Blogs

If you joined ILTA after the early 2000’s, you may not know the connections among Chief Warrant Officer Five Sharon Swartworth, ILTA and excellence in leadership. The Sharon Swartworth leadership sessions at the ILTA annual conference began in 2004 because ILTA members needed leadership training. ILTA sought a way to honor Sharon Swartworth, a lead ILTA volunteer and officer killed in action, and to teach a leadership style modeled after Swartworth’s forward-thinking leadership to ILTA members. These conference sessions grew to become ILTA’s Annual Sharon Swartworth Leadership Development Seminar, convening this year on Monday, November 2 in the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley Austin.

I spoke with Cathy Reilly, Executive Director of Martin Clearwater & Bell LLP and key organizer of the Sharon Swartworth Leadership Development Seminar since its inception in 2004. Cathy has worked with ILTA to honor and remember Chief Warrant Officer Five Sharon Swartworth’s leadership in the JAG Corps and ILTA. She explained the seminar’s origins. In 2004 and earlier, ILTA members consistently faced situations demanding strong leadership skills, but leadership training was rarely a focus in the legal technology profession. Unlike other legal technology professionals, Sharon Swartworth received extensive leadership training from the U.S. Army as a JAG Corps Officer. To best honor Sharon’s work and life, Cathy Reilly hopes to inspire leadership in the ILTA membership. She described Sharon as a “force of nature” both professionally and personally who was “smart, personable, caring and stepped to the front of the line.” Cathy hopes that like Sharon, other professionals in the legal technology industry can benefit from leadership training and continually “look forward and break new ground.”

With leadership training better recognized as a need in 2015, the Sharon Swartworth Leadership Development Seminar still maintains the U.S. Army JAG Corps training instruction but also includes discussions on a broader range of management topics and leadership theory and strategy. Matt Homann of Filament will moderate the day-long seminar and create storyboards of the discussions. A description of all of the seminar’s sessions can be found here. Attendees will take home connections, strategies and a leadership toolkit.

This year, ILTA’s Sharon Swartworth Leadership Development Seminar will focus on the future. Peter Qumsiyeh, ILTA’s Distinguished Peer Awards Young Professional of the Year recipient, will present on a panel to discuss mentoring future leaders. I spoke with Peter this week about work he initiated at WilmerHale to develop future leaders. Peter expressed concern that too often only executives receive leadership training when tomorrow’s leaders also need mentorship and training to develop strong leadership skills. Last year, Peter developed and joined a small group of WilmerHale employees identified as potential future leaders. They attended training but also mentored each other to build their skills collectively. Learn more about this innovative WilmerHale program, now in its second year, from Peter Qumsiyeh at the Sharon Swartworth Leadership Development Seminar. He may also share his views on how to position oneself to become a leader.

There is still time to register for this free event. If unable to attend, check back in a week. I will summarize interviews with several panelists about the best session takeaways and their thoughts on leadership.