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Total Attorneys Management: Marketing Management & Technology Pros

Total Attorneys Management

Meet the Total Attorneys Executive Team



edEd Scanlan, Founder & CEO

When Ed Scanlan founded Total Attorneys in 2002, his credentials were already impressive: he had worked for several years in business and product development at three prominent interactive agencies in Chicago; led the development of some of the first non-profit e-commerce applications while at United Way; been invited to present at the World Electronic Commerce Conference in 1999, and had his work highlighted in the Electronic Commerce Report that same year.

Total Attorneys was the natural culmination of Ed’s skills and interests. What began as an online agency and information-technology management firm (called Infra-Strategy) has morphed into a technology-enabled service provider focusing on servicing small law firms. Today the employees at Total Attorneys service more than 1,000 lawyers nationwide. The company was listed on the Inc. 500 list for both 2008 and 2009.

Ed's unique management style has been featured in multiple publications including the New York Times, Business Week, Inc., Smart Money, Crain's Chicago Business, and the Chicago Tribune. He was inducted into the Chicagoland Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 2009 and was a Midwest finalist for the Ernest and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2009.

Ed sits on the board of the Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education, which promotes entrepreneurship as a viable career option in public high schools throughout the state of Illinois and and Metro Chicago Information Center, which works from a fundamental philosophy that better information produces better decisions. He leads Total Attorneys, in partnership with Purse of Hope, in the funding and creation of the Total Impact House, which provides shelter, education, counseling, and vocational skills to girls victimized by the sex trade in Uganda.

 

kevinKevin Chern, President

When he joined Ed to help lead Total Attorneys, Kevin Chern had already established himself as an entrepreneur and an expert in law practice management. From 1997 to 2005, he served as managing partner of the country’s largest consumer bankruptcy law firm. The firm, which began with only two attorneys, ultimately employed more than 180 people in 19 states and served approximately 450 new clients each week. As an attorney, Kevin has personally represented thousands of bankruptcy petitioners, which has helped to develop his insight into the administrative, marketing and other support needs of busy attorneys.

During his tenure as President of Total Attorneys, Kevin’s legal and business acumen has helped the company expand from its starting core to more than 250 employees, and to anticipate and provide for the needs of small law firms and solo practitioners.

Kevin’s numerous publications in the areas of law practice management and legal technology include articles in the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal and the American Bar Association’s eTechnology Report and Legal Trends. He also speaks on related topics, and has recently presented at Get a Life 2009 and Max Gardner’s Bankruptcy Boot Camp.

 

dave-olsenDavid Olson, Chief Financial Officer

David Olson brings 30+ years of experience in a wide variety of businesses ranging from chief financial officer of a billion dollar division of a services company to running his own start-up firm, to auditor at one of the nations leading accounting firms. His career has been in a variety of industries including professional services, commercial services, consumer products, consumer services, publishing, communications, manufacturing and industrial processing.

Dave, a CPA, also holds his B.A in Accounting from Southern Illinois University.

Dave is very active in his community; he is the President of the Board of Directors for Family Shelter Service in DuPage County, an organization providing a number of services for individuals and families experiencing challenges from domestic abuse/violence.

He and his wife, Karen live in Woodridge, IL and have 4 children.

 

timTim Ryan, Vice-President

Tim graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a degree in Entrepreneurship, a new major for the University at the time. He began his career in sales at IKON Office Solutions, selling high volume printers and copiers in a walking sales territory in the downtown Chicago Loop. While copier sales has long been famed for its stiff competition and high turnover, Tim spent two years in the industry and quickly became a top producer, selling 212% of his quota in his first year, which not only earned him the ‘Rookie of the Year’ sales award but also broke the company record for production as a Territory Sales Rep (a record which still stands!).

He then moved on to a small consulting firm named MPR that specialized in Human Capital Consulting. During his time there, he learned a great deal about best practices in operations and management. In fact, because of Tim’s longstanding friendship with CEO Ed Scanlan, MPR was actually Total Attorneys’ very first client. In time, as Total Attorneys continued to blossom, Ed recruited Tim to be Total Attorneys’ primary salesperson in February of 2005. Tim and President Kevin Chern sold out almost their entire inventory across the country for TotalBankruptcy.com in less than 60 days.

As the marketing sites continued to flourish, Tim expanded the sales team and formalized its processes, instituting the company’s Behavioral Selection process and Performance Management program. He also took on management of the Sponsor Advocate Team, Total Attorneys' customer support group, and the Infra-IT business unit. Tim was promoted from Director of Sales to Vice-President of Total Attorneys in July of 2008. An internal candidate was later named as Director of Sales.

 

pamPam Gracyalny, General Counsel

Pam Gracyalny has an extensive background in corporate law and professional responsibility. She began her legal career investigating and prosecuting legal ethics violations as Counsel to the Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois. After more than seven years in that position, Pam moved into private practice. She was soon recruited by corporate client Aldridge Electric, Inc. to serve as the company's General Counsel. Later she joined Applus Technologies, Inc. as Vice-President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, overseeing all compliance, contract negotiation, litigation and corporate legal matters. She joined Total Attorneys in 2008.

Pam graduated with honors from the University of Iowa in 1986 and obtained her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law in Chicago in 1991. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Association for Corporate Counsel, and former Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Committee on Professional Responsibility.

 

susanbSusan Bryant, Vice-President of Marketing

Susan Bryant’s broad-based marketing, sales and operations experience makes her an excellent fit for the ever-growing and evolving Total Attorneys product line. She came to Total Attorneys from Cardinal Health, where she spent four years developing strategic marketing plans in her role as marketing director for the company’s respiratory and diagnostics/lab distribution businesses. Her marketing background also includes leadership positions with AT&T Wireless, The New Power Co., Inc., Exelon/Unicom Energy, Competitive Strategies Group and AT&T Communications.

Susan also brings a commitment to the larger community that parallels the Total Attorneys world view. She serves as a volunteer with Lake County Juvenile Probation Services, a deacon at Evangelical Free Church of Libertyville, and a mentor volunteer.

Susan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, both from Purdue University. She also earned a Master’s in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Missouri.

Susan and her husband live in Libertyville and have two children.

 

davedDavid Dahl, Chief Technology Officer

David Dahl brings 15 years of high-tech experience to Total Attorneys. His tenure with early-to-mid-stage Software–as-a-Service organizations made him a natural and valuable addition to the Total Attorneys team. His background includes serving as CTO of Emmi Solutions, VP Global Tech at OptionMonster, CTO of SpringCM, VP Technology at Orbitz, and Principal at Zefer Consulting (formerly Neoglyphics).

We don’t just love David for his experience, though. His energy and his drive to exceed expectations help feed the motivation of our Project Management, Software Development and IT/Hosting teams.

David received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Purdue University and also holds a Master’s in Business Administration in Finance from Loyola University in Chicago. He is a member of the International Association of Software Architects, and lives in Chicago with his wife, Sima, a marketing consultant to small businesses.