On the Record: In tough first year as CEO of Maine's largest law firm, Joan Fortin is optimistic
Photo / Jim Neuger
Joan Fortin, CEO of Portland-based law firm Bernstein Shur and 2018 Mainebiz Woman to Watch honoree, said that this year’s partly remote summer associate program was one of the best ever.
Joan Fortin took the reins as CEO of Portland-based Bernstein Shur at the start of 2020, succeeding Patrick Scully. Mainebiz caught up with her to find out what it’s been like to lead Maine’s largest law firm during COVID-19.
Mainebiz: How would you describe your leadership style and approach?
Joan Fortin: I lead with the tenets of service and compassionate leadership. I consciously focus on leading with integrity, compassion and transparency. Lifting up, supporting and investing in our people empowers them to be happier at work and stay longer. This, in turn, allows them to lift up, support and provide both excellent service and valuable counsel to our clients.
MB: What’s been the biggest challenge of leading a virtual law firm during a pandemic?
JF: We are undeniably challenged with how to best support our working parents and caregivers. Parents and caregivers are being disparately impacted by COVID-19 closures, quarantine orders or even just having a child with a fever who needs to stay home until a COVID test comes back negative. While we as a law firm specialize in creative problem solving, we continually grapple with providing useful help to parents or caregivers who must split their focus in unprecedented circumstances.
MB: How has Bernstein Shur adapted its parental leave policies this year?
JF: We elected to offer the federally mandated leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on an intermittent basis. While employers must offer leave under FFCRA, offering leave on an intermittent basis is elective. This critical measure allows all employees to work five days per week, but when they are unable to work full days because of child care responsibilities, child care hours are logged into our system as intermittent leave. These employees continue to be paid on a full-time basis and the firm is eligible for a tax credit for hours when employees must use intermittent leave.
MB: And what about ensuring employees’ well-being, especially for those living alone?
JF: Honestly, we have tried as many things as we can think of to foster well-being. Our success relies on healthy, creative employees. We surveyed employees as to how they were taking care of themselves and used that data to create a Health & Wellness Resource Guide. We provided mindfulness training and yoga via Zoom; webinars on managing distraction, improving mental focus, coping with coronavirus and leading through uncertain times; and we created a wide variety of affinity groups — one of the most successful has been for people living alone and feeling isolated. We conduct more meetings via Zoom to encourage contact, and firm leaders reach out regularly to their team members to provide support.
MB: How did summer internships go, and any lessons for next summer?
JF: Despite having a unique and partly remote summer associate program, it was one of the best programs we’ve run. Our people went way out of their way to fully engage and make sure our law students had a meaningful summer experience. One thing we will continue in future summer programs is group and individual walking meetings. Those were a big hit, and everyone likes an excuse to get outside, pandemic or no.
MB: In what practice areas are you hiring right now and why?
JF: As you might guess, the economic distress brought on by the pandemic has led to hiring in our bankruptcy group. We’re also seeking an attorney with experience in digital marketing, advertising and data privacy, where growth has accelerated due to pandemic-related migration to a virtual marketplace.
MB: What’s your business outlook and mindset for coming months?
JF: In the short term, the next few months will be quite challenging for many businesses. As we head deeper into the colder months and the number of COVID-19 cases are picking up, my goal is that our firm continue to play a stabilizing role for our clients, our employees and our community. In the longer term, I am very optimistic — 2020 has taught us all that we are, above all, resilient. My mindset remains focused on service — continuing to adapt and seek opportunities to serve our clients and communities will be critical to our continued success.
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The right leader for the right time. Your care and compassion for your people is obvious when I've worked with you and comes through nicely in this interview. Keep up the great work. Doug M
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