Esther D. Bowers

Esther Bowers is the firm's Chief Practice Innovation Officer.  She serves in a key role in the firm's Operating Committee which focuses on efforts to improve the operations of the Firm, including enhancement of the Firm’s brand in key practices. Ms. Bowers is responsible for the design, implementation, operation and coordination of cross departmental and multidisciplinary task forces involving attorney and, where appropriate, executive teams to accomplish key initiatives that are important to improving the way that the Firm provides services to clients. She leads the firm’s FOCUS program which combines innovative practice technologies, legal project management principles, and matter-specific staffing models to drive efficiencies and value.   

Prior to joining Honigman, Ms. Bowers was the Director of Client Service Initiatives at Barnes & Thornburg LLP leading the firm’s client-facing services, including value-add offerings, legal project management efforts, and client feedback and key client programs. Ms. Bowers was also co-creator the firm’s legal project management program and responsible for program implementation, training and counseling attorneys on legal project management and process improvement. She also led the firm’s client service program, which included implementing customized client service plans for key clients, client research and client visits by firm managing partners.

Ms. Bowers is active in the value and innovation communities and currently serves as co-chair of the Legal Value Network’s (LVN) Education Committee. She has authored articles and presented on legal project management for the American Bar Association (ABA), the Attorneys’ Liability Assurance Society (ALAS) and Practising Law Institute (PLI), among others. She has also presented on client value and client service for Legal Marketing Association (LMA) conferences and podcasts. Ms. Bowers received her B.S. in finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is certified as a trainer in legal project management by LawVision and has her White Belt from Legal Lean Sigma Institute LLC.  

Education

News

Press Releases

Events

Legal Value Network Annual Conference, The Future Ready Lawyer 2022: Key Industry Trends & Insights (September 2022), Presenter

Autologix, Life Beyond LPM: Practice Management (July 2022), Presenter

Above the Law, What About the Client? Leveraging Legal Tech to Deliver Concrete Value (October 2021), Presenter

Sandpiper Partners, Managing Profitability, Pricing and Data Analytics (June 2021), Presenter

Leveraging Latitude Podcast, Legal Operations (June 2021), Speaker

Global LPM Summit Using Project Management to Drive Better, More Accurate Data, Legal  Strategy and Lower Costs (June 2021), Presenter

Legal Value Network, Intrapreneurship in Legal (May 2021), Moderator

Legal Value Network, Off The Clock Podcast (May 2021), Presenter

LiteraTV, Future of Law Bootcamp (April 2021), Speaker

Practicing Law Institute Project Management for Lawyers (February 2021), Presenter

Project Management for Lawyers, Practicing Law Institute (February 2021), Presenter

The Road Ahead in 2021: Furthering Collaboration Across the Legal Ecosystem, Legal Value Network (February 2021), Presenter

Creating a Client-Centric Culture, LMA Annual Midwest Regional Conference, Presenter (June 2019)

Project Management for Lawyers, Practicing Law Institute, Presenter (February 2018)

Case Studies in Implementing Legal Project Management, LawVision Legal Project Management Roundtable, Presenter (November 2017)

Reducing Mistakes and Satisfying Ethical Requirements with LPM, ABA Law Practice Division – Innovative Law Webinar Series, Presenter (November 2017)

Practically Speaking: Implementing Project Management at Your Firm, ALAS Annual Firm Administration Conference – Opening Session, Presenter (August 2017)

Client Engagement, LMA P3 Podcast Series, Presenter (April 2017)

Publications

Practice Innovations: Law Firm Pricing as a Strategy, Not a Utility, Thomson Reuters Legal Practice Management (October 2022), Co-Author

Legal Project Managers: Where to Find These Unicorns (August 2019), Co-Author, LPM Institute Advisory Board Blog

Sell! –Driving LPM Adoption Using Proven Sales Tactics (March 2019), Author, LPM Institute Advisory Board Blog

The Power of Legal Project Management, (August 2018), Contributing Author, ABA Second Ed.

Client-Centric Service Means Business Solutions (July 2018), Contributing Author, Kate Harry Shipman Blog (re-published by Chicago Law Daily Bulletin and Akron Legal News)

LPM and the Millennial Lawyer (May/June 2018), Contributing Author, LMA Strategies Magazine