Managerial Skills Seminar

The IPMA Managerial Skills Seminar is designed to develop and refine practical managerial skills involved in the supervision of paralegals, litigation support, docket, technology, and other legal practice support professionals. This full-day program is the first and only seminar designed by and for active practice support managers and presented by IPMA members.

Both new and experienced managers will learn valuable management, team building, and communication skills essential to supervision in a legal organization. Subjects covered include recruitment and retention, orientation, evaluations, training programs, performance management, and positioning your program for success.

This information-packed seminar will provide a forum to share, grow, and improve. Become a better manager, mentor, and promoter of your paralegals, litigation support, docket, technology, or other legal practice support teams by attending the IPMA Managerial Skills Seminar this year!

To supplement the seminar experience, each participant receives a CD containing hundreds of sample forms and informational articles to assist in running their program. Prior year materials are available for purchase by contacting IPMA headquarters.

Upcoming Seminars

FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2019

IPMA Member Rate: $350
Non-member Rate: $400

Location: 
Ballard Spahr LLP
1675 Broadway 19th Floor
New York City, NY 10019

Program Description

Attendees will find this seminar a unique opportunity to review their own supervisory style and discuss new ideas in an environment that encourages sharing real-life experiences. Prior attendees have commented on how the seminar helped them "pull it all together" and how spending a day away from the frequent interruptions of the office permitted them to come up with action plans on how to improve their programs. The variety of experiences of the instructors and attendees insures that there are perspectives from different types and sizes of organizations.

Agenda

Faculty

Susanne Fordham
Paralegal Manager, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, New York, NY
Susanne has over 30 years’ experience in Paralegal Management. She has been the Paralegal Manager for Weil, Gotshal & Manges since March 2004 where she manages paralegals in the Corporate, Litigation and Bankruptcy practice areas. She also coordinates document reviews with Litigation Support and contract attorney agencies. Prior to that, she was the Paralegal Manager for Dewey Ballantine (aka Dewey LeBoeuf).  She has also managed the End User Support groups for Information Systems Departments of White and Case and Davis Polk and was a Contract Manager for Doubleday/Dell/Delacorte Press.
She has a paralegal certificate from George Washington University and a BA in English from College of Notre Dame of Maryland.

Gary L. Melhuish
Manager of Litigation Support Services, Ballard Spahr, LLP, Philadelphia, PA
Gary Melhuish is the Manager of Litigation Support Services in the Philadelphia office of Ballard Spahr, LLP. Prior to joining this firm in 2006, he was the Legal Assistant Director in the Washington, D.C. office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. Gary has over 30 years' experience as a paralegal including more than 20 years as a paralegal manager. He is a Past President of the International Practice Management Association (IPMA). He was Adjunct Faculty at the Georgetown University Paralegal Studies Program from 2002 through 2005 where he taught Legal Ethics and Legal Technology. Gary is a former member of the ABA's Approval Commission of the Standing Committee on Paralegals and serves on the National Federation of Paralegal Association's PACE Advisory Committee.

Laura Porter 
Manager, Corporate Secretariat, OMERS Administration
Laura Porter, Manager, Corporate Secretariat at OMERS, is responsible for department administrative matters, staffing, developing, training, budget, implementing departmental policies and procedures, providing information regarding corporate procedures, and monitoring workflow. She has over 20 years of experience in a legal environment, and prior to joining OMERS in 2014, Laura was a Manager and Senior Law Clerk at a Toronto law firm whose duties included department administrative matters, staffing, developing, implementing departmental policies and procedures, providing information regarding corporate procedures, conducting seminars for students and lawyers, and monitoring workflow. Her expertise covers corporate and security matters including, incorporation, amendments, amalgamations, continuances, revivals, asset and share transactions, reorganizations, corporate record keeping, drafting closing agendas, agreements, prospectus documents, coordinating complex transactions, and regulatory filings for SEDAR, EDGAR, and SEDI including preparation of public filing documents. Laura is a member of the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario and the International Practice Management Association.