Friday, June 24, 2022
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Keynote – Judge Scott U. Schlegel

Judge Scott U. Schlegel was elected to the bench of the 24th Judicial District Court for the Parish of Jefferson, Division D, State of Louisiana, in May 2013 and was soon thereafter appointed to the Management Committee. He currently serves as the (1) President of the Louisiana District Judges Association (LDJA); (2) Chair of the Louisiana Supreme Court Technology Commission; (3) Chair of the Specialty Treatment Court Committee for the 24th JDC; (4) sub-committee Chair of the legislatively created Task Force on Statewide Standards for Clerks of Court Electronic Filing and Records Retention.  Judge Schlegel is also a current member of the (1) Louisiana Drug Policy Board; (2) Council of Specialty Court Judges of the Louisiana Supreme Court; (3) Louisiana State Law Institute’s Criminal Code & Code of Criminal Procedure Committee. He previously served as the Chair of the (1) LDJA Technology Committee & (2) LDJA/Department of Corrections Liaison Committee.

Judge Schlegel, a pioneer in using technology in Louisiana state courts, was recently named the recipient of the National Center for State Courts’ 26th Annual William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, one of the highest judicial honors in the country, and was also featured on the cover of the American Bar Association Journal after being named a 2021 Legal Rebel. Judge Schlegel has also been awarded the (1) American Legal Technology Award – Court Innovation; (2) Kevin Kane Justice Award -Louisiana Family Forum; (3) Louisiana State Bar Association’s Citizen Lawyer Award; (4) Public Service Award – Gillis Long Poverty Center, Loyola University College of Law; (5) the Outstanding Service Award – Louisiana District Judges Association; (6) Business Retention & Expansion Award – Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO); and (7) Judge of the Year – Crimefighters of Louisiana. For more of his bio, click here.

Panel 1 – Embedded Librarianship and Library Visibility Since the Pandemic

Greg Lambert – Moderator
Chief Knowledge Services Officer, Jackson Walker

Greg Lambert is the Chief Knowledge Services Officer at the law firm of Jackson Walker in Houston, Texas, where he oversees operations for the Library, KM, Research, RFPs, and Conflicts & Intake departments.

Greg is a founding blogger for 3 Geeks and a Law Blog, and writes extensively on the topics of law librarianship, competitive intelligence, knowledge management, and the roles that can be played on the administrative side of large law firms. He also co-hosts The Geek In Review Podcast which focuses on creativity and innovation in the legal industry.

John DiGilio, Firmwide Director of Library Services, Sidley Austin, LLP
John is the Firmwide Director of Library Services at Sidley Austin, LLP. He is a law librarian, educator, and award-winning author with over 20 years of professional legal research and management experience in large and mid-size law firms, as well as corporations and academia. John has authored numerous articles and research papers on law librarianship, legal research, and ethics. He is also a well-known industry blogger and news curator. John has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in business law, e-commerce, ethics, fair employment practices, and applied research methodologies. In addition to his long participation in AALL, he is also a Fellow and former Treasurer of the Special Libraries Association and a past-chair of its Legal Division.

Dave Shumaker, Consultant/Independent Writer for Information Today/Author of The Embedded Librarian: Innovative Strategies for Taking Knowledge Where It’s Needed
Dave is an independent writer and consultant whose reports and essays on librarianship and information in society appear most often in Information Today (www.infotoday.com). He is also a retired LIS faculty member (Catholic University of America) and corporate information manager (The MITRE Corporation). He published one of the first books on embedded librarianship, The Embedded Librarian: Innovative Strategies for Taking Knowledge Where It’s Needed, in 2012.

Marguerita (“Rita”) Young, Research Analyst, Library & Research Services, K&L Gates LLP
Rita has been a private law librarian since 2001, after a two-year stint as a law school librarian at Villanova Law School.

She has been a research librarian or legal research analyst  or business & legal research analyst for Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Reed Smith and for the last six years, at K&L Gates LLP in Pittsburgh, PA. Rita earned her JD and her MLIS at the University of Pittsburgh. After earning her JD, Rita practiced general litigation for six years winning her first and second jury trials.

Rita worked with John DiGilio to establish an embedded librarian practice at Reed Smith and spoke on the successes and struggles of Embedded Librarianship pre-pandemic. She has also participated in AALL panels on embracing & creating data analytics from within your firm to negotiate contracts.

Panel 2 – Promoting Change: Takeaways and Strategies for Being More Visible  

Barbara Fullerton – Moderator
Supervisor, Research Services, Dentons

Barbara Fullerton is a Supervisor, Research Services for the Dentons’ Research and Information Services team. She has 25+ years of research experience in both legal and the corporate world. She has written, and presented, on various research and data topics, and has been a member in numerous information associations. Barbara is also an adjunct professor at the University of North Texas, and a graduate of the MLIS program at Emporia State University.

Kara Mack, Director, Research Services, Goodwin Procter
Kara is a legal industry expert in research products, the research process and research training. With over 20 years of experience in AMLaw 100 law firms, Kara is responsible for Goodwin’s global team of research analysts, consults on research strategy, and is responsible for evaluating and implementing innovative technologies that improve the research process. Kara is an active member of the legal research community as a longtime member of the American Association of Law Libraries and as past Membership Chair and current Education Chair of the Association of Boston Law Librarians.

Brian McCann, Systems and KM Manager, Stinson LLP
Brian is the Systems and KM Manager at Stinson LLP where he works with collections and connections—coordinating what the library has and how people can access it. He also maintains department statistics and oversees promotional interactions within the firm. Among other projects, Brian facilitated the creation of a firm-wide intranet site to compile news and policies throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. When not at work, Brian enjoys camping, writing novels, and watching very bad movies.

Holly Pinto, Director of Knowledge & Research Services, Holland & Hart LLP
Holly is the Director of Knowledge & Research Services for Holland & Hart LLP.  Some of her interests in the library world include: legal analytics, library management, statistics and breaking down administrative silos through collaboration.  She received her M.L.S. degree from Indiana University. She was President of the Colorado Association of Law Libraries in 2002-03 and 2017-18.

Ana Ramirez Toft-Nielsen, Professional Development Innovation Manager, Greenberg Traurig
Ana is the Professional Development Innovation Manager at Greenberg Traurig. In this position, Ms. Toft-Nielsen provides training and support to all of the firm for the various innovation tools. She creates CLEs, courses and curriculums to ensure the attorneys are efficient and cost effective with their research. In addition, she is an adjunct professor at Florida International University College of Law and St. Thomas University College of Law teaching Advanced Legal Research and Law Practice Technology. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, Ms. Toft-Nielsen was a practicing Research Attorney in Littler’s Knowledge Management Department. In this position, she was a law librarian conducting research and analysis of employment laws. Previously, she was a corporate research attorney providing research and customer service support to law schools and law firms. Ms. Toft-Nielsen received her J.D. from University of Miami School of Law and her Masters of Library and Information Services from Florida State University. She has taught legal research principles and techniques for over 15 years in South Florida.

Personal Branding Workshop – Jennifer Ransaw Smith

Jennifer Ransaw Smith is a nationally recognized Personal ElevationTM Architect, Leadership Development Mentor and Personal Brand Strategist. She specializes in igniting the visibility, credibility, and profitability of professional women executives and entrepreneurs. Her mission is to empower her clients to “define themselves, before others do it for them.”

She is the Founder of The Personal Elevation LabTM, a boutique consultancy specifically designed to leverage the skills, talents and expertise of professional women who are ready to “make a name for themselves” within their organization and industry and The Undeniably Fierce Movement, a soon to be global movement that challenges women reinvent how they are currently living and uplevel all areas of their life.

During the past decade, some of the nation’s leading organizations (such as Microsoft, Duke Energy, Deloitte and Magellan Healthcare) have sought out Jennifer’s personal and leadership branding expertise to empower, educate, amplify and elevate their women employees.

Prior to launching her own agency in 2008 (formerly called Brand id | Strategic Partners, LLC), Jennifer spent over a decade working on the creative, public relations and marketing teams for high-profile agencies from coast-to-coast (Los Angeles to NYC) helping elevate the visibility of her clients in the marketplace. Past clients include: Burger King, AT&T, Kraft, Texaco, Clairol and Coke, Revlon. Jennifer’s personal branding and elevation tips, tools and strategies have appeared in numerous publications, national radio and television. She divides her time between consulting, speaking, training, and coaching clients on how to become “the person to know” in their industry.