From Silos to Teamwork: Importance of Collaborative Leadership for Lawyers

Co-Hosted by the Academic Committee and the Professional Development Committee

NY CLE: 1.5 Credits in Skills, Transitional/Non-Transitional

Program Co-Chairs:
Marianne Chow Newman, Co-Chair, Professional Development Committee
Suzanne Kim, Co-Chair, Academic Committee

Speakers:
Lisa J. Damon, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Ginny Kim, Vice President – Managing Counsel & Litigation Counsel, United Technologies Corporation
Susan Sturm, George M. Jaffin Professor of Law and Social Responsibility, Columbia Law School
An Trotter, Senior Director of Operations, The Hearst Corporation, Office of General Counsel

Co-Moderators:
Suzanne Kim, Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
Marianne Chow Newman, Counsel, The Hearst Corporation, Office of General Counsel

Many law firms and legal departments within companies are led by attorneys who have never been formally trained to manage and collaborate with others. This is in large part due to the fact that law school pedagogy fosters a culture of individualism and competition among students, and top-tier law firms have focused on breeding lawyers with expertise specialization who work within their disciplinary silos.

The past several years have witnessed increased attention on collaboration as a mode of doing work within various sectors, including law, business, and education. While working across silos is understood to produce better, more creative results, the means of doing so effectively are not obvious, on individual, team, or institutional levels. This panel gathers leaders from the business, legal, and educational worlds, to discuss strategies for building more effective collaboration within the legal practice. Discussion will focus on models of collaboration in legal and non-legal spaces; skills needed for collaborative work and leadership; effective institutional mechanisms for building collaborative teams and leaders; and new directions in education to support collaboration. By engaging in thought leadership work on this innovative aspect of legal and business practice, this panel will serve our legal community and advance our profession.