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Mar
14
Author: Rachael Bosch PDC Trusted Advisor Rachael Bosch is the CEO and founder at Fringe PD, where their mission is to help people communicate better and create more human workplaces. A lot goes into someone's professional growth, and feedback almost always plays a key role. With the importance of getting quality feedback in all our professional (and personal!) lives, I am constantly amazed at how 'nice' feedback continues to permeate. Being 'nice' when giving feedback has been...
Feb
14
Author: Dr. Larry Richard PDC Trusted Advisor LawyerBrain LLC Law firm leaders are constantly trying to get their lawyers to do stuff: “Turn in your timesheets!” “Mentor younger lawyers.” “Show up at partners meetings.” “Come back to the office.” Or they’re busy trying to get lawyers to not do stuff: “Stop hoarding work.” “Don’t use social media to discuss sensitive matters.” “Don’t micromanage associates.” Yet many leaders are frustrated at how hard it...
Jan
17
Author: Jackie Cranford PDC Trusted Advisor Founder and Principal  Cranford Advisory Services LLC In the words of The Rolling Stones, “please allow me to introduce myself.”  I am a Professional Development Consortium (PDC) Trusted Advisor, a former Big Law litigator, a former DOJ trial attorney, and a talent management professional committed to enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). Of course, all of this one can...
Dec
05
Author: Aisha Greene PDC Board of Directors Director of Attorney Development and Training Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP It is well past time for us to come up with another term for "soft skills". As defined, "soft" means that something is easy or not hard. "Soft skills" are personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively with other people. By contrast, hard skills or technical skills are defined as objective, quantifiable skills gained through training,...
Nov
15
Author: David Freeman     Founder David Freeman Consulting Group and Lawyer BookBuilder PDC TA profile    The dynamics of compound interest apply both to building wealth and developing the skills to build that wealth. “Deposits” that are made now in training associates how to become great rainmakers can compound into much greater returns in the future. In this piece...
Oct
16
Author: Paula Davis-Laack Stress & Resilience Institute  Lawyer Strong LLC   PDC TA Profile  PDC Call Me For- Video LinkedIn    When you think about stress, what comes to mind first?  Big work and life stressors or the everyday hassles that are part of life?  In their new book, The Microstress Effect, Rob Cross and Karen Dillon suggest that microstress – small moments of stress in your personal and professional life that...
Sep
12
Author:  Benjamin K. Grimes (he/him) BKG Leadership Coaching Trust | Transparency | Empathy | Passion email | LinkedIn Optimism and Caution (But Mostly Optimism) For the Future of GenAI In Your Law Firm You can’t swing a stick these days without seeing another article or discussion about ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence (genAI[1]) tools and how they are reshaping legal practice.  The reality for many of us, though, is that we and our law firms...
Jul
07
Sandra Bang is the Founder and CEO of Sable Group, a bespoke coaching and people development consultancy, and a certified executive coach. She helps people and organizations gain clarity and achieve their professional and business goals by actively listening with empathy, reframing perspectives within context, and providing strategic guidance. With her candid and pragmatic approach, Sandra facilitates outcomes for clients that are impactful and beneficial, particularly in the areas of...
Apr
11
Author: Aisha Greene Director of Attorney Development and Training Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP In 2020, the PDC formed a working group to discuss the DEI goals and initiatives of the organization. Since that time, the working group has developed into a permanent committee called the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Committee.   The PDC Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (“DEIB”) Committee is committed to working with the PDC Board and the...
Nov
29
Author: Brenna Glanville Milbank Manager of Professional Development   If year-end goal setting makes you think of gym discounts, fad diets, and flashy commercials, you are not alone. Despite its seemingly gimmicky cousin, making New Year’s resolutions, creating end-of-year goals is a uniquely beneficial activity worthy of your time. Below are my tips, as a former lawyer and now Manager of Professional Development, for creating meaningful end-of-year goals and for implementing...
Nov
07
By:  Marcie Y. Davis     Assistant Dean, Office of Career Services  SMU Dedman School of Law    As the Assistant Dean of Career Services at SMU Dedman School of Law, part of my job is to counsel students and help them identify and achieve their career goals.  I pride myself on my ability to offer  sage advice that, if followed, is likely to result in employment – whether for the summer, semester, or post grad.    ...
Oct
21
Will we see you at the 2022 PDI Conference? The Professional Development Institute (PDI) Conference is a collaboration between the PDC, NALP, and ALI-CLE and registration is now open! Taking place December 1-2 at the Conrad Hotel in Washington, DC (note the new location!), the conference is THE place to be for PD professionals.  Whether you recently joined the PD community, or have been in the industry for years, you will leave the conference with timely, helpful information to...
Apr
26
by Jessie Spressart, Founder and Managing Director, Optia Consulting LLC Do you know what a mastermind is? Simply put, a mastermind is a group of peers who gather to learn from each other, offer support and advice, and pool their collective wisdom to tackle challenges that its members face. If you stop and think about it, this sounds a lot like the broader purpose of the Professional Development Consortium! When I became a Trusted Advisor in late 2020, I proposed that the PDC...
Apr
19
By Kendra Brodin, CEO, EsquireWell Well-Being Week in Law is coming up May 2-6, 2022! Is your organization ready? According to the Institute for Well-Being in Law, Well-Being Week in Law aims “to raise awareness about mental health and encourage action and innovation across the profession to improve well-being.” During Well-Being Week in Law, law firms, law schools, and legal organizations highlight the importance of well-being through activities, events, resources, and more. ...
Mar
23
by Rachael Bosch, Managing Director and Founder of Fringe Professional Development   Like every business decision since the onset of COVID-19, workplace re-entry policies are forcing organizations to grapple with the very human experiences of their attorneys and business professionals. These decisions make the work of PD professionals messy and complicated. But it also provides excitement, as we get to play an essential role in helping define policies, drive implementation, and...
Feb
16
By Stacey Schwartz, Professional Development and Legal Recruiting Manager at Katten Surely the vast majority of us have seen at least one episode of Friends. One of the episodes that makes me laugh the hardest includes the iconic scene where Ross buys a new couch and decides to carry it up to his apartment instead of paying a delivery fee. With the help of Rachel and Chandler, Ross tries to navigate the couch up the stairs, shouting “P-I-V-O-T!” frantically, as the three of them struggle to...
Jan
27
By: Jessica Hernandez and Jessica Natkin Attorney Evaluations. They are the bane of existence for partners, associates, and professional development professionals alike. They can take up a lot of attorney and staff time, and are often still not very useful in meeting their primary purpose: to help attorneys develop. Perhaps this is because it is common for attorney evaluations to be expressed in a format that highlights if a partner believes an associate is “above/at/below the level”...
Nov
16
By:  Shannon Burke, with special thanks to Jody Rosen Knower of Sidley Austin In case you have not heard, the Professional Development Institute (PDI) is right around the corner, taking place December 2-3 in Washington DC!  The PDI is sponsored by NALP in collaboration with American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education and the Professional Development Consortium.  Who should attend? PD professionals of all experience levels will come away with new ideas and...
Oct
18
By: The PDC Board and DEIB Committee It’s that time of year when firms and schools are thinking about end-of-year gifts, and many PDC members have purse-string influence over those purchases for their teams or even for their entire organization.  As part of our ongoing efforts to support Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging goals, the PDC has teamed up with Start Small Think Big (SSTB), a national nonprofit supporting small businesses, to promote SSTB’s shopping guide as a...
Oct
15
By Tamesha Keel   As part of this year’s fantastic Summer Conference Planning Committee, it is hard to believe that the Summer Conference was three months ago! It seems like just yesterday that the Diverse Vendor Showcase debuted with over 50 diverse vendors, a collaborative brainchild between the DEIB and Summer Conference Planning Committees sponsored by SkillBurst Interactive.  After the introduction, I challenged everyone to follow the PDC and SkillBurst Interactive’s...
Aug
12
By Members of the PD Providers Network: Rachael Bosch, Christine Clapp, Jessica Hernandez, Steve Hughes, Kiko Korn, Jessica Natkin, Dianne Rosky, Jessie Spressart (For pictures of these PD providers and others in the PD Providers network, please visit the PD Providers Network roster page. The PD Providers Network, a group of consultants who serve the legal industry, met recently to discuss the transition from the all-remote teams of the COVID-19 era to the inevitable mix of remote and in-...
Jun
23
By Katie Aldrich, Fringe Professional Development   Whether we welcome it or run from it, interpersonal conflict is all around us, and being physically separated from our colleagues over the last 15 months hasn’t helped. Without the casual run-in at the coffee station after an intense meeting to “check the temperature” with a colleague, even seemingly small disagreements can result in high levels of fear and anxiety.  The good news is that we can change how we relate to...
Jun
23
By Christelle Dorcil It's January 2021 and the world remains in the throes of a global pandemic.  You're reeling from a recent assault on the nation's capital and wondering what it means for the upcoming inauguration of a new President. Between reeling and wondering, you've just returned to work after a holiday season where you may not have been able to celebrate with loved ones or carry out time-honored traditions. It barely feels like you had a break because you're dealing with...
May
26
By Reva Pollack   Getting my coaching certification in 2020 was a transformative experience, as it showed me a new way to approach problem-solving and goal-setting. As the new Volta coaching survey demonstrates, many law firms are investing in coaching as the value of having trained coaches on staff becomes more apparent. A coach serves as a judgment-free sounding board to help move past obstacles or more generally promote growth and development. Coaching is a difficult skill...
Oct
22
By Kiko Korn As a PDC member, you are a goldmine of information. Why not share it? Or start a conversation? Or let people know you're thinking about what they're thinking about? The PDC Blog is the perfect place for you to write about what's on your mind. With your help, the blog will be a wealth of institutional knowledge—a library of support, ideas, stories, answers, and connection. This blog post is designed to inspire you to start writing. It's a blog post about blog posts (how...

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