ILTA - International Legal Technology Association

In this podcast session, please enjoy listening to a success story in how to pivot during this tumultuous time so you can remain employed.

Interviewer/Speaker:
@Jarmila Pencikova, Director, Finance, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Speakers:
@Prashan Loganathan, Senior Manager, Billings & Collections, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Heather Smith, Senior Manager, Hospitality & Special Events, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP​

Recorded on 6-25-2020

In 1946, Grace Hopper recorded the first-ever computer bug when a moth was found in the Harvard Mark II machine. Today, the practice of software testing and quality assurance is vital to all industries with the advancement of technologies. Legal Services is no different, but the focus on quality assurance and software testing has been slow to develop – until now.

Speakers:
Ralph Bonatz is the Global IT Quality Control Manager at Mayer Brown LLP. He has over 20 years of experience in quality control, performing a broad array of activities such as: establishing teams, test management and planning, test case authoring and execution, test tools and environment management, requirements management, defect management, authoring test strategy, and guiding test automation teams. Ralph’s experience crosses many different areas, including Legal, Insurance, Fleet Management, Healthcare, Trading, Enterprise Resource Planning and Government. He is a former U.S. Air Force officer and graduate of the University of Miami, FL, where he obtained a BSEE and minor in German.

Ryan LaMontagne has 16+ years as a QA Professional and is an experienced QA Manager delivering hands-on innovative testing solutions. Demonstrated history working in the law practice industry, Financial Industry, and High Tech. Skilled in Test Program Development, Test Automation, Project Management, Vendor Management, and Leadership.

Asima Macci is the Manager, Training & Quality Assurance at Bennett Jones in Calgary, AB. She has over 30 years' experience in designing and delivering technical training programs in a variety of industries. 18 of those years however, have been in Legal. She is passionate about connecting people with technology to increase organizational efficiencies, productivity and profitability.

Alan Reeson is the manager of the Quality Assurance team at McGuireWoods LLP, an international law firm with over 1000 attorneys across 23 offices in the US, UK and around the world. He has been with the firm since 2001 and his team is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining IT quality assurance and control processes for both projects and operations. Alan also serves as the owner of the Release Management process.

Description: What is all the talk about legal project management? This discussion, Q&A style, dives in to the ins and outs of project management (PM) and legal project management(LPM) from the beginning phase of looking to implement it in your business or law firm. Why is legal project management important for every organization to take stock in and implement to increase productivity? How can LPM help you and your business become more efficient in your daily workflows and produce greater work product?

Speakers:
Jinni Zieleniewski is a Litigation Support Specialist with the ediscovery and
litigation support group at KMK. Her responsibilities include managing discovery evidence throughout the litigation life cycle, providing electronic document review management and designing and generating electronic document production deliverables in a cost-effective and value-added manner. A member of the information technology group working exclusively in litigation and the ediscovery task force, Jinni bridges the gap between counsel and IT by helping litigation attorneys educate clients about proactive, compliant and cost-effective ediscovery.

Michael T. Clear is a Partner at Wiggin and Dana LLP, where his practice is focused on estate planning, estate and trust administration, probate litigation and business succession planning. Michael serves on the firm's client service delivery task force, which is leading the implementation of legal project management at the firm. He is a co-chair of the Probate and Estates Section of the Fairfield County Bar Association and is a member of the board of directors of the Connecticut Chapter of the Exit Planning Exchange (CT XPX).

Recorded on 1-10-17