AttorneysEd Center

Dr. Sharon M. Abrahams is the national director of professional development for Foley & Lardner LLP. Dr. Abrahams, who has more than twenty years of experience in the training and education field specializing in client relations, marketing, sales, communication and management development training, has conducted seminars for the American Bar Association, Chicago Bar, Washington, D.C. Bar, ALI-ABA, National Association of Law Placement, American Conference Institute, Yale, Northwestern and Cornell Law Schools, and other organizations. She currently serves on the editorial boards for “Practice Innovations” and “Marketing the Law Firm” and is the professional development column editor for the “Law Firm Partnership and Benefits Report”. Dr. Abrahams has also published articles and books related to professional development such as 100 Plus Pointers for New Lawyers on Adjusting to Your Job. For more information about Dr. Abraham’s book, 100 Plus Pointers for New Lawyers on Adjusting to Your Job, or to purchase, click on http://www.abanet.org/careercounsel/crcofferings1.html#plus.

Sylvia L. Coulter is a Vice President with Hildebrandt, where she chairs its Client Development and Growth Practice. For more than twenty-five years, law firms have relied on her expert advice on business development, strategic account management, and service initiative strategies and she has substantial experience in collaborating with firms on their key client retention and growth strategies, business development education, coaching and training programs, client service strategies and process improvement and pricing initiatives. Prior to merging her firm with Hildebrandt, Ms. Coulter was a partner with the consulting firm of CoulterCranston, and she has served as chief marketing and business development officer at two global 50 firms. A frequent panelist and speaker at bar associations, specialty bars, CLE programs and legal marketing and business development seminars, Ms. Coulter has authored numerous publications. Her latest book, “The Woman Lawyer’s Rainmaking Game,” may be purchased online at www.westlegalworks.com.

David H. Freeman, J.D., a former lawyer from New York, is the CEO of the David Freeman Consulting Group, and for twenty-five years, he has worked with thousands of lawyers in over one hundred law firms, on legal management and business development, among other things. A Co-Chair of the 2010 Annual Conference for the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), Mr. Freeman has written many articles on legal management, leadership, strategy, and business development. Currently he contributes an ongoing leadership column for the Association of Legal Administrators publication ALA Currents, he has written a book called Weekly Reminders for Revenue-Focused Leaders, he was on the Board of Editors and wrote a leadership column for American Lawyer Media's newsletter, Marketing the Law Firm, and he produces practical “Tips of the Month” that are focused on leadership and business development. Mr. Freeman is also an internationally recognized speaker who has appeared at law firm retreats, national and regional legal industry conferences, bar associations, and international law firm network conferences.

Mark J. Neuberger, Esq. is of counsel with Foley & Lardner LLP, where he is a member of its Labor & Employment Practice as well as the Senior Living and Health Care Industry Teams. His practice involves the representation of management in all areas of employment law, including general labor and employment guidance to clients and representing employers in employment litigation before administrative agencies, such as the EEOC and NLRB; arbitration tribunals, and in state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also has extensive experience in negotiating collective bargaining agreements with unions and negotiating and drafting executive compensation agreements. Prior to becoming an attorney in 1987, Mr. Neuberger worked for 10 years in the Human Resource department of a Fortune 100 corporation. A frequent speaker and trainer on various labor and employment-related topics, he has been honored as a Top Lawyer since the 2004 edition of the South Florida Legal Guide

Jeanne M. Picht, J.D., the Director of Professional Development & Recruitment, Stites & Harbison PLLC, is responsible for developing and administering a comprehensive professional development curriculum for its attorneys and for strategically consolidating and coordinating the firm's recruitment programs. Ms. Picht works closely with the firm's Management Committee, Service Group Leaders, and Recruiting Chairpersons in support of these areas, and she also works closely with the firm's Diversity Committee to support the firm's Diversity Action Plan and to ensure the professional development, recruitment, and diversity initiatives work in harmony with each other. The overall mission of Ms. Picht, who holds a JD degree from Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington, is to attract and retain high quality, diverse legal talent to Stites & Harbison and offer programming to enhance attorney expertise, performance and satisfaction.