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, quest…

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 als…

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 "so…

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 a…

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 manager…

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 Sept…

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 …

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 cre…

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 i…

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 help…

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 …

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 Y…

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 Keepin…

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 …

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 Plann…

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 …

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 profes…

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 Becom…

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: Lea…

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…

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, …

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…

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 Manageme…

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…

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 As…

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 sp…

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…

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 manage…

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…

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 Confe…

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 st…

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 journa…

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 fir…

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 Vi…

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 acquis…

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 man…

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…

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 Ch…

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 I…

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 a…

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 …

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 Seni…

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 ethic…

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, ch…

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…

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 Leg…

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 attendi…

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 re…

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 S…

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 s…