In a recent feature article, The American Lawyer interviewed Spencer Fane Chair Patrick J. Whalen and Chief Talent & Diversity Officer Latricia Shepard, highlighting the “significant dividends” the firm has already seen since shifting to an internal structure that enhances market growth, talent development, and culture.
In the piece, Internal Leadership Revamp Aids Growth of Spencer Fane, Pat outlined the inspiration for the firm’s organizational redesign and discussed how the change has already netted successful outcomes as Spencer Fane maintains its pace as the fastest-growing firm on the AmLaw 200.
The new organizational model transitions away from the traditional top-down, command-and-control hierarchical structure in favor of a model that intends to nurture a culture of empowerment, autonomy, and accountability. This updated structure encourages “a shared leadership approach” that separates the firm’s management tasks into two parallel lines of accountability – internally facing Talent Teams and externally facing Market Teams – both led by a diverse group of Spencer Fane attorneys.
Using the firm’s recent combination with Montgomery & Andrews in Santa Fe as an example, Pat demonstrated how market and talent teams have “enhanced and expedited” onboarding processes and network-building while bolstering expansion and professional development opportunities.
He also noted that Latricia’s newly-created role augments this methodology by allowing Spencer Fane “to take a fresh approach to talent, recruiting, integration, development, and team-building.”
Since joining the firm in September, Latricia has hit the ground running as an HR leader whose collaborations range from individual employees to Talent Team leads to the Spencer Fane Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. Focused on nurturing an entrepreneurial environment of continual development, engagement, diversity, and inclusivity, she shared with The American Lawyer that feedback is essential to her mission.
“That’s employee to manager, that’s supervising attorney to associate, that’s peer-to-peer feedback,” she said. “Creating a consistent, simple, and robust way for us to drive a culture of feedback, so there’s continuous conversation around achievement and performance, but also an opportunity to create coaching for development, and recognition for great work.”
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