The Power of Legal Project Management

David Rueff is a shareholder in the Jackson office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC and has been a practicing attorney for over 15 years with experience in both litigation and transactional practices. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2010, in Chambers U.S.A: America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2008 and is currently listed in Martindale-Hubbell with a rating of BV® Distinguished". Mr. Rueff's practice also includes unique experience working with a State Project Management Office on the administration of disaster recovery grants in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He served as Senior Legal Counsel for the State's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program where his responsibilities included design and administration of a project management information system, management of a legal team of 11 attorneys and 20 paralegals and oversight of the legal components of grant processing for thousands of applications for assistance. In addition to being a practicing attorney, Mr. Rueff is a certified Project Management Professional (PMPTM) through the Project Management Institute and serves as Baker Donelson's Legal Project Management Officer. He was the first attorney at Baker Donelson to implement legal project management in his practice, and through Baker Donelson's LPMO has implemented legal project management in litigation and transactional matters, in both single matters and portfolios of litigation. As LPM Officer, he is responsible for the development and implementation of the Baker Donelson's award winning legal project management system, BakerManageTM, and management of a team of project managers and attorneys who provide training and implementation of legal project management. Also in his role as LPM Officer, he works regularly with Baker Donelson's Pricing Team to evaluate responses to request for proposals, prepare budgets and design alternative pricing proposals. Mr. Rueff is a regular speaker and writer on the topic of legal project management and has conducted seminars for the American Bar Association (ABA), the National Bar Association, the Atlanta Bar Association, the Project Management Institute, the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), West, Thomson Reuters and the Practising Law Institute (PLI). He is also an adjunct law professor and teaches one of the first law school courses on legal project management. Susan Raridon Lambreth has over 25 years of experience as a consultant to the legal profession. She is nationally recognized as one of the top leadership and practice management consultants for law firms. She has given hundreds of speeches and written dozens of articles on topics ranging from trends, leadership and practice management issues to process improvement and project management. Ms. Lambreth has helped law firms of all sizes improve their profitability and enhance their lawyers' leadership and management skills. Susan is the Chair and Founder of the LPM Institute. She is the co-author of The Power of Legal Project Management: A Practical Handbook, published by the ABA in 2014 -- the most comprehensive book on LPM.  She chairs the annual Practising Law Institute program, Project Management for Lawyers, typically attended by over 500 lawyers from law firms and legal departments. She has worked with dozens of firms on their legal project management initiatives or training. She has trained over 3,500 lawyers and other legal professionals in the skills of legal project management. Ms. Lambreth is also author of two books on practice group management and has helped over 40% of the AmLaw 200 implement or improve their practice management structure. Over the past 20 years, she has trained over 5,000 lawyers, who hold firm or practice management roles, how to lead and manage more effectively. Susan has been a leader in many organizations shaping the legal profession. She is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and previously served on its Board. She was active in leadership roles in the ABA for 25 years including serving in the House of Delegates for six years. She was also an officer in the Pennsylvania Bar Association for more than 10 years, including serving on the PBA Board of Governors for three years and as the Chair of the PBA Young Lawyers Division. She was on the board of NALFMA (now the Legal Marketing Association (LMA)). Prior to helping to found LawVision Group, she was a partner with Hildebrandt International (or its successor, Hildebrandt Baker Robbins) for almost 20 years and with Altman & Weil for almost seven years. She received her JD from University of Pennsylvania Law School and her MBA, from Villanova University.