Melanie Chaney & Scott Tiedemann | Passing the Torch: Tips for Seamless Leadership Succession
Release Date: 07/01/2025
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info_outlineScott Tiedemann first joined Liebert Cassidy Whitmore as an associate in 2000 and became a partner in 2004. When his tenure as managing partner concludes on September 30th of this year, he will be focusing his energies again full-time on his practice representing public safety agencies and building the firm's private investigations practice.
Melanie Chaney is an experienced labor negotiator and litigator and served as the managing partner of the Los Angeles office before moving into her new role managing firm-wide. She is taking over as managing partner of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, a firm of about 115 lawyers in five offices focused on representing public agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofits across California in their labor, employment, and education matters.
WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT SEAMLESS LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
Most law firms struggle with leadership transitions, often waiting until the last minute to prepare a new managing partner (and creating chaos in the process). But Liebert Cassidy Whitmore has cracked the code on seamless succession planning. Since 1980, they've successfully managed four leadership transitions, each with a 15-year tenure, through a deliberate process that includes a full year of co-managing and a "long runway" for preparation.
Scott Tiedemann and Melanie Chaney reveal the secrets behind their firm's remarkable stability and growth from 40 to 115 attorneys. They share how their "firm first" philosophy, consensus-based decision making, and seven core values create a culture where everyone is "rowing in the same direction."
In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman speaks with Scott and Melanie about their proven approach to leadership succession planning and what it really takes to build a partnership that works.
2:46 - How Liebert Cassidy Whitmore approaches leadership succession planning
7:26 - The consensus-based process for selecting the next managing partner
9:52 - What qualities the firm looks for in a managing partner (hint: it's not the "hard skills")
12:19 - Melanie's journey from "this wasn't my plan" to embracing leadership
16:32 - The specific steps they took during the co-managing transition year
18:20 - What has kept the firm stable and thriving for over 40 years
20:41 - The "firm first" culture and how founding partners gave up ownership for the next generation
23:53 - How they handle culture fit issues and removing people who don't align with values
26:27 - The top challenges facing growing law firms: AI and remote work culture
29:52 - Advice for law firms seeking to strengthen their partnership
34:30 - The importance of repeatedly discussing firm values at every meeting
39:37 - What Scott and Melanie have learned from each other
42:38 - Final advice: keeping your North Star and learning to delegate effectively
MENTIONED IN PASSING THE TORCH: TIPS FOR SEAMLESS LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
Connect with Scott Tiedemann on LinkedIn
Get connected with the coaching team: hello@thelawyersedge.com
SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE...
Today’s episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer’s Edge, a training and coaching firm that has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008. Each member of The Lawyer’s Edge coaching team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach—and either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional.
Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress.
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