The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/21494
SMART MOVES Training the Trainer An Interview with Maritta Terrell Editor’s Note: In our member community, we rely on our very talented training and support professionals to keep our skills honed. Let’s take a look at one of our trainers and volunteer leaders in ILTA’s User Support Peer Group to see how she got to the top of her game and how she intends to stay there. What is your current position? For the past six years, I have been the Trainer and Application Support Specialist at the Austin law firm of Lloyd Gosselink. I teach formal classes, provide one-on-one coaching, and I’m the helpdesk for all applications. What formal education do you have that supports your career choice? I am a certified teacher (from Canada), and I taught all grades of elementary school, and I ran the school library. In 1986, I started learning about good ol’ DOS and how to get a computer running, find a file document someone typed, and “fix it up” in a program I had never used before — and I enjoyed the process! So I started learning (sometimes on the side) more and more about computers and applications while performing my “day job” (I was the word processor at the time), until finally the office manager made me the IT Manager. As I was the only one in IT, I was also the trainer, helpdesk, phone guru and “Jill of all computer trades” (I even maintained those pesky printers). I was the IT Manager for 10 years until the firm merged with another, at which time I obtained this training position. What informal and/or ongoing education supports your career choice? I took classes in the evening to learn more about how to use various applications (from WordStar to WordPerfect to Microsoft programs). ILTA’s conferences, the e-groups, white papers, Peer to Peer magazine and webinars provide an immense amount of information I treasure, as well as multiple websites that are now providing lots of information about applications and how to train in various ways. How do you advise anyone looking for a career in law firm training/user support? Make sure you can communicate clearly, and enjoy helping 34 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer people. If you are an extrovert and like helping and mixing with people, go into user support — you’ll be happier than your users! Take the opportunity to learn whatever you can, whenever you can. Connect with other people who train and provide helpdesk support — it’s amazing what you can learn from others’ viewpoints and experiences. Be open to new ideas. And learn to LISTEN to your users, and make them feel smart! ILTA Maritta Terrell, Trainer and Application Support Specialist at Lloyd Gosselink, has been a word processor, legal secretary, office manager and IT manager in law firms for more than 25 years and brings various perspectives to her work. She is ILTA’s City Representative in Austin, as well as a member of ILTA’s User Support Steering Committee. She enjoys meeting other people involved in law firm technology and learning from them. She can be reached at mt@lglawfirm.com. Don’t miss dozens of video interviews from ILTA 2010 Shy Alter, ii3’s CEO, interviews the best minds in our industry on ILTA TV Live! From alternative fee arrangements, to successful enterprise e-mail management in the firm, and everything in between. There’s something for everyone who wants quick knowledge download. www.ii3.com/iltatv