March 2021

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: Jackie Johnson; Camden Miller; Office Movers Express; Sarah E. Fortt; Denise Verdesoto; Angela Tyson; Jessica L. Mazzeo; James L. Cornell
Newsletter Designed By: Jessica Davis


In this issue:

President's Message: Our Last Conversation Over Coffee - This Isn’t Goodbye, It’s See You Later!

“The better way to define quality experience is ‘Lessons Learned.’”  
- Pearl Zhu
It is hard to believe we are officially here.  Is this really my last President’s message??  WHAT A YEAR!  As we started this journey together almost a year ago with “Hindsight is 20/20, and so is vision through the right lens,” never would I have imagined it would have been quite the ride and quite the year it was.  We needed vision to get through the past year and hindsight to see those lessons we were meant to learn.  

I have so many folks to thank for contributing to such a wonderful year and the many lessons learned starting with two immediate past presidents - Jenna and James.  The Little Fires Everywhere crew: one of my favorite moments of this past year was collaborating with this group and being so raw and open. Thank you Cameron, Catalina, Melody, Tabatha, Tiffany and Valerie.  Learning what “work-life blend” meant from the next generation leaders - Amy, Ana and Taylor.  My silver bullet conversation with the “Dead President’s Club”: Steve, Beth, Richard, Elaine, Barbara and Dot - my heroes and our Chapter’s deep roots. Truth be told - my support system: Adele, Anjanette, Blythe, Julie, Linda and Shera. Our rock star BPs – Matt, Elizabeth, Courtney, Marvin, Darragh, Mindy and Darlene. The words of 2021 - grateful, persevere (perseverance) and resilience. And last, but certainly not least, thank you to Paula – this was definitely a message I wish I hadn’t had to write.  

I have done more research on trees and roots than one person should ever need to do without a desire to get a degree in such things.  I have learned new theories like “Black Swan Theory” and googled things I wish I had not from my work device – Ha!  I have been able to make some amazing friendships and pave stronger business relationships throughout this past year through the writing of these messages.  I have also had fun being able to use the creative side of my brain.  Thank you to each and every one of you who leaned in with me and just went with it, and to everyone who read the novels of my messages thank you for your time and your feedback.  I am grateful to have had this time to walk alongside each of you and learn from you all.  I hope they have provided some value to you as well.
Oh the Lessons We Have Learned

* Be intentional about your time * Have a good support system * Give yourself and others grace * Don’t miss the lesson * Find the silver-lining; the “aha” moment * Be the change you wish to see in the world – be open to ALL perspectives * Be curious and open to growing – embrace possibility * Show respect and suspend judgment – be kind to everyone * Find common ground – see the good in people * Be authentic and allow others to be authentic – smile * Embrace work-life blend * Embrace opportunities to contribute * Embrace opportunities to better yourself * Embrace networking * Embrace opportunities to better others and be the change you want to see in the world * Roots absorb water and nutrients:  Be quiet when you need, but be the loudest when you need as well * Roots anchor the tree to the ground and support it:  Stay grounded; stay humble * Roots store food and nutrients:  Remain grateful * Roots facilitate vegetative reproduction and competition with other plants:  They can work behind the scenes or lead the pack * We must be patient and take the proper time to become who we are meant to be * We must be strong and weather the storm * We must adapt and regenerate * We must be honest and self-reflective * We must have a solid foundation *The truth is…the truth is rarely told * The truth is…life is tough…but so are you * The truth is…I could not do my job without ALA * The truth is…we weren’t made to do life alone * Check your source * A city divided will not stand * Be encouraged * Do not take things for granted * Press pause and breathe * PIVOT * Be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and understand there is a learning curve * Create connection * Do not stop there – continue to adapt * Refine your focus * Reincorporate self-care * Redefine your words and be open to new opportunities to redefine yourself * Reverse negativity in your daily life * Reimagine the possibilities * Reinforce your strengths * Do not take life for granted, tomorrow is not promised * Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today *

As we get ready to pass the gavel (or perhaps throw it), I asked the current Board and ALACC Staff to share some of their lessons learned from the past year on the Board, as well as advice for the incoming Board members.  I hope you all will join us for the Change of Gavel on April 8. To say we had an incredible Board is an understatement, I would say we are more accurately titled “Family and Friends.”  Having to buckle down and weather a Chapter year like this one will do that to folks, and I for one am so very grateful for that.  As one Board member mentioned, seeing everyone’s face on Zoom during our Board meetings was like a lifeline to normalcy, and that was their favorite thing they will remember from this year.  Thank you Amy Walkowiak, Bob Bieber, Herb Abercrombie, Jenna Carter, Jennifer Hedrick, Melody Watson, Sierra Davey, Tania Jose, Tiffany Montgomery and Valerie Williamson for making this an incredible year and for giving so generously to this Chapter.  To the new Board members Denise Verdesoto, Emmanuel Adedigba, Gio DiLuca, Janeanne Gorman, Joanna Hurt and Marie Woods, here are our collective thoughts and lessons learned from one Board to another:  

Your Voice Matters.  You will be working with a great group of people, so do not be afraid to speak up or make suggestions. Ask a lot of questions!!!  The Chapter thrives on innovation and diversity of thought.  The Board is made up of many members for that very reason.  Your willingness to share what you know, and what you receive from others, will make the Chapter and you as a Board member and leader within the Chapter stronger.  Further, every position on the Board matters.  Take the time to understand and appreciate every Board member’s role and read the Chapter By-laws - even order a cheat sheet copy of “Robert’s Rules of Order” to have on hand – because even when it is in hand…some of us (ME) still cannot get it right, and you know what?  That is ok!    

Be Creative.  It does not have to always be done the way it has always been done.  Do not be afraid to think outside of the box.  2020 was a year of firsts and we were still able to accomplish a lot.  Take that momentum and be innovative: start new traditions, try out a new platform, expand horizons.  Reach out to your Village and Network—ALA, Capital Chapter colleagues, ALACC Staff, your firm, community, friends and family - pull ideas from all and bring them to the Board.  Challenges from COVID, racial and social injustice issues, and a seemingly endless work from home scenario emboldened the Board to provide Capital Chapter members and the broader community with timely information, educational opportunities, and support.  Continue to make lemonade from those lemons!

The Effort is Worth It.  One thing we learned this year, the Capital Chapter is built to withstand storms.  We went through a major transition to a management company and a global pandemic, and we are still standing!  It takes a lot of work from all levels of leadership to make a great Chapter run successfully, but it is worth that effort.  We are an impressive organization and being on the Board gives you a first-hand look as to why.  We learned how much the Board members and ALACC Staff really do care about this Chapter.  We pulled together to keep the Chapter moving in a positive direction and to be there for our members and Business Partners despite the impact of the pandemic.  The Board’s perseverance, commitment to the Chapter, and to each other was well worth the outcome of this year.  So remember, what you put in is what you will get out.   

There is No “I” in Team.  We are better together.  While you should understand and appreciate each member’s role, also know that the Board members support each other, so just reach out if you are feeling overwhelmed.  We are all here to support and help each other.  Sometimes things move very fast and it may feel like you cannot keep track, but teamwork and tackling things one at a time makes a big difference.  Even in the most unprecedented and challenging year like we just had, our members and Business Partners were resilient and the culture of the Chapter remained strong, thanks to our deep roots, but also thanks to the willingness of the Board to take some risks and branch outward.  We all agree that we are so very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve on this Board with such an adaptable, forward-thinking and dedicated team.  Aim to keep the Board a collaborative unit and you will form lasting friendships with your fellow Board members.

Taking it back to the beginning of my first message - “The one constant in life is change, and we can embrace that and use it to learn, grow and support each other.”  I will say that my experience on this Board was truly a quality experience.  All of the lessons learned over this past year have further shaped us, refined us, grew our vision for the Chapter and broadened our possibilities. I look forward to passing the gavel to Bob and stepping into the role of his deep roots and support system.  This is not goodbye, it is see you later!
Jackie Johnson

New and Returning ALA Capital Chapter Members

Everett R. Crosson
Controller
Hyman, Phelps & McNamara
700 13th St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
ecrosson@hpm.com

​Paulette Humphries
Legal Assistant Manager
Davis Wright Tremaine
1301 K St., N.W.
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
​paulettehumphries@dwt.com
Meegan Rae Noyes Lyles
Secretarial Supervisor
Sidley Austin LLP
1501 K St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20646
202-736-8313
​mlyles@sidley.com

Teresa B. Marshall
Human Resources Manager
BakerHostetler
1050 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20036
202-861-1572
​tmarshall@bakerlaw.com

When it Comes to the Art of Persuasion, Less is More

Camden Miller
Strategic Projects Manager, Wiley Rein LLP

How many times have you developed a new concept, proposal or idea to implement at your firm, only to see it be dismissed by your superiors or firm leadership? Perhaps it was a new efficiency where you identified and quantified out the cost savings? Maybe it was a proposal for a new training program that would solve an obvious need or reduce claims against the firm? However, when discussing your idea with your superior, all you received was a wall of questions that led to a “No.”

While those situations are frustrating, they are commonly learning opportunities that lead us to enhance our persuasion skills. Persuasion is at the center of a successful law career. Attorneys cannot be successful without persuading judges, juries, opposing counsel and regulators. But persuasion is used just as commonly within law firms as lawyers and professional staff strive to build consensus.

The art of persuasion is also at the core of a well-managed law firm and law firm administrators cannot be successful without that skill. What may paradoxically surprise you, especially those of us who closely work with attorneys, is to learn that when it comes to persuading someone with your arguments, “more” is not usually “better.”

A TED Talk in May 2019 shared recent research into how to form to the most powerful arguments. In his TED Talk, “The Counterintuitive Way to Be More Persuasive,” Niro Sivanathan shares results from a few of his research studies and those of his peers. In that, he notes that our brains, when hearing a set of facts and arguments, do not evaluate each argument for persuasiveness and then add the persuasiveness of each argument to one another. Instead our minds take the entire list of arguments, weight each argument independently, and then bundle the entire list of arguments together to reach one final, weighted bundle. As such, if you include weak arguments along with your stronger ones, those weaker arguments lower the average persuasive value of your entire message.

To illustrate this concept, Sivanathan cites research he conducted with his colleagues. In that study, he had participants review advertisements for a hypothetical pharmaceutical drug to treat insomnia with a varying list of side effects. In one example, the side effects were only “stroke and heart attack.” To a separate set of participants, the list of side effects included, “stroke, heart attack and itchy feet.” While participants were unlikely to take the drug if the only listed effects were “stroke and heart attack,” participants were much more likely to take the drug if it had an “itchy feet” side effect. This is because the “itchy feet” side effect diluted the sense of risk affiliated with this hypothetical pharmaceutical drug. This same dilution occurs when you include weak arguments with your strong ones. 

In summary, as Sivanathan says, “stick to your strong arguments, because your arguments don't add up in the minds of the receiver, they average out.”

Finally, a caveat. The researchers were not evaluating legal arguments. As such, while that caveat might cause you to pause redlining an attorney’s wordy brief, at least you now have the tools to persuade an attorney that a more succinct brief might be the most compelling one. 

Jim Durfee “Chapter Two”

Office Movers Express

What has been both interesting and challenging about leaving a company you were with for more than 30 years?  And what has been a pleasant surprise in joining your new company? 

I guess most people will find this hard to imagine (working for the same company 30+ years) because who does that any longer? Certainly not my two kids so I don’t even try to explain it. But for me it was the right experience, the right set of circumstances and it allowed me to be part of something much bigger than myself. The key was being a very active member of an ever-growing team. A dedicated group of individuals with very diverse backgrounds who created a new kind of moving company – one that didn’t exist prior to the 1980’s. This was a company designed to concentrate all its efforts, all its talents, all its processes on office moving. A total game changer. To be forced to take those years of blood, sweat and tears (and plenty of success and smiles) and start all over? I must admit it gave me pause – but only briefly. There was so much good that came out of that experience, so much knowledge, so much energy, I really could not wait to find a new home. Call it fate, call it good luck or more correctly, call it knowing the right people, but I couldn’t be more pleased working with the team at Office Movers Express. There is something extremely satisfying about being able to share what I helped build the first time around and take it in a new and exciting direction. Thanks to everyone at OMX we’ve been able to improve upon those original ideas, add some new innovations, update the technology and make sure the right people (our customers!) receive the benefit. A surprise? Not really – good people do good things.

How are the company cultures different at your new firm vs your old one and what have you done differently to adjust to the changes?

In many ways the company culture is much the same at its core. I grew up in a business that clearly placed the good of the customer above all else and we do the same here at OMX. What is different is the emphasis of growing the company in a more measured fashion. We want to grow, we expect to grow, but the path to that end is more methodical and perhaps a bit more cautious. Let’s get Step 1 right, really right, before we move to Step 2. When you’re used to “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” and now you’re experiencing “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” it’s just a tad different. They both get to their destination, but the latter is clearly a bit calmer.

What would you say was the easiest part of transitioning from your old firm to new firm?

At my old firm, I played a very active role in building out our name within the legal community. Prior to that we were largely focused on government and defense contractor moves. Through my initial relationship with a former Marine turned legal administrator, I made countless connections across the legal industry. These connections and friendships moved easily with me to OMX, where they’ve built their reputation from catering to the specific and sometimes high demands of law firms. As we all know, the legal community is a close-knit group that doesn’t hesitate to share references and experiences for vendors they’ve used. Luckily for me, the reputation we built at my old firm was advantageous for my new role at OMX. 
 
What did the office moving industry look like when you began vs what it looks like now what have been some of the most important changes?

It really didn’t exist – certainly not compared to how it looks today. Office moving was considered “filler” work, something to keep the household moving crews busy in the offseason. (Prime household season is basically April – September when 80% of families move to a new home). There were very few companies who saw it as a separate and distinct line of business and even those few always made residential moving their priority. My experience was limited at that time to the greater Washington, DC area but as I grew up in the business and met my counterparts from other parts of the country, I realized very quickly we were on to something extremely rare. While some might see similarities between the two types of moving, I see it as different as plumbing and electrical work. How many homes have a climate-controlled Server Room? Or a fully functional multi-media communication center for global conferencing? The liability of handling high value electronics with an office move compared to moving beds and dressers isn’t close. This isn’t to demean one and elevate the other, it is simply to point out the difference between these two similar but very dissimilar businesses. When moving your home, the residential mover will give you a two-to three day “window” for delivery of your goods to your new home. On the other hand, a dedicated office moving company is rightly expected to arrive on site within minutes of a tightly established schedule. The difference is the focus on time as the critical element.  A household mover will pack their truck like they are going across country, even if they are moving across town. An office moving company will use two crews (one at Origin, one at Destination) and multiple trucks to expedite the process. This focus on time (lack of downtime to be more precise) is what we instituted as a standard practice and has become the benchmark of every competent office moving company.
 
How do you see the office moving industry changing over the next 10 years? For example, the technology, processes, etc?

Many of the changes companies are experiencing now due to the pandemic were already in the pipeline. For obvious reasons they are now being accelerated. The technology of business in general, of our customer’s business and their needs, has been and will always be the driving factor in the future of office moving. Technology on our part will need to address and solve the evolving face of the corporate office and the number one concern: immediate access to business information without disruption. This means a focus on security, a focus on efficiency and a focus on tracking all assets throughout the process. All of this through the use of ever-evolving, reliable logistics technology. What do I have? Where is it? How do I access it? How do I keep it safe?
 
What are some of the common misconceptions about office moving on the part of prospective clients?
​
Household movers are no different than office movers – a mover is a mover (see above). They think all moving companies know how to move computers. Pack and move a library. Pack and move a file room. Protect, move and rehang valuable artwork and artifacts. The job is easy, it’s ok to engage the services of a moving company a few days before the move. We don’t need a project manager, I’ll manage the move myself. We don’t need to label everything, I can just tell them where to put it when they bring into the building (just like I did when we had a company move our house). We can do the move ourselves – just rent a truck and everybody pitches in. We’re not going far; we can carry everything through the alley or across the street or put stuff in our cars.

This You? Diversity Matters, Part II: So You've Hired a Chief Diversity Officer, Now What?

Sarah E. Fortt
Counsel, Vinson & Elkins LLP

Demand for Chief Diversity Officers Is High. So Is Turnover.(1) Do You Know Why Your
Company Needs a Chief Diversity Officer?(2) The “Team-Playing” Chief Diversity
Officer.(3) These are just a few of the nearly limitless Google search results for “chief
diversity officer” published over the past few months. Chief Diversity Officers are as
trendy in the corporate world right now as elevated athleisure is in the fashion world.
So don your fitted crop top and get woke — corporate edition.

In my article This You? Five Practical Steps for Matching Your Diversity Walk to Your Diversity Talk, I briefly outlined five ways companies could make concrete, long-term changes to reflect a shift in their corporate culture that would align with the public statements they made following the murder of George Floyd and other Black Americans. Appointing a chief diversity officer was not one of the steps I recommended, and for good reason. The truth is that while companies often create these roles with good intentions, many companies fail to do the groundwork necessary to position these roles for long-term success. As a result both the company and the CDO it appoints end up disappointed and disillusioned, to say nothing of the stakeholders who hoped the change in leadership would mean, well, change. I still firmly believe that a meaningful long-term commitment to diversity requires a slow, sometimes boring, and probably decidedly less public slog through cautious and uncomfortable but crucial conversations. However, for both the companies that have carefully considered and crafted their chief diversity officer roles and the companies that have hastily drawn straws and hoped that the individual drawing the short straw would figure out the role and report back, I have outlined below my top five considerations for maximizing the effectiveness of the CDO role. 

​​1. What is your chief diversity officer’s job?
The chief diversity officer role is often a poorly defined collection of hopes and dreams. It also is not unusual for companies to struggle to find the right corporate “home” for the role — should it be in PR, IR, HR, operations, risk management, legal? The truth is that the senior leaders who feel the impetus to create the role often have a vision for it, even if it goes unvoiced. Is the role about marketing/corporate branding? Is it about managing existing legal and/or reputational risk? Is it about managing internal human capital management risks? Is it about creating a strategy for talent management going forward? Is it a mix of two or more of these tasks? At a minimum, companies need to define whether the role is outward facing, inward facing, or a split of the two, and provide the individual with a clear articulation of what their role entails, including the identification of concrete tasks and goals. Companies also need to be realistic about what a CDO can actually achieve — it is not fair to expect the CDO to singlehandedly tackle deep-seated corporate cultural issues, particularly if those issues rise to the level of “sacred cows."(4)

2. Is your chief diversity officer qualified for the job?
Understanding how to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within an organization requires expertise and experience; however, unfortunately, it is not unusual for companies to treat this complex topic as if anyone can address it in their spare time. While there may be good reasons for a company to appoint an insider who does not have prior DEI experience, if a company takes this approach it should also provide the individual with appropriate training opportunities and should always provide the chief diversity officer with the resources necessary to support the efforts they are assigned to oversee. This includes the hiring of outside experts and the creation of an internal team devoted to the DEI efforts — a chief diversity officer should never function in isolation without any support or resources. 

​3. How will your chief diversity officer be evaluated and compensated?
Related to the prior two points, it also is not unusual for leaders to draw a blank when asked how the chief diversity officer’s performance will be evaluated. It is often the case that companies have not considered how to include DEI-related metrics in compensation prior to the appointment of a CDO. Without doubt, the inclusion of DEI-related metrics, or other ESG metrics, in executive compensation can be a complex undertaking. However, it is an important exercise if CDOs are to be compensated in a manner that aligns to their mission. Of equal importance and no less complexity is the concept of rewarding an individual for creating healthy disruption. When I discuss corporate cultural wellness with clients, I frequently address the topic of healthy disruption — healthy disruption is the cultural moment introduced by an individual or idea that challenges the status quo in a manner that provides an opportunity for growth and creation. Ideally, CDOs will be sources of healthy disruption, meaning that at the outset, they may instigate uncomfortable but crucial conversations. Rewarding people when they confront leadership in a way that may make leaders uncomfortable is challenging, but important if chief diversity officers are going to achieve their assigned tasks. 

4. How does your chief diversity officer report up?
Managing up. Many of us have been in the position of having to convince our boss of the value proposition of a particular area of expertise, experience or assigned task. Chief diversity officers, perhaps more than any other corporate role, are often in this position. I call this misalignment — when an individual is tasked with a mandate that is not only omitted from their boss’s mandate, but that represents an aspect of the corporation that others may actively seek to avoid — the “sin-eater” issue. And while it may not be all that rare, it is unfair to require the CDO to convince the c-suite and board of the importance of their mandate, and doing so almost certainly sets the CDO up for failure. To circumvent this misalignment, ideally, the chief diversity officer’s boss, and their bosses all the way up to the CEO, should have DEI as a part of their mandate and, ideally, their compensation. Members of the CDO’s reporting line should also have required ally training. I discussed the importance of ally training in my prior article, but in summary, it is often the case that while nondiverse leaders can provide diversity efforts with powerful internal support, the good intentions of such individuals may not make up for a lack of education regarding and exposure to the stories and experiences of those they hope to support. I also recommend that CDOs have the opportunity to report directly to their boards of directors at least once each year.

5. How does the organization support the chief diversity officer?
The chief diversity officer role can be a lonely one. Frequently charged with functioning outside of the company’s core strategic initiatives and functions, the CDO role may lack the internal support for it to be viewed as vital. This is particularly the case at organizations where the chief diversity officer is a chief in name only, and actually sits many levels below the c-suite. As a result, internal stakeholders may see the CDO role as ancillary, or worse, as a corporate talisman used to ward off arguments that the company is falling short with respect to DEI matters, and the role may fail to have the internal impact that leaders originally hoped for. To avoid that outcome, it is important for the CDO to be publicly supported by the CEO and board, beyond the provision of training and resources, and for senior members of management and the board to make clear and unequivocal statements and take actions of support for the company’s DEI efforts. Ultimately, a company’s approach to DEI matters should be left to the discretion of its senior management and board, but an effective approach will always require that leaders be consistent and thoughtful in their efforts. 


(1) Chip Cutter and Lauren Weber, Demand for Chief Diversity Officers Is High. So Is Turnover, Wall Street Journal, Jun. 13, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/demand-for-chiefdiversity-officers-is-high-so-is-turnover-11594638000.  

(2) Mita Mallick, Do You Know Why Your Company Needs a Chief Diversity Officer?, Harvard Business Review, Sept. 11, 2020, https://hbr.org/2020/09/do-you-know-whyyour-company-needs-a-chief-diversity-officer.  

(3) Karen H.C. Huang, Ph.D., Andrés Tapia and Louis Montgomery Jr., The “Team-Playing” Chief Diversity Officer, https://www.kornferry.com/insights/articles/best-chiefdiversity-officer.

​(4) I discussed sacred cows, which are the people, products, practices or principles that an organization will go to any lengths to protect, in my prior article

Diversity Spotlight: Women's History Month

​Creating New Solutions to Old Challenges: Design Thinking in the Law

Jessica L. Mazzeo
Chief Operating Officer, Griesing Law
James L. Cornell 
Office Administrator, Shook, Hardy & Bacon

Innovation is a buzzword that many in the legal industry use as a way to describe their approach to solving legal challenges, or as a differentiator for their organization in a sea of highly competent and capable firms competing for sought-after clients.

Firms know that having their clients consider them as innovative is crucial, and that the status quo of practice management is no longer optional. Firms also know that clients value and expect that the teams working with them are diverse in composition, capable of relating to their business and meeting all of their needs. As a result, legal organizations must be thoughtful, collaborative and operate in a manner that for many is different than how they have historically done business. Efficiency, inclusivity and creativity are not the cornerstone characteristics of most law firms, however, many are beginning to realize that the approaches and tools that got them to where they are today will not be the key ingredients to what gets them to where they want to go tomorrow.

Design thinking is a social technology that creates the conditions where innovation and creative problem solving can occur. To put it in Tim Brown’s own words, one of the masterminds behind the framework, “design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology and the requirements for business success.”

There are five common stages of design thinking: empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test. Empathy focuses on others so we can better understand the value drivers of the users as design thinking reorients problem solving around the actual end user and their needs, motivations and challenges. Next, we need to define the root problem or opportunity by focusing on the empathy findings as that drives the greatest value outcome as often the problems we initially start out trying to solve are only symptomatic of bigger needs.

The third stage focuses on generating connections and possibilities that ultimately can be used to distill potential solutions. This is called ideating and the goal of this is to explore a wide variety of solutions, both in quantity and diversity of perspective. The prototype phase begins to focus on potential solutions by getting ideas out of people’s heads and into the real world. Testing is the final phase and allows teams to gather insightful feedback, refine solutions and create visibility by identifying what worked, what can be improved and new questions that need to be addressed.

Innovation and process improvement in the legal industry can feel like an extremely high bar to achieve, however, innovation does not have to be grandiose or unique. Innovation can even be seen as a thoughtful and straightforward response to challenges or questions that arise. Implementing design thinking into your firm can help create new and effective ways of delivering legal services. The new knowledge and information taken from design thinking principles leads to opportunities for engagement, which is where the potential with using design thinking is so much greater than just solving challenges. Design thinking can also improve the inclusivity and diversity of perspectives from your organization when you invite cross-functional members of a team to participate in this process. We all know that lawyers and legal organizations tend to be change-averse, however, design thinking’s goal is to alleviate some of the pain points that may stall progress toward an improvement. One of the ways it does this is through the time spent on focusing on the human elements and opportunities for collaboration, which are not always common in legal organizations. Design thinking can break through this by giving a voice and role to everyone in problem solving through the use of ideating tools such as sketch-storming, brain-writing and assumption challenges. Involving a diverse array of perspectives to reach a fresh outcome is one of the things that makes this method so valuable. The best solutions are created when the inputs are diverse and take into account different types of experiences, perspectives and thought processes.

To put it in a perspective that firms can relate to, international firm Hogan Lovells used design thinking to recreate its associate review process, which at the time was considered to be ineffective. The firm hired IDEO, an international design and consulting firm, to come at the dreaded annual review process from another angle, not only to make the process more transparent but to also make it more efficient and effective for everyone involved. The team at IDEO created “Pathways” that calls for quarterly, 10-minute feedback meetings from at least three different people an associate has worked with in that time period. The associate then discusses the information from those feedback meetings with another peer in order to implement and process the feedback. 

Some other examples firms can consider include: the opportunity to use design thinking to anticipate the legal needs of a significant client in the year ahead, as well as two to three years into the future; or thinking about an operational challenge like increasing the speed of the monthly billing process so clients receive their statements in a timely and thorough manner, thus enabling a quicker inflow of payments. Could the engagement of a process involving all the members of your team focused on challenges like this help create new solutions and deepen the client relationship? Would doing so shift the focus in your organization from silos to collaboration, from productivity to outcomes, and from the bottom line as a measure of success to a measure involving people, profits and purpose? According to Marshall Lichty’s article “Design Thinking for Lawyers (https://lawyerist.com/blog/design-thinking-for-lawyers/),” firms should start small and “make sure to explicitly structure your process. If you have a team—and you plan to have its members join you on this maiden voyage—communicate your structure to them, together with your expectations for communication, collaboration, empathy and iteration.”
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If you are trying to be more in tune with what clients want or improve processes in your own organization, design thinking is incredibly helpful for beginning to examine your needs. And in a time when clients want outside counsel to know and understand their business and to be partners with them in that, taking a collaborative problem-solving approach like design thinking with clients is a game changer for the client relationship and overall value delivered. This approach defines differentiation. Additionally, finding ways to operate more efficiently or improve a process by including those involved in the process creates excellent engagement and team-building opportunities on top of problem solving. We all know nothing is constant but change, and for those professionals in the legal industry who understand the design thinking methodology, they will be better equipped to survive and thrive as the legal industry continues to evolve.

March 2021 Diversity Observances

March is Women’s History Month. Started in 1987, Women’s History Month recognizes all women for their valuable contributions to history and society.

March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, which was established to increase awareness and understanding of issues affecting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. March is National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month. It was established to raise public awareness of the autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and assist those with multiple sclerosis in making informed decisions about their health care.

March is National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month. It was established to raise public awareness of the autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and assist those with multiple sclerosis in making informed decisions about their health care.​
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Click here to view the full list of March 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 Community 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 (Chair), Cindy.Conover@Shearman.com; Beth Fowler (Co-Chair), bfowler@robbinsrussell.com
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The mission of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee is to advance the concepts of inclusiveness and acceptance in every organization by providing all Chapter members with information so that they can merge these concepts with their firm's policies, procedures, culture, and relationships to be more equitable and inclusive.  We not only strive to raise awareness, but also to increase our sensitivity in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion 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’ workforces and respond to our clients’ requirements for diversity. The DEI Committee meets on the first Wednesday of each month and we welcome all members to join us for discussion on how to further our mission in our firms and in our Chapter.  
 
Contact: Beth Fowler (Chair), bfowler@robbinsrussell.com; Denise Verdesoto (Co-Chair), deniseverdesoto@eversheds-sutherland.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: Valerie Williamson (Chair), valerie.williamson@bassberry.com; Herb Abercrombie Jr. (Co-Chair), HAbercrombie@jenner.com



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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. If you would like more information and/or are interested in becoming an Ambassador, please contact the Chair or Co-Chair.

Contact: LaVerne Anenia (Chair), LaVerne.Anenia@dbr.com; Kim Santaiti-Potter (Co-Chair), kim.potter@alston.com


Educational Communities

Small Firm and Branch Office Administrators
The Small Firm and Branch Office Administrators Community focuses on a broad range of topics of interest to local administrators who must coordinate with other offices of their firms, as well as 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 Community's monthly luncheon meetings, held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 12:30 pm, 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: Joanna Hurt (Chair), jhurt@mccarter.com; Tabatha Harris (Chair), tsh@dwgp.com
Listserv: branch@lists.alacapchap.org and smallfirm@lists.alacapchap.org
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Office Operations Management and IT
The members of the Office Operations Management and IT Community represent a cross section of legal expertise from functional administrators to branch office managers. The Community meets on the second Thursday of each month at noon. 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: Giovanni DiLuca (Chair), gdiluca@zuckerman.com; Janelle E. Rynes (Co-Chair), janelle.rynes@arentfox.com
Listserv: ooms@lists.alacapchap.org
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: Cindy Schuler (Co-Chair), cindy.schuler@hugheshubbard.com; Monique Terrell (Co-Chair), mterrell@foxrothschild.com

Listserv: hr@lists.alacapchap.org

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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. 
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Contact: Amy Walkowiak (Chair), awalkowiak@dcwhitecollar.com; Ana Sobalvarro (Co-Chair), asobalvarro@bomcip.com 
Listserv: nextgen@lists.alacapchap.org