February 2020

Capital Connection is published monthly for members of the Capital Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators to provide information for the education and benefit of legal administrators, law office managers, managing partners of law firms, and other law related associations. Capital Connection is not engaged in rendering legal, financial, or tax counseling or advice through this publication.  The contents of all articles, letters, and advertisements published in Capital Connection should not be considered endorsements by the Capital Chapter of ALA nor the opinion expressed therein of any products advertised.   Contributing authors are requested and expected to disclose financial and/or professional interests and affiliations that may influence their writing position. Articles and materials accepted for publication are subject to editing by the editorial team and become property of the Capital Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators. Links to Capital Connection may not be shared without permission from the Chapter. 
Editors: Cindy Conover;  Beth Fowler
​Contributing Editors: Cheryl Flynn; Kate Fettrow; Joni Watke Stacy; Rhodes Perry
Newsletter Designed By: Jessica Davis


In this issue:

In Memoriam

The Capital Chapter extends our sincere coldolences to longtime member and former Capital Chapter Executive Committee member Julie Tomey, whose husband Dan passed away on February 15, 2020.  Our thoughts are with Julie and her family during this difficult time.

Celebrating Black History Month

Cheryl Flynn
Director of Human Resources, Wiley Rein LLP
Chair, Diversity & Inclusion Committee

As you may know, February is Black History Month.  It is a time to remember and to celebrate the achievements of African Americans and their significant contributions in US history. 
 
Black History Month also gives us an opportunity to highlight the victories of our African American heroes and to continue, in our own ways, the work that they started.  Harriet Tubman, a famous abolitionist and political activist, once said, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”  Ms. Tubman was right.  I believe that each and every single one of us has the power to influence change and to continue to make this world a better place for us and for future generations. 
 
Black History Month is also a good time to examine closer what diversity and inclusion (D&I) means to us -- what can we do to continue to promote diversity and inclusion at work and in our lives?  Being a member of the ALA Capital Chapter (the Chapter) and participating in the D&I Committee is one way to promote diversity and inclusion. Continuously expanding our knowledge and education is another; which is why it is beneficial to take advantage of educational resources provided by the Chapter. 
 
Recently, the Chapter held an educational session promoting D&I and invited Anita Singleton-Prather from Beaufort County, South Carolina.  Ms. Singleton-Prather spoke of The Gullah Community, of which she is a member.  She explained that Gullah or Geechee referred to communities of African-Americans who are descendants of enslaved Africans residing on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia.  The Gullah Community has a unique culture that is directly linked to West Africa.  Through her unique approach, incorporating role-playing and boisterous story-telling, Ms. Singleton-Prather discussed the migration of people from Africa to become members of The Gullah Community.  She told about the lives of different African queens and kings and how they influenced the Gullah culture.  She also explained that the Memorial Day holiday was originally called “The Decoration Day,” a day when the graves of the fallen African-American soldiers from the Civil War were decorated to honor them.  She vividly described the parades and festivities that would last for days to celebrate The Decoration Day.  Ms. Singleton-Prather’s vigorous manner and passionate love of the Gullah Community could be described as a break from any conservative approach to story-telling, and it gave attendees a better understanding a different culture with whom we are not familiar and encouraged appreciation of the influence of that culture in today’s society.
 
Through the expansion of knowledge, we can be more inclusive of different cultures, enlarge our circle of familiarity and accept without judgment.  This month is a good month to celebrate our differences and to remember that we are connected in our goal to promote diversity

Recap: Speaking with Persuasive Power & Professional Presence 

Kate Fettrow
Human Resources Generalist, Wiley Rein LLP
Chair, Next Generation Leaders Community

​According to Tracy Butz, renowned speaker, author, and influencer, almost 75% of the population suffers from “glossophobia,” or the fear of public speaking.  As someone who would prefer to hide in a corner in the back of a room rather than give a speech, I can relate to this.  However, after Tracy’s presentation on January 29th, I walked away with some tips and tricks that will make my next public speaking appearance a little easier to manage.  What’s more is that Tracy’s lecture was applicable not only to speaking in front of large audiences but also to one-on-one conversations where your professional presence and ability to persuade are key.

One of the most interesting aspects of her lecture was the notion that we as humans are attuned to remember things in “groups of 3.”  If you get a few moments, give this some thought, and you’ll realize that we are already hardwired to absorb information this way – a stoplight (red, yellow, green); recording dates (month, day, year); timing (last year, this year, next year).  This “Rule of Three” works because the information comes across as persuasive, rhythmical, and memorable.  When your supervisor passes by in the hall and asks, “how is that project coming along?” structuring your response within a rule of three context will help you sound more professional than if you simply responded, “well, thanks.”  

Tracy also provided insight into how to engage your audience, whether it is one person or many.  As a speaker, it’s important to remember that adults typically will stay engaged with one “format” for no longer than 8 minutes.  Therefore, if you are giving a presentation and covering substantive content, as you approach that 8-minute mark, it’s a good idea to deploy one of her recommended tools to “reengage.”  This can be as simple as asking the audience a question, taking a poll, or showing a video clip.  If you are presenting to a large group, rather than an internal meeting setting, it is helpful to incorporate engaging exercises. Many of us want the opportunity to take what we’ve learned back to the office and practice.  
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After giving us these incredibly helpful practice tools to put in our toolkits for our next speech or important meeting with the boss, Tracy reminded us that none of those tools will be effective if we are not prepared.  So how do you calm those pre-speech or presentation jitters? Tracy's advice is to practice, practice, practice.  When you practice, you are prepared.  When you are prepared, you are polished and poised.  When you are polished and poised, you are primed to persuade and engage your audience.  So whether you are presenting to one or many, these tips and tricks can be used to build confidence and make your presentation more effective.  Finally, above all else, be your authentic self.

Listening To, Understanding and Accepting Our Transgender Community

Joni Watke Stacy
Owner, Sena, Polk & Stacy, LLP​
President, PFLAG Omaha

My husband and I live in Nebraska, and thought we had three boys until our second child was about 18-24 months old and began rifling through kitchen drawers for towels to fashion into long hair or to pin as a skirt. Everything about this child was feminine—from the movies and cartoons she watched to the toys she played with. We say she was a walking Broadway show—all pink, all Barbie, all musical, all the time. We knew virtually nothing about gender identity, so we assumed that if there was an international award for raising the gayest boy on the planet, we had the nomination locked up.

Over the next couple of years, as she began to articulate herself more and more, she started to talk not just about preferring “girl things” to “boy things,” but about how she had a “girl brain” and a “girl heart and soul.” She was adamant that she was really a girl on the inside. By the time she was about 4 years old, we were concerned about what all these declarations meant for our child, but had no idea where to turn. We were just quietly managing our day-to-day lives and, I suppose, secretly hoping she would “outgrow” it.

One Friday night in April 2007, I found myself watching an episode of ABC’s 20/20. Barbara Walters was interviewing three families with transgender children. One child in particular mesmerized me. Her name is Jazz Jennings. Barbara interviewed Jazz and her family. It was as if they were videotaping our family. Our child was just like Jazz. I remember sobbing through the entire episode while experiencing a whole spectrum of emotions, from an immense sense of relief that we weren’t the only family on the planet on this journey, to an intense despair that this experience was, in fact, very real and seemingly very permanent. The family sharing their story gave our family context and validation to our experiences, and helped open us up to find better ways to support our child. It also gave us some desperately needed hope that things would be OK.

At one point, I remember listening as best I could as our child described her “girlness,” and suddenly it clicked for me. The connection I made in that moment was to my dad. My dad was born in 1939 and was dyslexic. It was something he never really wanted his kids to know about, and he didn’t tell us until I was in my late 20s. When he finally shared his story, he talked about trying to tell his teachers in early elementary school that he didn’t see the letters and the words the way they told him he should. They summarily dismissed him. The adults in his life told him that he was lazy and stupid, and that if he tried harder he’d do better. He internalized that shame as a child and carried it with him throughout his life. As a society, we didn’t know anything about learning differences back then. Now we understand them better, and no longer tell kids that their learning difference makes them “less than,” or that it’s their fault and something they can change. As I looked into Kate’s eyes, I realized that I couldn’t tell exactly what she was thinking and feeling, and I couldn’t know what was in her heart and soul. In the same way that we dismissed children’s learning differences, the world was telling my child that she couldn’t know what was true for her. Today, I watch her steadfastly blazing a trail in his honor.

As it turned out, Jazz and our trans daughter, Kate, were born only four days (yet more than 1,500 miles) apart. They actually had the opportunity to meet one another at a conference last year.

When Kate and Jazz transitioned, very few people even knew what the term transgender meant, and they knew even less about the journey of a transgender person (especially youth). Fast-forward a few years and now Jazz Jennings and her family have their own reality TV show, I Am Jazz, which airs on TLC.  There are many transgender youth across our country. We don’t have any official demographics measured, but based on anecdotal experience, there are thousands.

As a mother of three teenage children, I can’t thank the Jennings family enough for their willingness to share their journey so publicly. I realize that the publicity and the show have undoubtedly had an impact on their family and on Jazz. However, Jazz being a publicly visible trans youth has made a huge impact in the lives of many transgender youth and their families across the country. Almost as important, she has made a difference in the public’s perception of the appearance, experiences, and struggles of trans youth. There are more than a few people who have publicly criticized the Jennings family for publicizing their family story. My first response to the criticism is that it’s no one else’s business. They are a happy, loving family, and they should be free to make their own decisions. My second response is a plea for folks to think about the lives they’ve impacted with their decision to be public. I know firsthand that it made a positive impact on our family to hear their story. I’ve also heard from countless people that although they considered themselves an ally to the transgender community, they watch the show to learn about Jazz’s experiences, thoughts, and feelings about things. Someone has to be first to share their story if we ever expect to learn anything new. So my hat is off to the Jennings family for the contribution they’ve collectively made to educate America about trans youth.

My hope for all trans youth is that we all take a moment to simply listen to them. They have so much to teach us if we would only take the time to listen to them with open hearts. 

JONI WATKE STACY, Esq., is the president of PFLAG Omaha and on PFLAG's national board of directors. She lives in Nebraska with her family. Find out more about PFLAG here.

Build Belonging at Work Through Diversity Storytelling

Rhodes Perry
Founder & CEO, ​Rhodes Perry Consulting, LLC

​When talking about our individual roles in building belonging at work, Jennifer Brown eloquently states in her best-selling book, Inclusion: Diversity, The New Workplace & The Will to Change that, "We all have a voice in the conversation, and the goal is not to compare relative oppression but, rather, to talk about our common commitment to inclusion for all." 

When it comes to championing our workplace’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments, our voice is our diversity story. Getting clear on our story and sharing it with others will inspire our colleagues to realize their own connection to this work, and when they share their own stories, it helps all of us build healthier workplace cultures.

Sharing My Story
In the preface of my best-selling book, Belonging At Work, I wrote about my experiences working at the White House as a transgender man. During that time, I covered important aspects about my gender history because of the fear that I might be fired simply because of who I am. At the time the White House did not offer gender identity workplace protections, leaving transgender folks like me vulnerable to harassment and discrimination. 

I vowed to use this particular workplace experience as motivation to transform the culture of work. Since then, I’ve been on a mission to cultivate belonging at work with the goal of helping more people feel confident that they can show up authentically at work, share their genius with their colleagues, and have a sense of purpose knowing that their contributions matter. Since sharing a piece of my own story, I am so grateful that it has inspired so many others to join the #BelongingMovement, taking the bold step of sharing their own stories.

Share Your Story
So how can you share your story with others to build instant connection and inspire your colleagues to believe that they too can feel a sense of belonging, purpose and meaning at work? The following approaches offer a simple foundation to begin excavating, refining and gaining the necessary confidence to share your story with the world.

  • Your Origin Story. Identify your origin story by answering the following question: How did you begin learning about your organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion workplace commitments, and what was the impact? For example, you can state, “I began my learning about our organization’s DEI commitments by showing up and listening - first and foremost – at a monthly disability employee resource group meeting. It really opened my eyes to some of our company’s systemic accessibility barriers.”

  • Why It Matters. Be prepared to respond to staff who ask, “Why does this matter?” You can say something like, “Okay, let’s take the opportunity to review the DEI business case one more time…” and then share data related to increased productivity, innovation, team morale, and profit. You can state something like, “hiring a person with a visible or invisible disability is a great addition to our team - a person with a disability will have a valuable perspective in identifying services and product gaps that fail to meet the specific needs of people with disabilities. If we can bridge these gaps, our company wins the loyalty of people with disabilities – a group that has an annual purchasing power of $490 billion.”

  • Share with Confidence. In order to gain confidence with sharing our diversity stories, we must practice, practice, practice. One suggestion I encourage folks to consider is to first practice with a family member or close friend outside of work. Once you feel that you have refined your story, consider identifying a fellow DEI champion at work, and sharing your story. Ask them for their honest feedback so that you can make further improvements. When sharing your own diversity story, offer humility, active listening, peer accountability, and support your story with supporting research.

Now that you have refined your diversity story, you are encouraged to share it with a trusted friend or colleague. If you're feeling shy or stumped, think about a time at work when you or another trusted colleague was struggling with feeling a sense of belonging on the job. Draw upon this experience to get started with excavating your diversity story. Would you feel comfortable taking a risk and sharing this story with a colleague you just met? Why or why not? What would it take to get you to a point where you can share your story with confidence?​

This article has been reprinted with permission from the author

February 2020 Diversity Observances

February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada. Since 1976, the month has been designated to remember the contributions of people of the African diaspora.
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Click here to view the full list of February 2020 observances

Administrative Committees

Communications and Media Relations
As members of the Newsletter and Media Relations Committee, Chapter members participate in producing the award-winning Capital Connection. Members gather to brainstorm new ideas for editorial themes for upcoming editions. The newsletter reports Chapter business activities such as Section and Committee news and provides information about upcoming educational and other events. It also includes articles of interest to members and other legal management personnel, collected, authored and/or edited by members of the committee. This committee also works with other legal associations and the media to ensure that ALA and the Capital Chapter are represented in the legal industry. The Newsletter Committee welcomes new members.

Contact: Cindy Conover, Cindy.Conover@Shearman.com

Diversity & Inclusion
The Capital Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators is a professional organization comprised of administrative managers from private, corporate and government legal organizations in the Washington DC, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland areas.  ALACC embraces and encourages diversity within the legal profession. We value diversity and those initiatives that promote it and look to partner with affiliated professional legal organizations to advance diversity. We not only strive to raise awareness, but to increase our sensitivity in the area of diversity and more closely reflect the diversity of our community at large. Having a more inclusive and diverse legal community will improve the quality of our organizations workforce and respond to our client’s requirements for diversity. As a committee we are very interested in your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about achieving greater diversity in our Chapter, our profession, and in our firms. 

Contact: Cheryl Flynn (Chair), cflynn@wileyrein.com; Beth Fowler (Co-Chair), bfowler@robbinsrussell.com
Salary Survey
The Salary Survey Committee is responsible for maintaining, updating and running the local survey each year. They review the positions listed, the job descriptions, and the benefits questions to ensure that the survey remains relevant to the end users. The members of the committee also promote the survey within the Chapter to stimulate participation. 

Contact: Sheri Shifflett (Chair), Cheryl.Shifflett@saul.com; Valerie Williamson, valerie.williamson@bassberry.com;






Member Experience
The Member Experience Committee will establish a welcoming environment for new members to be integrated into the Chapter through a formal Ambassador Program. Ambassadors will provide support and guidance to new members through their first 12 months of membership, ensuring new members realize benefits of membership and become ambassadors of the Chapter. 

Contact: Dot Mooney (Co-Chair), dmooney@powerslaw.com​; LaVerne Anenia (Co-Chair), LaVerne.Anenia@dbr.com


Educational Communities

Branch Office Administrators
The Branch Office Adminsitrators Community focuses on a broad range of topics of interest to local adminisraotrs who must coordinate with other officees of their firms. The Community's monthly luncheon meetings, held on the second Tuesday of the month, provide a venue for members to discuss issues of common interest, share ideas, and network. Members are encouraged to raise topics and to recommend speakers.

Contact: Barbara Kernus (Chair), bkernus@gsblaw.com; Joanna Hurt (Co-Chair), jhurt@mccarter.com
Listserv: branch@lists.alacapchap.org
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Office Operations Management
The members of the Office Operations Management Community represent a cross section of legal expertise from functional administrators to branch office managers. The Office Operations Management Section (OOMS) meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month to discuss operations related hot topics. We welcome all members to join the section, especially if you are an administrator in a small law office and you have to wear multiple hats. We can provide you with many best practices to run your operation smoothly.

Contact:  Kenia Garner (Chair), kenia.garner@pillsburylaw.com; Jacqueline Keener (Co-Chair), jackie.keener@threecrownsllp.com
Listserv: ooms@lists.alacapchap.org
Intellectual Property (IP)
The Intellectual Property (IP) Community focuses on all aspects of legal management as it pertains to the IP Administrator. The group discusses the complexity of the ever-changing IP environment and how to effectively create and apply IP specific, non-legal procedures in both boutique and general practice firms. 

Contact: Matthew Cichocki (Chair), mcichocki@cooley.com; Judi Heston (Co-Chair), jheston@nixonpeabody.com
Listserv: ipadmin@lists.alacapchap.org



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Small Firm Administrators
The purpose of the Small Firm Administrators Community is to provide Administrators of law firms with 35 or fewer attorneys educational opportunities through vendor presentations, idea sharing and open forums specifically designed for those who work in smaller firms. The Small Firm Management Community meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at host law firms.

Contact: Valerie Williamson (Chair), valerie.williamson@bassberry.com; Tabatha Harris (Co-Chair), tsh@dwgp.com  
Listserv: smallfirm@lists.alacapchap.org


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Human Resources
The Human Resources Community operates as a venue for educational information on global human resources issues.  While the Community is mostly comprised of HR professionals, any member is invited to participate in the meetings which typically take place on the second or third Wednesday of each month.  The meetings feature industry speakers or roundtable discussions on topics such as recruiting, benefits, strategic planning, performance management, career pathing, retention and other matters of interest.

Contact: Tiffany Montgomery (Chair), tmontgomery@velaw.com; Cindy Schuler (Co-Chair), cindy.schuler@hugheshubbard.com

Listserv: hr@lists.alacapchap.org

Next Generation Leaders
The mission of the Next Generation Leaders Community is to support our next generation of leaders and close the gap faced by our association and the legal industry as a whole by providing a community for Millennial legal managers and new managers in the legal field with a focus on mentoring, education, and networking. To accomplish this goal, the section hosts monthly meetings, pop-up events, and educational sessions, and provides 2-way mentoring opportunities. 

Contact: Kate Fettrow (Chair), kfettrow@wileyrein.com; Amy Walkowiak (Co-Chair), awalkowiak@dcwhitecollar.com 
Listserv: nextgen@lists.alacapchap.org