ORANGE COUNTY
Volume 186, 2021 $6.95
How to Manage the Unexpected Resignation of a Key Legal Employee
Kimberly Lerman Embrace Hybrid Trial Preparation
Ken Broda-Bahm, Ph.D. Crafting an Effective Social Media Policy for Employees
Jessica L. Copeland Effective Leadership in 2021 and Beyond
Your Law Firm Needs a Recruitment Marketing Strategy— Here’s Why and How
Silvia Coulter
Stefanie Marrone
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE OF THE MONTH Brian Chase of Bisnar Chase, LLP, Newport Beach Big Wins for the Little Guy
Lean and Mean: Making a Marketing Impact Without Breaking the Bank
Scott E. Pacheco
Attorney of the Month
Kathy Minella
Minella Law Group, APC, Serving Orange County
A Stand-Up Comedian Stands Out in Family Law
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2021 EDITION—NO.186
TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 Embrace Hybrid Trial Preparation by Ken Broda-Bahm, Ph.D.
8 Effective Leadership in 2021 and Beyond by Silvia Coulter
10 Lean and Mean: Making a Marketing Impact Without Breaking the Bank by Scott E. Pacheco
12 Crafting an Effective Social Media Policy for Employees
EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brian Topor
by Jessica L. Copeland
EDITOR Wendy Price
ATTORNEY OF THE MONTH
16 Kathy Minella, Minella Law Group, APC, Serving Orange County A Stand-Up Comedian Stands Out in Family Law
CREATIVE SERVICES Penn Creative CIRCULATION Angela Watson PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Griffiths STAFF WRITERS Dan Baldwin Jennifer Hadley CONTRIBUTING EDITORIALISTS Ken Broda-Bahm Jessica L. Copeland Silvia Coulter Kimberly Lerman Stefanie Marrone Scott E. Pacheco Jackson Somes ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Info@AttorneyJournals.com SUBMIT AN ARTICLE Editorial@AttorneyJournals.com OFFICE 30211 Avenida De Las Banderas Suite 200 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 www.AttorneyJournals.com ADDRESS CHANGES Address corrections can be made via email or postal mail.
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by Dan Baldwin
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PROFESSIONAL PROFILE OF THE MONTH
22 Brian Chase, Bisnar Chase, LLP, Newport Beach Big Wins for the Little Guy by Dan Baldwin
26 Your Law Firm Needs a Recruitment Marketing Strategy—Here’s Why and How by Stefanie Marrone
28 How to Manage the Unexpected Resignation of a Key Legal Employee by Kimberly Lerman
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Editorial material appears in Attorney Journals as an informational service for readers. Article contents are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of Attorney Journals. Attorney Journals makes every effort to publish credible, responsible advertisements. Inclusion of product advertisements or announcements does not imply endorsement. Attorney Journals is a trademark of Sticky Media. Not affiliated with any other trade publication or association. Copyright 2021 by Sticky Media. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission from Sticky Media. Printed in the USA
Embrace Hybrid Trial Preparation by Ken Broda-Bahm
D
uring the past year or so, when clients have scheduled witness meetings or focus group and mock trial research, we will at some point get to the common question: “So, are we doing this in person or online?” Increasingly, it feels like the answer to that question ought to be “Yes.” Now that fear of the pandemic is becoming less of a motivation for online work, ease and effectiveness is stepping up to be the alternate motivator. In the same way that many of the in-person meetings and phone calls of years past have become Zoom meetings, it is increasingly likely that our processes of trial preparation will also change for good. And it isn’t just a question of whether we will prepare live and in person or online. It is a question of how we will make the best use of both. Online strategy meetings, for example, are easier to schedule and can effectively involve a nationally distributed team. It is more practical for experts to pop in and out, so they might attend only their segment of a meeting. In addition to general meetings, however, there are two important parts of the preparation process that stand to benefit from the flexible use of both online and in-person resources: witness preparation and pretrial research, including focus groups and mock trials.
Prepare Your Witness Virtually and In Person Particularly when you have a mission as delicate as that of preparing a witness for deposition or trial, in-person communication will always have some advantages. True eye contact alone is worth a lot in that setting. By being physically present, you are also more likely to pick up on how the witness will come across in person. There are, however, three situations where an online meeting can supplement: The Set-Up: If you just want to describe the testimony process, outline the do’s and don’ts, and maybe try a little testimony practice to see where the witness is, an online meeting can do that easily. The Check-In: If you have already done most of your preparation with this witness and you just want to test closer to trial in order to see how much of it has stuck, a Zoom meeting can be a good, quick refresher. The Special Purpose: If new information has come up, or if you have a particular issue that needs more work, the virtual meeting can be easier to schedule and less taxing for all.
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Conduct Focus Groups and Mock Trials Virtually and In Person When you’re assessing and preparing your case using small groups of mock jurors, the advantage of being in-person also applies: interviews and deliberations can be easier and more natural. But one of the true surprises of the pandemic has been that a very large portion of that benefit is retained online. The other advantages are that it is less expensive when you aren’t renting a physical space, less time-consuming for all involved, and quicker to plan. This is an area that many are still pioneering, but at this point, I see three general ways to integrate the live with the online mock trial The Mixed Bag: The ingredients can be combined: some parties appear in person while others are online. The lawyers could present remotely to jurors who are there in person, or vice versa. The whole thing could take place in person while clients watch remotely. We have even toyed with the idea of having some mock jurors in person while others watch virtually, though, of course, we need to account for the fact that the mode of viewing ends up being part of what’s being tested. The Smaller Scope: If you want a simpler project, perhaps focused on a single issue or an early phase of case assessment, then the online option can give you a quick look, which can always be supplemented by a broader and in-person test of the case down the road. The Add-On: Let’s say you have finished the mock trial and realized there is a good chance of your defendant facing a “Yes” on liability. So now you want to give your less favorable jurors more detailed information on damages to see where the jury is likely to go. The best way of bringing that group back together quickly might be through an online follow-up after your in-person mock trial. So, we’re living in interesting times. Just as our actual court system is likely to apply 2020/2021’s lessons learned in the form of more hybrid procedures (moving jury selection and some testimony to online formats, for example), our preparation processes are likely to also move toward the more productive combinations. n Ken Broda-Bahm, Ph.D. is a Senior Litigation Consultant at Holland & Hart in charge of assisting plaintiffs and defendants seeking to maximize their message effectiveness in jury trial, bench trial, arbitration, and mediation settings by providing strategic advice, messaging, opening statement assistance, witness preparation, demonstrative exhibit advice, jury selection, mock trial and focus group research. Learn more at www.hollandhart.com.
Effective Leadership in 2021 and Beyond by Silvia Coulter
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here is nothing more rewarding for business leaders than helping a business or a team reach its goals, and to inspire others to succeed. Reaching this milestone relies solely on the people in the organization and on the organization’s leadership. In our work with law firms, conversations often turn to leadership. Mentions include leaders with no vision, leaders who micro-manage, or leaders who are downright dysfunctional, and of course great leaders—those who inspire others, set organizational goals, communicate across the organization, and build trust. Leaders in law firms are many. Practice and department heads, office heads, committee chairs, and of course the top leaders, the managing partner(s). How is your firm training its leaders to be strong and supportive? Harvard’s Ronald Heifetz once wrote, “Being a leader is easy when things are going well.” His book, Leadership Without Easy Answers, is a great read and not just consultant speak. He writes, “Leadership is the process of adaptive work, elevating followers by discussing and aligning value systems to face reality. Leadership is putting the finger on the real challenges that threaten our survival and changing the mindset of the followers.” In his book, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, he advises, “When change requires you to challenge people’s familiar reality, it can be difficult, dangerous work. Whatever the context—whether in the private or the public sector—many will feel threatened as you push through major changes. But as a leader, you need to find a way to make it work.” Taking a look at one’s self in the mirror and being honest about the type of leader you are (compared to the type of leader you aspire to be) is an important part of the journey towards becoming a strong and effective leader. How do you know when you have reached a level of effectiveness? Frankly, the best mirror available for this is a leadership (aka a “360”) assessment. We are certified in and prefer the tools from Human Synergistics,
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a global leader in organizational effectiveness. The leadership assessments provide a substantive summary of your leadership style that will cause one to dig deep into self-reflection and see one’s self as others experience you. Further, they provide a roadmap that allows a leader to see the behaviors their leadership style drives in others. And the ability to compare an assessment of self in contrast to the current leadership style people are experiencing from you. Of course, there are other great tools for a self-assessment, and it’s important to use one of these tools to identify what to focus on to become a stronger leader. Any time a leader wants to better themselves, a good practice is to encourage reflection about where they are in their current phase of leadership development and where they want to improve. Work hard at leadership. Read books—Heifetz is one of the best authors about this topic and writes in a thought-provoking manner. Take assessments. Ask for feedback from direct reports and from clients. Why focus on leadership at all? Most of us become leaders with no or little training in the area of leading and developing people. Few of us have training in human behavior that could help us to navigate the various personalities and behaviors of the people who we manage, and their impact on the organization overall. And last, we often underestimate the level of communicating we do with our firms and our teams. As leaders, we need to communicate, empower, and provide feedback. One of the criticisms of many leaders in law firms is, in fact, lack of communication, lack of clarity about goals, or lack of clarity on advancement metrics. The assessment you choose will show you how well you do in these areas. Upon reflection of 2020, leaders were provided an excellent opportunity to improve their leadership effectiveness. And they did. Feedback about leaders’ ongoing communication across their firms is that it was well-received. And leaders themselves will say
the pandemic helped them become better. To continue on this road of leadership development, know what style of leadership you have and where to focus for future growth. There are various styles of leadership. Some are encouraging, and others are passive defensive or competitive. Our work with the assessment’s framework allows leaders to closely examine their style and the impact it has on those they lead. Educating one’s self about how one’s own leadership style may impact others’ behaviors is well worth the time and money. To gain a better understanding of the styles, what follows is a brief overview of each. Think about your style and which behaviors you are seeing with your team members. Chances are some of your leadership characteristics are driving these behaviors—good and bad. Human Synergistics describes the assessment: “The assessment results allow you to compare your own impressions of your leadership strategies to your strategies as described by others.” Here are some brief snippets:
The Constructive Styles indicate the extent to which you as a leader motivate and encourage others to… • Set challenging but realistic goals • Develop themselves
• Clear all decisions with superiors • Please those in positions of authority • Lead others to feel insecure and uneasy about interpersonal relations within the organization • Avoid any possibility of being blamed for a mistake The specific styles within Passive/Defensive are: Approval; Conventional; Dependent; and Avoidance.
The Aggressive/Defensive Styles indicate the extent to which you as a leader motivate and drive others to… • Point out mistakes • Act forceful and aggressive • Operate in a “win-lose” framework • Set unrealistically high goals • Play “politics” to gain influence • Protect your power base, maintain your authority • Distance yourself from peers who are experiencing problems
• Be supportive of people
• Feel apprehensive, insecure about their position and authority
• Treat people as members of the team
• Dismiss good ideas by pointing out flaws
• Respect diverse backgrounds and viewpoints
• Stay on top of every detail and work long hours to attain narrowly defined objectives
• Show trust and confidence in their peers and associates • Actively support others in their career development and growth • Discuss decisions with those who will be affected by them The specific styles within Constructive are: Achievement; Self-Actualizing; HumanisticEncouraging; and Affiliative.
The Passive/Defensive Styles indicate the extent to which you as a leader motivate and require others to… • Gain the full agreement of those around them • Conform • Do only what they are told
The specific styles are: Oppositional; Power; Competitive; and Perfectionistic. The research and work in this area of leadership are compelling. The data is extremely powerful and backed by thousands of research data points collected from many leaders across organizations. All to help us to become better leaders. n Silvia Coulter is a Co-founding Principal of LawVision. Silvia is widely regarded as one of the legal industry’s most experienced sales, key client planning, and leadership experts. Her experience includes working as a former strategic account executive and sales leader at a Fortune 50 company, a chief marketing and business development officer at two global law firms, and consultant and facilitator to firms across the globe. Originally published in PinHawk’s Legal Administrator Daily—June 29, 2021. Learn more at www.LawVision.com.
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Lean and Mean: Making a Marketing Impact Without Breaking the Bank by Scott E. Pacheco
J
ust because we’re in pandemic recovery mode doesn’t mean your law firm’s budget has immediately shot up to pre-pandemic levels. And even if there are plenty of funds, now may not be the time to make huge asks. Here are several ways legal marketers can make a big splash without spending the big bucks.
Google AdWords and LinkedIn Ads SEO is king and driving traffic to your site with low maintenance ads is a great way to improve it. For just a few hundred dollars a month, you can get tens of thousands of impressions and dozens, if not hundreds, of clicks—stats many firms would take for any piece of content they put out.
Bolster Your Social Media Efforts The aforementioned ads aside, social media is free and touches just about everyone. Use free tools such as Hootsuite to improve and streamline your posting processes. Create a social calendar and repurpose content if you need a higher volume of posts.
Shoot Videos In-House A two- to three-minute clip can cost thousands of dollars from a professional video editing service. And while those types of clips have a place in your marketing efforts, so too do simpler videos shot on a phone or iPad. If the pandemic has taught us one thing about video content, it’s that relevance, timeliness, and utility are usually acceptable in the absence of a high-gloss finish. For the cost of one professional clip, you can purchase do-it-yourself equipment that makes it easy to film your attorneys talking about the latest news in their industry.
Double Down on Cross-Servicing Efforts This is not a new concept, but one that can prove very challenging. If you work in a full-service firm, one of the
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easiest ways to boost revenue is to serve existing clients in new ways. Especially coming out of a pandemic, driving business without spending a lot of money is pretty much the gold standard. Host monthly meetings (virtual or in person) highlighting specific practices and create cheat sheets for other practices to help lawyers cross-promote their colleagues when talking to existing clients.
Clean Up Your Contacts This also is a persistent challenge, but one that takes on even more importance now with the turbulent year we’ve just gone through. Track bounces in your email alerts and see what emails are no longer valid. Assign an assistant or secretary to follow up on those bounces and update as many contacts as possible. There’s nothing more distracting and / or detrimental to business development and marketing efforts than dirty data. This is much easier if you have a CRM system, but worth doing regardless.
Client Outreach/Client Interviews Engage with clients to better understand their expectations, get feedback on their experience with your service, and solicit suggestions for improvement—even just to get an additional touchpoint with them, especially coming out of a pandemic when there may have been less communication. This doesn’t have to cost a lot and can be done efficiently leveraging internal resources. Bringing a client’s voice into strategic decisions can have a hugely positive impact. By looking for efficiencies, leveraging your resources and getting back to basics, your marketing department can still make an impact without that big-name consultant or expensive software application. n Scott E. Pacheco is a marketing and communications manager at Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chtd. Learn more at www.lerchearly.com.
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Crafting an Effective Social Media Policy for Employees by Jessica L. Copeland
A
social media presence is essential in generating new growth for a business. Maintaining social media accounts will not only expand brand awareness and elevate your company’s status, but it provides an opportunity to directly engage with consumers, disclose information, and receive product feedback. For example, Amazon uses one dedicated Twitter account, or “handle,” for brand promotion, another handle dedicated to customer support, and a third Twitter handle for Amazon news. Although a social media presence provides significant benefits, businesses must also prepare for the associated risks. Social media use by businesses can give rise to thirdparty liability and may implicate areas of data privacy law, employment law, labor law, and securities law for publicly traded companies. Allowing employees to use their personal social media accounts at work can also produce negative consequences such as a loss of productivity, inappropriate conduct shared among employees and potential disclosure of confidential or proprietary information. To minimize these risks, businesses should adopt a social media policy which sets forth clear written rules regarding social media use, both internally and externally (personal social media accounts that identify an individual’s employer may implicate the employer in some fashion).
Social Media Policy Best Practices A social media policy sets rules and guidance on how an organization and its employees should conduct themselves on internet platforms. A good social media policy will plainly describe the employer’s expectations surrounding social media use and provide a level of tolerance for personal use of social media by employees, provide guidance on business use of company accounts and put in place measures to ensure that the social media use complies with the law.
Personal Use Policies The business’s policy on employee personal use of social media should clearly identify whether the company permits employees to access their social media accounts during work hours or on employer equipment. If the business permits personal use of social media, then it should set clear guidance on what 12
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type of content (i.e., vulgar, obscene, harassing, threatening, disparaging, chain letters, spam) will not be tolerated. Furthermore, it should let employees know if they should have expectation of privacy regarding messages and content shared or accessed on social media using employer equipment.
Business Use Policies A company may require an employee to use social media to promote the company through marketing strategies, consumer engagement or recruitment efforts. The company’s social media policy should be designed to protect the employer’s assets and reputation, protect any third-party property or privacy, and ensure that social media use complies with all applicable federal and state laws. Protection of Assets Reputation: Set a policy that governs disclosure and misappropriation of the company’s confidential, proprietary, and privileged information such as intellectual property. Emphasize the use of good judgment and remind employees that the social media posts reflect on the employer. Third-Party Property, Privacy and Terms of Use: A good policy should include protections against the disclosure of thirdparty proprietary information and confidentiality. Posted content should avoid referring to the company’s vendors, customers, associates, or investors altogether in a social media post. Additionally, all content posted by the company should comply with the terms of use for all applicable social media platforms. Compliance with the Law: Businesses should ensure that their social media policies do not run afoul of any applicable state or federal law. The policy should clearly state that nothing in the social media policy is intended to prevent employees from engaging in legally protected activities. Employee Rights: Avoid setting policies for retaliatory adverse employment actions against employees that engage in protected activity though the use of social media. Employers should consider the following legal frameworks that are applicable to their organization when developing disciplinary measures as part of their social media policy. • National Labor Relations Act—Section 7 of the NLRA protects employees’ right to self-organize, unionize, collectively bargain, and participate in other mutual aid activities.
• Whistleblower Laws—Whistleblower laws, such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act, provide protections for whistleblowers at publicly traded companies. • First Amendment—government employers should ensure that any disciplinary policies do not violate the free speech rights of their employees. • State Privacy Laws—Additionally, the unauthorized use of a person’s name or image for commercial purposes may violate local privacy laws and even expose the company to criminal sanctions. Promotion Disclosures: The Federal Trade Commission Act requires the disclosure of an employee’s connection to an employer when advertising the employer’s products or services. Companies that use online endorsers or influencers to promote their products could face regulatory scrutiny if the endorser does not disclose the connection. Relevant connections between a company and an endorser that must be disclosed can include payments, free products and discounts given to the endorser. Securities Concerns for Publicly Traded Companies: Social media posts are subject to the same securities regulations as any other written communication from a publicly traded company. Extra care should be taken to ensure that social media posts and comments avoid disclosing regulated information under the Securities and Exchange Act such as:
• False Statements (Rule 10b-5) • Disclosure of Non-Public Information (Regulation FD) • Non-GAAP Financial Info (Regulation G) Most importantly, there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to a social media policy. Your policy should be tailored to the culture, needs and circumstances of your workplace. However you develop your social media policy, it should be plain and clear regarding the company’s expectations. The informality, speed and ease of social media makes it a great tool to grow your business, but it can also rapidly turn a bad situation into a disaster. A good social media policy will minimize those risks so your business can maximize the benefits. n Jessica L. Copeland advises her clients at Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC in all aspects of business counsel and disputes, with a particular focus on data privacy, cybersecurity, and intellectual property. Jessica is chair of the firm’s cybersecurity and data privacy practice. Jessica’s broad experience includes advising clients on data privacy compliance, including state, federal and international cybersecurity, and data privacy laws. She defends clients in data breach class action litigations and routinely manages data incidents, breaches, and advises on breach notification obligations. Learn more at www.bsk.com/people/jessica-l-copeland. Co-author: Jackson Somes.
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Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 186, 2021
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A Stand-Up Comedian Stands Out in Family Law A Part-Time Hobby Provides Serious Insight for a Full-Time Family Law Practice by Dan Baldwin
F
ew people would consider the part-time hobby of stand-up comedy practical ground for honing one’s skill as an attorney, but attorney Kathy A. Minella, Certified Family Law Specialist, disagrees. “A lot of people want to be creative in settling their case and therefore avoid going to court, so creative thinking is a big part of being a family law attorney. You can try to achieve settlement out of court and that is a creative act. Thinking out of the box is an essential element of standup comedy and it’s also essential in being a good family law attorney. Everybody can go to court, but I think it takes a person who can think creatively to get things settled so people can get on with their lives,” she says. Minella is the founding attorney of Minella Law Group, APC. The firm’s focus is on family law, including divorce, adoption, child custody, child support, division of marital assets, domestic partnerships, military divorce, restraining orders, spousal support and visitation, family formation, and mediation. Board certified in family law by the State Bar of California, she has more than ten years of experience in family law. She is also on the minors counsel panel and is appointed by the court to represent children going through high conflict divorce and custody issues.
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Always Backing Up Back Talk “I was outspoken as a kid and I got in trouble a lot for speaking up. My parents said I back talked a lot. But I was always the one who could formulate a reason for my argument. I was always trying to justify what I did. I always backed up my arguments with facts,” Minella says. She felt the drive to become an advocate in her early years, but it took an experience in an altogether different arena to come to the determination that she wanted to be an attorney. Her creative drive took her to art school in Chicago and then to owning and operating her own wedding video business. The legal needs of setting up and managing a business kept bringing her back to the legal field. “Even if you’re in a creative business, there is still a need for the law.” After graduating from Columbia College Chicago with a BFA in interactive media in 2003, she earned her J.D. at the California Western School of Law in 2009. While attending law school, she gained invaluable family law experience volunteering at the Madge Bradley domestic violence clinic. After law school she worked at a large San Diego-based family law firm, a smaller firm, and then founded Minella Law Group, APC, in 2014. She employs two attorneys, two paralegals and a support staff.
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© Bauman Photography
2021
The firm doesn’t shy away from complex or controversial cases. For example, they recently represented a man who had donated his sperm to a woman to conceive a child. The donor and recipient did not have a contract to make it a legal donation whereby negating her ability to request child support from him. They made the agreement on their own with no legal contracts involved. He just wanted to help her out and she really wanted to get pregnant. She was diagnosed with a condition that affected her fertility. She could not wait to get pregnant, and she could not afford to go the legal way. Not only had the client had sex with her but also gave sperm for her to inseminate herself. He retained Minella and the case went all the way to trial.
Clients agree that the decision was a wise one. Years ago, I would have told you that you were crazy if you thought I would write a review for a divorce lawyer. Let’s be honest: Divorce is one of the most personal, awful experiences of your life; and who wants to tell the world about it? And then a special person comes into your life and makes that awful experience better. And they let you know that it’s going to be okay. Guess what? It was actually BETTER than okay. For me, that person is Kathy Minella. Kathy is the full package: Smart, articulate, extremely knowledgeable on California Family Law (both California Family Codes, as well as case law), and is a bulldog with opposing council. Before
We are changing the way law firms do business. We represent all walks of life, gender, race, and orientation. At trial she presented several arguments on why the court should not legally declare him the father and presented a lot of case law and authority on this point. She invested a lot of time trying to show that science could not have resulted in the pregnancy from the sexual act. However, it could not definitively be determined that it was from the donation and the law is clear on that. They lost the case, but the court was very sympathetic to her client’s position. The judge admonished the mother for her actions in court and stated the child was the one who was ultimately going to suffer as she was going to be forced to see a man who she didn’t know. The child was age three by this time and didn’t know the man as her father. It was clear to the court that the woman intended to use their client as a sperm donor and the sex was only for her request to conceive a child. “It was disappointing, but a few months after the court gave its orders the mother did agree to forgo child support as she didn’t want to have the child visit with father. So, while we ultimately lost, the final outcome was what we wanted,” Minella says.
The Amateur Stand-Up Takes a Professional Stand Minella says, “I made the decision to open my own firm because I wanted more autonomy in who I represent. My previous jobs didn’t allow me a say in who I represented and that really bothered me. I sometimes had to represent clients I did not believe in. I also had to take positions based on what my boss stated rather than what I believed to be right. I decided to form my own firm.”
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I hired Kathy, I interviewed six other attorneys (hey, this is a serious decision!). Let me do all the work for you: Just go ahead and give Kathy a call now. She’ ll give you a free consultation, and I guarantee you’ ll be hooked after you talk to her. Thank you Kathy, for everything you’ve done for my daughter and me! Hiring Kathy was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Changing the Way by Pointing the Way “We are changing the way law firms do business. We represent all walks of life, gender, race, and orientation. Our typical client is one who has a problem that needs solving whether it be access to their children or a pending restraining order, we gravitate towards people who have been experiencing injustice because they didn’t have representation in court. We do that by working with proven traditions, but at the same time innovating constantly to improve what we can do for our clients,” Minella says. For example, she was involved in a case where a father was accused of disturbing allegations against their threeyear-old daughter. The allegations involved sexual abuse and molestation of his adopted daughter. She was appointed to represent the three-year-old girl to assist the court in determining if these allegations were legitimate. Minella relied on the experts, the therapists and their psychological evaluations, the doctors and their forensic evaluations and the evidence to underscore her legal positions. The father had professionally supervised visitation for almost a year while
© Bauman Photography The Minella Law Group Team: Jocelyn Heredia (Associate), Kathy Minella (Partner/Founder) and Elizabeth Lefiti (Associate).
the investigation was going on, which was hard on him. The allegations ended up being false and Minella presented evidence that gave full custody to the father and supervised visitation to the mother. “Seeing this type of injustice and the ultimate outcome really gave me the motivation to stay in family law and continue my expertise in this area. That is why I became a certified family law specialist, as I wanted to be the best in my practice area,” Minella says. Another way she keeps the firm on the leading edge is exemplified by making the firm completely paperless, where everything is maintained online. This gives clients the ability to access their client file at anytime by logging onto their platform. The attorneys maintain all calendars online, so clients always know what is going on in their case. “This sets us apart and takes away the secrecy in your case and need to
constantly contact your attorney and then worry about being billed for it. We often hear complaints about attorneys and the most common is a lack of information being shared about their case, we have taken that information and put it right into the hands of the client, which allows them to be as informed as they want to be.” Another innovation is her recent expansion into mediation, which now provides approximately 25 percent of the firm’s business. “I’m a problem solver and mediation is a great avenue for that. You can provide a real neutral viewpoint. You can get the parties together and find a solution without having to go to court.” Minella is adding a new practice area by assisting with family formation. She has a lot of experience with handling adoptions, and she finds real joy in putting families together Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 186, 2021
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—the fun part of her practice. “With families coming in all different shapes and sizes I would love to be a part of that as well. California has very liberal laws and families come from all over who live in different parts of the country that are not as accepting. IVF and surrogacy are matters a lot of families need to explore in order to become parents and having access to attorneys that can assist them and navigate the system is important.” She takes a very down-to-earth, client-friendly approach to face-to-face encounters. “I consider myself a very creative person and not your average lawyer. I like to wear jeans to the office, and you will rarely catch me in a suit. I didn’t move across the country to a beach town to wear a suit to work every day. I like to be real and down to earth with my clients, not lawyerly.”
Putting Life in the San Diego Lifestyle Minella moved to San Diego in July 2007 for law school and never looked back. She and husband of five years, Chris, and their 22-month-old son, Carter, and a rescue dog named Zoey live in the Del Cerro area. The couple is expecting their second child in December. They enjoy going to the zoo and exploring the sights of San Diego, such as the beach. Her hobbies include gardening, baking, and rescuing dogs, especially senior dogs. The success she finds in her own family serves to enhance her drive for success in her chosen field. “I find that I am really good at family law, and I enjoy it. Helping people see the bigger picture and focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. You get to be a life coach in a way, helping people understand how to live their life again after this time in their life is done. I like to say it is one chapter in their book. Also, with family law you participate in everything, so you get to assist with all aspects of the law, giving you experience in a wealth of different practice areas,” Minella says. n Contact Kathy Minella, CFLS Minella Law Group, APC 1450 Frazee Road, Unit 305 San Diego, CA 92108 (619) 289-7948 www.minellalawgroup.com
» EDUCATION • Columbia College Chicago BFA—2003 • California Western School of Law—2009
» HONORS, AWARDS AND PUBLICATIONS • Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2019 and 2020 • Best of the Bar SDBJ—2016 • Better Business Bureau®—A+ Rating
» REVIEWS (AS OF 7/20/2021) • Avvo: (26+ 5 Star Reviews) • Yelp: (31+ 5 Star Reviews) • Google: (26+ 4.5 Star Reviews) • Facebook: (5+ 5 Star Reviews)
» ASSOCIATIONS • San Diego County Bar Association • San Diego Family Law Bar Association
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Big Wins for the Little Guy by Dan Baldwin
JOURNALS
FEATURED PROFESTSHIOENMAOLNPTROFILE OF
2021
H
BRIAN CHASE
I was one of those long-haired surfer guys who was never going to wear a suit and tie,” says Brian Chase who is now Managing Partner and Senior Trial Attorney heading up the Litigation Department of Bisnar Chase, Personal Injury Attorneys, LLP. That dramatic reversal in attitude occurred essentially in two stages, Chase says. During his high school days, he was stunned by the infamous Ford Pinto case. The manufacturer was wellaware of a product defect and conducted a cost analysis based on fixing the defect versus paying out on the claims. The decision was that in the long run ignoring the defect was the least costly option. Unfortunately, the subsequent episodes of exploding gas tanks caused tragic and avoidable death and injury. Chase’s feelings solidified while attending California State University at Long Beach when a class was given an interesting debate problem. The famous “Baby Fay” case in which a baboon’s heart was implanted into a human was to be the proand-con subject. He spent four days, day and night, in the library going through all the microfiche records and digging seriously into that project. “I was so excited by it. I didn’t know why, but I knew I just loved the intellectual challenge of that and in having to argue both sides of it in class. That was a moment
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when I said, ‘Wow! If I ever get a real job someday, I’m going to be a lawyer because that must be what it’s like. It’s intellectually stimulating, and you have to really prepare. That planted the seed,” he says. Unlike many attorneys who decide on a practice area late in their college years or even early in their careers, Chase immediately knew he wanted to be a personal injury attorney with a specific emphasis in auto defects.
THE SEATBACK LAWYER TAKES A BACK SEAT TO NO ONE Two cases illustrate Chase’s commitment to clients impacted by auto defects. The first involves a rear-end collision and, again, Ford as the manufacturer. The gas tank in a 2004 Mustang exploded causing the death by burning of a 27-year-old man. “That case is near and dear to my heart because it is so like the Ford Pinto case. In this case Ford knew the government was upgrading its standards. The 2004 Mustangs being tested were failing. Gas tanks had been installed behind the rear axle in the ‘crush zone,’ which inevitably caused ruptures. This is an ongoing case that shows Ford hasn’t learned their lesson,” Chase says.
Another case, Romine vs. Johnson Controls, earned Chase the title “the Seatback Guy.” The seatback in question collapsed in a rear-end collision. His client was projected into the rear of the seat, breaking her neck and making her an incomplete quadriplegic. Chase says, “We settled against the manufacturer and went to trial against Johnson Controls and got a verdict of $24.7 million and change.” Bisnar Chase tried the case in a unique manner by using the consumer expectation test to prove defect alone. Two methods are used to prove defect in California: using the consumer expectation test and using and risk/benefit test. Chase chose to go with the consumer expectation test alone. All the published opinions in California acknowledged that it’s proper to use that test under certain circumstances, but in every published opinion the courts always held that the case before it wasn’t one of them. It was a risky move, but one that eventually paid off. They got the desired verdict and then the case went up on appeal. The firm got a published opinion on that case upholding that it was proper to use consumer expectation test. It is the only published opinion in California that says that it’s appropriate to use the test in seatback cases. “What is so great about that is that we have subsequently tried several seatback cases and the courts have to allow us to use the consumer expectations test to prove defect. It’s very difficult for the defense to win a case when you get that ruling because it excludes 95 percent of all the smoke and mirrors evidence they like to throw at a jury. What’s so special about that beyond getting justice for my client, is that hundreds or even thousands of people in the State of California and other states are going to get that help,” Chase says.
TAKING A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN MASS TORTS Currently the talcum powder cases against Johnson and Johnson are in the news, cases in which the product caused ovarian cancer in women using the product. Chase is on the Plaintiff’s Executives Committee in the California JCCP on that litigation in a leadership role and is heavily involved in that litigation. They are also litigating cases in the MDL back east, which are starting to heat up. The firm is currently going through the bellwether cases and starting to pick out the cases for bellwether trials. “We have a great judge. We have a tentative trial date for early 2021. J&J has refused thus far to settle the cases. I’m sure they will sooner or later,” he says. Chase is also heavily involved in the metal-on-metal hip litigation, another Johnson & Johnson/DePuy product—the ASR metal-on-metal hip that was ultimately recalled. Chase believes the settlement numbers are too low, but he has one very brave client who did not want to take the settlement money and wants instead to go to trial. Hip replacement devices in cases like this are
supposed to have a less than one percent revision rate per year. If you have a hip for ten years you should have a less than ten percent chance of it being revised. Johnson and Johnson five years in was already up more than 40 percent. “It was an egregious product with no human testing let alone any real substantive laboratory and should have never been put in human beings. I’m very passionate about those cases,” Chase says.
TAKING AGGRESSIVE ACTION IN CONSUMER CLASS ACTIONS Consumer actions are also a passionate interest for Chase. Currently he is involved in a case against Toyota. The firm coated its auto wiring with a soy-based product which attracts rodents who eat the material. Clients find their cars won’t start or are malfunctioning as wiring harnesses have been eaten through. They take it to their dealer who won’t warranty the repairs, which can cost thousands of dollars. A class action was filed in Orange County Federal Court. Initially, the court granted a motion to dismiss, but after arguing in the Ninth Circuit, the case was revived. Chase is also co-lead counsel in the California JCCP on the Yahoo data breach case in which there is also a concurrent MDL. The two leadership groups got together and have the case tentatively resolved. At the time of the tentative resolution it was the largest data breech settlement ever.
A RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT Chase is recognized as a leader in his field. He was named 2020 Litigator of the Year; 2020 Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel; 2020 Litigator of the Year by the AIOTL; 2020 and 2021 Top Plaintiff Lawyer, Daily Journal; 2019 Lawyer of the Year; 2019 Million Dollar Advocate, 2019; and he was named to the American Academy of Attorneys $500M Club; Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the American Trial Lawyers Association since 2007; the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of distinguished Counsel; Southern California SuperLawyer since 2007, and a Top 50 Orange County SuperLawyer for the past 13 years. Chase says, “I used to be the little guy. I come from humble beginnings. Maybe that’s why I have a chip on my shoulder for these big corporations who pick on people like the me 50 of years ago.” n Contact Brian Chase Bisnar Chase, LLP 1301 Dove Street, #120 Newport Beach, CA 92660 (949) 752-2999 www.BestAttorney.com
Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 186, 2021
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our client pitchbook materials won’t cut it—recruiting materials must be tailored for recruits... Hiring at law firms across the United States is skyrocketing—just look, for example, at some of the latest legal industry headlines regarding associate salary increases for the first time in years. Legal research company Leopard Solutions recently noted that the demand for lawyers at all levels reached an all-time high this year as law firms expanded their attorney job searches to make up for last year’s slow or nonexistent growth. Leopard says there are 9500+ open legal jobs right now—higher than at any point since the company started tracking positions in the legal industry. However, the increased demand for lawyers has also made it more challenging for law firms to compete for qualified candidates and retain their people. If you don’t have a recruiting marketing strategy, you will have a hard time standing out from your competitors to attract recruits and laterals. Legal recruiters are busier than they’ve ever been as firms scramble to hire attorneys who can accommodate the uptick... It is not enough to be a great law firm doing great work with great lawyers anymore. Any firm that thinks they will attract candidates based solely on their brand, location or salary is behind the times. The world and our industry has forever changed as a result of the pandemic and firms need to adapt to that change in order to attract and retain great talent. Here are some ideas on how to create a recruiting marketing strategy at any sized law firm: • Know (and communicate) your value proposition. It’s crucial to be able to convey why your firm is right for a candidate and what makes your firm unique compared to its competitors. Make sure you can not only articulate this in the recruiting process but also in written materials. • Manage your online brand. Have you checked out your firm’s Google search results lately? You should. Indeed, Glassdoor and Google reviews come up on
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the first page of your Google results. Your firm will inevitably have both good and bad reviews—make sure to get ahead of them and be able to answer recruits’ questions on the negative ones. Encourage star performers to post positive reviews to counterbalance the negative ones. • Create dedicated recruiting marketing materials and messaging. These materials should live on your web site, your social channels, and be modular pieces you can easily PDF to a candidate, a recruiter or a law school. Your client pitchbook materials won’t cut it—recruiting materials must be tailored for recruits to highlight what it’s like to work at the firm, what the summer and new associate programs are like, and what professional development resources you offer. For laterals, you may be able to repurpose some of your existing pitch materials, but you should also put together a piece on lateral integration, firm successes and professional development. • Use LinkedIn. It’s one of the most effective, cheap and helpful ways to build relationships and market your firm. Use your LinkedIn company page to highlight news and successes, and your people. • Use other social media channels that are less formal, such as Instagram, which can give recruits a sneak peek into life at the firm and the people with whom they would be working. My biggest word of advice is to be authentic and don’t post the same content on every social media channel—tailor the message for the medium, as well as your imagery (Instagram photos need to be square, for example). • Collect the positive online reviews of your firm from Google, Indeed, Vault, Chambers Associate and Glassdoor and feature them on your web site and in social media posts. It just takes a little time to pull the
reviews and format them. You can also ask star lawyers for quotes on their favorite aspects of working at the firm and feature those in a campaign on your web site and social media channels. • Build your network. The more people you know, the higher chances you have to meet people who may be future colleagues, clients, employees, referrals, etc. While networking is a bit more challenging now, I think Zoom has made the process more efficient and easier. • Conduct focus groups with star associates and partners. This will help you find out what is working well at the firm (as well as what’s not). Going directly to your people for their honest feedback about the firm will give you invaluable information in many areas, not just recruiting. You can take this info and use it to create better events, professional development programs to how work is assigned. • Don’t stop offering work from home and flexible work arrangements. Many lawyers want the freedom to continue working from home after the pandemic—especially women who are at a disadvantage the day they walk into a law firm because of the gender pay gap as well as the fact they are also usually the primary caregivers. Support your lawyers on their professional journeys and they will be loyal to you. Also, when it makes sense, feature some of these success stories in your recruiting marketing materials. Employees have a lot of choices right now—make sure that they continue to choose you every day by providing them with the best possible environment for career growth you can. Taking the time to do this will help you stand out and attract the right candidates to your firm. n Stefanie Marrone advises law firms of all sizes, professional service firms, B2B companies, recruiters and individuals on the full range of marketing and business development consulting services designed to enhance revenue, retain current clients and achieve greater brand recognition. She also serves as outsourced chief marketing officer/ marketing department for small and mid-size law firms. Over her nearly 20-year legal marketing career, she has worked at and with a broad range of big law, mid-size and small firms, which has given her a valuable perspective of the legal industry. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow her latest writing on JD Supra.
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How to Manage the Unexpected Resignation of a Key Legal Employee by Kimberly Lerman
“In every organization, resignations are inevitable, regardless of how valued employees feel.” As a legal recruiter, I often receive frantic calls from General Counsel and other clients who just learned that an indispensable employee on their team is resigning from the organization. I can typically hear the panic in their voice as they tell me about the ways in which the employee contributed to their team. They are often worried that they will never be able to find a replacement employee who can fill all the gaps that will arise. In every organization, resignations are inevitable, regardless of how valued employees feel. Recruiters can swoop in with an unsolicited offer with more responsibility, better pay, or a shorter commute than their current employer can offer. Spouses can be relocated, or family members may need full-time care. Whatever the reason, when you’re faced with the unexpected departure of a key member of your team, it’s important to act quickly. Hopefully, your employee gave you at least two weeks’ notice — that will provide you with a little bit of time to prepare. First, you may want to evaluate whether it’s worthwhile to make a counteroffer to try to keep your employee. Next, even though you likely have a full calendar for the next two weeks, it’s best to make it a priority to spend as much time as you can preparing for the transition, especially if the employee who resigned has important company information that may not have been shared with others or is part way through working on important tasks that will require some ramp up time for someone else to complete. It’s also important to spend some time evaluating your short-term and long-term needs to ensure you make the best possible replacement hire, but at the same time you will want to move quickly because your team is likely busy and will want to see that help is on the way. Once the dust has settled, consider reviewing your succession plan to see if it was effective or may benefit from some tweaking, and consider assessing why your employee left and what you may be able to do differently in the future to help minimize the chances of further resignations on your team.
Consider Making a Counteroffer If the reasons for your employee’s decision to depart the company are things that you can address, consider whether you would like to do so. For instance, if the employee accepted a new job because it pays more money, you may want to explore the possibility of 28
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agreeing to match the employee’s new salary offer. Likewise, if the employee’s resignation was due to finding an opportunity to better be able to advance their career, consider whether you can offer added responsibilities that will match the new opportunity. Or, if the employee resigned because they found a new job closer to home, consider whether telecommuting is a possibility. Counteroffers aren’t the best option in all situations, because even when they are accepted there’s always a possibility that the relationship dynamic will change once it’s become known that the employee was willing to leave, but at times they can result in successful, long-term relationships.
Determine Which Tasks Need to Be Reassigned and What Knowledge Needs to Be Transferred Transferring knowledge is often a high priority when a key employee resigns, as it may be difficult to do this after the employee has departed and moved on to a new role. As a result, in addition to focusing on the transfer of important and/or time-sensitive projects, it may be beneficial also to focus on knowledge transfer to ensure that the departing employee shares all critical information with someone else at the company before their final day of work. To do this, it will be helpful to spend some time with the departing employee to discuss the projects that person has been working on, and to gain insight into whether there is the need for a transfer of any knowledge to allow for a smooth transition.
Evaluate Short-Term and Long-Term Needs As a first step, it’s helpful to make sure you understand the full scope of the work done by the departing employee, including both short-term and long-term projects and goals. It’s then time to start evaluating whether this work can be handled by others at the company, or whether a replacement hire will be required. Think about whether some of the work done by the employee who resigned can be reassigned to someone else at the company more effectively than it could be handled by a new hire. In addition to developing a plan to ensure that the substantive work is covered, it’s also helpful to evaluate whether any internal promotions or reorganizations may make sense.
Make a Hiring Plan You are likely busier than ever when trying to manage the resignation of a key employee, but if you need to backfill the position, it’s best to make that a priority — it can take some time to find the right person for your company. Not only is the hiring process time-consuming, but since multiple people at your company likely will be involved in the interview process, it may not be easy to find a day/time for the interviews that will work well for everyone. Also, if some of your past hires have worked out less-than-perfectly, it may be worthwhile to take the time to assess whether there is something you should do differently this time around. If your need for help is urgent and you don’t think your team can sustain the workload while you take the time to engage in a thorough hiring process, consider bringing in contract employees to help with overflow work in the interim. Contract work has become a career of choice for many qualified attorneys and utilizing the expertise of contract attorneys can be a cost-effective solution to help lighten up your team’s workload while you work to find a permanent employee.
Preserve the Relationship No matter how blindsided you may feel by the resignation, it’s probably worthwhile to make the effort to preserve the good relationship you’ve built with the employee who is leaving. That employee may be able to help recommend a replacement for their position or offer insight into what type of employee would be best to backfill their role. Also, you never know when you may have a professional or personal need for help from the employee, whether to request information about a company project after their departure, or perhaps for a reference or recommendation.
Assess the Employee’s Reason for Resigning Once the employee has provided notice they are leaving the company, they may be more willing to have a candid discussion with you about their experience working on your team. By having a frank conversation with the employee, you may learn about changes to policies or personnel that could be helpful to improve the morale of the remaining team members, which could help prevent future resignations.
Evaluate Your Succession Plan Were you prepared for this resignation, or were you caught without a plan in place? Even if you were prepared, could you have been more prepared? When your succession plan is put to the test, it may be easier to identify gaps or areas for improvement with the plan that weren’t apparent earlier. Once the dust settles, taking some time to reevaluate and update your succession plan could lead you to be better prepared the next time there is a resignation on your team.
How to Prepare for an Unexpected Departure Evaluate whether it’s worthwhile to make a counteroffer to try to keep your employee Prioritize spending as much time as you can preparing for the transition Evaluate your short-term and long-term needs to ensure you make the best possible replacement hire Move quickly, as your team will want to see that help is on the way Review your succession plan to see if it was effective or may benefit from some tweaking A ssess why your employee left and what you may be able to do differently in the future
Consider Calling in Help If the employee’s resignation has left you overwhelmed and in need of hiring a replacement employee quickly, consider calling in the experts. Legal recruiting firms in your market likely are well-connected in the industry, and those firms are constantly on the lookout for good candidates in their local market. For both contract and permanent hires, recruiters can be an invaluable aid to the hiring process, especially when it’s important that you move quickly and hire the right person. There is a lot to consider when a key employee resigns, and your first instinct may be to focus only on ensuring that the employee’s work gets done and deadlines are met, but it’s also important to make it a priority to focus on making a long-term plan, which may include finding a new resource to help on a long-term basis. Once that’s done, then you can take the time to reflect on whether changes are warranted to help your department increase retention and ensure that succession planning is on target. n Kimberly Lerman is a Legility Talent Manager in Atlanta. She works primarily with attorneys, placing them in a variety of positions in corporate legal departments across numerous industries as well as at law firms. Prior to the start of her career in recruiting in 2015, Kimberly spent 15 years practicing law in Atlanta, and she was involved in hiring attorneys throughout that time. In her last legal role, she served as Vice President & Associate General Counsel for a large company in Atlanta. In addition to seven years of in-house experience, Kimberly also worked as a litigation associate at local law firms, including several years at both King & Spalding and Eversheds Sutherland. Throughout her law firm tenure, Kimberly was involved with interviewing law students and lawyers at job fairs, on-campus interviews, and onsite interviews. She also was a member of the Hiring Committee at Eversheds Sutherland from 2005— 2007. Kimberly currently serves as Co-Chairman of the Duke Atlanta Women’s Forum and is a Member of the Duke Law Atlanta Board.
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