Court Leader's Advantage

Managing the multigenerational workplace is more demanding today than ever before. Why is it now such a challenge? One reason: we are living and working longer. If you were born today, you could expect to live 79 years, that is 18 years longer than if you were born in 1935. Another reason: technology is changing our lives and the rate of that change is increasing. Once, just being a 30-year veteran of an organization made you a valued expert. Today, we are valued for our technical expertise in mastering artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and social media. Does assigning traits to the different generations help or hurt when managing the workplace? What insights do we have for today’s managers dealing with up to four generations working side-by-side? Zenell Brown, Alisa Shannon, Rene Armenta, and Kelly Hutton discuss what it means to oversee a court with so many different age groups working together. This is an absorbing podcast episode for listeners curious about generational differences, managing the gen

Blogs and podcasts are a growing fixture on our social landscape. There are now more than 750,000 podcasts produced and over 48 million people a week listen to a podcast. Estimates are that billions of people worldwide read one or more blogs on the internet. This is a fact that courts face along with all government institutions. When grappling with the media, courts can no longer deal simply with the city newspaper and local television reporters. Bloggers and podcasters demand equal treatment with traditional media outlets. What advice do we have for courts that are facing the challenge of social media’s blogs and podcasts? Darren Toms and Stephen Thompson talk about how courts can deal with the growing phenomenon of social media’s focus on the justice system. This is a fascinating podcast episode for listeners interested in courts, court administration, social media, blogs, and podcasts. Leave a comment or question about the episode at clapodcast@nacmnet.org. Guest Speakers A child of the northeast, Stephen

The Pew Research Center estimates that right now there are more Millennials than Baby Boomers in America. By 2030 Millennials and Gen Zs will make up 75% of the workforce. A Gallup Poll found that 21% of Millennials had changed jobs within the last year, that’s three times more than other generations.  On top of this demographic shift, technological innovation is increasing exponentially. The American workforce is racing toward a major generational transformation within the next ten years. Will the emerging generations demand new ways of doing business and managing employees? How will the generations impact the courts? What can court administrators do today to prepare for this sea change? Tina Mattison, Stacy Worby, and Paulina Pasquarelli talk about the up-and-coming generations as they flex their social and economic muscle. What it mean to management and the workplace. This is a compelling podcast episode for listeners interested in generational differences, managing the generations, courts, and court

Shooting incidents are becoming a scourge on the American landscape and courthouses are certainly not immune. An incident can last only seconds but the trauma to court staff and the unsuspecting public can live on and on. If a calamity occurs, we face the triple challenge: emergency decisions and communications, dealing with law enforcement and a crime scene, and maintaining or reestablishing ongoing operations. What can your staff and your court do to prepare? What do we keep in mind if it happens? What can we learn from professionals who have dealt with these issues in real time? Patricia Norwood-Foden, Lt. Adam Sibley, Lance Wilson, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Addison Friedman talk about working through tragedy and restoring a degree of normalcy. This is an intriguing episode for listeners interested in emergencies, active shooter situations, courthouse security, and court administration. Leave a comment or question about the podcast at clapodcast@nacmnet.org. Guest Speakers Patricia Norwood-Foden has been the

From O.J. Simpson, to Trayvon Martin and Casey Anthony, we have become used to the media targeting trials and turning them into spectacles. Many in the public see them as entertainment; often they become a lightning rod for political controversy. All the while jurors must be protected and citizens must be able to conduct their regular business with the court. These challenges can prove an enormous test for a typical trial court. When do you know a trial will turn into a media event? What can your court do to prepare? Michelle Kennedy and Karen Levey share their experiences dealing with high profile trials in their courts.  This is an intriguing episode for listeners interested in high profile trials, media relations, jury security, and court administration. Leave a comment or question about the podcast at clapodcast@nacmnet.org.  About the Guest Speakers Karen Connolly Levey Chief Deputy Court Administrator has been with the Ninth Judicial Circuit for 28 years. Ms. Levey is responsible for all Due P

Ransomware attacks are running rampant throughout the nation. Atlanta, Georgia; Lake City, Florida; Albany, New York; and Del Rio, Texas have all been victims. Most recently the Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts was attacked. Local agencies can be crippled for weeks with no data, no internet, no email, and no way to conduct business.  Is your court prepared? Can you stop it? How would you even know? Rashida Davis and Stephen Nevels recount their experiences battling attacks on their courts.  This is a fascinating episode for listeners interested in cybersecurity, ransomware such as Ryuk and Sam Sam, court technology, and court administration. Leave a comment or question about the podcast at clapodcast@nacmnet.org.  About the Guests Rashida A. Davis serves as the Court Administrator/ Chief Clerk for the Municipal Court of Atlanta. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Georgia State University. Ms. Davis graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law Cum

You may not be aware, but artificial intelligence (AI) has already established itself in our daily lives. From Amazon to Alexa, sophisticated algorithms affect much of what we do. The next ten years will see advancements in electronic decision-making, facial recognition, language translation, and voice-to-text. Are you willing to accept the cost in loss of privacy due to AI’s insatiable thirst for data for the benefit in added productivity? What will be the new careers in AI world? Abhijeet Chavan and IV Ashton walk us through some of the inner workings of AI, some expectations in areas like Natural Language Processing, and give us advice on how to prepare for the future of this technology.  This is a fascinating episode for listeners interested in court technology, Natural Language Processing, algorithms, individual privacy, language translation, and emerging technologies. There is a link to a short segment of the book Prediction Machines by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb, in the Show Notes sec

“. . . we’ve been thinking a lot about the explosion of digital evidence. . . terabytes of audio-video footage from body-worn cameras, web cameras at every corner, video recordings from everyone’s smartphone devices . . . Blockchain holds a lot of promise for managing all that.” Blockchain is a tool that could change the way organizations handle money. Its built-in safeguards prevent electronic hacking. Beyond accounting, it could secure the authenticity of court documents and even identities. But are we willing to pay the price for all security? Paul Embley and Di Graski explore the opportunities to courts and the limits of this emerging technology. Di and Paul’s paper, “When Might Blockchain Appear in Your Court?” is narrated available as a bonus episode. The display version is available in the Show Notes section on our website. Leave a comment or question about the podcast at clapodcast@nacmnet.org.  About the Guests Di Graski is grateful to be celebrating her eleventh anniversary with the National Ce

“. . . [Blockchain records] could soon be used in a variety of innovative ways to resolve court record keeping challenges. At the same time, Blockchain presents new legal issues that courts must be prepared to address.” This is an audio recitation of a paper written by Di Graski and Paul Embley titled “When Might Blockchain Appear in Your Court?” The paper appeared in the 2018 edition of Trends in State Courts published by the National Center for State Courts.  This episode will appeal to listeners interested in trial courts, court administration, emerging technologies, digital security, and accounting and finance, and emergency response plans. A link to a display version of Di and Paul’s paper, “When Might Blockchain Appear in Your Court?” is in the Show Notes section on our website. Leave a comment or question about the podcast at clapodcast@nacmnet.org.  About the Guests Di Graski is grateful to be celebrating her eleventh anniversary with the National Center for State Courts’ Technology team. &n

  Show Notes On November 30, 2018, Anchorage, Alaska, suffered a magnitude 7.1 earthquake followed by thousands of aftershocks.  The quake was larger than the infamous 1989 Loma Prieta, California event.  How did the Alaska Court System’s emergency response plans hold up? What can we learn from Alaska’s experience and its preparations?  Christine Johnson and Alyce Roberts share their experiences and their insights having dealt firsthand with this powerful force of nature.    When we think of earthquakes, we think of California however Alaska’s quake was larger than the infamous 1989 Loma Prieta event (a.k.a. the World Series Quake) which burned a large portion of San Francisco’s marina district. Alaskans still remember the 1964 Good Friday quake: the most powerful earthquake ever to hit North America. This is a thought-provoking episode for listeners interested in trial courts, court administration, disaster recovery, continuity of operations plans (COOP), and emergency resp

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) has already brought us general business tools that courts can use to assist in automating work, analyzing documents, and conducting legal analysis. As a start, courts will need to put their information into an electronic format that can be used by A.I. tools. They will also need to re-engineer their business practices. Small courts will have to be assertive in making their needs known. But, exactly how will A.I. tools help courts and what will we, as citizens, give up in privacy in order to maximize A.I.’s potential? Alan Carlson along with co-host Rick Pierce discuss how A.I. will be used in the courts and how soon it will be here.  About the Presenter Alan Carlson retired at the end of 2016 after working 40 years in state trial courts. He was the CEO (court administrator, clerk of court, and jury commissioner) of the Orange County (CA) Superior Court, the CEO in San Francisco Superior Court, the Executive Officer of the Monterey Superior Court, and the Assistant Executive

Last September, Hurricane Florence devastated North Carolina's families, communities, and its trial courts.  Court administrators Ellen Hancox and Caitlin Emmons tell how they made it through the storm, cared for their families, and managed to keep their courts afloat.  What lessons can we take away from their experience? To cope, people had to come up with “contingency plans for their contingency plans” in order to deal with a storm that upended lives and work. Ellen and Caitlin talk about how their courts and their families endured, including judges who had not fully recovered from the previous hurricane (Matthew). They also describe their efforts at disaster recovery, their emergency plans, and their continuity of operations plans (COOP) during the crisis. Finally, they relate how they overcame unforeseen logistical and legal hurdles. Leave a comment or question about the podcast at clapodcast@nacmnet.org. You can see addition information in the Show Notes section at nacmnet.org/podcasts. About t