Peer to Peer Magazine

11 WWW.ILTANET.ORG BEST PRACTICES Moving into Management: What You Need To Get from Here to There can be vital in selling yourself as a viable managerial investment. John Hogan, Senior Manager of Litigation Support Services, has led teams at law firms for over a decade, and he places loyalty at the cornerstone of both his success and the success of those he manages. Hogan says that the true value of loyalty is in the environment it creates: "A team knowing that their leader will support them no maer what creates an environment of confidence –– and confidence is key in the legal field." Insight on When To Leave Legal technology professionals who have spent their entire working lives at law firms and want to move into management roles might need to leave law firm life and work at a vendor to get the experience they crave. Jobs are moving to service providers, where there will be a need for more layers of talent and more management, specifically of human resources. This is a shi from five or more years ago when law firms dominated the job market opportunities. Corporations have become much more involved in dictating how their outside counsel provides support services, frequently engaging consultants and providers before their lawyers. As the paradigm continues to shi and corporate clients dictate to law firms what vendors they will use, how and where their data will be hosted, and with whom they will collaborate in a client service capacity, opportunities for employment will be most bountiful on the service provider side of the industry. The fastest track to management might be making an exit from law firm life, returning to it later — or perhaps not. P2P » It shows employees their ideas have value and that they can contribute to the greater performance of the team » It instills confidence that the ideas of all employees, not just managers, are heard » It teaches the manager humility as a leader » It builds a sense of trust among peers Allowing others to have a voice in decisions that affect the entire team or department is a critical part of leadership. Lew makes the point that "all [his] employees are actively engaged in conversations related to department initiatives and tasks." Gain Trench Experience For Michael Quartararo, Director of Litigation Support Services at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, a successful legal technology manager has "been in the trenches": a manager needs to have done the things staff is being asked to do. This experience gives instant credibility, which can be useful when a manager is hired to enter situations of operational triage or morale repair. Rolling up your sleeves and running productions, troubleshooting a database that will not load and having empathy for staff are all part of trench experience, but Quartararo explains that it is also about "making difficult decisions and solving real-world problems on projects." Being under pressure and learning from mistakes help you develop emotional intelligence about people and projects. It is worth noting that in legal technology, 65 percent of jobs in demand are for new hires who will be "in the trenches." Demonstrate Loyalty Great leaders both give and receive loyalty. Aracting and retaining talent is a key measure of success for any manager. Law firm employers calculate tenure at other jobs when hiring a manager, especially if they are considering someone stepping into a managerial role for the first time. Hiring an unproven manager is an investment, and prior years of loyalty to an employer JARED COSEGLIA Jared Coseglia is the founder and CEO of TRU Staffing Partners, one of Inc. 5000's Fastest-Growing Companies in 2016. He has over 13 years of experience representing talent in e-discovery, litigation support, cybersecurity and broadly throughout legal and technology staffing. Contact him at jared@trustaffingpartners.com. Being under pressure and learning from mistakes help you develop emotional intelligence about people and projects.

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