Legal Management Talk

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!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.

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.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.

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.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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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 BioKriti 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.

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. 

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.

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 StephensonCan AI Make Your Firm More Efficient? with Hamid KohanA Peek Around the Corner with PDAC: Imposter Syndrome in Legal (and Life)Mental Health: Shifting the Conversation from Stigma to SupportBuilding an Inclusive Workplace with Terry IsnerBecoming a Certified Legal Manager with Rita Nielsen, CLM, PHR, SHRM-CP

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.

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. 

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

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.

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.  

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.  

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.

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 Computing 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. 

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.

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.

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.

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-importantwww.alanet.org/deia 

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.

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/conf23 to 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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.   

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. 

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.   

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. 

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.   

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. 

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.  

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. 

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.