ACC Houston August Chapter Meeting CLE Webinar
Tough Negotiations: Using Social Science and Basic Human Tendencies to Get better Results
August 11, 2020 | 11:30 am - 1:00 pm | 1.0 hours CLE (TX)

This continuing legal education seminar will provide ACC members with effective negotiation strategies to use in a variety of different situations including difficult opponents, unfavorable situations, hard bargaining tactics, and communication breakdowns. A panel of well-regarded Houston executive leaders and attorneys from Kilpatrick Townsend will share their experiences and will provide insight and information about enhancing the attendees’ ability to negotiate effectively by incorporating social science-based approaches and accounting for basic human tendencies.

The Diversity & Inclusion Committee together with the Membership Committee will host a Book Discussion on White Fragility: Why It Is So Hard For White People to Talk About Race by Robin DiAngelo.  All Members are encouraged to read the book and/or read, watch or listen to materials in the attached resource list, and participate in the discussion. 

In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.
 
About the Author:
Dr. Robin DiAngelo is an academic, lecturer, and author and has been a consultant and trainer on issues of racial and social justice for more than twenty years. She formerly served as a tenured professor of multicultural education at Westfield State University. In 2011, DiAngelo coined the term White Fragility in an academic article which influenced the international dialogue on race. My book, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism was released in June of 2018 and debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List where it remained for 85 weeks.

Many of us have encountered roadblocks to discussing racial justice within majority white offices and communities. In her book, DiAngelo provides language to understand the various reactions that white people have when race is discussed.

“White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium” says DiAngelo.

Resource List from Robin DiAngelo’s website

Twenty-minute video with DiAngelo 

Video from DiAngelo’s book launch in 2018

Anyone can join the video chat. We ask that you register for free to ensure that we have the bandwidth for the call.  It's important now more than ever to stay connected, learn and continue the discussion!

Utilize your favorite resource to purchase the book or listen to the recordings and then join the discussion with ACC St. Louis and ACC Mid America Chapters on Tuesday, August 25th at 4:00 p.m.  

Please join fellow ACC members in an interactive session that explores how we have been socialized to be silent.

This session allows us to reflect on messages about conflict and change that may impact how we view and respond to the world around us.  This is an opportunity to be with other people that would like to move towards positive changes in our region and our workplaces. 

If you are looking for a session with depth and some laughter, this is the session for you!  Come, learn, laugh and plan with other In-house counsel thought leaders in the region.    

Value Challenge 201: Tools of the Trade in Process Improvement and Technology
August 13, 2020 | 11:30 am - 1:00 pm | 1.50 hours CLE (TX)

If you joined our 101 session, you’ll know what’s within the realm of possibility—but, how do you make it happen?

In part two of the series, we will demonstrate some of the fundamentals that can propel your Value Challenge initiatives. Through an interactive session, we will share the basics of process mapping, an integral tool in getting to the heart of efficiency, consistency, and value. We will also offer ideas on how to conduct these sorts of exercises in a temporarily more virtual world.

Join us as we explore foundational and user-friendly technology tools that can breathe life into sustainable value-driving efforts. While this will be only the beginning of your Value Challenge journey, we know it will be an enjoyable and worthwhile quest.

Value Challenge 101: True Tales of In House Success and Making It Work
August 6, 2020 | 11:30 am - 1:00 pm | 1.50 hours CLE (TX)

We hope you’ll join us for the first of a two-part series on achieving value in your legal departments through deployment of operational toolkits and disciplines.

We will kick-off with real life examples of in house teams who have driven value initiatives within their departments and organizations. We will then open the conversation for a virtual “coffee klatch” to share candid thoughts and perspectives on the challenges and rewards of pushing such initiatives.

Our goal for the first session is to inspire the audience to go after value challenges within their own organizations. In part two of our series (Value Challenge 201), we will share tools you can use to make it happen.

ACC TN Health & Wellness Program: Featuring Representatives of the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program One Hour Dual Credit (TN)

About this Event

Personal Wellness = Corporate Wellness

As the year 2020 continues to deliver unprecedented and life-altering circumstances, many of us are feeling disconnected, stressed, and overwhelmed. We’re all in the same storm, but we’re not always in the same boat – this workshop will examine how our differing needs and perceptions impact our individual paths to wellbeing. Participants will also learn practical skills for improving mental resilience and reducing the harmful consequences of toxic stress. By learning new coping strategies, lawyers will be able to improve productivity, contentment, relationships, and personal wellbeing. Finally, this workshop will review resources through the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program to help in times of crisis or increased need.

Lindsey O'Connell joined the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program in November 2018. Lindsey is a Licensed Masters Social Worker with a Masters in Clinical Social Work from the University of Tennessee. Prior to coming to TLAP, Lindsey worked in clinical settings spanning the entire continuum of care for behavioral health including: acute psychiatric hospitalization, residential treatment, psychiatric rehabilitation, community mental health, and outpatient counseling. Lindsey's clinical specialties include somatic and attachment focused EMDR, trauma and addiction treatment, and mindfulness-based therapies. Lindsey is also a certified Veterinary Social Worker, focusing on animal assisted therapy and utilizing the human-animal bond to promote healing. Lindsey came to the mental health field with extensive experience in advocacy and government relations, which informs her current work in educating legal communities about mental health. Lindsey currently serves as Vice President of the Middle Tennessee Employee Assistance Professionals Association and as Legislative Chair for the National Association of Social Workers TN Chapter.

Mark Vorder-Bruegge, Jr. is a partner in the regional law firm Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP where he practices in the firm’s Intellectual Property Service Team, serves on its Executive Committee, and is the firm’s internal General Counsel and Loss Prevention Partner. Mark is a past member and officer, and is currently an advisory member, of the Commission that operates the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program, and a director and officer of its affiliated TLAP Foundation. Mark’s law practice is focused on client counseling, resolution, and trial of complex problems of intellectual property, corporate governance, professional liability, and other commercial disputes. He speaks and writes frequently on those topics as well as legal ethics and professional responsibility. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been included in Woodward/White’s Best Lawyers in America since 2008.

Buddy Stockwell was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court on July 1, 2020, as the new Executive Director of the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP). Stockwell comes from south Louisiana where he has been a volunteer and program monitor for the state’s Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse since 1993, and the Executive Director of Louisiana's comprehensive Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP) peer professionals' program for the last ten years. He is a Certified Clinical Interventionist through “Love First” training at the Betty Ford Center and has personally been in recovery from alcoholism for over 37 years. Over the years he has supported hundreds of bar members, bar applicants, and family members of the bar with a wide range of substance use disorders and mental health issues. Stockwell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Louisiana State University in 1989 and a Juris Doctor degree from LSU Law School in 1993. Post-law school, he practiced in both large and small firm settings, but ultimately opened a solo practice in Baton Rouge where he focused heavily on domestic litigation until 2004 when he sold his Baton Rouge law office, home, and vehicles and he and his wife, Melissa, moved aboard a large catamaran and sailed the seas for six years, covering 19,000 nautical miles. Stockwell is a U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Captain and seasoned ocean mariner. He also served in the Navy prior to college. He is dedicated to TLAP's mission and very excited to serve the Tennessee Supreme Court, the TLAP Commission, and stakeholders in the profession as the new TLAP Executive Director.

As employers and their employees emerge from “stay at home” orders and return to pre-pandemic operations -- either ending remote work or ending furloughs -- businesses are facing numerous issues. Will employees be reluctant to return to a workplace environment? How does an employer manage the workplace with social distancing, face coverings and shared work spaces? This panel of in-house counsel, employment attorneys and litigators will address issues to consider in the return-to-work process, proactive measures to avoid litigation, and the emerging employment-related litigation risks. Long after the last mask is discarded, these topics will resonate:

•    Analyzing the latest guidance from the City of Chicago, State of Illinois, OSHA, and the CDC;
•    Assisting vulnerable employees and those with childcare challenges if schools remain closed;
•    Responding when employees refuse to return to work;
•    Testing employees and contact tracing with a positive COVID-19 case;
•    Exploring legislative liability waivers related to COVID-19;
•    Requesting COVID-19 waivers from employees, visitors and clients;
•    Understanding the interplay between return to work and workers’ compensation claims;
•    Reducing litigation risk through positive employee relations.

Gain an understanding of best - and next - practices that are responsive to the current realities of workplace interactions.

About this Event

Join ACC TN and Littler for a One-Hour General Credit FREE CLE

Diversity at Work: Fortifying Your Inclusion Efforts in the Current Climate

The past few weeks have presented multiple and overlapping hardships for organizations – and their members – as a result of nation-wide protests and civil unrest related to the most recent and alarming rash of deaths of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement. With the fallout from an-already devastating pandemic’s glaringly disproportionate effects on black and brown communities coupled with these recent tragic events, organizations - including law firms and corporate law departments - throughout America are taking pause. They want to know what more can they do to fortify their pledge to creating diverse and inclusive work environments, how can they help to disrupt the inherent and institutionalized biases that continue to contribute to these experiences, and how they can best respond to, support, and/or protect themselves from both the positive and negative activism that may be affecting their business.

In offering best - and next - practices that are responsive to the current realities of workplace interactions, we will draw upon any lessons learned so far, and provide an overview of some of the business and diversity trends that leaders in the profession should anticipate for 2020 and beyond.

CLE credit is approved in the following states: CA, GA, IL, NV, NY, PA, TN, TX, and WA. Please log on a few minutes before the program to enter your CLE information.

Increase Diversity. Serve Our Community. Make a Difference.

Eleven years ago, two young lawyers made a commitment to increase diversity in the legal profession.  In 2012, they founded the Legal Prep Charter Academy – Chicago’s first and only legal-themed high school – in a predominantly black neighborhood to educate the next generation of lawyers and leaders. This school has been growing ever since.

During these challenging times, what can YOU do to show your support for increased diversity within the legal profession and make a difference in our community?

Join us at our community service event at Legal Prep to help the school spruce up its facilities and grounds. We want to see you there!

During that day, we will repaint various common spaces in the school; organize its utility, supply, and storage spaces; perform basic landscaping work around the building; set up Chromebooks for upcoming school year; organize Library books and shelves, and more.

Don’t miss the opportunity to make a difference.

Legal Prep serves 300 African-American students from its West Garfield Park location – one of Chicago’s most under resourced communities.  The majority of the West Garfield Park residents are “Black non-Hispanic”, with more than 60% of them only having a high school degree or less.