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Ms. Johnson has extensive experience organizing an educational department and addressing continuing legal education issues. As the National Director of Professional Development at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, Ms. Johnson led nationwide attorney development for six years, including planning, educational programs and securing continuing legal education credits from various states for those programs. As the firm grew from 350 to more than 1,400 attorneys nationwide, Ms. Johnson built a highly-efficient department that developed and staffed hundreds of educational programs. With firm attorneys licensed in dozens of states, Ms. Johnson became familiar with continuing legal education rules, policies and procedures in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Texas, California as well as other states. Since June, 2005, Ms. Johnson has served as director of attorney placement at Mestel & Company, a national legal recruiting firm with offices in Chicago, New York, Boston, Washington, Miami, Houston and Los Angeles. In that capacity, Ms. Johnson has worked with attorneys practicing in a wide variety of areas and settings, including small, mid-sized, and large law firms, in-house counsel settings and government. Ms. Johnson's leadership of major projects focusing on the educational and professional development needs of attorneys began when she assumed leadership roles in the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section ("YLS"). She served as the YLS chair during the 1998-99 bar year, overseeing the activities of 35 committees that hosted nearly 300 seminars and educational programs. In her eight years as a YLS committee chair, director and officer, Ms. Johnson spearheaded dozens of projects, including planning a broad range of seminars, organizing the Pro Bono and Government Service Career Fair, and serving as co-editor-in-chief of the Chicago Lawyer's Court Handbook. At the conclusion of Ms. Johnson's year as chair, the American Bar Association recognized the YLS as the most outstanding young lawyers' organization within the nation's larger cities. Ms. Johnson also has extensive experience working with volunteer boards. She has served on the governing boards of the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Foundation and the Center for Conflict Resolution, one of the nation's premier not-for-profit providers of mediation services and conflict management training. In 1997-98, Ms. Johnson also served on the joint Chicago Bar Association-Illinois State Bar Association Committee on MCLE. "We are pleased to have a professional who can step into this role and, with her experience, energy and enthusiasm, make an impact almost immediately," said Patrick Kinnally, MCLE Board Vice-chair. "Ms. Johnson knows what it takes to build an efficient and responsive administrative structure. All of the MCLE Board members are looking forward to working with her." "This is an exciting opportunity for me, having spent many years planning and staffing educational and professional development projects for lawyers," said Ms. Johnson. "As the MCLE Board's lead administrator, I will aim for excellence in the information provided to the Board and in the service provided to the attorneys licensed in Illinois." Ms. Johnson will serve in temporary office space located in Chicago until a permanent MCLE program office is selected during the next several weeks. |
Thank you for your interest in Illinois MCLE. |
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