Pioneers and Pathfinders

Thanks to Michael Lewis, we all know the term “Moneyball.” Very few people actually apply those concepts though. Today’s guest, Caren Ulrich Stacy, has used the Moneyball concept to change the demographics of law firms and the face of law firm leadership. Informed by her education as a journalist and her work with top law firms on their talent strategies, Caren co-founded Lawyer Metrics, a startup company that pioneered a data-driven approach to lawyer recruitment and development. From there, Caren created Diversity Lab to focus exclusively on closing the gender gap and increasing diversity and inclusion in the legal field. The success of Diversity Lab’s marquee program—Mansfield Certification—is a testament to how an ongoing commitment to change and measurement of outcomes can solve the toughest problems facing our profession. Listen in to today’s conversation to learn: - How Caren’s journey in law started at birth—literally. - The three things that contribute to law firm associate satisfaction, and why money isn’t one of them. - The big, audacious goal Caren has set for OnRamp Fellowship to more than double the number of women brought back to full-time law firm work.

David Cambria is known as the “godfather of legal operations,” a moniker he earned in-house at giants Aon and ADM, and the name has followed him ever since. He is unique in that he has also held roles at the world’s largest law firm as chief services officer, and is currently at one of the Big Four accounting firms as managing director of legal operations, overseeing “modern legal.” David is someone who has been a leader on every side of the value equation. In today’s conversation, we learn how his experiences have coalesced into his current view on the profession and the legal marketplace. Listen in to discover: - Specific challenges David encountered along the way, and how he gained acceptance for the concept of legal operations within massive organizations. - How in-house legal leaders should sort the options in an increasingly diverse marketplace. - What is meant by “modern legal,” and how he hopes to achieve it.

Today our guest is self-described “sociologist of lawyers,” Marcie Borgal Shunk. She has a fascinating multidisciplinary background that she brings to her work with the Tilt Institute, which offers analytics, leadership training and coaching, cultural assessments, and more to help law firms transform their businesses. Initially intrigued by the question of why some firms perform better than others, Marcie has spun her skills in analytics, statistics, and data visualization into a fascinating body of work. She’s a great example of how people from disciplines beyond law are changing the legal ecosphere. Listen in to hear: - How Marcie uses data to get firms to think differently about their market opportunities, their strategies, their talent pool, and more. - The process she employs to help people understand how to connect the dots between the data and the application of the data. - The three types of data that are crucial to understanding law firm performance, and why they are so difficult to leverage.

Today's guest, David Wilkins, is one of the foremost thinkers on the legal profession today. Though he’s had many significant roles and accomplishments in the legal field, his resume doesn't capture his inspirational story or the enormity of his contributions to the profession. Nor does it captures his intellect, quick wit, warm personality, or joyful presence. He’s without a doubt the most recognizable voice in the legal industry today. Listen in to our conversation to hear about: - David’s journey from the South Side of Chicago as the son and grandson of Black lawyers, to his clerkship with Thurgood Marshall, and eventual decision to enter teaching at Harvard. - How he thinks lawyers can help solve the huge problems facing humanity, against a backdrop of looming generational change, digitization, and technology. - Why he thinks the legal profession needs a more sophisticated focus on the care and development of our people in the same way as many other industries are doing.

As buyers of legal services, in-house counsel are in a powerful position when it comes to legal industry innovation. Today’s guest, Kristen Cook, has used that position to do remarkable things as vice president and deputy general counsel at 7-Eleven. Kristen has been at the forefront of transforming how legal services are procured, how services are delivered back to the organization, and using Lean to improve legal operations. Her work has been recognized across the industry, including two ACC Value Champion awards which recognize how value is enhanced through the use of people, processes, technology, and data innovations. Listen in to hear: - How Lean Six Sigma shaped Kristen's career path and inspired her approach to legal operations. - The role of data in creating value for her department and for 7-Eleven. - How Kristen plans on integrating lessons of COVID-19 to create the cutting-edge legal department of the future.

Today’s guest is a longtime friend of Seyfarth, Susan Lambreth. Susan is a founding principal at LawVision and is nationally recognized as one of the top leadership, practice group, and project management consultants for law firms. She is also the chair and founder of the LPM Institute, a leading resource for educating law firms and law departments on implementing project management in their organizations. Susan has been extremely influential in shaping the business of Big Law for many years now. She is one of the true trailblazers of legal project management, and many of today’s law firm project management offices can trace their origins back to her pioneering work. In fact, Seyfarth teamed up with Susan in the early 2000s, as we were strengthening our practice group structure. Listen in to today’s conversation to learn more about: - Susan’s take on how project management and process improvement are related, but different skill sets, and how they interact with one another in today's environment. - What types of people are taking on the LPM role and the experience they bring to the table. - And what the current war for allied professional talent says about the industry.

Today’s guest is a departure from our typical slate of legal industry change agents. Over the course of 23 interviews, we have focused on the unique journeys of our guests, which is—by its nature—a backward-looking endeavor. Join us as we take a look into the future with world-renowned futurist Ross Dawson, to help shed light on the path ahead. Ross recently joined Seyfarth for an exclusive conversation on The Future of the World of Work. During part one of this special two-part series, he discussed the big trends shaping the future of workforces. In part two of the conversation, Seyfarth attorneys will focus on the legal implications and issues that organizations should consider as workplaces evolve. Until then, listen to today's episode to learn: - What Ross means by "the individual economy" and why this means organizations should give workers more choices. - What the shift to remote work means in terms of the way we think about ourselves as workers, as humans, and as connected individuals. - And why Ross continues to be an optimist about the future, even at a time when technology is exacerbating polarization.

Today’s guest is the one and only Bill Henderson. In his day job, he’s a professor of law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law where he holds the Stephen F. Burns Chair on the Legal Profession. Bill is a prolific writer and speaker on the legal market who is well known for assembling some of the best and brightest thinkers on the legal industry in his blog, Legal Evolution. Bill has been a longtime friend of Seyfarth, and he's worked with the firm on our own innovation journey. Listen in to today’s conversation to hear: - How Bill's outsider perspective as a firefighter and paramedic shaped his career in the law and colored his assessment of law firm hierarchy. - How a simple proposal to teach a class on the business of law firms in 2003 revolutionized the law firm curriculum. - And why he thinks the legal market today is a lot like the automotive market of the turn of the 20th century.

Long before the pandemic raised the curtain on issues of workplace flexibility, today’s guest was leading the way in changing how law firms think about flexibility, and how they can best use it to drive performance, productivity, and innovation. Manar Morales is president and CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance—a think tank dedicated to helping organizations create inclusive cultures that advance diversity and flexibility in order to attract and retain top talent. Seyfarth has long supported the mission of DFA. In 2020, Seyfarth had the honor of receiving DFA’s Tipping the Scales Award. And in 2016, when our host Steve Poor was chair of the firm, DFA gave him the Flex Leader Award in recognition of his leadership in creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace through holistic flexibility. More recently, Seyfarth has partnered with DFA on The Belonging Project, a national effort to combat the impact of COVID-19 on diversity in the profession. Listen to learn: -Why Manar uses the term “holistic flexibility” to differentiate between the “reduced hours” approach to flexibility traditionally used by many firms. -Why she says flexibility must be de-gendered, de-parented, and destigmatized. -What advice Manar gives to her clients as they contemplate implementing hybrid work policies into work models based on co-location.

While we give our guests a summer break, Steve shares some of his favorite moments from the podcast so far, and some thoughts from his own journey that were triggered by the conversations with our guests. Today's episode is on the topic of the pioneering journey itself. By revisiting our past interviews, we will explore the commonalities among the paths of our guests and see what lessons can be extracted for our own journeys. In many ways, each one of our guests has followed the beat of their own drummer. Yet, in listening to their various stories, certain patterns begin to emerge. Some, like Steve, have followed a more traditional trajectory, using that trajectory to change the way we think about the delivery of legal services from inside the system. Others have started on what appears to be a traditional path, but at some point veered into other directions, becoming legal tech startup founders, alternative service provider pioneers, and change agents in other parts of the legal ecosphere. Today, we will hear highlights of our guests’ journeys, with emphasis on: - The “aha” moment that can send careers in a different direction. - The role of curiosity and an abiding interest in improving the way things work. - The incredibly simple belief that can unlock entirely new ways of thinking, doing things, and new ways to transform the profession. Be sure to listen to the end for three key takeaways that pioneers can use at any point of their journey. Quoted guests include: Jacqueline Schafer Jason Barnwell Alex Su Christian Lang Cat Moon Dan Linna Heidi Gardner Jae Um