Let’s say you’re involved in cross-border litigation with an entity in Denmark and the case will be tried in U.S. federal court;  all the trial exhibits and discovery documents must be translated from Danish into English. Perhaps you represent a U.S. manufacturer whose workforce is primarily Spanish-speaking; you advise your client a best practice is to translate their handbook, NDA and onboarding forms into Spanish. Maybe you file a lawsuit on behalf of your client; when the defendant speaks Korean and is not English-proficient, the summons and related paperwork must be translated for them. You may need to depose a witness who doesn’t feel comfortable being questioned in English. Are you handling the estate of someone who owned properties in the United States and Venezuela? You’d better learn about the Venezuelan proceedings. Whatever the circumstance, you face a language barrier between you and whatever you need to accomplish for your case.

Here are three considerations when you require translation or interpretation services:

by Ivy Slater | Slater Success Coaching

Efficiency equals dollars. This is especially true in the legal field when certain hours of your day are spent on billable tasks and others are spent on all the other stuff. And you know that other stuff can pile up and completely take over on any given day.

By M. Echevarria, ADR LLC.

As a member of the ABA's Women in Dispute Resolution Committee (aka "WIDR"), a subcommittee within the Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") I found my path to becoming a neutral was not that different from other committee members. While I had been a FINRA Arbitrator for years handling securities disputes in aid of my practice in the financial services industry as an Insurance Attorney and, or Chief Compliance Officer, once I embarked on developing a full time career in the area I had to ensure that I was properly trained in the process. Quality training is widely available at schools (Pepperdine University), bar association programs (NYCBA) and by service providers such as the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"). Since my interest and prior career was commercially oriented after the basic 40 hour training required for process orientation in mediation, I took specific additional training in Commercial Arbitration and Mediation. At minimum, the court annexed programs require the 40 hour training program and prior experience as a mediator (See, Part 146 Requirements). Frankly I still continue annual training not only because of licensing requirements but also because the law in dispute resolution matters is very dynamic and continues to be a growing area of practice for many lawyers. Witness the fact that mediation and arbitration courses are now offered in many law schools. That was not the case when I went to Law School.

By Janet Falk, Chief Strategist, Falk Communications and Research

As you know, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional database, with nearly 700 million members. Surely some of them are looking for an attorney with your experience in intellectual property law, personal injury or bankruptcy law. How can you make sure you are found there?

By Rosanna Berardi, Esq. | Founder | Berardi Immigration Law

June is always a special month for me. Our son, Salvatore, was born on June 2, 2006 and my second child, Berardi Immigration Law, was born on June 24, 2005. It’s hard to believe that I have a 14-year-old son and 15-year-old law firm. I started my firm out of my dusty apartment in Buffalo, New York with one client and a dream. I did the unthinkable—I left the largest law firm in Buffalo to start my own firm. I went from having a team of people take care of my every need (paralegals, secretaries, marketing support) to becoming the Lawyer, HR person, tax expert and cleaning lady. The first years were tough, especially since our dear son didn’t sleep through the night for two years. So how did I scale my firm over the last 15 years? Here are some key lessons I’ve learned along the way:

On March 11, 2020 Women Owned Law hosted its first symposium on Women’s Entrepreneurship in the Law. The event included various panels, a variety of networking opportunities and a meeting of entrepreneurs from across the country.

Live and virtual attendees had the opportunity to hear tips for running a law firm or legal business, innovations in the law, partnering with corporations and “big law”, methods for scaling law firms and a key note address on “The Transformative Power of Women’s Entrepreneurship in the Legal Profession: Why Women Owning the Conference Room Matters More Than Just a Seat At the Table” by Carolyn Elefant.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WOMEN OWNED LAW MEDIA CONTACT:
Nicole D. Galli, President | [email protected] | 215.525.9583

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WOMEN OWNED LAW MEDIA CONTACT:
Nicole D. Galli, President | [email protected] | 215.525.9583

By Kimberly Rice | President and Chief Strategist | KLA Marketing Associates

To take control of your legal career, you must become the CEO of your own one-(wo)man firm

By Francine Friedman Griesing | Founder & Managing Member | Griesing Law, LLC

Business owners are responsible for protecting themselves against the risks that can negatively jeopardize their business and ownership interests. One of the most common issues that arises with entrepreneurs is having a relationship with a business partner or partners go sour. In my career, I have represented several business owners who have been pushed out of businesses they founded or have seen a significant decline in what their business is worth due to poor relationships with their business partners. I have also served as a neutral arbitrator or mediator in far too many cases where a successful business imploded when the partnership relationship when awry. By the time they seek help, the damage may be so great that it can’t be undone. So how do business owners get to this point and what can you do to avoid it?

By Kei S. Tolliver|  Founder | Kei S. Tolliver Law, LLC

After nearly two decades in the start-up space, I finally pulled the trigger and started my own solo law practice 4 years ago. Having been closely involved in start-ups, I knew the fundamental process of starting a business. However, what I didn’t know and had never experienced firsthand were the well documented challenges female founders face. Moreover, as I started to assist my own start-up clients, I’ve come to realize how real these challenges are and how educating myself on these challenges can help me (and other female founders) tackle them. 

The DC region of Women Owned Law has been active in 2019.  On April 26th, the President of WOL, Nicole Galli, the WOL DC Regional Steering Committee members, WOL members and GALCON2019 participants gathered together for a Meet & Greet at Smith Commons located in the Atlas Arts District.  It was  well attended, fun and successful event for members and non-members within the region. 

On the evening of May 16th,  the region held it's annual Spring Networking event hosted by Ballard Spahr LLP. Food and drinks were provided courtesy of Legalinc Corporate Services which also made a short educational presentation titled, Intro to Corporate Entity Protection: How to Reduce Risk & Increase Revenue

On June 5th, the region held its first lunch-time Table Talk, Free Resources to Start, Run & Grow Your Law Firm. This brown bag event featured Carolyn Elefant,  a veteran energy and eminent domain attorney, as well as a WOL Advisory Board member,  who has been running her own law firm, the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant PLLC, since 1993. She has been blogging about solo and small firm practice at MyShingle.com since 2002.

On the evening of July 11th, a lively group met for ice cream and an interactive session on How to 10x Your Networking Introduction. The session was led by Lisa R. Ealy, known as the “Six-Figure Mentor” who guided attendees through tools to help them craft their own introduction to help them attract their ideal clients.

After a break in August, WOL-DC events will resume in September. All events are, so far, free, and open to WOL-DC members and non-members. Join us! Contact Andrea Ewart at [email protected] or Kristal Morris at [email protected] to learn more about WOL-DC and share your ideas for programming and other activities.

By Andrea Ewart |  CEO and Founder | DevelopTradeLaw, LLC

In today’s digital economy, it is possible to participate in international trade without ever leaving our desks. This reality is particularly true for attorneys and clients who frequently do business internationally, and  presents several opportunities and challenges. Attorneys need to be prepared to support clients as well as to address their own needs in this era of doing business without borders.

By Cheryl A. Brunetti |  Executive Chairwoman | RVM Enterprises, Inc.

Competency is a longstanding ethical obligation for attorneys, but what it means to be “competent” continues to evolve.  Its evolution is due to the growing prevalence of technology that impacts the legal industry – from discovery to day-to-day case management.  The result is that lawyers now know where to look to find the answers, either by improving their own understanding of the technology or by enlisting the proper resources.

Indianapolis Attorney and WOL Member Paula Finch and Philadelphia Attorney and WOL Founder and President Nicole Galli comment on women lawyers finding freedom owning law firms.  Check out the article ... https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/48796-web-exclusive-women-lawyers-find-freedom-owning-law-firms

Fran Griesing, Advisory Board Chair for WOL, was featured in Huffington Post’s list of “99 Limit Breaking Female Founders” where she shared the most important lessons learned from her experience as the founder and Managing Member of Griesing Law, a full service woman-owned firm in Philadelphia.  Read more

  

Francine Griesing, Manager Member at Griesing Law, LLC recently published, “Don’t Take it Personally: Creating Boundaries in a Boutique Firm” in Law Practice Today on being an effective leader in a boutique law firm.  

“The organization not only supports women who may be thinking about going out on their own, but also promotes and unifies women who already
have established law firms.” says Manuela Morais, Women Owned Law Board Member and Membership chair in South Jersey Magazines October 2017 Business Spotlight.  In just three years, the Law Offices of Manuela Morais has grown to a 10 person immigration law practice.   Read more.

In this Bloomberg Article, Founding Sponsors and Women Owned Law Members Nancy Mertzel, Nicole Galli, Susanne T. Jones, Virginia McMichael, Peggy McCausland, Stephanie Scharf,  and Laura Solomon provide their accounts of why they left Big Law and started their own firms.   Read more at https://bol.bna.com/10-accounts-of-women-who-left-big-law-to-run-their-own-firms/.