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TJ Johnson
TJ Johnson is Strategy Director at
Olenick (www.olenick.com). She has
great fun focusing on "StrategicIT" –
looking at innovation, internally and
for clients, and thought leadership
around new ways to help clients
deliver successful projects. TJ has
deep experience in legal technology.
A familiar and well-respected figure
in the legal technology industry, TJ
worked in various capacities for law
firms and legal departments. Most
known for her recent role on the
executive team of ILTA (International
Legal Technology Association) where
she led the strategy development and
execution of ILTA's global portfolio of
events, was instrumental in growing
their premier conference, ILTACON,
and was responsible for the vison and
execution of many strategic projects.
B Y T J J O H N S O N
Y
ou would have to be a member of the Flat Earth society not to see that organizations
with more diverse workforces perform better financially. The data shows that to
be true around the world and in all industries, from entry level positions through
executive leadership.
So, why do we find it necessary to create diversity initiatives? Is the law firm model so
steeped in tradition that it just can't adapt to the realities of our world? It's probably partly that.
I do a talk on the practice of law, with some history thrown in. We start with what might be the
first IP lawsuit, the development of the wheel… to Eptian law 3,000 years ago, to the birth
of the billable hour somewhere around 60 years ago. There's a lot of tradition there. I toured
the private library of Worcester Cathedral this summer, which houses thousands of medieval
manuscripts and books. They showed us a book of legal studies from the University of Bologna
It's 2019: Why
do we still
need Diversity
Initiatives?
A S K I N G
T H E R I G H T
Q U E S T I O N S
