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Public: Recent News

Lawyers in every age and stage of practice – from new lawyers to law firm managing partners – are urged to be on hand for a cutting-edge CLE program scheduled for Friday, Feb. 3 at the Grandover Resort & Conference Center in Greensboro. 

Dr. Ellen Ostrow

“Staying Power: Managing Competing Demands to Benefit Lawyers, Law Firms and Clients” will explore steps lawyers can take to manage the professional and personal demands that compete for their time and attention, as well as strategies law firms can adopt to help.

Topics will include (1) flexible work arrangements and their impact on professional development, law firm economics and client service, (2) the opportunities and demands created by 24/7 technology and (3) the impact mentoring and training programs have on lawyer effectiveness, professionalism and retention.

Program themes originate from the NCBA Young Lawyers Division’s work-life balance survey and report, “Staying Power: Work-Life Balance Initiatives for Retaining Young Lawyers,” a project of the YLD Lawyer Effectiveness Committee. The CLE itself is a collaborative effort of the YLD and the NCBA’s Lawyer Effectiveness and Quality of Life, Women in the Profession and Large Law Firm Committees.

Dr. Ellen Ostrow, a nationally renowned writer and speaker who founded Lawyers Life Coach LLC in 1999, will play a prominent role in the event both as a CLE presenter on Friday and as the featured speaker at a separate dinner and reception scheduled Thursday evening. Her participation in this significant event is the result of a grant from the NCBA Foundation Endowment.

Attendees are invited and urged to register for both events. The dinner program will also take place at Grandover. Details and registration procedures are accessible via the NCBA Web site through CLE Programs.

Click here to register for the CLE and/or the dinner event.

Registration is also available by phone (800-228-3402; local 677-8745), fax (919-677-1774) and U.S. mail (Attn: Accounting, NCBAF, PO Box 3688, Cary, NC 27519).

NCBA Past-President Don Cowan and Caryn McNeill, former YLD chair and current chair of the Lawyer Effectiveness and Quality of Life Committee, are serving as program planners.

“YLD worked so hard on this project, it was important to make sure it was not simply applauded and put on a shelf,” said NCBA President Mike Colombo. “The report addresses so many important issues, such as working in a large law firm, the demands of billable hours, the value of flexibility, the impact of family situations – the next step was to take the information and get it out to the people who can benefit from it.

“Caryn McNeill and the volunteers from all of the committees involved in this program have done a great job of getting organized and putting this seminar together in a relatively short period of time; getting Don Cowan involved in it was a great idea.

“I am very excited about the program, and encourage our members to support it through their attendance at the CLE and the dinner which precedes it.”

An impressive list of presenters and presentations fill the agenda of this CLE program, which includes one hour of substance abuse/mental health credit. Please note, also, that video replay of this event is not scheduled.

NCBA Past President Betty Quick opens the Friday program with an overview of the YLD report. Young lawyers Al Butler, Jenna Butler, John Cross, Jennifer Van Zant, Alan Thornburg and Sarah Sparboe Thornburg follow with a panel discussion in which they discuss how client expectations, billable hours and inexperience are being addressed in their individual practices.

Senior partners Jim Ferguson, Karen Gledhill, Elizabeth Kuniholm and Keith Vaughan lead a subsequent panel discussion in which they discuss how their respective firms address the professional and personal needs of their lawyers.

The morning program concludes with “Changing Latitudes and Attitudes,” presented by dual-professional couples Corby and Bill Anderson, Judge Catherine and Bill Eagles, and Julianna and Dave Theall. Meeting professional obligations, dealing with change and the importance of flexibility will be discussed.

Afternoon breakout sessions will focus on technology, mentoring, professionalism and law firms. The groups will be pre-assigned based on gender, experience, law firm size, practice area and location.

Dr. Ostrow, a licensed psychologist and associate member of the American Bar Association, concludes the program with her presentation on “Mental Health and the Practice of Law.”