Legal Management Talk

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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 & Resili

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. 

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

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

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.

  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. 

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®.

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

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.

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. Register for ALA's Annual Conference & Expo to attend Magee's session, "Trajectory Code."

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. Register for ALA's Human Resources Conference for Legal Professionals at www.alanet.org/hr. 

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.”

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

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.

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.

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