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13 I L T A N E T . O R G to talk to the managing partners about making my vacation trip a bit longer, with a quick stop in the Netherlands. Then it hit me: I was going to a foreign country by myself without knowing anyone there and I had to make sure I would get to meet some ILTA folks over there. It worked way better than I expected, since I got invited by Joy Heath Rush herself – who kindly replied to my introduction email – to have dinner with several IT directors from European law firms. If you came this far on this article, you might remember that this geek girl had a dream of travelling the world, but this was getting a bit out of hand. It was then that I realized ILTA is a safe place to try new things and to fail without being judged. ILTA creates an environment that makes you feel comfortable even if you don't know a single person in the room. And when I thought I would only be entitled to consume content and learn from others, I found out ILTA is an organization that provides opportunities for its members to develop themselves personally and professionally, and that being in a country as distant as Brazil wouldn't preclude me from getting involved and grabbing some of these opportunities. This led me to speaking at ILTACON19, and into getting a volunteer role at the Practice Management Content Coordination Team. And even though I was volunteering, it felt like the value I got in return was way bigger than what I was bringing to the table. I collaborated virtually with team members across the globe, working on an educational session, preparing content for the year, participating in podcasts and panel discussions. And with all this happening in my life, I've got motivated to learn and to put these new learnings into practice. I started reading about things I didn't even know existed, listening to webinars and podcasts while commuting or cooking dinner, talking to more experienced people about my curiosities and concerns. Even though I was born and raised in Brazil, I only spoke for the first time in my country, in an ILTA event in São Paulo, in October 2019, to a very special group of professionals. This is what ILTA does for you. ILTAns see you not for the size and prestige of your organization. They see you for your ideas and collaboration. Becoming an ILTA member has definitely expanded my horizons and I can say I benefit from it both personally – networking, getting exposed to a great variety of content though my connections, getting to meet new people and being invited to be a panelist in events outside of ILTA – and professionally, as I become more able to bring my firm to a whole new level, making important decisions regarding legal technology. I'm genuinely grateful for how ILTA transformed my life and I believe this is just the beginning of an amazing journey. I also hope that my story can inspire people to pursue their dreams and to believe that they can make a difference, no matter what point in life you are. ILTA Bárbara Gondim da Rocha is a lawyer from Brazil and she is currently the Head of Knowledge Management and Innovation at Rocha, Marinho E Sales Advogados, a leading corporate and litigation law firm with 12 offices and 900 legal professionals, where she has been working for the past 15 years. Prior to her current role, she spent over 10 years handling cases in civil litigation and got specialized in appeals to the Highest Courts in Brazil. Her interest in technology and process improvement led her on a path to Knowledge Management and she ended up setting up a KM function at her firm. Bárbara holds a Post Graduation Degree in Strategic Planning for Law Firms and an MBA in Leadership and Business Management. She has spoken on the topics of Knowledge Management and Technology Adoption at various ILTA events, at the Ark Group Knowledge Management in the Legal Profession Conference in 2018 and other venues.

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