Podcasts about virginia state bar

In this episode of "The Free Lawyer," host Gary Miles interviews Kellam Parks, managing member of Parks Ziegler law firm. They discuss Kellam's journey from law school to managing a successful, paperless, and tech-driven firm. Kellam shares practical insights on the importance of systematic planning, effective delegation, and time management. He highlights his use of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) and the benefits of coaching. The conversation also covers work-life balance and technology integration in legal practice. Kellam emphasizes the value of continuous learning and offers practical advice that aspiring law firm owners can implement immediately. Kellam T. Parks is a managing member of Parks Zeigler, PLLC, headquartered in Virginia Beach. This paperless, technologically driven law practice has three offices in Virginia and North Carolina. Kellam is a Tidewater native who has practiced there for over 20 years. Kellam is active with the Virginia State Bar and is the former chair of the Special Committee on Technology and the Future Practice of Law Technology. Kellam frequently writes and speaks about the modernization and use of technology in law practice, including topics such as ethics, electronically stored information, and practice management/marketing. Decision-Making in Business (00:09:40)Kellam explains the difference between one-way and two-way door decisions in business. Transition to Managing a Law Firm (00:12:21)He discusses the challenges and rewards of shifting focus from practicing law to managing a firm. Desire to Help Other Lawyers (00:14:08)Kellam expresses his passion for coaching and supporting other lawyers in their careers. Benefits of Coaching and Learning (00:16:45)He shares insights gained from coaching and peer interactions at legal marketing conferences. Business Coaching Insights (00:19:29)Kellam discusses hiring a business coach to streamline operations and implement an organizational system. Mistakes in Firm Growth (00:20:49)Kellam reflects on early mistakes, including the need for a systematic game plan and core values. The Importance of Delegation (00:22:29)He shares lessons learned about the value of proper delegation and its impact on efficiency. Time Management Strategies (00:25:07)Kellam explains his regimented time management approach, including time blocking for tasks. Efficient Communication Practices (00:27:08)He emphasizes scheduling calls and managing client expectations to enhance efficiency. Advice for Aspiring Law Firm Owners (00:29:13)Kellam offers key questions and tips for lawyers considering starting their firms. Key Factors for Firm Success (00:35:11)He identifies integrity, reputation, and technology as crucial to the firm's success. Would you like to learn more about Breaking Free or order your copy? https://www.garymiles.net/break-free  Would you like to schedule a complimentary discovery call? You can do so here: https://calendly.com/garymiles-successcoach/one-one-discovery-call

In this episode, Will Wright talks with Professor Henry L. Chambers Jr. about the significant Supreme Court oral arguments in Trump v. Anderson, centering on whether former President Trump should be allowed on the ballot in Colorado. The discussion illuminates the legal pathways for cases to reach the Supreme Court, the intricacies of the 14th Amendment, and the specific constitutional arguments impacting the eligibility of candidates. They dissect the legal and constitutional frameworks guiding the Court's decision-making process, focusing on how this particular case could set precedents for future electoral and constitutional interpretations.The episode provides a deep dive into the broader implications of the Court's potential ruling, examining how it might influence the fundamental principles of democracy and the rule of law in the United States. Chambers offers his expert insights into the dynamics of the Supreme Court's deliberations, the importance of precedent, and the complex relationship between state and federal electoral laws. Through their conversation, Wright and Chambers engage listeners in a nuanced discussion about the balance of powers, the role of the judiciary in interpreting the Constitution, and the critical importance of this case in shaping the landscape of American electoral politics.Guest Bio:Professor Henry L. Chambers, Jr., teaches and writes in the areas of constitutional law, criminal law, law and religion, and employment discrimination. He is active in the Virginia State Bar, including serving as chair of its Section on the Education of Lawyers from 2007-2009, and has been a member of the American Law Institute since 2002. Professor Chambers served as Special Assistant Attorney General for redistricting matters for the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2011-2013. He also frequently lectures on constitutional law through the We The People program, which provides civic education instruction to school teachers and the public; at James Madison's Montpelier; and at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville.We have an upcoming documentary about Christian Nationalism We're thrilled to announce an upcoming special audio narrative documentary of Faithful Politics that's been in the works for quite some time – titled "Heavenly Homeland." This groundbreaking project delves into the intricate world of Christian nationalism, exploring its historical roots, contemporary impact, and the nuanced intersection with American politics and faith communities. Support the showTo learn more about the show, contact our hosts, or recommend future guests, click on the links below: Website: https://www.faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/ Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Political Host: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Twitter: @FaithfulPolitik Instagram: faithful_politics Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast LinkedIn: faithfulpolitics

Join us as we delve into the crucial debate surrounding the exclusion of Donald Trump from the Colorado and Maine ballots, a pivotal issue in the political and legal spheres with Austin E. Owen Research Scholar & Professor of Law, Henry L. Chambers, JR. Our insightful discussion centers on the implications of the 14th Amendment, specifically Section 3, which disqualifies individuals involved in insurrection from holding office. We dissect the self-executing aspect of the 14th Amendment and analyze the diverse interpretations by states like Colorado and Maine.Crucially, we examine the Supreme Court's role in determining Trump's eligibility, emphasizing the significance of their impending decision. Our conversation also ventures into the possibility of a write-in campaign and its extensive political ramifications.Throughout the episode, we navigate through various dimensions of the upcoming election, focusing on bipartisan perspectives on disqualifying Trump, the urgent need for highly qualified presidential candidates, and the intense nature of presidential elections. We address the concerning lack of national discourse on multiple qualified candidates, the internal divisions plaguing the Republican Party, and the overall scarcity of meaningful dialogues and common ground in today's political landscape.Furthermore, we discuss the anxieties surrounding the upcoming election, the ongoing court cases and state legislation pertinent to Trump's disqualification, the necessity for a national discussion on the January 6th insurrection, and the interpretation of the Constitution in the context of the Reconstruction Amendments. It was a very in-depth conversation with a wonderful mind helping us make sense of it all! Read the publication Professor Chambers mentioned in the show: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/mlr/vol69/iss1/10/Guest Bio:Professor Henry L. Chambers, Jr., teaches and writes in the areas of constitutional law, criminal law, law and religion, and employment discrimination. He is active in the Virginia State Bar, including serving as chair of its Section on the Education of Lawyers from 2007-2009, and has been a member of the American Law Institute since 2002. Professor Chambers served as Special Assistant Attorney General for redistricting matters for the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2011-2013. He also frequently lectures on constitutional law through the We The People program, which provides civic education instruction to school teachers and the public; at James Madison's Montpelier; and at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville.Support the showTo learn more about the show, contact our hosts, or recommend future guests, click on the links below: Website: https://www.faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/ Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Political Host: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Twitter: @FaithfulPolitik Instagram: faithful_politics Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast LinkedIn: faithfulpolitics

A local defense attorney who was found guilty of a sex crime will now have his law license suspended for one year by the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board. Matt Pinsker's hearing before the Virginia State Bar's Disciplinary Board started Monday, and the board ruled Tuesday that Pinsker did engage in professional misconduct, suspending his license. In May of 2021, CBS6 reported that defense attorney and former prosecutor Matt Pinsker had been indicted in Henrico on three felony charges, including rape after he was accused by a VCU student of sexual assault. At the time, Pinsker was an adjunct professor...Article LinkSupport the show

ELIZABETH LYNCH PHILLIPS, ESQ, PCC, CPCC: is certified as a Professional Coach by the Coaches Training Institute and the International Coach Federation. She works primarily with stressed attorneys who feel like the practice of law isn't all it was cracked up to be, and isn't giving them the satisfaction they'd hoped for. She is grateful to be a part of the growing, national focus on attorney well-being, and she is committed to bringing more compassion and humanity to the practice of law. She moved to New Mexico 10 years ago with her husband and 3 kids, to get away from the traffic and crowding of the DC area. She is currently a member of the State Bar of New Mexico and the Virginia State Bar where she practiced for 20 years.WILLIAM (Bill) D. Slease: is the Professional Development Program Director for the State Bar of New Mexico. In addition to his duties at the State Bar, he serves as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law where he teaches Ethics, 1L Lab, and serves as a practice skills evaluator for the evidence-trial practice skills course. Disclaimer:Thank you for listening! This episode was produced by the State Bar of New Mexico's Well-Being Committee and the New Mexico  Lawyer Assistance Program. All editing and sound mixing was done by BlueSky eLearn. Intro music is by Gil Flores. The views of the presenters are that of their own and are not endorsed by the State Bar of New Mexico. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment or legal advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

We have extremely exciting news for you all — Rio Peterson, who you may already know from Clio — has joined ALPS as our Bar & Affinity Partnership Strategist! Mark sits down with Rio to welcome her to ALPS and hear about her new role!  Transcript: Mark Bassingthwaighte: Hello, I'm Mark Bassingthwaighte. I'm the risk manager here at ALPS, and welcome to our first video podcast recording of ALPS In Brief, the podcast that comes to you from the historic Florence building in beautiful downtown Missoula, Montana. You'll notice I'm sitting here with our guest, Rio, and more about her in a moment. Now that we're on video, a couple of things. For those of you that listen you finally get to see a little bit of what the remote office in Florida looks like. Maybe I'll have to do a little camera spin at some point. But I'm also thinking we need to maybe post some videos or a short video of the beautiful historic Florence building in downtown Missoula, Montana. People keep hearing about this. I do have as my guest today Rio Peterson. Rio is someone I've worked with on and off through the years when she was at Clio, and she is now a very valued new member of the ALPS Corporation here. We're going to be talking a bit about that. As we were talking, Rio, I'm based in Florida, as many of you know. Rio is based in Vancouver, BC, which makes us... This is a unique podcast. We are the two employees, I think, the farthest apart. Here we are. Rio Peterson: I think so too. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Kind of an odd little thing. Really, folks, what I wanted to talk about today, I do some presentation, I've been doing it for a lot of years, on the basics of lawyers' professional liability insurance, and some programs on how to buy, really explaining what coverage does and doesn't do. Really digging into the ins and outs because so many lawyers, I think, really don't even know what their coverage is until all of a sudden a claim arises. That's the first time they pick it up and oh my gosh, oh my gosh. It's worthwhile knowing what your policy covers. But I also talk about value adds, and when you're thinking about purchasing insurance, looking at or asking the question, what are you getting for your premium dollars? There really should be a bit more than just the peace of mind that the policy can bring. Companies are doing all kinds of things and today we are going to talk about some of the value adds that ALPS has. So before we jump into this a little bit, Rio, could you just give us a little bit of brief background, a verbal bio, and I'll share a little bit more about myself, but I'd love for you to start. Rio Peterson: Yes, absolutely. Thank you first of all for having me. It's very exciting to get to span the Continental Divide with you today. I came to ALPS by way of Clio, which is a Canadian-based legal practice management software tech company. I was at Clio for about five and a half years where I managed Clio's Bar Association Partnership Program. Clio and lots of other companies just like ALPS partner with bar associations across North America to really provide value to their members in the form of lots of different ways, which we'll talk about shortly. But as part of that role I did a lot of public speaking, a lot of education about best practices for running a law firm, and just kind of a lot of event attendance, different things. But ultimately it was my job to make sure that the relationships we had with these bar associations were mutually beneficial, that everybody was winning when we partnered together. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Folks, I don't know how often or how far we've really driven down. I'm the risk manager here at ALPS. I've been with ALPS now... It's been over 25 years and always been in the role of risk manager of some sort. What that term means or has meant over the years has changed a bit, but I have done a tremendous amount of consulting with firms of all shapes and sizes all over the country. Do a lot of content creation, a lot of CLE development and lecturing, a lot of writing, some podcasting, those kinds of things. I really view myself as a content guy and I've had a lot of fun. One of the things that we do is a major CLE tour every year in Virginia, and it's up to 14. I think the highest we got to was 18 events, three-hour events in one tour. But the unique thing about this is I get to write movie scripts, and actually go up to the Virginia, and we hire a professional crew and actors and all this. I just never thought. I've written now I think 20 separate films and that's just been a lot of fun. I share that because again this risk side has been supporting bar associations as well. We do that in conjunction with Virginia State Bar and it's been a very, very successful program. Okay, Rio, let's get back to you and what you're doing. If my memory serves, I love your position title. You are, and make sure I'm right on this, the bar affinity partnership strategist. Rio Peterson: Yes. Mark Bassingthwaighte: That's just awesome. It sounds very dignified and very just this special thing. Can you explain really practically, day to day, what does that mean? I guess I'd like to know two things. One, what is your interest in this, and then why is this important? What is the value add for any insured? So let's just kind of explore all this. Rio Peterson: Yeah, fantastic question. So it's interesting, I sort of fell face first accidentally into this role and this line of work. Something that really, really appeals to me about it is I'm very passionate about relationships, building relationships. I am also a big fan of helping people succeed. There's a lot of, I think, gaps that lawyers experience in their knowledge when they come out of law school and they're looking to run a practice. My role really allows me to be hands-on with helping to provide some guidance, and extra resources and support to help those legal professionals thrive. The way that that kind of comes about is, well, I mean, as we all know, bar associations tend to hold a level of authority and a level of guidance, and lawyers tend to look to them for those things. So it's very obviously advantageous for any partner or any company to partner with a bar association and get their stamp of approval. That's the ideal because if the bar says you're good to go then very risk-averse lawyers are much more likely to give you a second look and give you the time of day. But it really is about a lot more than just getting that stamp of approval. I mean, that's only a small part of it. When I think about partnerships, I mean, they are just that. They have to be a mutually beneficial experience for everyone. If we were just to go to the bars and say, "Hey, just give us your stamp of approval and then you'll never hear from us again," well that's not really the greatest experience for really anybody. I mean, what is the bar getting in exchange for that stamp of approval? So my role as a strategist is to really come up with a strategy, a way, a plan to maximize those relationships in order to provide additional value to our partners that they can then pass on to their members. So for example, with content, I mean, we're talking about content and how you provided a lot of risk management content. I mean, a lot is an understatement I feel like, but that's kind of a strategy, I guess, or a way forward that I would consider to be adding value to our partnership. A lot of bars have... They're running on a small staff. They don't have the resources to create extensive amounts of content for their users. They often don't have a staff member who specializes in something like risk management. So it's for me to identify those opportunities to then say, "Hey, my partner, I can provide you with this. I can give you these resources, I can give you this support so that we are both flourishing as part of this arrangement." Mark Bassingthwaighte: So what I'm hearing is is there's two pieces to this. We're looking at providing resources that are going to be beneficial to members of the bars that we partnership with, but we are also, am I hearing correctly, really trying to support the bar associations themselves so that there's a value add to the bar. I'd really be curious, what are your thoughts? I hear some discussions at times traveling around the country and just talking to lawyers in all sorts of settings. There are some that will say, "I just don't see the value of a bar association," and there's some complaints. "I'm paying the dues," and all these kinds of things. I truly would be curious, what are your thoughts? Do you see bar associations as serving a purpose? Do we really... I'm not sure how to say it. Does this make sense for a company like ALPS to do this? I don't know. What are your thoughts? Rio Peterson: Yeah. Oh, I love this question. I love this question because it really is, I don't know, a topic that a lot of bars and a lot of legal professionals have been wrestling with in recent years. I mean, we've seen so many changes with bars like the California Bar becoming... Is ununified the right... Deunified? Mark Bassingthwaighte: Yeah. Rio Peterson: Yeah, right? Mark Bassingthwaighte: Yeah, that works for me. Rio Peterson: You know what I'm trying to say, right? Well, we see a change in bars and really, just as you said, their role and their level of importance is being questioned. So my personal opinion is that yes, the bars are very important. They provide professional guidance. They ideally should be providing support to solo and small lawyers who are running their own law firms who are not sure what they're doing, who are trying to make a go of things. I do think they have a very important role to play, but something that I see frequently is that the way in which the bars view themselves hasn't really changed. A lot of, say, the mandatory. If you can count on members having to join, why would you change the way that you are delivering value and service to your members because they don't have a choice to be there? So I'm not shocked that a lot of lawyers and legal professionals are questioning whether or not the bars need to be, or whether or not they should be as involved as they are. But really I do think it comes down to those bars needing to evolve with their membership, needing to connect better with members, and see really what post-COVID legal practice looks like and how they can better meet those members' needs. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Yeah, I absolutely agree with you. Again, in a lot of the programming that we do in terms of CLEs and really pushing some of the ethical boundaries in terms of exploring them and looking at just business models and all kinds of things, I have always been one that says it's more important than ever. And I think about even the evolution of ChatGPT and where AI is going. There's a lot of folks out there saying, "This is going to be the end of lawyers and the end of legal professionals, paralegals," and all this stuff. I'm not sure I go that far, but it is important. Where I'm going with this is that I think lawyers too have been... Lawyers at large, there are going to be exceptions to all of this, but as a profession, we tend to be slow in terms of adopting and changing business models. You keep saying, "The billable hours got to die," and it just doesn't seem to die, just as an example. Rio Peterson: Just slow down. Mark Bassingthwaighte: But we do need to continue to evolve with the changing needs of the marketplace. And I think bar associations struggle with that too, because their marketplace is the bar at large, but they have struggled with trying to reinvent themselves and trying to figure out where to go. And I hear you saying, and I really think this is... I'm 100% behind what I hear you saying is one of the things that a company like ALPS can do is be a partner in helping work that conundrum, work that problem. Let's figure out how because I think too carriers need to continue to evolve and change. How ALPS did business 25 years ago and a little longer, it's very, very different from how we do it today. Making online applications. We have this, "Give us 20 minutes, we'll give you a quote," kind of thing. That's unheard of 20 years ago in this space. It's just absolutely. So exploring the relationships and trying to figure out what we could do with bar associations is a value add to the bar and I think is a value add to us. I mean- Rio Peterson: Yeah. So- Mark Bassingthwaighte: Yeah, please. Rio Peterson: I hope you don't mind if I just... Mark Bassingthwaighte: No, no, no. Rio Peterson: I really do think that kind of helping bars navigate the need to update, and adjust, and change is really an excellent kind of place for ALPS and companies like us to really come into play and be a part of that. Bars, they're like snowflakes, just like legal professionals. They're all different and they all have different challenges and different changes in modernization that they need to make. The great thing about ALPS and about other companies is that we're out in the world and we get exposed to a lot of really different experiences, lots of different kind of content, just a whole galaxy of different opportunities and knowledge that we have that we can then pass on to our partners and really help them navigate these divides. For example, with reinventing events post-COVID, I mean, we have so many partners who are struggling with this. And as a company who attends a lot of events, as a company who hosts its own events, we have a lot of knowledge and information that we can share with our partners in order to really help them reinvigorate that, and increase their engagement and bring members back into the fold. Mark Bassingthwaighte: One of the things, folks, that I shared earlier, I'm very excited to have Rio join ALPS. As I see it, man, when I think what Clio loss and what ALPS gained is just... This is a win, big time. There's a lot of excitement, a lot of energy. Trust me, folks, excitement, energy is just... Rio's all about that. It's just such a joy and a lot of fun. Do you have some just, how do I want to say this, kind of off the cuff, off just rapid fire even kinds of things? What ideas, what thoughts, what direction, where do you want to go with this position, let's say, in the next two to three years? Let's take, well, certain realities. There's sometimes some fiscal realities, whether they're corporate or whether they're bar side, but if you could flash this wand and make the changes, where do the bars need to go? We talk about reinventing themselves. What are your thoughts about how does this value add come back? Rio Peterson: Yes, yes. Well, I mean, ultimately I would love for ALPS to be kind of the authority on a lot of different topics and obviously the first choice for bars to turn to when they have questions. I think I could address this question in two different ways. First of all, for the program in terms of ALPS, right now we've got 19 partners. I would love to see all 50 states at some point. That would be my big dream. If I could just wave my wand, I would love to see that happen. I feel that there are a number of different levers that can really be used to grow the program and really increase the impact that we have through advertising. Obviously content creation and sharing is central to that. Also fiscal incentivization, financial incentivization, some kind of maybe revenue sharing. We'll see. Who knows? There's some interesting ideas we could play with, but lots of different options. Oh, I see the wheels turning. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Do you see tech leadership coming into play at all here? Is there a place for that? Rio Peterson: Oh, absolutely. I think ALPS is kind of perfectly primed to partner with tech companies. I think really in a similar way that we partner with the bars too. If you think about it, having coverage and having insurance is a central part of running a firm. But when you partner that with say legal practice management software or something that's going to help you stay on top of your communications and reduce ultimately the risk that you have for claims, that to me is like a match, just a perfect match. Then you've got this kind of unstoppable partnership of two, three, maybe even multiple companies who provide excellent content, provide kind of a holistic view of a law firm. Really, yes, I think that's a fantastic opportunity and exciting frontier I would love us to explore more. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Yes. You know me. I can get a little crazy and wild at times. Rio Peterson: Oh, me too. Mark Bassingthwaighte: One of the things that I've been playing around with of late. Folks, some of you, if you hear me over the years, I'm not a high risk-taker and I'm also very private. I'm not one actively involved, at least in my personal life, on all sorts of social medias. Our kids always say, "Well we have nothing to hide, Dad," and I said, "Well, it's not about hiding. When you put everything out there people can take advantage of this information." But the point of all this- Rio Peterson: I think we could- Mark Bassingthwaighte: Well, I- Rio Peterson: I'm sorry, go ahead. Mark Bassingthwaighte: I made a jump. I decided because I keep... We're State Farm people and our agent is a good guy. "Mark, you got to start using this drive safe app." And I'm thinking, I don't want them tracking me all over. I just don't think so. I finally have been convinced, so I'm playing around with this- Rio Peterson: Oh, you hopped on board. Mark Bassingthwaighte: ... This drive safe and just exploring and all that. What about the equivalent of a drive safe app in the malpractice space? Rio Peterson: Oh, yes. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Wouldn't that be interesting? Rio Peterson: Yes. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Could you tie that in with the bars? I don't know, but I just thought... I'm sitting here going like, okay, my head just starts popping. I get all these crazy ideas, but why not? Rio Peterson: Yes. And I find that idea really, really interesting because I think it also ties in really well to working with tech companies as well, being more of an integration partner as opposed to just an affinity partnership. Then that's also an incredible value add to provide to bar associations. Kind of back to our point about where I see the program going and with bars, I think the really the biggest thing that the bars need to hop on board with is opening their minds to the ideas of those types of possibilities. Thinking completely outside the box, what is something different and new that we haven't even thought of? Really also starting to see vendors, to see companies as a resource for that type of thinking and for those types of ideas. Not to toot our own horn, but we've got some great ideas as you just mentioned. Mark Bassingthwaighte: We do like to think around here, and it's one of the things I really love about ALPS, just as an aside. I don't stay at a company for 25-plus years just because. There's a lot of good things going on in this company, but one of the things that I really like is there's strong encouragement to think "outside of the box". But it's for real. We're not checking off a box. Let's everybody think outside the box and now we'll go back and do exactly what every other- Rio Peterson: And then we're done and we don't have to do anything. Mark Bassingthwaighte: No, no. You're not going to stay relevant in the market. Change is... So what we're talking about and hoping and trying to help bars do, we also live by the mantra. We really do. We're- Rio Peterson: Yes. And I- Mark Bassingthwaighte: Yes, please go ahead. Rio Peterson: Oh, sorry. I was just going to say along those lines, I mean, I was at Clio for five and a half years and it was a really incredible experience, but I considered very, very deeply about joining ALPS. It was a decision I took very seriously, and that was something that was really, really appealing to me, is this embracing moving forward. And not just change for the sake of change, but intentional, encouraging people to think bigger and think about how we can implement those ideas and actually moving forward with them. That was just a really big draw and selling point to me. That's been my experience thus far in my two months at ALPS. That's absolutely been the experience. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Very good. I want to share just a little bit about myself and start to wrap here, but then I want to come back to you because I think you're going to be good with this. Folks, one of the things I want to share, and I need to be better about getting this message out. You have heard me say for a long time that I am a risk manager here at ALPS, and I really want to let you... What does that mean? I am not a traditional, if you will, CRO, chief risk officer. I am not hired to manage the risk of this corporation. I am hired to be your risk manager. I am hired to be a risk manager, if you will, for the bar at large. You do not need to be on the opposite shore to visit with me. You can reach out anytime via email or our phone. There's no cost involved. If you have a question or concern on ethics, risk management, practice management, cybersecurity, on and on, I will do the best I can to help. If I don't have the answer on the top of my head I will try to do what I can to get it for you. So that said, let me just share what our phone number is. It's (800) 367-2577. You can just call in and ask to speak to that risk guy because Bassingthwaighte can be a hard name to remember, but Mark. B16 is another good one. You may also reach out to me at mbass@ALPSinsurance.com. Feel free anytime. Now to kind of tie this back to what we've been talking about here, again, folks, Rio is just a rockstar in my head. This is such a good point of evolution, continuing evolution for the corporation, for ALPS and where we're going to go. When she says, "I'd like to see 50 bars," I don't know if we get the 50, but I'm not going to bet against her. But I would invite you, and Rio, I think you're going to be open to this, if any of you folks... We are talking about value adds and I agree with Rio. I think bar associations still can be very, very relevant, and I think serve a great purpose, but do need, and some struggle with this more than others, but [inaudible 00:27:13] how do they remain relevant? What does that mean? What is the value add? We are in a position where we can help. Let us help you. If you have some thoughts or ideas, "I would love to see ALPS do this with our local bar," how can we help? I invite you and encourage you to reach out to Rio, and Rio if you would share your... I assume you're good with this. If you would share your email address as well, and any closing thoughts that you have, and then we'll wrap. Rio Peterson: Yes. Yes. So to your point, it is literally my job to help our partners be successful, and by extension their members and legal professionals be successful. This is something that I have quite a bit of experience in, and frankly, I just really love helping people succeed and helping organizations succeed. So yes, please reach out. Absolutely. I've got lots of great ideas. We have a fantastic team here that is just ready and willing to offer any support that we can. So please email me at rpeterson@ALPSinsurance.com. Yes, I would love to hear from you. I am more than happy to answer questions. You want us to come out, want Mark to do a fantastic CLE. They are incredibly interesting and hilariously well done. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Well, thank you. Rio Peterson: Yes, so if you're looking for speaker, sponsorships, anything please reach out. Yeah. Happy to help. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Well, Rio, it's been a pleasure as always. Rio Peterson: As always. Mark Bassingthwaighte: And we're going to be seeing each other multiple times on Teams and all the other things we do. But I look forward, we're going to be getting together on the road here in a, I don't know, another six, eight weeks. But I look forward to seeing you in Virginia. Actually, we may be in Denver. I'm going to see you in Denver next week. Rio Peterson: Oh, oh yes. That's right, that's right. Mark Bassingthwaighte: There we go, so. Rio Peterson: We'll see each other in Denver. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Sounds good. All right. It's been a pleasure. Rio Peterson: All right. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Thanks all. Rio Peterson: Thank you so much, Mark. Mark Bassingthwaighte: We'll see you later. Bye-bye. Rio Peterson: Bye everyone.

Episode Bios:PAUL ABRAMS, ESQ received his undergraduate degree in political science from Temple University; and in 1970, his law degree from Harvard Law Scholl, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration (Government) from Harvard's  Kennedy Scholl of Government while studying at the law school.  His first career was in government and politics, including five years as Chief of Staff for the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and 2 ½ years working for the Governor of Pennsylvania as the first Administrator of Pennsylvania's new medical malpractice arbitration program. He resigned in 1978, found his way to Santa Fe New Mexico, and helped run an independent book publisher, John Muir Publications, until he was “talked into” practicing law by attorney friends, beginning in 1983.  He is a Plaintiffs Trial Lawyer in Santa Fe and a member of the Board of Governors of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association. He is Treasurer of New Mexico Legal Aid.  Beginning in 1984, he has been a board member and officer of the two northern New Mexico predecessor legal services organizations of the state-wide civil legal services organization serving poor New Mexicans.ELIZABETH LYNCH PHILLIPS, ESQ, PCC, CPCC is certified as a Professional Coach by the Coaches Training Institute and the International Coach Federation. She works primarily with stressed attorneys who feel like the practice of law isn't all it was cracked up to be, and isn't giving them the satisfaction they'd hoped for. She is grateful to be a part of the growing, national focus on attorney well-being, and she is committed to bringing more compassion and humanity to the practice of law. She moved to New Mexico 10 years ago with her husband and 3 kids, to get away from the traffic and crowding of the DC area. She is currently a member of the State Bar of New Mexico and the Virginia State Bar where she practiced for 20 years.Disclaimer:Thank you for listening! This episode was produced by the State Bar of New Mexico's Well-Being Committee and the New Mexico  Lawyer Assistance Program. All editing and sound mixing was done by BlueSky eLearn. Intro music is by Gil Flores. The views of the presenters are that of their own and are not endorsed by the State Bar of New Mexico. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment or legal advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

What happens when a lawyer in a Virginia divorce case in which adultery may be an issue enters into a sexual relationship with his female client while the divorce proceedings are ongoing? In this case, the lawyer withdrew from the case and, according to the arguments here, left his client without an attorney. He was reprimanded by the Virginia State Bar and in this hearing before the Supreme Court of Virginia, appeals that reprimand. The Supreme Court of Virginia podcast is a production of BenGlassLaw, a personal injury and disability law firm headquartered in Fairfax Virginia. The podcast uses recordings that are in the public domain, edited "lightly" for the elimination of filler words and long pauses. Ruling: no surprise here.  In an appeal of right from an attorney disciplinary proceeding before a three judge panel, the circuit court's finding that this lawyer violated Rule 1.7(a)(2) by engaging in sexual relations with his divorce client during the representation is supported by the record, and the finding that he added a fault ground for divorce against his client, as well as other findings of fact with which the lawyer takes issue, are likewise supported by the record. You can read the opinion here.  

Hon. Jim Carroll has substantial experience as a legal advisor to two White House administrations, federal government agencies, and a Fortune 25 company. He counsels clients on complex and sensitive issues involving government and internal investigations, corporate ethics and compliance programs, and white collar defense. In his 30-plus years as an attorney and a Washington insider, Jim has also built a reputation as a go-to choice for strategic business and policy counseling. In addition to his role as a Partner at Michael Best, Jim is also a principal at Michael Best Consulting LLC. Previously, Jim was a co-founder and principal of DC Consulting LLC, a consulting firm specializing in public health, pharmaceutical and substance abuse and regulatory risk involving law enforcement issues. Earlier in his career, Jim spent a decade as in-house counsel at Ford Motor Company where for many years he was the Company's Global Director of Compliance. Jim also served as the nation's “Drug Czar” for three years, following his unanimous confirmation by the United States Senate. Jim's significant federal government and legal experience include the following: - Starting in 2018, served for three years as the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy after being unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. Under Jim's leadership as the “US Drug Czar”, the U.S. saw its first year-over-year decrease in overdose deaths in 30 years. - Served in a number of high-profile posts at the White House between 2016 to 2018, including roles as Deputy Chief of Staff and Deputy White House Counsel. - Appointed General Counsel of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. - Spent 10 years as a legal advisor to the Ford Motor Company. Jim served as the automaker's Washington Counsel and Global Director of Compliance. During Jim's tenure there, Ford was named one of the “World's Most Ethical Companies” for three consecutive years by Ethisphere Institute. Jim was also General Counsel to the Ford Motor Company Fund, the company's philanthropic arm. - Served as Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. - Served as Associate Counsel and Special Assistant to the President between 2002 to 2004. - Attorney at  the Department of Justice, Office of Legal Policy. Selected as Assistant Ethics Counsel in the White House Office of Counsel to the President. - Served as Attorney Advisor to the Department of Justice, Executive Office for United States Attorneys. Jim began his legal career as a prosecutor in the Virginia Commonwealth Attorney's Office in Fairfax, VA. He went on to serve as Assistant Bar Counsel for the Virginia State Bar before transitioning his career to the federal level.

Kevin Daisey talks to James P. Magner, the Managing Partner of Magner Law in Virginia. In 2000, James got his law degree and was admitted to the Virginia State Bar. He went to work as a trademark attorney and civil litigator. Then, the dot-com industry went bust and the real estate market took off. He moved to Virginia Beach where he built a practice around construction law and civil litigation. Learn from his expertise and what trends are helping grow his firm on this episode of The Managing Partners Podcast! —- Array Digital provides bold marketing that helps managing partners grow their law firms. arraylaw.com Follow us on Instagram: @array.digital Follow us on Twitter: @thisisarray Call us for a FREE digital marketing review: 757-333-3021 SUBSCRIBE to The Managing Partners Podcast for conversations with the nation's top attorneys.

In this episode of ALPS In Brief, Mark and the founders of Sensei Enterprises discuss cybersecurity options and support for solo and small law firms. Somebody's got to take care of you and that's just what they do. Transcript: MARK BASSINGTHWAIGHTE: Hello, I am Mark Bassingthwaighte, the risk manager here at ALPS, and welcome to ALPS In Brief, the podcast that comes to you from the historic Florence Building in beautiful downtown Missoula, Montana. I am back from a trip into the home office in Missoula, and back in the satellite office here in Florida, and have with me two folks that I've just had the joy and pleasure of getting to know over the years, and the privilege to work with a few times over the years at various ABA events, and it's just been a lot of fun. MARK: Please help me in welcoming Sharon Nelson and John Simek. Sharon and John are President and Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, which is really the heart of the topic we're going to talk about today. Before we jump into some of the questions and things I'd like us to visit about Sharon and John, may I have each of you take a couple of minutes and share whatever you'd like to share about yourselves? What would help our listeners get to know you a bit better? SHARON NELSON: I'll start, and then I'll turn it over to John. What we do at Sensei Enterprise is managed information technology, managed cybersecurity services, and digital forensics. We have three branches, and that means we're running a fire station without a Dalmatian here, so there's always emergencies. It gets very difficult to keep all the balls in the air. We are also married with six children and 10 grandchildren. We're together all day and all night too. MARK: I love it. JOHN SIMEK: You didn't tell [inaudible 00:01:53], you're a lawyer though. SHARON: Oh well. JOHN: Do they care? SHARON: Maybe. John is the veteran technologist and I am the lawyer, and that's why we decided to work together when we started the company some 25 years ago, more than that now, just a little bit. John was the talent and I was the lawyer/marketer who could sell ice cubes to Eskimos, so that worked out really well for us both. JOHN: I'm not a lawyer, as you can probably tell. I'm an engineer by degree, and been involved in technology informally even before the internet. I remember that presidential candidate that was trying to create [inaudible 00:02:40]. Whatever, but back in the days of the modems and all that stuff. But I have a lot of technical certifications, formal training as well. I guess a lot of people think that I should be wearing a pocket protector and have a propeller head. But yeah, as Sharon said, I do the technology stuff, testifying expert as well, because of the forensics and all that. I just got done with a deposition a couple weeks ago that was really entertaining, at least to me, but not for the other attorney. SHARON: That's how it's always supposed to turn out. I forgot to say Mark, that I was the President of the Virginia State Bar a few years ago. That was [inaudible 00:03:25]. JOHN: That's how we ended up in Montana one year. SHARON: Yeah, that's how we ended up coming to see you folks out in Montana. MARK: Indeed. That's right. That was a good time. SHARON: It was a wonderful time. JOHN: I did go fishing when we were out there. MARK: There we go. Boy, there's no place better. You want to talk about some quiet country time on the river with a fly? A lot of fun. One of the things that I've never really visited with you guys about, I'm genuinely very interested. Sharon, you've talked, years ago, you've been a lawyer for quite some time. How did you make this jump? Was that always the plan to go into this Sensei Enterprise type business, the alternative practice, a non-traditional track if you will? How did this all come about? SHARON: Life is full of accidents. As I was a young [inaudible 00:04:22]. JOHN: We're experts at that. SHARON: Oh yeah. When my first child was born, her condition required me to stay home through several surgeries and several years. She's fine, but I ended up working from home as a lawyer. And then, later on after I had been a lawyer and been seriously involved in the Bar Association, I had this very nice man who taught technology to anyone at colleges, and he was helping me computerize my law practice back in the '80s. I was pretty wired up for a solo. But then, he got relocated because of his job, and I said, "What am I going to do without you?" And he said, "Well, I've got this friend down the street, and he's really brilliant, but he's a pain in the butt." And he said, "But I'll set up a lunch, and if you can stand him, then he could do a better job even than me." SHARON: I met him for lunch, I could stand him, and so, we started out with him helping me with my law practice technology. Ultimately, he had always wanted his own company, and he just looked at me one day and said, "You know, I could be the talent of a company, and you're a lawyer, and you can sell anybody anything, so why don't we hook up and form a company?" And that's how we got started. MARK: Wow. That's awesome. I love that. I love that. Oh my. Can you tell me a little bit about the types of services? You can a little highlight or overview, but can we dig in a little bit in terms of the types of services that you offer? I'm also interested, how would you describe your typical client? I know that you do a lot of work I think with businesses that are not just... You're not limiting your services in other words to law firms. Is what you have to offer, would it be useful, beneficial to solo small firm lawyers around the country? SHARON: We actually are devoted to solo small firm lawyers, not that they are an exclusive client roster. We have a client that has over a thousand people. JOHN: Not a legal entity. SHARON: No, not a legal entity. But in any event, we do all sizes. But we have a special feeling in our hearts for the needs of the solo small, because most companies are not interested in them. They don't really want them, because they can't get much of a profit out of them. JOHN: They might have some minimum. Unless you've got 10 bodies or more, they're not interested to even talk to you. SHARON: And so, somebody has got to take care of these people, so we really specialize in finding cost-effective things that they can use to do what they need to do. That's been something that we've been celebrated for, is that we do take care of solo and smalls along with the bigger firms. It's been a mix, Mark, and I really feel strongly about that because I was a solo myself, and I know how hard it was to get competent help and to get things that you could afford. And now that cybersecurity is so important, it's really critical that the solo and small firms have people to guide them in a way that's budget-friendly, because this stuff can be really expensive. MARK: Yeah, I'm well aware. What types of services can you help? If I'm just a solo stuck here in Florida, or Montana, or Iowa, what can you do for me? JOHN: Basically, we do an assessment, an initial assessment, come in there to see what you've got going, and is it appropriate? Should we forklift some things? Are you in the Cloud even? Because today, it's so much more affordable and flexible to be in the Cloud. SHARON: And secure, more secure. JOHN: Maybe you should be considering that. We do have some clients that are remote, up in Massachusetts as well as down the coast, and we can do a lot of things remotely. Sometimes though, you do have to have boots on the ground, and some folks might have a local person if they need hands-on to something. But generally no, we can get equipment, we can figure it, we can ship it, do all that. But essentially, get you in a position where you're a heck of a lot more secure with your technology. SHARON: And you're getting good recommendations from us about what [inaudible 00:09:08]. JOHN: Stability, backup. SHARON: Practice management systems, document management. We can help them work with the companies who have appropriate pricing for solo and small. That's really our niche, is to be able to do that for those people. The solo and smalls are really neglected. JOHN: But it really is a unique thing though, because there's not a template. You can't go to the green drawer and pull out a system for a solo. SHARON: No. I mean, they all have different needs. JOHN: They've got different needs, different things that are important to them, different types of practice, their workflows are different. We really do try to, as Sharon said, customize and make sure that they do have a cost-effective solution. The other advantage I think we have is that we know a lot about the law, and a lot about what lawyers' responsibilities are, and what their- SHARON: And what's ethical. And what's ethical has changed, Mark. In today's world, you have to take reasonable measures to protect client data and confidential data. These days, we have gotten to the point where one reasonable measure is having two-factor authentication, because it's almost always free. It comes with Office 365, which so many solo smalls use. You just have to turn it on. That's where of course the problem comes. JOHN: That's got to be really hard. SHARON: It's the convenience factor, though. They want to get right in. They don't want to have to get a text on their phone, or push a button on their phone. JOHN: Type a code. SHARON: Type a code, and whatever it is. There's all kinds of two-factor authentication obviously, and you have to help them get past the I don't want the extra step to, I have to have the extra step, because ethics demands this of me, because multifactor authentication stops almost 100% of credential-based account attacks. You don't get us that much better than that. JOHN: Especially not when it's free. SHARON: Yes, especially when it's free to do. You just have to put up with one little annoying thing that you have to do. JOHN: You can trust devices too, so it's not every time. You don't have to do this 30 days, or whatever it is, whatever the period of time is. A lot of folks I don't think realize that. They think when they hear this, they go, "No, I'm not going to do this every darn time I connect." You don't have to. SHARON: You said, tell a story. Here's a story. We've been able to successfully convince most of our law firm clients that they must ethically do this. There were several who protested, and they dragged their feet, and they dragged their feet, and then one of them got hit by ransomware. That's what happens when you don't take some advice. First thing they said was, "Okay, we got hit. We were attacked. I guess you were right about that 2FA thing, so could you come back and fix that for us now?" MARK: Hard lesson learned, but boy is it a good lesson once they understand it. I'm hearing you can do lots of advising and guidance on terms of how to become secure, taking into consideration regulations we're subject to, the ethical rules, et cetera. I just had somebody call me up yesterday about, they were talking about some other things, and a side question came out. It's a solo setting up her own firm, and she's interested, are there services and people out there that can help monitor the systems to give you a heads up? Her question was, how do I know if I'm breached? Can you help them answer that, or help them deal with that risk? SHARON: You have today an ethical obligation to monitor for a breach. That's pretty much been established. Now that you know you have to monitor, that's one reason why we are a managed service provider, because we have all sorts of alarms, and alerts, and we check things like backups to make sure everything is going the way it should. JOHN: There's a lot of automation. SHARON: There's a lot of automation. The thing is, when something goes wrong, we'll get a notice, so the lawyer is protected by having the managed services and the alerts that will go to their provider. That way, they know right away, they can usually fix it right away, or if the power is out or something like that, they have to wait until power comes back obviously. But that's why you want someone watching over all of this for you, because the average lawyer has no idea what any of these alerts mean. These things go off, and they're clueless. You want that in the hands of a professional, and it's not very expensive to get it. And so, this idea of endpoint detection and response, this is another thing that we would say is reasonably required in order for you to monitor for those breaches. JOHN: It's not just monitoring, it's also- SHARON: React. JOHN: Yeah, it reacts to it. Artificial intelligence is a part of what the tool uses, in conjunction with human beings in a security operation center. If you get a ransomware attack as an example, or there's some rogue process that comes and starts and the system sees that, wait a minute, this is outside of baseline operation, and it can even automatically take the device off the wire, off the network. But they have, at least the solutions that we're implementing for our clients, it has a rollback capability. If it's got a problem, and you say, "Shoot, you know what? Let's go back to 30 minutes ago," and put your system back into a state before this happened, and we've got that ability. SHARON: It's really kind of magic to lawyers. As much as we try to explain it, and John did in fairly simple terms, they really don't get it. They just get that the magic works. MARK: Right. That's okay. They don't need to get it. If they have somebody like you behind the scenes taking care of it, they just need to make sure these kinds of things are in play or in place. May I also assume that if I have, I do stupid on my laptop, and I get hit with something that we talk about ransomware as a classic example, are you also offering services to help me address and deal with these kinds of breaches? SHARON: Absolutely. That's what you do. JOHN: I do want to point out though Mark, all the technology and things that we do do, you cannot fix a human being. MARK: Right. Oh boy. SHARON: Who clicks on a phishing email or a phishing text? JOHN: Sharon talked about a story. We had a story from... What's today? Thursday. I think it was either Friday, or it was no longer than a week ago. We've got all these things in place, the software, [inaudible 00:16:33], whatever, and yet we've got a lawyer that gets this message, and then he actually initiates a phone call- SHARON: To the bad guys. JOHN: To the bad guys, and then is carrying on this conversation, and under his own ID, he's opening up his machine to this caller, and I'm going, "I can't stop that." SHARON: They finally asked him to enter some bank information- JOHN: And he got suspicious. SHARON: Then he finally got suspicious and severed the connection. JOHN: He called us and we said, "Whoa, hold on." SHARON: But that kind of thing happens a whole lot. People do stupid stuff, and of course now everybody is on their phone a lot, and so the phishing via text has become a big deal. They call that smishing. People will fall for that. They'll get something that says, "You just made a purchase for $500, and if you didn't make this purchase, you've got to do this, or call there." JOHN: Click here or whatever. SHARON: Whatever. Don't click. Don't call. People are not thinking. MARK: I'm hearing we have full service, which I'm not surprised, but I just want to underscore all of this. John, you raised a very, very good point. I'm often writing and lecturing about some similar things. Regardless of what IT does, we still have to deal with the reality of the human factor. You can't patch that. You can't. We have to do some training here. Is that something you guys do as well? Are there any training resources available for solo small firms? SHARON: The best training resource I know of is somebody who is not in your own company, in your own law firm. It's somebody from the outside who carries a bigger bat and has a reputation. That's why we started out long ago doing cybersecurity awareness training for law firm employees, and we do it remotely, which of course people have gotten used to that now. We have a PowerPoint, and we talk through the PowerPoint. We only charge $500 for an hour. Trust me, they can't absorb more than one hour, because this stuff is complicated, and they have to pay attention. An hour is about right. You might want to do it more than once a year. You might want to do it twice a year. At $500, most law firms can afford that, even the solos and the small firms, because it's a whole firm price. We're there for an hour, and we answer questions as we go along, but we can show them the phishing emails and all the stuff. We talk about social engineering, and all the stupid stuff they do, like sharing and reusing passwords. JOHN: The latest attacks. SHARON: The latest attacks. We [inaudible 00:19:30] the latest information. Nonetheless, people forget. The stat that's most interesting to me, Mark, is that over 80% of successful attacks involve a human in some way or another. MARK: Right. Good stuff. One of the reasons I really was excited about visiting with the two of you again, is to try to find or create awareness about resources that are out there, because there are so many places where there is, if you will, nothing locally. When you talk about this preventative educational piece, just as an example, at $500 a pop, I sit here and say, as a risk guy, two or three times a year? That's chump change, and absolutely essential to do in my mind, when I compare the potential loss of time, worry, money, data, all kinds of things, if somebody just does something stupid and clicks on the wrong thing, and we get hit with ransomware, and it's all gone, locked up. JOHN: I think the other requirements you're going to have Mark too though, and what we're seeing a lot of, is that the cyberinsurance carriers are now in their renewals and in their applications, they want to know, are you getting training for your employees? SHARON: That's one of the questions, and they don't want to hear no, or they might charge you more, or they might offer you less coverage. We've seen it all. Cyberinsurance is driving the solo and small firms crazy. MARK: Here's one as a side comment following up on that, please folks, if you're filling out these applications, don't lie. If you say you're doing something, and a policy is issued based on those representations, it's just the same as malpractice insurance or anything else. If it turns out you aren't having these trainings and you don't do these other things that you say you are doing or have in place, that's going to jeopardize coverage. Just a little side note there, be very careful and honest about answering this. I don't want to keep you too much longer, and I really, really appreciate you taking some time today. Could we close maybe with some thoughts about what are the top two or three things that you think lawyers in this space need to be concerned about, focused on perhaps, and/or a tip or two to address these kinds of things? Just a quick wrap. SHARON: Are you talking about cybersecurity in particular, Mark? MARK: Yes. JOHN: I think Sharon has talked about the things that certainly are really high on my list, and that's the multifactor authentication, the EDR systems, endpoint detection response. SHARON: And an incident response plan, which only 36% of attorneys have an incident response plan, and it is so critical, because if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That's an old chestnut of a line, but it's really true. You have got to have a plan, and you probably need somebody to consult with you a little bit, because there's no absolute template out there that fits everybody. You can start with one, but you really need to have somebody who knows what they're doing help you out with developing a plan. It's not all that hard, it's just that people don't do it. And then, if they do do it, then they leave it to molder, and of course nothing stays the same in this world, especially cybersecurity. In a year, if you haven't looked at it and done anything with it, some portion of it is probably quite obsolete. JOHN: But I think the critical foundation for that whole thing, before you even get down to saying, how am I going to respond, what does my IRP look like, is inventorying your assets and your data. If you don't know you have it, you can't protect it. MARK: That is an excellent point. Yes. That's absolutely an excellent point. I appreciate your time here. Before we wrap it up, I do want to give you a moment to share. If any of our listeners have a need and desire to reach out to you to discuss the kinds of things that you can help them out with, how can they get a hold of you guys? SHARON: Our phone number is 703-359-0700, and our website is senseient.com, or of course you could search Sensei Enterprises. We have all different kinds of folks in the office, and we'll funnel you to the right people. Very happy to do that, and always happy to have a no-cost consult if people have some questions they'd like to ask. We do a lot of that at the beginning, and then it turns out that they do in fact have a need, which is harmonious for us both. But if it doesn't work out, at least we've tried to help. And so, we would encourage that, Mark. I hope that's helpful. MARK: Yes, it is very much so. To those of you listening, I hope you found something of value out of today's podcast. My intent again today, I just am trying to find solutions. I get so many calls of, who do I turn to? This is a rough space at times, and lawyers just feel left out and unsure who to reach to. I assure you, these two and the business they have, these are good folk, and it's a great business. I would not hesitate reaching out at any time. John, Sharon, thank you very much for joining me today. John, good fishing, and hope you guys take care of those grandkids and kids. Boy, that's a busy, crazy life, but I'm sure it's exciting. That's just awesome. I'll let you get back to it, guys. Thank you for listening. Bye-bye, all. SHARON: Thank you very much. JOHN: Bye-bye. MARK: Bye-bye.

Judge Doris Causey is the first African American to serve as the President of the Virginia State Bar.  Most recently she was appointed to the Court of Appeals of Virginia.In this episode, Dr. Omega interviews Judge Causey as she shares many tips about how to Lead By Example.  Judge causes enlightens us on how she continues to break glass ceilings and what inspires, motivates and encourages her daily.  Judge Causey speaks to all leaders and share special advice for Women of Color.Tune in so you can follow the blueprint and understand the importance of leading by example at all times.

Ian Kremer has worked for over 25 years on his country's dementia policies. A member of both the Virginia State Bar and the American Bar Association, he was a director of the Alzheimer's Association focussing on state and local policy in Virginia, Maryland and the district of Columbia for 16 years before moving to head up the Washington DC-based Lead Coalition in 2012 – LEAD, L-E-A-D, stands for Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer's Disease. LEAD is a national coalition of over 200 member and allied organisations – from charities, pharmaceutical companies, neurological societies, academic and research institutes, healthcare and homecare providers – all of whom work to raise awareness of dementia and accelerate progress in three fields – the first, care and support; the second, detection and diagnosis and the third, research into prevention, treatment and cure. Ian, who has been LEAD's executive director for the past ten years, sees his biggest achievement in that time as (mostly) – his qualification – unifying the community of dementia advocates which was very fractured when he joined the coalition. Now, he says, though they don't agree on everything, the community agrees and collaborates on most and, importantly, it has productive and open lines of communication even when there are disagreements. This strength in unity has brought some great results, such as a whopping 700pc increase in dementia research funding at America's medical research agency and what Ian describes as a substantial expansion of the public health approach to dementia.I also explore with Ian the similarities and possible differences that exist between our two countries in the way we view and treat those with dementia and their families and carers. We discuss the extent to which stigma still lingers over the condition in America, as it does here, and whether the level of awareness and knowledge of dementia has increased in the US.For as long as he can remember Ian says he's lived his life by two maxims: Tikkun Olam, which roughly translated from the Hebrew means to “repair the world” and Martin Luther King Junior's words, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice”. Which is something we all need to hear right now. His CV reveals that he is true to his beliefs. As well as his national role at the LEAD Coalition he holds over a dozen volunteer posts in health, dementia and care. He participates in several national steering committees, including a research summit on care and support for those with dementia and their carers, and he's a member of the executive committee for dementia friendly America.“For me”, Ian told me, “working with and for people who have dementia is just one way I can contribute towards repairing the world and helping to accelerate the bending of the moral arc towards justice”. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Erik J. Olson chatted with Susan Butler, the Managing Partner at ShounBach in Virginia. Susan serves as a Neutral Case Evaluator and Conciliator for the Circuit Court of Fairfax County. She is admitted to practice law in Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Connecticut, and before the United States Supreme Court. She is a member of the Virginia and Fairfax Bar Association. She was an elected member of the Virginia State Bar Council from 2008 to 2014. She is a former faculty member of the Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Course of the Virginia State Bar, and is the co-chair of the VSB's Law School Professionalism Course. She has been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers list since 2010 and is listed in Best Lawyers in America in the Family Law and Family Law Mediation categories. She was selected to the Virginia Lawyers' Weekly Inaugural list of Influential Women of Law. She has been a member of the VSB Board of Governors section on Family Law since 2014 and is the current vice chair. Learn from her expertise and what trends are helping grow her firm on this episode of The Managing Partners Podcast! —- Array Digital provides bold marketing that helps managing partners grow their law firms. arraylaw.com Follow us on Instagram: @array.digital Follow us on Twitter: @thisisarray Call us for a FREE digital marketing review: 757-333-3021 SUBSCRIBE to The Managing Partners Podcast for conversations with the nation's top attorneys.

Andrew E. Harrod is a freelance researcher and writer who holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a JD from George Washington University Law School. He is admitted to the Virginia State Bar. He has published hundreds of articles concerning various political and religious topics at the American Spectator, American Thinker, the Blaze, Breitbart, Capital Research Center, Crisis, Daily Caller, Daily Wire, FrontPage Magazine, Institute on Religion and Democracy, Investigative Project on Terrorism, Mercatornet, National Interest, Washington Times, and World, among others. He is a fellow with the Lawfare Project, an organization combating the misuse of human rights law against Western societies. He is a Middle East Forum Campus Watch Fellow. TOPIC: Elon Musk Puts Profits Before Human Rights!! Connor Desnoyers is an independent videographer that has embedded himself with the truckers convoy in Canada for the last 16 days...TOPIC: Canada's Trudeau Invokes Emergency Powers!! Trudeau's Government Goes Nuclear in Attempt to Crush Canadian Truckers!!

63. Bill Strahan - Allowance of Micro-Failures “I think the number one thing is the allowance of micro failures. The allowance of small mishaps with neither the sense that they're being cataloged or that they're being stored. Or that they are being levered in a particular meeting or particular project in, in general.” Guest Info: Bill Strahan leads the Human Resources function for Comcast Cable. He has responsibility for all aspects of Human Resources including talent, compensation, benefits, learning, employee, and labor relations. Bill has been involved in various aspects of Human Resources work for over 35 years. He began his career with over a decade of work at Macy's Department Stores and Riggs National Bank. The second decade of Bill's work included practicing law in Washington, D.C. in the area of Compensation and Benefits –mostly in the context of mergers and acquisitions and in initial public offerings. For nine years, Bill was a consultant and manager at Mercer HR Consulting. Bill holds a B.A. in Religion from Villanova University, and a Juris Doctorate from the George Mason University School of Law. He is an Active Member of the Virginia State Bar. Along with his wife and two sons, Bill resides in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Favorite Quote: “Remember Bill, when you get angry... you get stupid." — Marie Strahan   R.O.G. Takeaway Tips: Three things come to top of mind when I think about how to apply what Bill taught us in our own lives. One - Accept Micro-failures. Two -  Conduct generous meetings. Three -  Innovate through empathy   1. Micro-failures, are normal, human and daily imperfections. Accepting others, and our own, micro-failures is an act of generosity. Let it go. Learn from mistakes, share your learning with others. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Learn from the mistakes of others, you'll never live long enough to make them all yourself.”   2. Conduct generous meetings. Be thoughtful in the ways you ask the question, or set the context, so the person you're asking can win. Call out their name, recap the point of the conversation you want them to weigh in on. Thoughtfully ask others to participate in a way that enables them to confidently shine. It's a triple win: it's good for the person, you model generous leadership and the meeting will be more productive and enjoyable.   3. Empathy as a catalyst for innovation. True innovation is a byproduct of empathy. We first need to humble ourselves to others. Ask empathic questions like: Where is the system not working for them? What's the gap? Allow your genuine curiosity to guide the discussion. Ask quality questions.  Seek to find the gap and collaboratively create the solution toward progress.   This week, let your and others micro failures go; thoughtfully ask questions in meetings so others can shine and leverage empathy as a catalyst for innovation.   Resources: Bill Strahan on LinkedIn (in/WilliamStrahan) William Strahan Comcast Bio Jobs.Comcast.com Coming Next: Episode 64, we will be joined by Me, Shannon Cassidy   Credits: Bill Strahan, Sheep Jam Productions, Host Shannon Cassidy, Bridge Between, Inc.

Our guest today is William Strahan, Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Comcast. He's responsible for all aspects of HR from talent compensation, benefits, learning employee and labor relations. Bill has been involved in various aspects of Human Resources work for over 35 years. He began his career with over a decade of work at Macy's Department Stores and Riggs National Bank. The second decade of Bill's work included practicing law in Washington, D.C. in the area of Compensation and Benefits – mostly in the context of mergers and acquisitions and in initial public offerings. For nine years, Bill was a consultant and manager at Mercer HR Consulting. Bill holds a B.A. in Religion from Villanova University; and a Juris Doctorate from the George Mason University School of Law. He is an Active Member of the Virginia State Bar.

Henrico resident and attorney Eddie Whitlock, III, who has served in a number of roles in the Henrico Republican Party and candidate for the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, has authored “Preserving Liberty And Keeping the American Republic,” a book that explores the American republic and the dangers he believes it faces today. Whitlock is a graduate of the University of Richmond and the university’s law school and is a partner in the law firm of Lafayette, Ayers & Whitlock, PLC. He also has served in the Virginia State Bar and is a former president of the Henrico County...Article LinkSupport the show (http://henricocitizen.com/contribute)

What's it like to interview 250 purpose-guided, mission-driven, faith-based entrepreneurs? What's it like to BE a purpose-guided, mission-driven, faith-based entrepreneur? In this last episode of Heart & Soul Interviews, actor/entrepreneur JanaBeeson interviews her mother about her personal and professional journey thus far AND where we go from here... Jory Hingson Fisher was a lawyer in Virginia for 28 years, a founding faculty member and associate dean of Liberty University School of Law, and a faculty member of the Virginia State Bar’s Mandatory Course on Professionalism. The owner of Network In Action Harford County, MD and a certified coach & trainer, she helps entrepreneurs build positive relationships and profitable businesses through networking, masterminding, and personality science. Jory graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University and holds graduate degrees from Middlebury College and the University of Virginia. Her awards include Alignable Local Business Person of the Year (2021 & 2018); Codebreaker Technologies Power Team Award (2021), which she shares with her daughter Jana Beeson; ACHI Magazine Woman of Achievement Award (2019); the DAR Award for Women in American History (2008); and the Women’s History Month Award presented by the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006. Jory’s a featured author in four books: America's Leading Ladies,America's STAR Entrepreneurs,The Successful Mind, and The Successful Spirit available on her Amazon page. She's been a host of Heart & Soul for Women of Faith on BlogTalkRadio since 2009.  JoryFisher.com 

Robert L. Jenkins, Jr., a native of Charleston, South Carolina, is a graduate of historic Howard University located in Washington, District of Columbia. At Howard University, Mr. Jenkins obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in history. * He received his Juris Doctor from the National Law Center at the George Washington University. As a collegiate Mr. Jenkins served as a Capital Hill Aide to the Honorable Arthur P. Ravenel of the United States House of Representatives. * Upon graduation, he served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Ulysses B. Hammond, Executive Officer of the District of Columbia Courts. As Law Clerk to the Executive Officer, Mr. Jenkins served as an intra-governmental liaison between the District of Columbia Courts and the District of Columbia City Council, and the United States Congress. * In addition, Mr. Jenkins duties included assisting the Executive Officer in the day-to-day administrative operations of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. * Mr. Jenkins actively handles a variety of criminal defense matters representing juvenile and adult clients. He has spent his entire career as an attorney principally defending citizens charged with offenses in federal and state courts. He has successfully defended individuals accused of drug-related offenses, sexual assaults, tax violations, as well as capital murder. * In 1998 Mr. Jenkins’ professionalism and accomplishments as a trial advocate were recognized with his election to the George Mason American Inns of Court as a Barrister. Since 2017 he has been listed among the top criminal defense attorneys in the Washington, DC area by the Washingtonian Magazine. * He is a member of the Virginia State Bar and has been admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, United States District Court for the Districts of Colorado, Eastern District of Virginia, and District of Columbia. * Mr. Jenkins has appeared as a legal commentator on local and national television shows such as MSNBC Live. He has been featured on the reality series American Greed. Mr. Jenkins has been quoted in the both the Washington Post and Washington Times. He also routinely lectures as a Virginia Continuing Legal Education speaker on federal criminal defense issues. * * You can find Robert here: * Website: https://www.bynumandjenkinslawoffice.com * Twitter: https://twitter.com/AttyJenkins * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attorneyjenkins/ * * If you like the streaming platform that I am using called StreamYard use the link below to sign up with and receive a $10 credit for signing up. I will get a credit as well and that of course will help the show. * StreamYard Affiliate Link: https://streamyard.com?pal=5045291231739904 * * Live-Stream Links: * https://www.facebook.com/nowheretogo.butupnow.9/videos/766243004294148 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkLfX6owBKk&t=9s * * Here is where you can find Sean Dustin: * Linktree: * https://linktr.ee/Nowheretogobutup * To support the show through Patreon: * https://www.patreon.com/user?u=19859993 * You can also tip me through PayPal: * www.paypal.com * recipient: nowheretogobutupnow@gmail.com * The Cash App: * https://cash.app/ * Recipient: $nwtgbupod * Show Notes Writer: Sean Dustin * *

Chris Newbold:                Hello and welcome to episode six of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being Podcast Series, “The Path to Well-Being in Law.” I'm your cohost Chris Newbold of ALPS Malpractice Insurance. And our goal here is simple, to introduce you to cool people doing awesome work in the space of lawyer well-being, and in the process build and nurture a national network of well-being advocates intent on creating a culture shift within the legal profession.                                         I'm joined today by my friend and fellow co-chair of the National Task Force Bree Buchanan. Bree, welcome.Bree Buchanan:              Absolutely. Welcome everybody. Glad you're here joining us today.Chris Newbold:                Good. And today we're going to start a move down into the states, and I think our first five or six speakers have really been driven more by some of the national outlook and some of the research that's been done into the lawyer well-being space. And as we know, movements generally are driven by those at the grassroots level who live it day-to-day, who are trying new ideas. In other words, serving as laboratories of democracy or laboratories of new ideas. And in any movement, you need a few leaders, a few examples to jump out in front. And that's exactly what we've seen out of our friends in the Commonwealth of Virginia.                                           Across the country we've seen a swelling of task forces, work groups, round tables coming out of state bars and state supreme courts, and there are some lessons to be learned from the Virginia experience and their roadmap. And there are no two better guests than our duo today, Margaret Ogden who's the wellness coordinator for the Virginia Supreme Court and Tim Carroll who's executive director of the Virginia Judges and Lawyers' Assistance Program.                                           Bree, would you be so kind as to introduce our guests?Bree Buchanan:              Absolutely. Great. Just so excited. Margaret and Tim, thank you for joining us today. What's going on in Virginia really is a shining light for the rest of the states across the country. So we're delighted to have you as the first group of state national task force people on our show.                                           So Margaret Ogden, as Chris said, she's the wellness coordinator in the Office of the Executive Secretary, the Supreme Court of Virginia, which is one of the new positions that's being created by the Lawyer Well-Being Movement. And we have a few other states that are doing that as well. A lawyer by training, Margaret began her career in the Roanoke City Commonwealth Attorney's Office prosecuting criminal cases and then went on to defend criminal cases throughout the Roanoke and New River Valleys.                                           Prior to joining her job where she currently is now, I think this is so interesting, Margaret, you served as the staff attorney for the Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Fairness. What an interesting position.                                           And then Tim has probably one of the most unusual backgrounds I have seen for a Lawyers' Assistance Program director, and it's been brilliant. I met Tim five, six years ago, and immediately identified him as somebody who has a special kind of knowledge that he brings to the Lawyer Assistance Program that has really enabled them to just take off with the program they have in Virginia.                                           So he's the executive director of the JLAP there. He grew up in Virginia, and then joined the US Air Force after high school. And after 28 years of service and assignments around the world, he retired at Anchorage, Alaska where he became the chief executive officer of a fisheries related business. Fish and lawyers, I don't know. I'm sure you've made a connection there at some point.                                           In 2014, he returned to Virginia and assumed his current role in 2015. Mr. Carroll has an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Alaska and a masters degree in business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.                                           So Margaret and Tim, welcome. We are so glad you're here. Chris and I always start off our program asking our guests a question about what brought you into this space? Because we really have seen the people that do so much of the work have a passion for it. And so we're really curious about what drives that passion.                                           So Margaret, what brought you to the Well-Being Movement? What experience in your life is a driver behind your passion for this work?Margaret Ogden:            That is a wonderful question, and thank you so much, Bree, for having us just as a preliminary matter. And thank you for that introduction. As you touched on, my last position was a policy position working for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. And I got very interested in how court policy shapes not just the practice of law but access to justice, a court user experience, and really the lived promise of equal justice under law and how court policy, which might seem on its face kind of neutral and bland, can have a huge impact on that.                                           So the Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission is kind of cool because they appoint from all three branches of state government to look at racial, ethnic, and other marginalized people who may have bias against them in our court system and how policy can be used to combat that. It's a great organization, and it works out of a Supreme Court report from Pennsylvania from 2005.                                           And so when here, the Virginia Supreme Court had put out a report on wellness in our legal profession, I just think it's a fascinating institutional response to seeing how the regulation of our profession, how court and bar policy impacts those people who are actively involved in it. And the wellness of lawyers is so important.                                           I don't mean to only talk about policy. I have what I call a recreational interest in mental health and well-being. I was first diagnosed with anxiety when I was in law school, and working with cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, diet, exercise, creative outlets, I've managed to kind of handle that to varying quality within my law school and early professional career. So I love to talk about this with my friends. This is something that I've been very open with and I think young people... I still consider myself young people. I'm still a young lawyer by the Virginia State Bar's definition of that.                                           So I think that we're seeing a culture shift that is just happening with age in terms of talking about mental health and substance use. I'm also the granddaughter of two alcoholics, so I'm very lucky that I have... I don't mean to say I'm lucky that I have this that runs in my family because certainly these are major issues that face our profession. But I'm lucky that I was raised with an awareness of them. So that when I started to experience these issues within my own life, I could seek expert help because they're really not things that you can deal with on your own, especially if you're in a profession of public trust, like the law. And so that's why selfishly I'm very interested in this.                                           And being a Virginia lawyer, seeing our courts write about this with the level of product that came out of these court reports, the level of thought, research, really data-driven best practices that have been generated, for me it's the perfect intersection of policy wonk and anxiety brain.Bree Buchanan:              That's great. That's great, Margaret. Thank you for sharing that about your life. We really appreciate adding to the story.                                           So Tim, what brings you to the Well-Being Movement and to the LAP, the Lawyers' Assistance Program world? What drives your passion to this work? Because I know you have a passion for it.Tim Carroll:                      Well, first off, Bree, I want to thank you and Chris for inviting us to join in this. And I can't tell you what a joy it is to work with Margaret as we carry this mission forward. We really do have a great team here in Virginia, and I'm very proud of the team and the great work that's happening here.                                           As you said, my path to a lawyer assistance program was a little bit unorthodox if you will. When I came back to Virginia, I was basically retired and I wasn't looking for a job anywhere. And this opportunity crossed my path, and I saw the middle name. So Virginia, the program used to be called Lawyers Helping Lawyers. And somebody put this in front of me, and I thought, "Lawyers Helping Lawyers, what do I know about that? What do I know about the law? What do I know about lawyers?" And as we talked, I got really focused on the middle name of that organization, and that was helping. And I'm at a place in my life where I want to help others, and this is certainly a place to do that.                                           What really drove me towards the wellness, basically harkens back to my Air Force career. When I first joined the Air Force and I won't date myself anymore to say it was in the post-Vietnam era. The Air Force was really in a state of flux from post-Vietnam. And what I saw around me were a lot of people who were drinking, a lot of people who were smoking. I'd go to the chow hall and see the really, quite honestly, not the most healthy food choices that were available. And a good number of my friends who were still involved in drug use while in active duty. I saw a lot of my friends who were falling victim to those vices, and really I lost a few friends as a result of those things.                                           Over the course of my career, the Air Force really transformed itself and really moved more into a well-being and a wellness posture with smoking cessation, deglamorizing alcohol, really taking a hard stand on the drug use, and really transforming the chow halls to basically have a wider variety of healthy choices than unhealthy choices. We saw fitness centers having a newfound focus on the equipment and the programs that were being offered. And I saw a institution, the United States Air Force go from that post-Vietnam era to a wellness era, and that really effected the readiness of the Force, which we needed, as you know for the conflicts that we had in the '90s and beyond. So I saw a massive worldwide institution like the United States Air Force that could make that change in culture and transforming itself.                                           So when I joined the Lawyers Helping Lawyers organization, I saw us as a larger reactive organization. We would kind of play Bop-It. Someone would come to us for help, and we would help them. But we weren't really doing a tremendous amount of outreach and really trying to change why people were coming to us because we were so small. When I joined, I started part-time, had a full-time counselor. And with a staff of 1.5, all's we could do was be reactive. And I saw the proactive side was one that we'd have to embrace the well-being. And I was thrilled when I heard that the ABA was undertaking the National Task Force on Well-Being because I really saw that as an opportunity to transform the culture of the legal profession.                                           And to say that I'm passionate about it would be an understatement. I've lost friends to suicide. I've lost friends to poor eating habits. I've lost friends who were drinking and ultimately cost them their lives. For a profession as critical as the law, something as critical as what we have right here, it wasn't a large leap for me to get passionate about helping our lawyers, our judges, our law students, the entire legal profession in any way that I can.                                           So I'm honored to be here. I'm just a little piece of the puzzle, but that's really how I got here.Chris Newbold:                Yeah, great, Tim. But an important piece of the puzzle. Tim and I have had conversations. My father was career Air Force. So again, I think there are some examples out there for shifts in cultures that need to be studied and evaluated as we think about our path forward in the legal profession.                                           But let's turn our attention to Virginia, and I am a firm believer that leadership really starts at the top. And we've been really I think blessed in Virginia with folks who have seen the need for this issue to come to the forefront. Bree and I, as original kind of members of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, it was your Chief Justice Don Lemons who really brought the judicial powerhouse I think to the discussion. And I know the reason that we have Margaret in the positions that we do is because some folks I think in Virginia saw a need and then started to develop a plan, bring together the right parties.                                           So Margaret, maybe if you could kind of walk us through how did the Virginia Supreme Court ultimately find its way into launching the Well-Being Committee, and how did that ultimately came some revenue opportunities that created the infrastructure necessary to flow down to the things of the world and other programs in the state? So I'd just love for our listeners to hear about the journey of how Virginia got to where it is today.Margaret Ogdan:            Yeah, of course. And I'm kind of late to the party in this journey because I started in my position on October 25th of 2019, and I will keep that date in my mind forever because five months later our whole profession changed. But we need to back track it up because I am the culmination of many people's efforts, far smarter minds than me, and far larger levers of power needed to be pulled before we even get there. So what you have, as you mentioned, our Chief Justice Donald Lemons sitting on the National Task Force seeing these numbers coming out of these national studies. And I can't thank you all enough for highlighting not just the statistical data but this call to action that goes down to the states. We have some very preliminary data. We want more data, and we also recognize that this might look different in different states. This might look different in different practice areas. Let us empower states to go out and investigate how their state is regulating the profession and what can be done to shift the culture within these laboratories of democracy.                                           So that call was heated in Virginia, and Justice William Mims headed up the Virginia State Supreme Court Committee for Lawyer Well-Being. And that committee drew not just from the judiciary, although all levels are represented there. In fact, a court of appeals, which is our intermediate court of limited jurisdiction. We have the circuit courts, which are our higher level trial courts, and then the general district courts, which traffic, misdemeanors, preliminary hearings. We're recognizing that all of those court actors are facing different occupational risk and seeing different pieces of really lawyer unwellness.                                           So all of those folks we have the law schools. There are eight in Virginia, and all eight of the deans participated in the first law school summit that came out of this report. So it was a ground swell effort amongst academia. And then you also have the regulators, the state bar, ethics council, the disciplinary board coming to bring their expertise to the table and talk about the way the rules of professional conduct and our ethical obligations are playing out with lawyer empowerment.                                           And then finally, you have the private sector attorneys. This incredible organization of folks from bar organization, from employers, representing small firms, large firms, that are all kind of doing their own wellness thing before this even started. They're doing this at a volunteer level. They're taking this on on their own because they've seen these problems. The statistics didn't really come as a shock to people.                                           I think if anything, just anecdotally, we're waiting for the other shoe to drop for people to get more comfortable talking about these problems, and the numbers will probably go up as we destigmatize more of these conversations. But that means that more people will get help, and Virginia did a great job of bringing all these stakeholders together to put out a report that focuses on real tangible recommendations. Things that can be done that signals to the profession that this is a priority and that it's not a burden that you need to add to your already busy life to take care of yourself. That this is a foundation upon which your professionalism and your ethics are based. So much to the point that it's now been added as a comment to Rule 1.1 in our Rules of Professional Conduct that governs competency, that lawyers need to have the physical, emotional, and mental competency to practice law.                                           To see all of these different stakeholders really grasp onto this, and say, "Yes, we think this is important. Yes, we can make changes to our rules and our policies. We're going to hold up the mirror of self reflection. We don't like what we see, and rather than go to despair, we will be called to action." Because here's the other thing, it then required going in front of the General Assembly to get a state bar's due assessment to every active member of the Virginia State Bar. It's $30 a year. It started to be assessed in July 2019, and just because of the way our state government is structured, that required an act of the General Assembly.                                           To me, I love all branches of state government equally. But if someone says, "Margaret, you have to go to the General Assembly and get us money," that's the worst hill to try to climb. But if anything, that shows you how much belief there was in Lawyers Helping Lawyers because that is where the bulk of that funding was dedicated to go. It wasn't just, "Oh, we're going to assess a fund, and who knows what will happen." No. There was a really roadmap in this report that said, "Lawyers Helping Lawyers has been doing this forward since 1984. We believe in them because they're using evidence-based best practices. They have volunteers throughout the Commonwealth who have gone through these issues that have turned their careers around, and all they need is the money to expand." If they build it, they will come. To the point where you convince the General Assembly to do that, I think really shows a strong momentum.                                           And I'm also biased in favor of this because that also funded my position. So if we have Lawyers Helping Lawyers existing as a separate nonprofit, it's not part of the court system. And that's important because confidentiality is prime with these issues. We want people to be comfortable calling up Tim and they know they don't get me. But also it's important that the court bring the weight of its institutional gravitas to say, "Hey, go seek help. Let's destigmatize help seeking behavior. Seek it proactively."                                           So I'm excited to be living in the court and talking about institutional policies, talking education outreach. We've been putting out a bunch of CLEs. Our virtual judicial conferences now have a wellness component. I say virtual. They were virtual this year. Hopefully that will not continue into the future. But more of this kind of generalized health and wellness from an institutional level is what this ground swell of specific recommendations worked up to build.Tim Carroll:                      Margaret, remind me when the report... I'm pretty certain that you were the first state to produce a comprehensive report on well-being, right?Margaret Ogdan:            One of the early ones. I don't want to step on any toes. I know Utah and Vermont put out early ones too.Bree Buchanan:              You guys were first.Margaret Ogden:            Yeah.Bree Buchanan:              Take it. Take it. It's yours.Tim Carroll:                      Remind me of the date there because a lot of our listeners will be tuning in from other state task forces, and I want them to kind of understand. What is so unique I think about what Virginia has done is there's a lot of reports that come out of study and saying, "We need to do this. We need to do that." Really what everyone in Virginia should be so proud of is the fact that you took words and you translated it into action. And oftentimes it doesn't happen with task forces and so forth. Sometimes it's you write, author a report, and you maybe check off some low hanging fruit. But you guys have really systemically changed the playing field of this particular issue as it relates to Virginia.                                           So the report comes out in 2018. You got to think that the most substantive impacts of the reports were... And you already mentioned it. Rule change to the rules of professional conduct, that includes well-being, and a comment to the duty of competence, right?Margaret Ogden:            Mm-hmm (affirmative).Tim Carroll:                      You basically set in play, and we know generally, and Bree and Tim can speak to this firsthand, that lawyer assistance programs around the country are generally underfunded. ALPS is a malpractice carrier we give a good chunk of money to, what was formally Virginia Lawyers Helping Lawyers. But across the country, there's just not enough fuel in the tank for Lawyers' Assistance Programs to have enough impact and really take on not just the safety net but also the big picture realm of well-being. So explain for our audience then, report comes out in 2018. Justice Mims, who is really an unsung hero in all of this, but even Justice Mims, the Virginia State Bar and its leadership, and Lynn Heath produced an occupational risk report that's really critical as well. Kind of talk us through when did the money discussion start? When does it pass the General Assembly? And what ultimately does it do to transform the revenue side that enables us now to do so much more?Margaret Ogden:            I think you're exactly right. I mentioned Justice Mims briefly as the head of this committee, but I want to sing about this hero because I really do think that not only is he just an excellent human being, he's someone with an incredibly nuanced understanding of our Virginia state government. He is one of the few people in the history of our Commonwealth who's held highest positions at the top of each of our branches of government. He served in our state house. He was the Attorney General. So this man understands what it takes to create a culture shift within state government. And I don't know when exactly it goes to the General Assembly. I am still back in Pennsylvania in 2018. But in enough time to get the first bar dues funding assessed in July of 2019 on our annual state bar assessment. And part of this is also very good timing with the Client Protection Fund. That had been doing very well, and so those dues were lowered, which I think makes it more palatable to slightly increase and establish this fund entirely.                                           And then finally, there's this other piece that I want to touch on too is the Virginia Law Foundation and Virginia CLEs contributions because this all works much better when well-being is recognized as a key part of lawyer education, and in Virginia, we have mandatory continuing legal education. And that CLE board was very quick to change their... Well, amend an opinion, Opinion 19, to make it more clear that well-being programming should be approved for CLE credit. And the Virginia Law Foundation, Virginia CLE is one of our largest state providers. They signed on to say, "Hey, we're going to provide a well-being library that we're going to replenish every year online, and we're going to offer two of these free to every lawyer, judge, and law school student in the Commonwealth every year."                                           To me, that shows not just the funding coming from attorneys and going through the General Assembly, but also stakeholders saying, "We're going to be sure that attorneys see the value for their funds hopefully so that it is an easier sell to everyone who is in the bar to take this on collectively." Look, you're getting something out of this even if you yourself are not going to seek the services of Lawyers Helping Lawyers.Bree Buchanan:              So let's bring Tim in on this, and Tim, I was listening to Margaret's earlier answer about what all the work and support for the Lawyers' Assistance Program there in Virginia and with my ears of a former LAP director, and it must be so wonderful to work as an ally with somebody who so gets what an LAP is about.                                           So Tim, what I wanted to ask you is talk about this process of what happened in Virginia from the Lawyers' Assistance Program perspective. How did this come about and how did you all fit into this process?Tim Carroll:                      Yeah. So after the ABA Hazelden Betty Ford, after that survey came out, that was really the call to action. I know the ABA responded to that with the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being. But we didn't sit on our haunches here in Virginia. We said, "What can we do about that?" And we took the numbers out of that survey and overlaid it on Virginia. With our population, we could assume that if the ABA Hazelden study was accurate, that we have upwards of 12,000 attorneys in Virginia who are operating from some level of impairment. And when you can use that as a talking point, you really get people's attention.                                           I'll just insert real quick, thanks to ALPS back in 2014, the College of William and Mary Law School did a survey of Virginia attorneys. And while it wasn't peer reviewed and it wasn't published, I've seen it. And I can tell you that the numbers track very closely in Virginia to what the national report said.Bree Buchanan:              Wow.Tim Carroll:                      So I can speak with confidence so that we have upwards of 12,000 who for one reason or another are operating from some level of impairment. And we looked at what we were doing, what was the LAP doing? And we had on average about 100 new clients a year with our staff of 1.5 and one counselor. That doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. So of course we went with our hat in hand and asked for more money so we could get some more staff. Dollars are tight. You can't expect everybody to just open up their coffers. So we built a business plan based on best practices that we saw around the country with other LAPs, based on what we saw the needs of Virginia being. We didn't put a dollar figure on it until after we had built the plan, and then we said, "What would something like this cost?" Because we wanted to be a best practice lawyer assistance program.                                           We took that to the state bar. We took that to the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. We took it to the Law Foundation. We pretty much paraded that all over anybody who would listen, and everybody said, "Yeah, that looks really good. That's really nice, but there's not a pathway for funding for that." So when Chief Justice Lemons came back from the National Task Force and he challenged or tasked Justice Mims to head up the committee in Virginia, that committee was... I hope you'll be able to provide a link to the report. It's a profession at risk. It'll outline who all was on that, but take my word for it, it was the key stakeholders in the legal profession around the Commonwealth of Virginia. Some real movers and shakers.                                           The very first briefing that that committee got, after Chief Justice Lemons tasked them, was our business plan. That was the first thing they heard. And gave us the opportunity to pitch the need, to pitch the studies that had been done, and what we proposed to do about it. So that committee really took off with the challenge from the chief to study the National Task Force report and look at ways to implement that in Virginia. And they were armed with our business plan sitting on the side.                                           So it was very fortuitous timing for us, but if you also look at the composition of that committee, there are several former and active board members from the Lawyers' Assistance Program who served on that committee as well. So they knew what they were talking about. They knew the issues at hand and were very obviously, very well-versed in the legal profession of Virginia to be able to make the recommendations that they did.                                           So to say that we were on the sidelines would be wrong. To say that we were in there with our sleeves rolled up would be correct, and that was only because Chief Justice Lemons and Justice Mims invited us to play an active role in that committee. I didn't serve on the committee, but I was an advisor to each one of the subgroups of that committee. They could reach out. We could give them our two cents. We could help guide them through their discussions. And we weren't doing that with a parochial view towards the Lawyers' Assistance Program. We did it with a parochial view towards what's best for the legal profession in Virginia.Chris Newbold:                Yeah. Well, this is a good probably break point here because I think it kind of sets the tone for revenue source in hand, action plan in hand, and kind of where things come with Margaret coming onboard. Let's take a quick break, and we'll come back and hear the rest of the Virginia story.Advertisement:               Your law firm is worth protecting and so is your time. ALPS has the quickest online application for legal malpractice insurance out there. Apply, see rates, and buy coverage, all in about 20 minutes. Being a lawyer is hard. Our new online app is easy. Apply now at applyonline.alpsnet.com.Chris Newbold:                All right. Welcome back. And we are talking about Virginia and some of the trailblazing work that Virginia has done on lawyer well-being. Margaret, let's shift the conversation back to you. So the assessments made on Virginia lawyers and that generally, roughly creates about $1 million in revenue annually. I'd be curious as the first wellness coordinator for the Commonwealth, what do you work on? How do you think about your day? And ultimately, what's the game plan? What do you hope to achieve as you think about the allocation of those resources relative to making a difference?Margaret Ogden:            Right. It's smart to think about it in terms of allocation of funds. We have the Lawyers' Assistance Program, formerly Lawyers Helping Lawyers, getting the bulk of that funding allocation every year to expand their staffing. And this doesn't just allow them to provide direct services. It also allows them to really beef up these education and outreach efforts, and that's where my position comes in. Because we recognize that even though impairment is a very large problem in our profession, statistically the majority of lawyers will not themselves become impaired over the course of their career. But we can all do a little better. Even if we are not at the level of relying on substances to get through our day to the detriment of our clients, because of the unique occupational stressors of our profession, we are at greater risk for things like burnout, and that means we need to kind of take on more protective habits on our daily basis to ensure that we're meeting these higher standards.                                           And I think that's where my position comes in is looking at education and outreach on more general health and well-being. I love the Six Areas of Well-Being from the National Task Force report. That's a really great way for me to talk about it to attorneys because I think past workplace well-being efforts kind of have all focused on step challenges or weight loss, really physical fitness, and that can be isolating for a lot of people, particularly attorneys and particularly with an aging population. So I want to be sure that we're talking about wellness holistically, and we're talking about it on an institutional level.                                           I think of Tim and Jim and Barbara and Angeline and Janet, the staff over at the Virginian Judges Lawyers' Assistance Program, five people now, as really having the individuals covered. And I think of my role as the institutions and the stakeholders. Making sure that the associate deans of all of the law schools are talking to each other every month about trends in well-being among their students and what programs are working. This is my favorite monthly conference call, and I just sent out the agenda before this. So I'm very excited about talking. We talk every month, me and the associate deans of the law schools about what they're seeing.                                           In terms of coordinating judicial response, so my position very smartly I think was housed in the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court. In Pennsylvania, our version of that was called the Administrative Office of the Courts. Think of it as the administrative arm. So HR lives there, court IT. And thinking that wellness is so pervasive that it needs to be part of our administrative function I think is very forward looking.Bree Buchanan:              Absolutely brilliant.Margaret Ogdan:            Yeah. Specifically I'm within our educational services department, and that's the group that puts on our yearly judicial conferences for all of our judges and then a bunch of other groups that the court has some education responsibilities for, like clerks, magistrates, other court personnel. And this is really exciting because having wellness on the judicial conference agenda blows my mind. When we were going to initially be in-person this year, I had an entire Wednesday afternoon of wellness activities. Justice Mims was going to be leading a jogging group. This was really fun to plan activities for the judges because they don't have necessarily the same strict CLE requirements that lawyers do, but showing them that wellness can be something they can incorporate into their conferences, that they take it on almost like a perk. And that it's led by their colleagues, not only does that help us just in terms of budgeting, we're not bringing in really expensive outside experts. But I think things are more exciting when you see your buddies doing them.                                           So we were able to transition that virtually, have a booklet made, and still do a couple Zoom sessions. And it's having the funding and the staffing in place before the pandemic I think was super key because it's much easier to adapt when you already have a person who's working in that space.                                           So law students, judges, and then of course lawyers, they make up the bulk of my outreach efforts, and the court is never going to be entirely taking over continuing education for lawyers. Thank goodness. No, I would never be able to do that on my own. But working with the folks who are doing that. So the Conference of Local and Specialty Bar Associations, presenting to them, and enabling and empowering our local and affiliation bars to incorporate wellness education into their programs. Working with CLE providers to... Especially when we do virtual programming, take into account some well-being. Not back-to-back-to-back in front of a screen, acknowledge Zoom fatigue, build in spaces for people to walk around and get moving.                                           So every day is a little different, which is fun because I am serving a few different audiences, and we are talking about organizational and institutional response to support healthy habits.Bree Buchanan:              Margaret, I love how you're able to come in because you've got that position there, and you're thinking about this obviously every day, and are able to put so much energy in it. And the conference, I looked at the agenda, I read the booklet. It was really impressive and that you have... This is so key, you have this very visible support from the top of the legal profession in the Commonwealth, and that's so key. You guys are so blessed to have that.                                           Tim, I wanted to ask you, what can you share with others, anybody who's working on this, and especially the Lawyer's Assistance Programs, if they want to start some sort of statewide, multi-stakeholder committee, commission, task force, what advice would you give to them?Tim Carroll:                      Yeah, that's a great question. I've actually talked with some of the other directors who have called and asked, "How did you do that?" And I really had to think about, but I didn't have to think very far because it was such a upfront activity that we were involved in. I guess the key to the LAPs is really to accept that for people to trust you, they have to know you. They're not just going to pick up a phone and call 1(800)LAP. They could call 1(800)ADDICTION CENTER. They could call wherever they want, but they have to know us if they're going to trust us. They have to trust that we are competent in what we do. They have to trust that we will hold their confidentiality. And they have to trust that we can help. So that's really the cornerstone of the LAP.                                           We built our business plan from that cornerstone. How do we get out, and how do we get known enough to be trusted? The first step is to have a plan. No one is going to throw money at the LAP if the LAP doesn't demonstrate what they're going to do with it. So the very first step is to build a plan, build a business plan, build a plan. The second step is to engage the stakeholders at every level. At the top, the middle, the grassroots, wherever it is, engage all of the stakeholders so that they buy into that plan. And then of course, have a champion. Our champion was Chief Justice Lemons. I'm going to say our co-champion was Justice Mims. Having those two at the very top of the profession in Virginia looking out for the LAP and looking for how could they make the biggest difference to the entire legal profession and seeing that we were ready to do it, that was really the key to our success.                                           So just basically to summarize it. If you want to do what Virginia do, build a plan, engage the stakeholders, and... Excuse me. Build a plan, engage the stakeholders, and make sure you have a champion somewhere, preferably at the top.Chris Newbold:                Can you spend just a minute on your program has really been transformed through the additional funding. So I want to give our listeners some insight into when you have a... I don't even know how much more revenue you had from before, but obviously you had a plan. Where are you at in your plan, and how has this fuel from Margaret's office and the State's Supreme Court done to transform your program?Tim Carroll:                      Yeah. If we're going to hire people, we have to have money. We have volunteers. Let me get that out there first. The foundation of our program is volunteers. We have not been successful since 1984 up to 2019 without our volunteers. You can't do it with a staff of one; you can't do it with a staff of 1.5. So the way we've transformed what we do includes the volunteers. That piece is constant. It has never changed. What we've done though, volunteers have full-time jobs most often. As any nonprofit has found, getting the time from a volunteer. They're willing to do it, but sometimes they just don't have the time.                                           So what we did was established a... If you're familiar with the geography of Virginia, there's Northern Virginia, which is sometimes referred to as another country. There's Southwest Virginia that really is another country. And if you're going to work in Southwest Virginia, you've got to understand the culture, you've got to understand the geography, you've got to understand what it means to be a lawyer or a judge in Southwest Virginia. When we say Southwest, and if you want to pull out a map and look, that's not Roanoke. Get that clear. It's farther out.                                           So we hired a licensed professional counselor with the moneys that we were given. That I said when I came onboard, the very first dollar that I would spend would be on somebody in Southwest Virginia. So we got Angeline out...Chris Newbold:                Oh, looks like we might have lost Tim. Margaret, you aware of kind of the three areas around Virginia [crosstalk 00:46:14]-Margaret Ogden:            Oh yeah. Definitely. And this is actually kind of a little fun story on my first week of work, I went to far Southwest Virginia. And I say far Southwest because I started my practice in Roanoke, and I made the mistake of saying Roanoke was Southwest Virginia. And the folks out in Grundy, at Appalachian School of Law quickly corrected me because that's another three hours past Roanoke. Virginia is enormous, and Angeline is very cool. She's out there in Rural Retreat. She's from that area. So she's been working very closely with Appalachian, the law school there and also just with serving the population of attorneys there. Because of the nature of the geography, the population is really under resourced area when it comes to mental health and substance use. So I think just having a presence there of someone who is from there and understands that area has been immensely helpful for cultivating that relationship, not just with the law school but with the bar and with the courts there as well.Chris Newbold:                So sounds like the strategy that Tim's organization is employing is more licensed professionals closer to the ground with broader geographic focus on-Margaret Ogden:            Exactly. And having folks who are there who are building those connections with these stakeholders who are already in place. So we have our eight law schools around the Commonwealth. They're great and not just for their education but for their alumni networks and for their educational programming that they send out with their law students.                                           The other piece is bar associations locally and then building relationships with treatment providers locally too. Making sure that mental health professionals are comfortable treating lawyers so that there's this really strong referral network. A lot of people have started calling JLAP not to be in a longterm, monitored, formal relationship. I get to see these numbers in the aggregate every month as part of our reporting. I never see any individual clients of JLAP. This is the great thing about them remaining a separate, independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. But they are very transparent in their aggregate numbers, so we can see that people call them all the time to just ask, "Hey, I need a therapist in my area who will work with me as an attorney," or, "I need a marriage counselor," or, "Do you have the number for rehab place for my kid?" It doesn't need to always been an intense relationship. JLAP is there for whatever struggle a legal professional is having where they are, and they're developing those local relationships so that they can give people resources in those locations.Chris Newbold:                Excellent. Again, Virginia is such a cool story, right? And it looks like Tim is joining us back for hopefully the final question here. Tim, we successfully passed the baton onto Margaret. We're still rolling. She did great. Let me just ask you one final question, which is you guys are now a year, year and a half, two years into your plan and starting to probably really see results. And I'm sure there have been stumbling blocks and some things that have really surprised you. Just would be curious on lessons learned either the hard way or lessons that you think that are worthwhile for our listeners to hear in terms of things that have been really successful.Tim Carroll:                      Well, I'll piggyback. Don't let your power fail and take your internet with it. Sorry, my apologize for that. I think the lessons that we've learned are to get all of the stakeholders engaged. Really Margaret has been an amazing, amazing addition to our team. From day one, Margaret came down and talked to us about what she viewed her role was, about how we could work together. We do have that clear line of separation in terms of the client load, but we do have an incredible collaboration in terms of outreach, in terms of getting the word out, in terms of being present and support around the Commonwealth. I guess I didn't have a vote in Margaret being in that position, but whoever did hit the gold mine. So if there is a lesson to be learned, make sure that you hire the right person to be your wellness coordinator at the very top.                                           Make sure that you've got constant communication with your stakeholders. The various bar associations, the top level bar associations, the local bar associations continually engage with them to make sure that you're carrying the same message and that you're supporting the needs of their constituency is. I think that those are the most critical things to the success that we have.                                           Of course, our amazing team that I hope Margaret was able to talk about. We just have an amazing group of people. It's a joy to work with and top to bottom, all of the bar associations, the court, state bar, this is just a perfect world here in Virginia.Chris Newbold:                Feels a little bit like a symphony with Margaret as the conductor and when every piece comes together, you can really make some pretty sweet music.Tim Carroll:                      Absolutely, absolutely.Chris Newbold:                Yeah. Well, again, thank you both so much for joining us on the podcast. I'm sure there are listeners who might be interested in contacting you. With your permission, I think we'd like to include your contact information when we post the podcast so the people can contact you directly and hear firsthand the stories. And we certainly will be keeping our eyes on your successes as we continue to move forward because again, we need states like yours to be leaders up front and to be able to kind of demonstrate the type of change that can occur. As somebody who watches Virginia lawyers quite closely, me on the malpractice side, I know that there's a lot of pride in the legal profession in Virginia. And I think that that probably also speaks to why this has become an issue that folks have been about to rally around. There's just a high quality of lawyering that goes on in Virginia, and I think the focus on well-being is a natural compliment.Margaret Ogden:            Oh yeah. Lawyers from Virginia started our country. I'm always proud to be a Virginia lawyer, and I'm also always proud to talk to lawyers from other states and Commonwealths about what we're doing. And also, we'll talk about failures too. The important part of this conversation is honesty and vulnerability. So please share our information, and we will Zoom into courtrooms around our fair country.Bree Buchanan:              Thank you, Margaret.Tim Carroll:                      I would say just unlike my last two jobs, we do not have trade secrets. We are willing to share anything that we have with anyone at anytime. So yes, spread our contact information out. We're at the other end of the phone or the other end of the email. We can help anybody. We're here to be a partner.Chris Newbold:                Excellent. Well, again, thank you both for joining us today. We'll be back with the podcast in a couple weeks. Until then, be well. 

Podcast co-hosts Bree Buchanan and Chris Newbold, who also serve as co-chairs of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, introduce themselves, provide perspective on how the lawyer well-being movement began, how and why the issue has sparked a national conversation, why a culture shift in the profession is needed and share their individual stories of what brought them into the lawyer well-being movement.     Transcript:  CHRIS NEWBOLD:                Welcome to the Path to Lawyer Well-Being, a podcast about cool people doing awesome work in the space of lawyer well-being. This podcast is presented by the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being. I'm Chris Newbold, and I'm joining you from Missoula, Montana, and I'm excited to be joined by my co-host Bree Buchanan.BREE BUCHANAN:               Hi, everybody. I'm Bree, and I'm joining you from Eugene, Oregon. Chris and I are both co-chairs of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being. So, a little bit just about what that group is, we're a group of lawyers representing different parts of the bar when each of us are a leader within that group. What binds us together is a passion for improving the lives of lawyers. We all hold a belief that to achieve that goal, there has to be a systemic change within our profession, so that well-being of its members is a top priority.CHRIS:             This is our inaugural podcast, and I think this is the right time to do a few things, I think, in our first podcast, which is to introduce a little bit about the well-being movement. To introduce you to the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, and most importantly, probably to introduce you to us. Why we find a personal passion in lawyer well-being, what our hopes and aspirations are as we think about the vision of this podcast series. Because there's incredible work going on around the country right now in this space of lawyer well-being launched several years ago with a legendary report that I think ignited a national discussion on this particular issue.This is, I think, just a really exciting time for us in the movement, as we have grown really a large contingent of folks who are really fundamentally hoping to see some systemic changes in our profession for the betterment, as we think about lawyer health and well-being. So, we're going to have some fun today, I think, in our first podcast, Bree.BREE:               Absolutely.CHRIS:             Let's talk about the notion of a theme around beginnings.BREE:               Sure, and I thought it would be really great today, yeah talking about beginning of this podcast, talking about the beginnings of the national task force. How did it come about? Why did we do this? How was it envisioned, and what is it that we're trying to do? Then, also I thought it would be, this is the perfect time to talk about, Chris, you and I, our beginnings in this movement. What drew us to this? There's a real passion on the part of everybody that's working in this movement. So, what got us to this point, and I think it's a pretty interesting story.CHRIS:              It is.BREE:               So, I look forward to sharing it. Yeah.CHRIS:             It's been I think a really unique journey and, again, I think something that we continue to be very optimistic about where this movement is moving and the type of change that I think that we can engineer as we grow an army of well-being advocates around the country. So, Bree, let's start. I'd love to go back to the namesake of this podcast, is the Path To Lawyer Well-Being, and that name, I think, resonates with you as someone who's really a co-founder of our movement, and the report that got started by a coalition of organizations that began to really take an interesting look at this particular issue. Can you take us back to those early days of well-being?BREE:        Sure.CHRIS:            How did it come together and what have been some of the crowning achievements as we think about it?BREE:             Sure, in some ways it's a bit of an improbable story. It sounds like sort of an official group, and it really started back in 2016. There were a group of us who were each in our own right leaders of a national organization that worked in the space of lawyer impairment, lawyer well-being. We basically commandeered an empty conference room, the ABA annual meeting in San Francisco in 2016. We don't get to see each other very often and said, "Let's sit down and talk about the fact that we now have these two really significant large studies about the rates of impairment and the state of affairs of lawyer and law student's well-being in the country."We haven't had that before. I come to this movement out of the lawyers assistance program world. I was an incoming chair of the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs. I had known, just from the work that I did and the calls that I answered every day at the L-A-P, the LAP, that there was a real problem. That the profession was experiencing with depression, and substance abuse, and alcohol use disorder, et cetera. We had a couple of folks from the National Organization of Bar Counsel, the people who regulate the profession, and a couple of folks from the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers.The lawyers who often end up defending lawyers who were in the disciplinary system, and really work around in the space of ethics and professional responsibility. So, the small group of us sat down in that room, and I don't know what was in the water or the air that day, but we decided that given that we finally had the data, the hard data, to prove what we had known all along, we felt that there was a window of opportunity for us to move with that information. On that day, we decided that we were going to gulp, create a movement to bring about systemic change within the legal profession, in regards to how the health and well-being of its members are ... basically, how that's prioritized, because we had seen too much suffering.Some of us had suffering in our own lives. I had witnessed too many lawyer suicides, and we really were so motivated to do something and do something quickly. So, we had that charge moving forward. We left that room. We brought together a coalition of national organizations, and we had some pretty, ultimately, ended up with some pretty prestigious groups, such as the Conference of Chief Justices. The National Association of Bar Executives is coming on board, et cetera. We decided that we needed to do a report to the profession and say, "We now have this information.We know that there are real issues within our profession, and we need to do something about it." Hear the best minds that we could bring together who work and think about these issues every day. These are our recommendations to the profession. Chris, you were part of that. Talk a little bit about your role in all of that.CHRIS:             Yeah. I come from the side of Lawyers Professional Liability insurance, right? So, we have a vested interest in seeing lawyers practice with the duty of competence. I think one of the things that we saw as a recurring theme in some of our claims activity is the notion that impairment oftentimes is a precursor to a malpractice claim. So, based upon a really simple premise that I think that the report kind of signaled, which is to be a good lawyer, one has to be a healthy lawyer. So, that was for Alps, the company that I worked for, which is the largest direct writer of lawyers malpractice insurance in the country, and other malpractice insurance carriers.It was that kind of a natural fit that we want to see lawyers thrive. We want to see them be just wonderful advocates on behalf of their clients. Too often, when lawyers are finding themselves in tough situations, they were reverting to things that would generally take them into a downward trajectory and open themself up to a malpractice claim. So, what I think is really cool, Bree, about the way that this movement got started, it's just the diversity of the groups were at the table. You're talking about a real sense of a grassroots. So, you got chief justices, you got disciplinary council. You got, obviously, the incredible work that our lawyer assistance programs do around the country.You got the association of professional responsibility lawyers, various entities that have associations with the American bar association, what an interesting kind of group to come together. I don't really know of many other kind of legal issues that have started from such a grassroots perspective. Let's reset the timeline a little bit. This happened in August of 2016. So, we're about four years now away from this getting started, and really I'd love for you to walk us through one year later after that. We were on the cusp of releasing the report that got everything going.That's a pretty short period of time-BREE:              Yeah, it is.CHRIS:               ... to mobilize that group to publish, produce, research what ultimately came to be known as the path to lawyer well-being.Bree Buchanan:               It really is amazing in a little touch of a miracle that it all came together. You have these disparate backgrounds, and we really did everything by consensus. You've probably heard me talk about this before Chris, but I felt like it was birthing a child. It took nine months to write the report. It was a tremendous amount of work. All of us had not only our day jobs, but we're also leaders of national organization. So, we crammed all of this work in between the little pieces of open time that there might be. Really, everything that we decided ultimately, just about, was by consensus.                         Everyone was amazingly on the same page. We broke up into to writing groups based upon the stakeholder group that we were involved in. It was just really quite miraculous. The editor in chief for the report is Anne Bradford. I'm excited to announce that she's going to be our first guest on this podcast. She was the editor-in-chief and just did an amazing job. Also, the founder of the Lawyer Well-Being Week, which we just launched this past spring. So, it was pretty incredible process. We finished the report and published it in early summer of 2017. We immediately took it to the Conference of Chief Justices and asked if they would endorse it.Effectively, they passed a resolution encouraging all members of the profession to read and take heed of the report. Then, within days of that, we were able to leverage that support and take it to the ABA. We're back there at the next annual meeting, August the 27th, and there was a resolution introduced and passed by the house of delegates supporting the report. So, so much happened so quickly. It was just, in some way, it's one of those things where it felt like it was kind of meant to be.CHRIS:               Yeah, and for our listeners out there, if you haven't had a chance to see the report, the report can be found at lawyerwellbeing.net, where you can download the report. One of the things, I work a lot in the bar association world, and it was really exciting to see just how fast that we've struck a chord, I think, with folks who really want to see the lawyers, again, thrive in being successful in law practice. I know we'll get to our personal stories and I'll talk a little bit about why I got involved in the movement. But I think that it was exciting to see the report itself, which we flirted with actually naming this podcast 44 recommendations, right?Because it was a fairly comprehensive report that outlined for various stakeholders pathways to being part of the solution when it comes to lawyer well-being. We talked a lot about the challenges of our profession. What I loved about it was it was a forward looking document that said, "If you're interested in being part of the solution, here are the pathways."BREE:              Absolutely, and everybody that got involved from the beginning all the way through to when we were passing resolutions, when the president of the ABA, Hilarie Bass picked this up and said she wanted to make it a priority, I believe that it was so successful because every person who pick this up and looked at it, he or she had experienced either maybe within their own career, but certainly over the course of their career, they had known lawyers or maybe judges, or even a law student, who had experienced some of these problems. Had experienced some severe episode of depression, or perhaps of a substance use disorder.Even though we don't talk about these things in the profession, we have all bumped up against it in one way or another, over the course of our career. Really, what most tragically motivates so many people, especially if you've been in this field for a couple of decades or more, we all have stories of someone we have worked with, have known, a colleague who has taken his or her own life. Unfortunately, the tragedy, with those tragedies comes some opportunities to look at how we can do things better and it really motivates people to make some change. So, it seems like the task force and the report, it was the right thing at the right time.Since that time, what we've really worked towards is trying to build, I guess, you'd say, grassroots movement across the country. That starts with each of the States taking the report. We actually talked about sort of, I talk about being cheeky. Because you look in the report, it's actually to the Chief Justice of each State and saying to her or him, "This is ultimately your responsibility for the well-being of the legal community under you. We're asking you to pull together a task force or commissioner committee pulling together the heads of the different stakeholder groups within the profession. Take a look at this report.See if there's something that inspires you see. If there are things that need to happen in your State, what works for you. If it doesn't work for your State, then don't do it." A large number of States are picking up that charge and it really is occurring in a, again, in a really compressed timeline. It's amazing, Chris, you've been a part of a number of those States coming together to try and pull, put together their own task force.CHRIS:              Yeah, and it's been really, again, impressive to see the amount of interest at the local level. I think change generally starts at the local level. So, when you think about, we had a number of States and I'll give a shout out to a couple of them. States like Vermont, they went really early. Put together a task force, had a very supportive Chief Justice in Chief Justice Paul Reiber, and really have done a really significant work moving it forward. Virginia's another great example.BREE:         Absolutely.CHRIS:              One of our national task force original members was the Chief Justice there.BREE:              Don LemonsCHRIS:               Don Lemons in Virginia. Again, this is just an issue that resonated with him, and we do a lot of malpractice insurance in the Commonwealth. I just think that there's a yearning to be the very best lawyers that we can possibly be and to have the support of the judiciary there, and the Virginia State Bar. Utah, another great example of a State that got out in front and really started to set the tone for a movement of state task forces or state commissions to really look at the issue. Identify how well-being is occurring at the local level.Make suggestions, make recommendations, and again, strive for systemic change to our particular profession. Bree, do you have the latest numbers on how many States have engaged in some type of activity at the state level for a task force or a commission?BREE:                Sure, yeah. One cool thing you can do is on our website, lawyerwellbeing.net, if you scroll down and there's an interactive map. So, you can see the States, it's wonderful to see it visually, the States where they have implemented a commission or a task force, so that sort of thing. In some States, they haven't done a multi-stakeholder group. Maybe it is the state bar has put together a lawyer well-being committee or commission, that's doing a lot of the work around this. Universally, or almost universally, the Lawyers Assistance Programs are very involved in this work, too.So, it's taken different forms, but I would say the last time I counted, there's about 32 to 35 States now that are working in this space. So, well over a majority. So, it's exciting.CHRIS:                Yeah, and I think ultimately, what is most exciting for those of us in the space is what started out as a small group of 20 to 25 people, really kind of concerned about the issue, has really multiplied by many, many factors in terms of, there are literally people in every state and every territory around the United States that are vested in this particular issue, are working with their respective state bars, or their regulatory entities, or their Supreme Courts. That's the underpinnings of, again, a change in the environment.A change in what we're trying to promote, which is, I think, obviously, a healthier legal profession of folks who find professional satisfaction in the practice of law. As we know from the numbers, that's not always the case. We have a lot of work to do because we work in an adversarial system. We work in a stressful system, and then, you add on top of that, some of the events of 2020, and you double down on that even further. So, there just can't be, I think, a more important time for us to be launching this podcast series to talk about the issues that are affecting the current and the future of lawyer well-being.Really bring on, again, really cool people doing awesome work in this particular field, because there are great people. We will talk to the Anne Bradfords and the Patrick Krills. But we'll also go down, those are national, I think, pioneers in our space, but we'll also, I think, go down and also look for stories that's happening at the local level. We'll look at specific topics. We have all these state task force chairs that are looking for guidance in particular areas of the well-being discussion. We have modifications to the rules of professional conduct that are happening with respect to well-being. We have incredible stories happening in our law schools.BREE:       Absolutely.CHRIS:               We have developments on character and fitness parts of bar applications. We have pathways for reducing stigma in law firm culture. I what I'm excited about is the, I think, the intellectual journey that is in front of us. As you, Bree, as you think about the vision of this podcast, what gets you excited about? What's on the horizon? Because there's just so many areas that we could go as we co-host this podcast series, and what has you excited?BREE:            Well, I'm excited now after hearing the list all of those things out. I am really jazzed about the future of what we're going to do, because again, there are so many people working in this space and anybody that starts to work on the issues around lawyer impairment and lawyer well-being. If you dig just a little bit under the surface, there's a story there, and I'm excited about bringing forward some of those stories. So, on that topic, Chris, let's talk about our stories and our [crosstalk].CHRIS:              Yeah. Bree, let's take a quick break. I want to hear from our friends at ALPS. ALPS is, obviously, the entity as you will learn is where I do my day job. We've been able to leverage the marketing department here. So, let's hear from our friends at ALPS and then we'll come back and we'll pick up and talk about our own stories.BREE:              Great.CHRIS:            Okay.—Your law firm is worth protecting. And so is your time. ALPS has the quickest application for legal malpractice insurance out there. Apply, see rates and bind coverage – all in about 20 minutes. Being a lawyer is hard. Our new online app is easy. Apply now at applyonline.alpsnet.com—Welcome back. Bree, this is the part of, I think, our first podcast that I was looking forward most. Even though you and I have worked together for three to four years now,. Sometimes, we don't know the personal story about the why, right. As we think about beginnings and the beginning of this podcast, I thought it would be, I think we both thought it would be appropriate that we share our individual stories and why we bring passion, that passion, I think, originated from differing sources. So, I just thought we'd close out our first podcast with a little bit of an introduction of ourselves to our listeners.BREE:               Sure.CHRIS:                If you could start us off with your story and how you find yourself, where you are today.BREE:           Yeah. How I find myself today, it's a miracle really. It's just astounding to be in this space and be able to work on these issues because, the issues around depression, and anxiety, and substance use disorders and all of those things are things that plagued me throughout my life and my career. So, to come through that and through recovery, and on the other side, and be in a position now where I can work to make such a difference, it's just miraculous. When I started law school, I'll just give you everything. I graduated law school in 1989. So, you can do the math.But I got to law school and I was absolutely terrified. I was one of those many, I think probably many nobody ever talks about it, but feeling like an imposter, there's a thing called the imposter syndrome. Then, I was, what was I doing here? I'm not nearly as smart as all these other people who are fronting and acting so smart and covering over their own insecurities. So, by the time I got to the first end of the first semester, the first year of law school and got my grades, I ended up with a full blown panic disorder, which is miserable. Lots of anxiety every single day. So, I started doing what worked and what was certainly the go-to for anything and everything, in the legal profession, which was alcohol.I found that if I drank and drank pretty heavily, that anxiety would go away. I graduated from law school. I got the job that I had always wanted, which was to work at legal aid and was doing domestic violence litigation for about 10 years and loved it. But was absolutely terrified the whole time, particularly the first couple of years. Again, raising that issue of the imposter syndrome, being so afraid that I'm new, and every time the phone rings, that it's going to be an opposing counsel, and they're going to beat up or take advantage of this new lawyer. I also was dealing with the incredibly difficult content of the cases, the evidence, the horrific fact patterns.Later on got involved in litigation with child abuse and representing children that are in the foster care system. So, if you think about the type of facts and stories that I was living in every day, I dealt with what is now called compassion fatigue. I had no idea what that was at the time in the early 90s. Dealt with burnout, too much work, and not enough time to do it all, not enough support systems, et cetera. So, I dealt with a lot of depression. I still had some anxiety. Again, what I found worked, "worked" in the moment was to use alcohol. Over the course of my career, I really ended up taking sort of two paths.There was the public face. Then, there was the private face. So, publicly, look at my CV. It looks good. It had some jobs, leadership positions, president of this, whatever, you'd think, "Oh, she's got it together." But what was going on in my home, where no one could see, was a lot of very unhappy existence, exhaustion, not ever feeling good enough because I held myself to a standard of perfection. Ultimately, as it tends to happen, I drank more over time. We know that the prolonged sustained drinking of alcohol and heavy amounts starts to create changes in the brain.I started to become physically dependent to it, upon it. Ultimately, I lost my marriage. That wasn't enough to get me to stop drinking. I find that listening to the stories of hundreds, if not thousands of lawyers dealing with similar problems, when I was at the Lawyers Assistance Program, that was common. Lawyers will let everything else fall in their life. Then, when it gets to work, which is where it finally got to me, when it affects your career, then that's the bottom. Not too long after I lost my marriage, I lost my job. That point was my low point. I finally was ready to admit that I couldn't control my drinking anymore, and I got into recovery.Just as I tend to throw myself full on into whatever I do, I did that with recovery as well. That, for me, meant really making use of all the resources that were available. The thing that I learned early on and what I try to impart so much to people, lawyers who are suffering, is you've got to ask for help. We've got to be willing to say, "I'm suffering, I'm struggling, and I need help." I did that in spades. I called and got involved with a therapist. I saw a psychiatrist to get treatment for my depression and anxiety. I participated in a mutual support program for my drinking, worked that program.I got involved with the lawyer's assistance program and ultimately ended up getting a job there. So, fast forward, I've been in recovery now for 10 and a half years, and my life is amazing. It is beyond anything that I could have ever imagined, but I had to get to that point and that realization where I was willing to be vulnerable, ask for help, and then do the work. Ask for help and then do what I was told to do by people who are experts in the field. So, you can see, I have a real sort of homegrown passion for this. I understand really what it's like to live every day, going to work as a lawyer, and being afraid and not feeling like you're enough.Anyway, so just out of all of that, I've grown to have a real passion for making sure as few others as possible have that same experience, and will share my story when people are interested, and I think that it would be of help.CHRIS:               Well, thank you, Bree, for a couple of things. First of all, being vulnerable and telling your own personal story. I think that we will consistently encourage that to all of our guests, I think, on the podcast, because that vulnerability, I think, is something that naturally allows us to be better understanding of how you have ... The depth of personal struggles that you have endured have led you to this position of moving into leadership and helping others. That's awesome stuff. I was going to take a couple of minutes on my story. It's interesting.My story is that I take a completely different track. It's not as much developed from its core from a personal perspective as much as from an observation perspective, which is, I ... Just a history on myself, I'm a first-generation college graduate in my family. So, everything was new. So, as I looked at going to law school and understanding that I was entering a profession, that I was very much public interest oriented probably when I went into law school. Just kind of saw some things happening in law school amongst classmates and others that gave me a concern.Then, as I reflected, I'm a 2001 graduate of the University of Montana School of Law. One of the things, as I reflected on really kind of a tenure point in my legal career, was that when I queried my classmates about their professional satisfaction in the practice of law, I just, frankly, wasn't getting a response that was positive. So, when you think about the fact that folks have went down a course in terms of selection of a professional career and to not be finding professional satisfaction, and to almost actively be encouraging their kids to not think about pursuing a passion in law, it just gave me a belief that there's something systemically broken in our profession.Again, great things happening in a lot of different respects. I think our profession is one that has ... I'm always driven by seeing organizations and individuals realize their potential. If we think about the legal profession, I just kind of reflected on the notion that I don't think our legal profession is realizing its potential. Part of it has to do with the manner in which there's just a nature of unhealthiness undercurrent, beneath the hood a little bit that is pulling away from our profession, realizing its potential.I happened to be in a class of, graduating class of '75, at the University of Montana and have had to endure three suicides in our class. Again, you just sit there and go, "What's going on? Why is this happening?" It's not always related to the law. Obviously, we are human beings before we are lawyers. We always have to remember that, but I've spent a lot of my time really thinking about why are some of these things occurring? In my day job here at ALPS, I spent a lot of time working with State bar associations and doing strategic planning. I know how much this issue affects members of bar associations.So, I just felt like I'm an accidental leader in some respects in this movement, but I was drawn to it because I believe in the potential of our profession, and in working toward making it better. I felt like if I have some skills and some passion, and if I can somehow advance the conversation that this would be an appropriate venue to get involved. I happened to get introduced to the well-being movement by somebody who also, Bree, you know very well. That's our dear friend, Jim Coyle out of Colorado.BREE:           Absolutely.CHRIS:               Jim would be incredible, and Bree, we got to get Jim on to the podcast, because I think that he was single-handedly responsible for seeing something in me and seeing somehow how my perspectives would add perspective and flavor to our discussions. Jim was an original co-chair of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, after having sat and served with distinction in the office of the Disciplinary Counsel and Attorney Regulation, I guess they call it in Colorado. So, Jim introduced me and said, "You got something to give to this movement." Invited me in, and it's been a wonderful and rewarding journey thus far, and we still have a lot of work to go.BREE:            Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm hearing your story, what brought you to the movement, and that's a first for me. It really strikes me that between our two stories, it encapsulates what the issues that the National Task Force is working on. I come to this because I have a history of basically impairments, or the depression, and substance use disorder. We're really about, the national task force, is really about trying to provide, make sure that there is treatment, there are resources, there's education and information about that out there. There's providers who can talk about that.But it's also really about, so much of what we wanted to do is about the fact that so many of our colleagues are not thriving in the practice of law. What a loss, what a loss personally, and what a loss to the profession, when we're not able to work up to our full capacity. So, I think this is a great partnership, Chris.CHRIS:              Yeah, it is. I'm excited for the journey. I do think that I wanted to give a little bit of a preview of who our intended audience is, because I think that that's an important part of why we develop the podcast series in the first place. This podcast series is specifically designed for folks who are taking an active leadership role in the well-being movement, for you to hear from others around the country. To learn their stories and learn about their expertise so that you can find and connect dots into resources that you need to help us move this movement forward. There are other podcasts out there that I think focused on individual lawyers.There's, obviously, mindfulness, meditation, eating well, taking care of yourself. Those are very important attributes to taking each lawyer individually and comprising our legal profession. Our goal, I think, in this particular podcast is to think about those who are thinking about it holistically, thinking about it in terms of how they can move the needle at the local level. So, this is a podcast that's specifically developed for all those folks who have a real passion in becoming leaders in our movement, and connecting those folks through the sharing of information and education,BREE:                Right. We've always, the task force have always been about really looking at systemic change. We said from the very beginning, we're going to try and lecture individual lawyers that they need to eat their vegetables and exercise, because we knew that and an individual lawyer can meditate, and run, and eat all the broccoli in the world, but they can't change the systemic issues within the legal system that make it almost impossible for everyone to be able to really thrive. So, that's what we're trying to get at, the big picture stuff.CHRIS:                Yup, and Bree, you and I, we have a goal, right? That we want to keep these episodes to probably 20 to 45 minutes. We're targeting probably two podcasts a month as we look to continue to add new guests and new perspectives to this podcast series. So, Bree, we got to wrap this up. We got a lot of preparation to do as we nail down future speakers. We're excited, I think, by the journey that lies ahead. So, I'm wishing you well. This is Chris.BREE:              And Bree.CHRIS:                We'll sign off. Thank you for listening, and we'll be back with a podcast probably in a couple of weeks. Thank you. 

Prior to becoming CEO, Shadyac served as the chairman and president of the ALSAC Board of Directors. Shadyac joined the Board in 2000, and in addition to leading the Board, he has served as the vice chair and has been active on a number of Board committees, including Finance, Marketing, Strategic Planning, Building and Special Events. A practicing attorney for 27 years, Shadyac worked as a partner in the Washington D.C./Northern Virginia law firm, Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell, LLP. He had led the firm’s Virginia offices located in Falls Church. Shadyac has been a member of the Arlington and Fairfax County Bar Associations, the District of Columbia Bar, the American Bar Association, the Virginia State Bar and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. He earned a B.A. in political science from Marquette University and a law degree from Loyola University in Chicago. Learn more / Follow: @StJude @RickShadyac www.stjude.org @cityCURRENT www.citycurrent.com @jeremycpark

Heather Rice-Minus serves as Vice President of Government Affairs & Church Mobilization at Prison Fellowship, the nation's largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families. She is a powerful, knowledgeable voice articulating the case for restorative criminal justice solutions.As leader of Prison Fellowship's policy staff, Rice-Minus directs lobbying, research, and legislative campaigns on pivotal criminal justice issues at the state and federal levels. She also spearheads its efforts to build coalitions with advocacy groups, think tanks, faith-based organizations, and other key stakeholders in Washington, D.C.Rice-Minus has contributed to stories about criminal justice reform in outlets including Slate, CBN News, PBS' Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, and WORLD magazine. She is the co-author of Prison Fellowship's Bible study curriculum, "Outrageous Justice." A valued shaper of the criminal justice reform debate because of her wide-ranging policy expertise, Rice-Minus is also personally vested in justice reform as someone who has both been a victim of crime and walked alongside a family member during his incarceration.A native of Virginia, Rice-Minus resides in Washington, D.C., with her husband and daughter. Prior to her tenure at Prison Fellowship, she managed advocacy efforts on behalf of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. She is a graduate of George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School and Colorado State University. She is a member of the Virginia State Bar.Support the show (http://www.faithandlaw.org/donate)

This podcast is provided by Ben Glass and Steve Emmert   www.BenGlassReferrals.com - www.Virginia-Appeals.com   Ms. Cofield defends herself against the Virginia State Bar, who accuses her of taking a legal proposition from one source (a federal agency website) and disguised it to appear as if it came from a different source (a code of federal regulation).

Scott W. Taylor is a principal with the firm, SmolenPlevy. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar and is admitted to the United States Tax Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Mr. Taylor earned his Juris Doctor Cum Laude from the George Mason University School of Law […]

TOPIC: Judge Joe Brown and Attorney Damon D. Colbert Examine Megyn Kelly's Blackface and Crack AddictionABOUT ATTORNEY DAMON D. COLBERT Damon D. Colbert is a criminal trial lawyer who represents individuals charged with crimes in Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. He has been a member of the Virginia State Bar since 2001 and a member of the District of Columbia Bar since 2002. He has been a solo practitioner since January 2014. Before he started his own practice, Mr. Colbert was an assistant general counsel for a self-regulatory organization that protects investors, state and local governments, other municipal entities, and the public interest by promoting a fair and efficient municipal-securities market. Mr. Colbert was a Special Counsel and an Attorney-Advisor in the Division of Corporation Finance of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission from September 2007 to February 2013. Mr. Colbert began his career in 2001 as an associate in the corporate and securities group of Shaw Pittman LLP (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP) and ascended to senior associate before becoming a lawyer in the federal government. ____________________________________ please valeriedenisejones.com for more details. Also, join us on Fridays for THE JUDGE JOE BROWN SHOW, 4p EST. Studio Line: (929) 477-1167

Is practicing law bad for your mental health? In this episode of The Digital Edge, hosts Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway talk to Len Heath about lawyer mental wellness and why it's an issue worthy of attention in today's legal industry. They discuss what both the ABA and Virginia Bar Association are doing to address lawyer wellness and, as the president of the Virginia Bar, what wellness goals Len hopes to achieve while in office. Len Heath is a partner in the firm of Heath, Overbey, Verser & Old and currently serves as the president of the Virginia State Bar. Special thanks to our sponsors, ServeNow, Scorpion, Answer1, and Clio.

Show Notes Is that contact form on your website compliant with the ethical rules? How should you handle negative online reviews by clients? The ethics rules can be complicated and often times, lawyers just don’t know that they’re violating them. In this episode, I’m joined by Atlanta criminal defense attorney and legal ethics enthusiast, Erin Gerstenzang. We are talking about five specific areas that can be danger zones for solos and small firms when it comes to the ethics rules. What We Discuss in This Episode: Can you rely on marketing experts when they’re not familiar with the ethical rules? How can you use Contact Forms on your website appropriately, especially if your marketing company is tracking submitted data  What is the level of competency the ABA requires regarding use of technology  When it comes to negative online reviews, how and when should you respond? How can you best use positive online reviews? What can lawyers learn from Disney when it comes to customer service Can you talk freely about your client’s case with other lawyers, such as on listserves?  Why so many of the current ethical rules need to be rewritten to reflect the current reality of the practice of law When it comes to cybersecurity, are lawyers doing what they need to do to make sure email communications are secure? What can you start doing today to create more secure passwords Is wifi really secure? Resources Hunter v. Virginia State Bar  1Password LastPass LifeLock Virtual Private Network (VPN) Lawyerist Clio MyCase Rocket Matter Contact Information Social media: @ehglawfirm Website: www.ehglawfirm.com Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday. If you enjoyed this episode, please help me get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, and Google Play, and be sure to share this podcast with a friend. Be sure to connect with me and reach out with any questions/concerns: Facebook LinkedIn Website Email me at megan[at]zaviehlaw[dot]com This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matters, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

Because lawyers are constantly handling confidential or sensitive information, cybersecurity and the careful handling of this information are an important part of running a successful firm. In this episode of Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek talk to Jim McCauley about some of the ethical issues lawyers face and how the Virginia Bar is helping to educate lawyers on how to handle these issues. Some of these issues include information security and common scams used to hack into confidential data. James McCauley is the Ethics Counsel for the Virginia State Bar. He teaches professional responsibility at the T.C. Williams School of Law and served on the ABA’s Standing Committee on Legal Ethics and Professionalism from 2008-2011. Special thanks to our sponsors, PInow and SiteLock.

In 1975, the Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar case made antitrust history by deciding lawyers are subject to antitrust laws. Lewis Goldfarb, a lawyer working a day job at the time, filed a class action in federal court challenging bar rules about fee levels and won. In this Special Report, host Stephen Calkins talks to Lewis Goldfarb about the Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar case, how it happened, and why it is significant. They also discuss the circumstances that led a lawyer to bring a class action against other lawyers and how people reacted to the case. Stephen Calkins is Professor of Law at the Wayne State University, where he teaches courses and seminars in antitrust and trade regulation, consumer law, and torts. Lewis Goldfarb is currently an attorney with McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP.

In this episode we discus the four major themes that permeated the day at the 2017 Virginia State Bar Tech Show and we are going to talk through each one. We will talk though things like case management systems, client portals, document automation and paperless law offices. All of which you can implement for a relatively small amount of money in your law office.

Cyber security experts Sherri Davidoff and Sharon Nelson spoke in a presentation titled “Passing Your IT Security Audit” at ABA TECHSHOW 2016. Before their presentation, they stop by to discuss the topic with Legal Talk Network producer Laurence Colletti. Tune in to learn why more and more clients are demanding IT security audits from their legal service providers and how you can prepare your law firm. Sharon opens the conversation by explaining how the internet has changed the way companies perceive data security. The discussion then shifts to tips and best practices that you can implement within your firm to build an effective security program. The conversation ends with a focus on cyber insurance and the nine building blocks of an effective security program. Sharon D. Nelson is president of the digital forensics, information technology, and information security firm Sensei Enterprises. In addition to serving on numerous noted legal organizations including the ABA’s Cybersecurity Legal Task Force and the ABA’s Standing Committee on Technology and Information Systems, she was president of the Virginia State Bar. Sherri Davidoff is a nationally-recognized cyber security expert who is a founder and Senior Security Consultant at LMG Security. She has over a decade of experience as an information security professional, specializing in penetration testing, forensics, social engineering testing, and web application assessments. Davidoff is an instructor at Black Hat and co-author of “Network Forensics: Tracking Hackers Through Cyberspace”. She is a GIAC-certified forensic examiner (GCFA) and penetration tester (GPEN), and holds her degree in computer science and electrical engineering from MIT.

After a long a long absence away from the mic, The Great Education Struggle is back. Join Virgina attorney and president of Deconstructing the Collision, Kevin R. Novak as we discuss framers presupposition, the proper jurisdiction of the civil government, and the abolition of the civil government education system. Kevin R. Novak is a homeschool administrator, tutor and President of Deconstructing the Coliseum, LLC. Separate from Deconstructing the Coliseum, Mr. Novak is – as a member of the Virginia State Bar – a Virginia-licensed attorney who focuses on Education Law, including defending homeschoolers. Mr. Novak believes in defending homeschoolers because it is an offensive approach to advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Novak is a sole practitioner and is therefore, able to give his clients individualized attention. Prior to lawyering, Mr. Novak spent over seven years in the insurance business and many years in Christ-centered basketball ministry and inner-city homeless outreach. He hosts Deconstructing the Coliseum Radio show, which discourages the man-centered (humanistic) religion that arbitrarily excludes Jesus Christ from law and education. Deconstructing the Coliseum website: www.deconstructingthecoliseum.comEmail: kevin@deconstructingthecoliseum.comTwitter:@DtColiseum Kevin's weekday Briefs, are aired on WVGV (West Virginia) and WAMV (Virginia).

Can the public school system be reformed or fundamentally transformed; should it be? What right does the government have in operating a school system? Should the public school system be abolished? Join our conversation with Education Attorney, Kevin Novak-President of Deconstructing the Coliseum, LLC. as we discuss the legal right of the civil government operating a school system and the proper sphere of control between the family and government. Kevin R. Novak is a homeschool administrator, tutor and President of Deconstructing the Coliseum, LLC. Separate from Deconstructing the Coliseum, Mr. Novak is – as a member of the Virginia State Bar – a Virginia-licensed attorney who focuses on Education Law, including defending homeschoolers. Mr. Novak believes in defending homeschoolers because it is an offensive approach to advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Novak is a sole practitioner and is therefore able to give his clients individualized attention. Prior to lawyering, Mr. Novak spent over seven years in the insurance business and many years in Christ-centered basketball ministry and inner-city homeless outreach. He hosts Deconstructing the Coliseum Radio show, which discourages the man-centered (humanistic) religion that arbitrarily excludes Jesus Christ from law and education. Follow Kevin at: Deconstructing the Coliseum website: www.deconstructingthecoliseum.comEmail: kevin@deconstructingthecoliseum.comGodtubeTwitter: KRN@DtColiseum Kevin's weekday Briefs, are aired on WVGV (West Virginia) and WAMV (Virginia).  

Sharon Nelson and John Simek have been busy as the President and Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc., a successful digital forensics, information technology and information security company. Their schedules just got even busier as Sharon was elected President of the Virginia State Bar. When they were looking for a rewarding, hands-on way to help others, they found a natural fit with Fairfax CASA in Fairfax, VA.  Listen to Sharon and John share their experiences as CASA volunteers, learn tips on working with the legal system and keeping things confidential using online technology tools, and hear their thoughts on using Skype as a tool to meet with CASA youth.

What are "Digital Assets?" Have you granted someone access to them if something were to happen to you? Sharon Nelson is the President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc, a digital forensics, information security and information technology firm in Fairfax, Virginia.    Ms. Nelson is the author of the noted electronic evidence blog, Ride the Lightning and is a co-host of the ABA podcast series called “The Digital Edge: Lawyers and Technology” and the Legal Talk Network podcast “Digital Detectives.” She is a frequent author (ten books and hundreds of articles) and speaker on legal technology, information security and electronic evidence topics. She is the President-elect of the Virginia State Bar and will become its President in June of 2013. Join Jim and Sharon in a rebroadcast of one of BTR's featured programs and our most listened to show this year.

What are "Digital Assets?" Have you granted someone access to them if something were to happen to you? Sharon Nelson is the President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc, a digital forensics, information security and information technology firm in Fairfax, Virginia.    Ms. Nelson is the author of the noted electronic evidence blog, Ride the Lightning and is a co-host of the ABA podcast series called “The Digital Edge: Lawyers and Technology” and the Legal Talk Network podcast “Digital Detectives.” She is a frequent author (ten books and hundreds of articles) and speaker on legal technology, information security and electronic evidence topics. She is the President-elect of the Virginia State Bar and will become its President in June of 2013.

Leonard A. Bennett. Born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1965. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia: B.S. 1989, Business Administration (Finance); George Mason University School of Law and Economics, Arlington, Virginia: J.D. 1994. International Committee on Discussion and Debate (ICDD), United States delegation to Russia, 1994. Admitted to Virginia State Bar 1994. Admitted to North Carolina State Bar 1995. Overman, Cowardin & Martin, P.C. 1994-1998, Newport News, Virginia. Leonard A. Bennett, P.C. 1998-present, Newport News, Virginia. Admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1994. Admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2002. Admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, 2003. Admitted to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 2003. Admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States, 2005. Admitted to multiple other courts pro hac vice. Member National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA), Virginia State Bar Association, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Newport News Bar Association. Speaker, Continuing Legal Education Seminar, Landlord-Tenant Law 2000, Norfolk, Virginia; Speaker, Virginia CLE Legal Aid Hotline 2002, Hampton, Virginia; Speaker and Panelist, NACA Fair Credit Reporting Act National Conference 2003, Orlando, Florida; Speaker, Autofraud CLE, Norfolk Naval Base, Navy Legal Services, January 2004; Speaker, Consumer Law, Naval Justice School, Newport, Rhode Island, March 2004; Speaker, Virginia CLE, Consumer Protection Law, April 2004; Member Steering Committee, Speaker and Panelist, NACA Fair Credit Reporting Act National Conference 2004; Identity Theft CLE, Oklahoma State Bar, May 2004; Speaker, Consumer Law Section, Michigan State Bar, October 2004; Identity Theft CLE, Virginia State Bar, November 2004; Speaker and Panelist, "Changing Faces of Consumer Law" CLE Seminar, American Bar Association, December 2004; Speaker, Consumer Law, Naval Justice School, Newport, Rhode Island, March 2005. Presented NACA's Congressional Testimony before House Committee on Financial Services, "Fair Credit Reporting Act: How it Functions for Consumers and the Economy", June 4, 2003, Proposed Amendments to the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, http://financialservices.house.gov/media/pdf/060403lb.pdf. Practice is limited to the representation of consumers. Litigated cases throughout the country and am currently involved in cases throughout Virginia and in California, North Carolina, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Arizona. Litigated multiple class actions in South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and California. www.myfaircredit.com

Mr. Justice Marshall Rothstein made history this week by becoming the first nominee to the Supreme Court of Canada to appear before an all-party parliamentary committee to answer questions at a public hearing. Supporters of this change in process tout it as a move towards openness and accountability. But critics warn that it runs the risk of politicizing the nation's highest court. Who should have the final say on the constitutionality of legislation, Parliament or the courts? How relevant is the American experience of appointing Supreme Court judges? Speaker: Cameron D. MacLennan, B.Sc, LLB, LLM Mr. MacLennan is a partner in the firm Huckvale, Wilde, Harvie, MacLennan, LLP, Lawyers and Mediators, Lethbridge. He has been an active member of the Law Society of Alberta since 1985, and the Virginia State Bar in the United States since 1992.

Mr. Justice Marshall Rothstein made history this week by becoming the first nominee to the Supreme Court of Canada to appear before an all-party parliamentary committee to answer questions at a public hearing. Supporters of this change in process tout it as a move towards openness and accountability. But critics warn that it runs the risk of politicizing the nation's highest court. Who should have the final say on the constitutionality of legislation, Parliament or the courts? How relevant is the American experience of appointing Supreme Court judges? Speaker: Cameron D. MacLennan, B.Sc, LLB, LLM Mr. MacLennan is a partner in the firm Huckvale, Wilde, Harvie, MacLennan, LLP, Lawyers and Mediators, Lethbridge. He has been an active member of the Law Society of Alberta since 1985, and the Virginia State Bar in the United States since 1992.

Regardless of practice area, attorneys handle and store a volume of confidential information that can make them attractive targets for hackers. Small firms can be particularly at risk because they are less likely to employ fulltime IT staff. Cybersecurity can feel like an overwhelming topic, but there are actionable steps that a small firm can implement to build data protection and prevent security breaches.In today's episode, hosts Christine Bilbrey and Jamie Moore welcome technology experts, Sharon Nelson and John Simek, of Sensei Enterprises, Inc., to discuss cybersecurity dangers and legal technology software. Sensei Enterprises, Inc. is a nationally known digital forensics managed information technology provider, and managed cybersecurity firm in Fairfax, Virginia.Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., is the President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc. and is the author of the noted electronic evidence blog, Ride the Lightning and is a co-host of the Legal Talk Network podcast series called “The Digital Edge: Lawyers and Technology” as well as “Digital Detectives.” She is a frequent author and speaker on legal technology, cybersecurity, and electronic evidence topics. She was the President of the Virginia State Bar from June 2013 – June 2014 and a past President of the Fairfax Law Foundation, and the Fairfax Bar Association.John Simek is the Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc. and has a national reputation as a digital forensics technologist and has testified as an expert witness throughout the United States. He holds a degree in engineering from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and an MBA in finance from Saint Joseph's University. John holds the prestigious Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification, and the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification in addition to multiple other technical certifications. He is a past chair of the ABA TECHSHOW and a co-host of the Legal Talk Network Podcast Digital Detectives. He is a frequent author and speaker on legal technology, cybersecurity, and electronic evidence topics.This podcast has been approved by The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Department for 1.0 hour of General CLE credit including 1.0 hour of Technology CLE credit and 0.5 hour of Ethics CLE credit. Course # 7140.  REFERENCED RESOURCES: Sensei Enterprises, Inc.  About Us Articles Podcast – Digital DetectivesPodcast – The Digital EdgeServices Contact Sensei Enterprises, Inc.: 703-359-0700The 2020 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide (eBook) CISA – Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security AgencyLegalFuel: The Practice Resource Center of The Florida Bar