Leader Profile: All in on Law Librarianship

Jeremy Sullivan, Senior Manager of Competitive Intelligence, DLA Piper

Reposted with permission from AALL Spectrum, Volume 28, Number 3 (January/February 2024), pgs 26-29

In what has become an all-too-familiar story, Jeremy Sullivan found his way to law librarianship by accident. After receiving his BA in history from the University of California, Davis, he struggled to find a job. Unsure of what to do, he remembered he had enjoyed working in a public library, so he decided to apply for a master’s in library science. “As soon as I got accepted into library school, I also received my first job in a law library,” said Sullivan. As a result, he ended up putting library school on the back burner for a few years while he gained real-world work experience. By the time he decided to get his MLS, he was all in on law librarianship.

Sullivan’s first job after completing his MLS was as a research librarian. “I had kind of been working as a research librarian at Morrison and Foerster, which was my first firm, and when I got a new job at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, I was a full-fledged reference librarian,” said Sullivan. He earned his MLS from San Jose State University in 2000. He stayed at Wilson Sonsini from 2000-2004 before moving to Morgan Lewis’s Palo Alto office as the solo manager of the library, a position he held until 2006. From there he advanced his career by taking on a position as a research services manager with Greenberg Traurig. He joined DLA Piper (U.S.) in 2010, beginning his career as a research and library services manager. After spending over six years in the role, he transitioned to manager of competitive intelligence and analytics at the firm. In his position, he provided oversight of the competitive intelligence research function at the firm, and routinely utilized, leveraged, and evaluated business and legal research analytics platforms with an eye toward uncovering knowledge and enhancing the firm’s competitive advantage. He recently became the senior manager of competitive intelligence at the firm.

Sullivan has been an American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) member since June 1998. He has been an active member of the Northern California Association of Law Libraries (NOCALL), serving as president from 2022-2023. He also served as a member at large for the Private Law Librarians & Information Professionals Special Interest Section. He is currently a member of the Council of Chapter Presidents. He is also a frequent speaker at conferences, including at the AALL Annual Meeting.

Here, he discusses generative AI, shares how his experience has propelled his career, and presents ideas for recruiting new members into the profession.

Passport Not Required: International Relations is Not Just Between Nation States

Reposted with permission from AALL Spectrum, Volume 27, Number 6 (July/August 2023), pgs 16-19.

By Tina Morrow, Library & Knowledge Manager, Withers Begman LLP; Timonie Green, Library & Knowledge Manager, Withers LLP; Kirsty Chu, Library & Knowledge Manager (APAC), Withers KhattarWong LLP

Key points and best practices to help international law library and knowledge management teams within global firms better serve their international lawyers’ and department operations’ research needs.

In the Q&A below, we (the authors) discuss how we, the library and knowledge management team at Withers—an international law firm with 17 offices worldwide covering 30 jurisdictions—work as a global team scattered around different parts of the world. We discuss how our relationships have been built up from personal interactions, getting to know each other, knowledge sharing, and the understanding that we need to work as our fee earners work—as a united, fully global team with regional expertise and a global reach.

TRINA: Withers is an international law firm, originally founded in the UK, with offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions. We are not a verein and operate as one firm. When I joined Withers in 2016, I was solo in the U.S. and the firm’s first legal information professional in our U.S. region. During my first week, one of my London-based colleagues, Timonie Green, flew to the U.S. and spent the week with me in our New Haven office. I can say this step was the beginning of a wonderful cooperative relationship between the regions. It was also the start to Timonie’s obsession with Shake Shack. I traveled to our London office to meet the rest of the Library & Knowledge Management team a month or two after I joined Withers. This meeting built on that initial relationship I had started with Timonie and expanded to the other members of the London team. It also gave me the opportunity to make connections with the group of U.S.-qualified lawyers in our London office and address any of their lingering needs for U.S. legal research expertise.

Key points: Consider giving your teams the opportunity to meet in person as soon as possible. Arrange video calls during onboarding and regular calls thereafter.

Experience at AALL’s Course: “Managing Your Work Environment”

by Janet Peros, Senior Research Analyst, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Editor’s Note: We are happy to post two takes on a recent course on “Managing Your Work Environment” offered by the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), and facilitated by Judith Millesen, Ph.D.  Both authors were recipients of grants from the Private Law Librarians and Information Professionals (PLLIP) section of AALL.  Thank you to Connie and Janet for taking the time to share their thoughts on their experiences and takeaways from the course.

In September, AALL offered a four week online course, Managing Your Work Environment. I was able to attend this rewarding program facilitated by Judith Millesen, PhD, Director of Strategic Planning, Fundraising, and Capacity Building, Association Options, thanks to a generous PLLIP grant.

Better Team Development and Interpersonal Skills: AALL Course on “Managing Your Work Environment”

By Connie Chang, Knowledge Management Research Analyst at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt

Editor’s Note: We are happy to post two takes on a recent course on “Managing Your Work Environment” offered by the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), and facilitated by Judith Millesen, Ph.D.  Both authors were recipients of grants from the Private Law Librarians and Information Professionals (PLLIP) section of AALL.  Thank you to Connie and Janet for taking the time to share their thoughts on their experiences and takeaways from the course.

Thanks to a grant from the Private Law Librarians & Information Professionals Special Interest Section (PLLIP-SIS), I attended the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) course, “Managing Your Work Environment.”  The course focused on team development and interpersonal skills.  It was held over three weeks (Sept. 13 to Oct. 4, 2022).  There was also some pre-course work on the importance of having a growth mindset and taking time to reflect about work experiences.  I am so grateful to PLLIP members for supporting the PLLIP-SIS grants through your dues.  I am also very grateful to the PLLIP-SIS Grants Committee for managing the grants program on behalf of our section.

There were 18 learners in the course, half at law firms, three in government law libraries, and six at law school libraries. The course format was virtual and mostly asynchronous, concluding with a synchronous group discussion via Zoom.  Our instructor was Judith Millesen, PhD, Director of Strategic Planning, Fundraising, and Capacity Building at Association Options.  Her experience includes teaching as a professor for 20 years and advising nonprofit organizations throughout the United States.  Through recorded video lectures, carefully selected course materials, and insightful feedback on each learner’s discussion board posts, short reflective essays, plus a short video that each learner made, Professor Millesen skillfully guided us in our quests to be better team members (or team leaders).

During our Zoom meeting at the end of the course, it was clear that the course enriched learners with information and suggestions we could employ immediately to help improve our work (and personal) lives.  The coursework helped us to identify areas where we wanted to become stronger.  Some common themes that also came through in our discussion board posts and in our final meeting were: learning from our mistakes, becoming more mindful and more comfortable with discomfort that can lead to growth, and keeping in mind what we can and cannot control.  Though I learned many things from the course that I plan to explore further and implement, I share below only one key takeaway from each week in the course.

Participate in the New Pilot PLLIP-SIS Speaker Mentoring Program