Ballard Spahr LLP’s Post

Michele Cerezo Natal, 49, is a partner at Mayer Brown in New York. In a recent Q&A with Law.com, she spoke about how she became partner. Here's a question about what made her partner material. 𝗤: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿? 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲? 𝗔 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁? 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲? A: "I think the firm made me a partner because I was already operating like one. I was developing business, thinking strategically about my practice area, and taking leadership roles at the firm." --- Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gXZjzp33

What can marketers, wellness experts, and others within professional services do to improve the cultures of their law firms? Join us with three exceptional professionals who have studied this topic from the inside out. David Robert, co-CEO of Loeb Leadership and longtime board member of Best Companies Group FZ LLC ; Allan Schoenberg, Chief Communications Officer at Vinson & Elkins and one of the country’s most innovative communicators; and Michael (Ellenhorn), Founder of Decipher Investigative Intelligence, who counsels clients on mitigating risks associated with the hiring process. Details below. #culture #wellness #strategy

Eyes on the long-term goal. Always. One of my Denver clients was looking for additional referral work from notable lawyers in the area who knew the high quality of their practice. There was no shortcut to enhancing their presence in the legal community—so we worked on long-term strategies. 1. Each lawyer identified professional organizations where they could pursue leadership opportunities. Younger lawyers chose organizations where they could connect with mentors and peers, impact future leadership opportunities, and develop a pipeline for referrals. 2. We developed a consistent brand for the firm and implemented targeted ad campaigns in local publications with high attorney readership. 3. The attorneys followed a focused plan for identifying local, state, and national awards that they were suited to win. We helped them create the nominations and promote each win. Each of these steps did not produce results overnight, but I am glad to say this client reaped the long-term result of becoming a top attorney-referred firm in Denver. What are your long-term goals for your law firm? Let these guide you in your current business development decisions. #businessdevelopment #legalmarketing #referrals #lawfirms

"Chris Hohn, a partner in St. Louis, was elected the firm’s new chair, Roman Wuller said, because the partners wanted someone who would protect the firm’s culture, focus on growth, exhibit “good common sense,” and is respected by clients." Read more on Thompson Coburn's recent #successionplan below: https://lnkd.in/eex8ccUe #lawfirmleadership #lawfirmgrowth #legalindustry #amlaw #biglaw

Only 48 Hours Left to Nominate for #LexpertRisingStars 2024! ⏰ - The clock is ticking! You have just 2 days left to nominate the future leaders of law. Don't miss this opportunity to celebrate exceptional young legal professionals. Submit your nominations now and be part of shaping the future of legal excellence! https://hubs.la/Q02DyRNc0 #Leadership #Lawyer #LegalIndustry #LegalNews

I’ll never get tired of saying that you need to protect your time. ⌛ You started your law firm with an intention and goals. Whenever you spend your time doing anything that doesn’t align it’s a disservice to you and your firm. What you need is time to think about your systems, strategies, culture, and the things no one else can do for you. 👨💻 Are you thinking or are you just working? -------------- 🔔  Hit my Bell for weekly tips on law firm staffing, delegation and leadership. 🌎 Visit Get Staffed Up for more information on how to delegate your way to FREEDOM! #lawfirm #lawyers #leadership #getstaffedup #virtualassistants

Only 48 Hours Left to Nominate for #LexpertRisingStars 2024! ⏰ - The clock is ticking! You have just 2 days left to nominate the future leaders of law. Don't miss this opportunity to celebrate exceptional young legal professionals. Submit your nominations now and be part of shaping the future of legal excellence! https://hubs.la/Q02Dz1d60 #Leadership #Lawyer #LegalIndustry #LegalNews

We are proud to have achieved the 2022-2023 Mansfield Certification in the US and UK! Mansfield Certification, an initiative from Diversity Lab, requires law firms to demonstrate progress in increasing diversity in leadership roles by considering a broad slate of qualified talent from a candidate pool that includes at least 30% historically underrepresented lawyers. As part of the process, firms work to enhance transparency related to leadership roles and advancement processes. Under the Mansfield Rule Initiative, law firms maintain data to demonstrate these commitments.   ➡ Learn more about our certification here: https://lnkd.in/gjhKC6h7. ➡ Learn more about Mayer Brown’s DEI initiatives here: https://lnkd.in/gs6QMj4M.   #diversity #DEI #mansfieldcertified

The top five leaders on LinkedIn from the top 100 UK law firms in Q1 2024. Trevor D Sterling tops the charts and is joined in the top five by Sarah Walker-Smith, Alison Eddy, Paul Jenkins and Nik White. Congrats all on your rankings. Leadership on LinkedIn enables others to use this platform, to find their voices, to speak up. Or, as Trevor would succinctly put it, #BeTheLadder. You can download the full report and see where your leaders ranked here: https://lnkd.in/eYUfeQPs #Lawyers #LawFirms #SocialMedia #SimonSays

In the latest episode of Insights from the Top: Law Firm Leadership, I had the good fortune of talking with Amy M. Stewart, founding partner of Stewart Law Group PLLC in Dallas. https://lnkd.in/esyM6CbX We spoke about the hallmark of her firm—that you don’t have to sacrifice merit to get diversity—as well as how sports influenced her leadership style, and much more. I hope you’ll listen, subscribe, and share your thoughts below. #leadership #diversity #InsightsFromTheTop