen to this podcast and find out how you can make your employee handbook policies compliant with legal requirements as well as those that are just strongly recommended. Mr. Cohen will discuss the most common mistakes often made in drafting policies and important strategies to avoid costly errors. In addition, he will share best practices in drafting and updateing your employee handbook.

About Michael S. Cohen, J.D

Mr. Cohen is a Partner at Duane Morris LLP in the firm’s Employment Services Practice Group where he concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law training and counseling. A highly sought-after speaker, he has trained and counseled employees throughout the country on employment subjects, including harassment prevention, diversity, discipline, hiring, firing, recruiting, performance evaluations and compliance.

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It seems that law firms have more questions than answers when it comes to diversity and inclusion issues these days. What is your firm’s diversity strategy and why should you have one? How do you create and maintain interest? Has your initiative stalled? What are the best practices? Tune into this important podcast and get proven tactics that you can put to work in your firm.

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HR issues in law firms are fast becoming one of the most in-demand topics at ALA. And one of the most important HR trends ALA is tracking is - metrics. Tune into this podcast and learn how HR metrics can enhance your firm’s productivity and profitability.

About Cathy Missildine

Cathy Missildine has extensive experience in many areas of strategic Human Resources Management. She has worked with executives in the areas of performance, productivity, organizational metrics, training, employee & customer engagement, workforce planning, organizational design and strategic implementation. Her past experience in operations and sales management in the technical, insurance and hospitality industries has given her a broad understanding of business issues and a solid foundation for building performance enhancing systems that support the business.

She earned her MBA from Kennesaw State University with an emphasis in Human Resource Management and Development. Cathy is also a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and holds their professional certification, Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

In 1997, Cathy and her business partner Barbara Hughes started their own consulting firm, Intellectual Capital Consulting (ICC), specializing in profitability through human capital.

Contact:

Cathy Missildine, SPHR

Co-Founder, Chief Performance Officer

Intellectual Capital Consulting

cathymissildine@intellectual-capital.net

www.intellectual-capital.net

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As law firms enter into another year of flat revenue and the mandate of reducing headcount even further to meet budgetary constraints, it is time to revisit alternatives to this diminishing course of action.

Rob Mattern has worked with law firms for over twenty-five (25) years, through the good and the bad times; however, it is only in the last five (5) years that firms have been open to alternative strategies to reduce expenses. Economic necessity has mandated this course of action, but also a client-driven enlightenment based on the universal necessity to become more cost-effective and efficient in the delivery of legal services.

Guest: Rob Mattern

President and Founder

Mattern & Associates, LLC

Contact: Rob Mattern: rmattern@matternassoc.com610.459.7750

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When a law partner retires, the firm is faced with a wide range of operational and financial challenges. Tune into this important podcast and gain actionable information from top legal consultant, Kristin Stark. Learn best practices for - Retirement compensationDealing with the impact of partner successionPlanning for partner retirementsTransitioning clients …and much more

About Kristin Stark

Kristin is a Principal of Fairfax Associates.

She advises firms on strategy development and implementation, organizational management and structure, financial management, and compensation. Prior to establishing the Fairfax office, Kristin was a Senior Director with Hildebrandt Baker Robbins (a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters), advising law firm clients on strategy and management topics. Before joining Hildebrandt, she was a senior consultant with Deloitte, managing consultant teams implementing innovative financial restructuring strategies for Fortune 100 companies. Ms. Stark has served global firms in the U.S., U.K., and Asia as a consultant on both strategy and operations management projects.

Kristin has a BBA from the University of Notre Dame and a MBA from London Business School.

Contact: Kristin.Stark@FairfaxAssociates.com

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Tune into this important podcast and gain practical information on developing and implementing a strategic plan in your firm.

But the biggest obstacle of all may be gaining consensus from senior leadership. Our guest shares his expertise on the lifecycle of a strategic plan – from the executive ‘green light’ to roll up your sleeves implementation.

John Remsen, Jr. is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading authorities on law firm leadership, management, marketing and business development. After serving as in-house marketing director at two major law firms, John formed TheRemsenGroup, a consulting firm that works exclusively with law firms to help them develop and implement long-term strategic objectives to improve cohesiveness, performance and profitability. Since 1997, he has worked with over 260 law firms and thousands of lawyers. Most of his clients are mid-size commercial law firms, ranging in size from 15 to 200 lawyers.

John is the past president of the Southeastern chapter of the Legal Marketing Association and served on its national board of directors. He will be presenting at ALA’s 2014 Annual Conference & Exposition’s Managing Partner Sessions. John can be contacted at jremsen@theremsengroup.com. http://www.managingpartnerforum.org/index.cfm/planning/

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Kristine A. Sexter, is an award-winning industrial and organizational consultant who has devoted over 22 years to studying organizational success and employee engagement. With an extensive background in recruiting, developing, and retaining top talent, Kristine expertly serves the legal, manufacturing, healthcare and professional association industries with acclaimed metrics-based results.

Ms. Sexter is known for her enthusiastic, appropriately-humorous and high-energy presentations. In addition to being a professional speaker and consultant, Kristine is a blogger, columnist and is the author of six books, including “Rolling Out the Recognition: Employee Retention Strategies for Manufacturers.”

Kristine is a member of the esteemed National Speakers Association, is the Past President of the Oklahoma Speakers Association, was twice-honored as the Speaker of the Year, and is an Honors Graduate of The College of New Jersey.

www.KristineSexter.com

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Explore the role of the futurist today while getting a preview of what’s on the horizon in law firms tomorrow.

Jobst Elster

Jobst Elster brings extensive experience in market analysis, market research, public relations and product marketing to the legal industry. He has served as a legal market strategist for the last 15 years, advising companies entering the legal market, involved in mergers and acquisitions, and expanding operations overseas. Jobst regularly writes and speaks on legal technology, technology innovations and futures, legal marketing and big data. elster@InsideLegal.com or via Twitter @InsideLegal.

Article: Strategizing Today for the Legal Tech of Tomorrow, Legal Management, Jan. 2014

Eric Hunter

Eric Hunter is the Director of Knowledge, Innovation & Technology Strategies at Bradford & Barthel, LLP and Executive Director of Spherical Models, LLC. He has recently integrated a Google-driven social media knowledge and collaboration environment within Bradford & Barthel, LLP. Eric is constantly looking to leverage innovation solutions to enhance client service interaction while driving business optimization solutions internally. Hunter speaks and writes on competitive strategy and collaborative cloud solutions globally and is the recipient of ILTA’s 2010 Knowledge Management Champion Distinguished Peer and ILTA’s 2010 Innovative Member awards. ehunter@bradfordbarthel.com.

Article: Law Firm Futures: Driving an Intranet Evolution Through Predictive Analytics” LegalManagement, Sept. 2013.

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Judy Hissong, Principal

Nesso Strategies

Website: http://www.nessostrategies.com/index.html

With over 15 years in C-level management, Judy provides a wealth of knowledge and expertise in successful business planning. With a background in Professional Services, she makes an ideal facilitator for strategic retreats and financial analysis. Judy presents at several conferences on the topic of strategic and long range planning for law firms, and legal staff management. She also writes articles on the importance of strategic planning in the success of business, and is an instructor for the University of California San Diego. Judy coaches small business owners on running a business and the necessary elements for success.

Read her recent article in ALA's Legal Management: Magazine: http://www.alanet.org/legalmgmt/

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Lawyers increasingly use a wide array of technology tools to get the legal work done more efficiently. There are the legal and ethical risks with the adoption of technology. Firms and corporations must be concerned not only with unauthorized access to their own information, but about the protection of client data and information belonging to third-parties. Interview with Kurt Highducheck, Head of Technology, Intellectual Property Solutions at Thomson Reuters

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The 2013 ALA Law Firm Financial Management Conference takes place August 22-24 in Los Angeles, CA. Learn new ideas, techniques and outlooks to improve your firm's performance and results. In addition to top-notch educational sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to grown and expand their professional network. Kate Harms, 2013 Conference Chair, tells us more about this event and why someone should attend.

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It could be a burst pipe, a fire in a neighboring suite or a weeklong power outage—it doesn’t have to be a natural disaster that closes your firm’s doors. Does your current plan address temporarily relocating your office and can your lawyers continue providing services to their clients if such a situation were to occur? If not, then this session is for you. Join this hands-on session where you will receive and work through a checklist of items to review, and receive a template that you can bring back to your office and customize for your firm.

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You’ve spent time and money in attracting and training the best employees you could find—and you want to keep them! But how attractive are your incentive programs to retain the best and the brightest talent working in your firm? How unique is your program and are you retaining your best employees?

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The workforce has evolved into a rich mosaic of people from diverse cultures, beliefs and backgrounds. As a result, administrators must understand the broader issues of diversity and inclusion, and how this affects many people within the firm.

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