A little more than a year and a half ago Robert Friedman and Karen Chamberlain teamed up to form Legal Learning Series, an educational event planning company that assists attorneys and legal professionals with continued learning credits, networking, professional development and more. Having served as volunteers for numerous associations helping to source venues, seek out need to know topics and build audiences it occurred to them both that all of these things could be done better as a business. In fact, the pair started a legal technology conference focused on e-discovery almost three years ago, without a name, that has grown to become a must attend annual event in Florida. With monthly networking events and seminars throughout Dade, Broward and Palm Beach the Legal Learning Series has quickly become the hip new way for attorneys and legal professionals to learn, network and embrace their local community.
Inside their downtown Fort Lauderdale office Robert and Karen work together to plan out programming and events well into 2014. “We talk about things like, who are the thought leaders in the community, what laws or rules are changing, or where technology is reshaping how attorneys and firms operate.” Robert also went on to say, “Our secret sauce is really caring about the quality and content of our seminars and making sure the community knows about it.” Networking is a critical component of any legal professional’s practice. For many attorneys business garnered by being referred from another attorney is their primary means of gaining new business. With that in mind, live events are at the core of what drives Legal Learning Series. In the last few months live webinars have also been added as a component to allow registrants to attend from anywhere and still participate. To date, there have been over one thousand unique attendees to Legal Learning Series events.
Many statewide and local bar associations and bar groups provide similar activities to Legal Learning Series. The team at Legal Learning Series does not view these groups as competitors and typically will look to collaborate with these groups where possible. Legal professionals tend to be very busy and have difficult schedules. The greater diversity in programming available only improves the overall ability of the legal community to participate. This belief in collaboration has allowed Legal Learning Series to partner with groups like the Broward County Bar Association, Association of Legal Administrators (SoFL), Paralegal Association of Florida (SoFL), and more. Openness has been a large part of the Legal Learning Series success story.
This month begins the marketing for their Third Annual eDiscovery Leadership Conference, at The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Nov. 15, 2013. The first conference had just under 100 attendees, the second had just over 200 attendees and this year Robert & Karen expect over 300 attendees. One of this year’s returning presenters will be Ralph Losey, partner and national eDiscovery counsel for Jackson Lewis, LLP, a national labor and employment law firm with over 700 attorneys in 49 offices throughout the United States. “The 2012 eDiscovery Leadership Conference was a quality, well organized event that was well worth the time of any busy attorney,” said Mr. Losey. He is just one of several industry thought leaders that have already been added to the full day conference. The emergence of e-discovery as a critical component of litigation has helped to make this regional conference uniquely important.
With plans to expand into membership, destination seminars and new markets Legal Learning Series certainly has its sights set high. South Florida has been quick to embrace the dynamic duo of Robert & Karen as they are both involved members of the legal community. By combining amazing venues, need to know topics and rock star presenters Legal Learning Series has created a recipe for success. Legal Learning Series has at once created a venue for legal professionals to meet, collaborate, learn and have fun.
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