Today we’re continuing our conversation with Maureen Babcock, ILTA ’09 Conference Co-chair and Manager of Systems Administration at Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. On Friday, we “heard” her excellent thoughts on leadership, but now we’ll hear more about the conference itself:
What excites you the most about ILTA ’09?
Having seen from behind the scenes all the attention and effort that the conference committee, PGVPs and their steering committees and the ILTA staff put into creating conference for the past 2 years, I am the most excited about the educational content! We have a breadth of topics in every general and peer group track.
We have added “communities of interest,” opportunities for members with specialized common interests to network before the opening reception.
Several sessions will have pre-conference webinars offered to supplement the information to be presented in that session at conference. Some sessions will have suggested pre-reading sources posted.We have another new concept, the “super session.” There will be 3 super sessions scheduled during the breakfast hours on the first 3 days of conference. Richard Susskind, author of “The Future of Law” and “The End of Lawyers?” will be in from England for one. Addressing the issue of dealing with multiple generations in the workplace is the “GenY Guy,” Jason Dorsey, for another. And finally, one of the D.C. area’s own recognizable names, Warren Brown, founder of the popular multi-location metro bakery, “Cakelove.” He brings a unique twist to the idea of following one’s passion and you will never work a day in your life.
Is there a specific session that you’re looking forward to? If so, why?
There are too many that I would want to attend to pick just one! I will be watching the ILTA09 conference insert on the first page of the bi-weekly ILTA News Briefs for highlights on sessions that the track chairs and PGVPs are promoting for ideas closely.
When did you first start coming to conference?
My first conference was at the AZ Biltmore in Phoenix. A long time ago!
Describe a highlight of one ILTA conference that made you a hero when you got back to your firm.
I don’t know about being a hero….I have had several major projects ok’d on my return from conference based directly on the research and input I received there. To date though, I have not leapt over any tall buildings in a single bound
Conference is a whirlwind of activity; can you share your strategy or any tips to making it through and getting the most out of it?
Before conference, I have several rituals that I follow so that I can maximize the return of my time there:
- I review my firm’s current and projected business needs.
- I organize my ideas on how best to meet them and determine what it is that I want to learn/come home with the most information on.
- I note which educational sessions tie in to those business needs.
- I review the conference session description list and choose every session that I want to attend.
- I take that list and decide my first choices for any time slots for which I have chosen competing sessions.
- I schedule all my first choices into my Outlook calendar along with meeting room names (noted as first choices)
- I schedule any second choices along with meeting room names in my calendar (noted as 2nd choices). This is helpful if I change my mind about attending a session. I know what session to go to as a backup and where that session is. It saves a LOT of time running around trying to decide what to do instead!
- I review vendors/products that will be at conference and where possible make appointments with them during times I have not planned on attending session before I arrive. I prep my questions and identify my goals ahead of time.
Once I get to conference, I make every effort to network with my peers, especially those who are attending sessions I have chosen. My goal is to combine the session content, vendor contact and the input (what to do, not to do, best practices) of my peers dealing with the same issues so that I can formulate recommendations on how to proceed to my management upon my return from conference.
This might seem like a lot of work but it is well worth it. At conference, I have already managed my time and just need to follow calendar on my Blackberry and enjoy the experience!
One other item worth noting….don’t be shy. The conference co-chairs, conference committee members, Peer Group VPs and ILTA staff will have ids on their name badges letting you know who they are. Is it your first year? Go up and tell one of them. They will be happy to connect you with others. Want to volunteer? Let them know. The more contacts you make at ILTA, the more friends you have to bounce problems or ideas off of for the rest of the year. That is part of what makes the ILTA experience so valuable.
Do you have a blog? If so, what’s the URL? What’s your Twitter handle?
Sadly, I am blog-less. I have, thanks to Jenn Steele (this year’s social networking coordinator), graduated to using Facebook so who knows?! I might branch out to my own blog next year! My Twitter handle is RueCat.
Filed under: 2009 Conference
