This week’s guest on the Mostly Legal Podcast is proof that you really can have it all! Suzy Klepac (Office Administrator, Kirk & Chaney PLLC) has served in multiple administrative roles at various law firms for the last six years, but she recently embarked on her greatest challenge – working remotely full time with a newborn. Working parents everywhere will be inspired to hear Suzy’s story of work-life balance in the fast-paced legal industry, which, according to her, is a little like living life like someone left the gate open. Don’t let the goats out!
Suzy is a self-proclaimed “founding mother” of the First Five, a group of individuals within the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) who at the time, were all in their first five years of working in legal management. They found the organization did not have much programming that catered to professionals who were newbies to the legal industry and set out to change that via an online community. Today, it’s a safe place on the Internet where legal administrators early in their careers can ask questions judgment-free to peers likely going through the same experiences.
About the Guest
Suzy Klepac
Suzy Klepac has been a legal administrator for 8 years. Currently, she is the Office Administrator at Kirk & Chaney PLLC, located in Oklahoma City, where she has served since May 2017. Prior to legal management, Suzy worked as a paralegal and has served in multiple roles within various law firms for 6 years.
Suzy resides in Oklahoma City with her husband, three children, one dog, one cat, two goats, attempted chickens, and lots of raccoons and deer. She enjoys playing piano and guitar, bird watching, quilting, and fishing – as long as the weather is not too cold.
Suzy Klepac has been a member of the ALA since December 2014 and is a member of the Oklahoma City Chapter. Beginning in April of 2015, Suzy has been in an ALA leadership role either in her chapter or in the Association. For the Oklahoma City chapter, she has served as Social Media and Communications Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, President-Elect, and Chapter President. Suzy has also been involved in orchestrating chapter membership drives, chapter visibility campaigns, and community outreach programs. In 2017, she was one of the first members to join the Association’s Product and Service Review Committee, chairing the Committee from May 2020 to May 2021. In 2018, Suzy and two other legal administrators started the ALA FirstFive Online Community, which is geared towards legal managers in the first five-ish years of their career, offering education and a safe space to ask questions. Suzy is currently serving as a Chapter Resource Team member and continues to co-moderate the FirstFive Online Community.
Episode Resources
- Kirk & Chaney PLLC (Suzy's firm)
- Association of Legal Administrators (ALA)
- ALA Product and Service Review Committee (PSRC)
