Ari Kaplan
Ari is an industry expert and very well known around the ALA. After nearly nine years practicing with large law firms in New York City, Kaplan, named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, has become a leading industry analyst in the legal community. He has been the keynote speaker for events in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and throughout the U.S., and has shared ideas with legal professionals worldwide.
Ari Kaplan’s first book, The Opportunity Maker: Strategies for Inspiring Your Legal Career Through Creative Networking and Business Development, was dubbed as a “must-have treasure box of marketing ideas,” and CEOs have described his new book, Reinventing Professional Services: Building Your Business in the Digital Marketplace as “an essential guide” that “expertly showcases the multitude of opportunities the digital age has brought to the professional services market.”
As the author of over 200 articles, Kaplan has received multiple Apex Awards for feature writing. He has been recognized in the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, the Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald, the New York Post, the ABA Journal, Above the Law, the National Jurist, the Chicago Lawyer, and the California Recorder, among other publications. He also served as a legal commentator for CNET Radio and has been interviewed on CNN, WGN-TV Chicago, CBS Interactive’s BNET, WMGT-41 Macon, and Good Morning San Diego.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Recovery, Renewal & Reinvention: Navigating the Next Decade
CONTACT INFORMATION
Ari Kaplan
Ari Kaplan Advisors
ari@arikaplanadvisors.com
(646) 641-0600
Debbie Foster
Debbie Foster is the managing partner of Affinity’s Tampa Bay office. Debbie has been working with law firms since 1995, personally helping implement solutions ranging from practice management, time/billing/accounting, document management and general law office management issues. In addition to working with law firms throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Canada, she has also trained hundreds of consultants around the country on software programs used in law firms and best practices when consulting on a law firm’s specific technology needs.
Debbie is very active in the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association, and served as the Chair of ABA TECHSHOW in 2010. Debbie is also very active in Local and State Bar Associations, and she regularly speaks on topics relating to technology, management, finance and marketing of a law firm.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Understanding Process Mapping
CONTACT INFORMATION
Debbie Foster, Partner
Affinity Consulting Group
dfoster@affinityconsulting.com
(727) 544-5400
Steve Best
Steven Best is the managing partner of Affinity Consulting’s Atlanta office. Steve is an attorney as well as a certified law office software consultant. With an educational background in law, accounting and economics, Steve consults with law firms throughout the United States on law office software as well as sophisticated practice management issues.
Steve is a graduate of Rutgers University (B.A.) and Emory University School of Law (J.D.). He is a member of the Florida and Georgia Bars and is also a certified consultant/trainer, maintaining certifications in Amicus Attorney, Credenza, HotDocs, PCLaw, Time Matters and Worldox.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
iPad for Lawyers
CONTACT INFORMATION
Steven J. Best, Esq., Partner
Affinity Consulting Group
sbest@affinityconsulting.com
(770) 998-3800
William J. Dunaway
William J. Dunaway is a Shareholder at Clark, Partington, Hart, Larry, Bond & Stackhouse, a full service law firm with offices in Pensacola and Destin, Florida. He primarily practices environmental and land use law, in addition to having experience in local, state, and federal land use planning and the associated environmental permitting. After years of practice in the military justice system as both a trial counsel and a Military Judge, William also gained valuable litigation experience, which he now uses for title curative work and related real property litigation.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Essential Functions of Orion (Break-out Session)
Help Us (Attorneys) Help You
CONTACT INFORMATION
William J. Dunaway
Clark, Partington, Hart, Larry Bond & Stackhouse
wdunaway@cphlaw.com
(850) 208-7020
Walter A. Romney, Jr.
Walter A. Romney. Jr. has practiced at Clyde Snow since his graduation from law school in 1997. His practice focuses on complex litigation matters, including employment disputes litigation, intellectual property and trade secrets litigation, and white collar criminal defense. He also has considerable experience litigating construction disputes and eminent domain cases. Elected as a director in 2004, Walter currently serves as the firm’s managing director and treasurer. He also serves on the technology and recruiting committees.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Help Us (Attorneys) Help You
CONTACT INFORMATION
Walter A. Romney, Jr.
Clyde Snow & Sessions
war@clydesnow.com
(801) 322-2516
Carl Mack
Carl Mack, with over 30 years of experience in law firm financial systems, has held senior management positions with some of the stalwarts of the legal community including: Foundation Software Labs, Client Profiles and Aderant. Most recently, as a partner at IntelliMetrics LLC, Carl and his team have been providing custom software development and best practices consulting to law firms at every end of the market place. A specialty of the practice is the development and delivery of Business Analytics systems designed to unlock the hidden gems of information contained in a laws firm’s financial and case data. Their collective experience enables Carl and the members of IntelliMetrics to provide highly relevant, easy to use platforms which make the critically needed information available at an attorney’s fingertips. Clients of IntelliMetrics report vast gains in efficiency ,enhanced decision support capabilities and improved utilization of extant systems. Carl’s stated goal is to empower small and mid-sized firms with the same benefits that the AM Law 200 has been receiving from data visualization at a fraction of the cost and effort.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Orion Visual Analytics
CONTACT INFORMATION
Carl Mack, CEO
IntelliMetrics LLC
cmack@intellimetricsllc.com
(410) 352-7094
Paul Yelton
Paul Yelton has over 30 years of experience in the design and development of multi-user accounting systems. He is responsible for all design and programming of Orion software. Paul has extensive experience with data conversion and project management, and is technically proficient in NetWare, Windows NT and UNIX environments. Prior to joining Orion in 1992 Paul was a telecommunications consultant in California and was the lead developer of Decision Plus Accounting software. Paul received a B.S degree from California Polytechnical Institute at Pomona.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Orion 4.6 and What’s New
Ask the Experts
Reporting – The Power of Grids (Break-out Session)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Paul Yelton, President
Orion Law Management Systems, Inc.
pyelton@orionlaw.com
(800) 305-5867
Cindy Shirley
Cindy Shirley has been with Orion since 1993. Her main responsibility is client support for Orion software. She has extensive expertise as a systems analyst and consultant for Orion, including the design and management of Orion’s Call Management System.
Prior to Orion, Cindy had extensive experience in law firm software applications and automation design. She was a legal consultant with The Bellows Management Group and a paralegal for Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. Cindy received her B.A. degree from Sweet Briar College. She also graduated with honors from the National Center for Paralegal Training.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Orion 4.6 and What’s New
Orion Reporting Options
Orion’s *NEW* GL Financial Statement Wizard
Orion’s Report Builder (Break-out Session)
Ask the Experts
AP Imaging/Expense Reimbursement FAQ’s
Orion Accounting Basics (Break-out Session)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Cindy Shirley, Vice President
Orion Law Management Systems, Inc.
cshirley@orionlaw.com
(800) 305-5867
Jon Yelton
Jon Yelton is the head of Consulting Services at Orion Law Management Systems, Inc. Specializing in law firms, Jon has assisted many of the nation’s top firms in areas of information technology, work-flow management and efficiencies, and management reporting. In addition to many industry leading certifications, Jon also has a Master’s degree in both Business Administration and Management Information Systems.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Orion 4.6 and What’s New
Ask the Experts
Maximize Orion – Expand Orion’s Doc. Library (Break-out Session)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Jon Yelton, Consulting Services
Orion Law Management Systems, Inc.
jyelton@orionlaw.com
(800) 305-5867
Kevin Harris
Kevin Harrisis Project Manager of Orion Law Management Systems, Inc., and frequently consults with law firms on issues of software ROI, infrastructure and business practices, staff and attorney design, utilization and productivity, and A/R collections in terms of best practices and development of policies and procedures. Kevin has been with Orion since 1997. His primary responsibility is to work with new clients during the implementation process. He has expertise in both software and hardware environments, which makes him a key resource for our new clients.
Kevin has a finance degree from University of Georgia. Prior to Orion, he was a project manager and account supervisor for HRC, a payroll and benefits outsourcing company.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Orion 4.6 and What’s New
AR Collection Techniques Using Orion 4.6 (Break-out Session)
Developing Invoice Styles & Email Templates (Break-out Session)
Ask the Experts
AP Imaging/Expense Reimbursement FAQ’s
Law Firm Marketing Techniques Using Orion (Break-out Session)
Maximize Orion – Custom Tables/Views (Break-out Session)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Kevin Harris, Project Manager
Orion Law Management Systems, Inc.
kharris@orionlaw.com
(800) 305-5867
Michael Marget
Mike Marget is a Managing Director at 4L Law Firm Services, an affiliate of Orion. Orion and 4L partner together to provide our small to midsize law firms with outsourced bookkeeping/billing and virtual desktop services. Mike Marget holds a CPA Certificate (Iowa) and is a member of the Illinois Bar. He formed 4L together with two colleagues from the Accounting Department at Holland & Knight LLP where he served as Global Chief Financial Officer. Previously he was also Managing Director/COO of Jenner & Block and Chief Operating Officer/Partner at Katten Muchin. During his time there, the firm grew from 70 lawyers to more than 400.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
No Firm Left Behind – Top 10 Financial Mistakes to Avoid
Managing Trust & Staying in Compliance (Break-out Session)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Michael Marget, CEO
4L Law Firm Services
mmarget@4l-law.com
(813) 658-8575