Page 13 - The American Lawyer Trailblazers - South 2022

Texas

Kortney Gibson

Berry Appleman & Leiden

What was the genesis of the idea/path that has made you a trailblazer?
I joined BAL in 2008 as an Associate and soon was assigned one of the largest global technology clients and over-
saw its growth for more than a decade. I had to adapt and create new processes to manage the ever-increasing
volume of immigration cases while maintaining high levels of customer service, as this client grew its global work-
force to tens of thousands. Within the first three years of managing this account, I tripled its size, elevating it to one
of the firm’s top clients, and was named the firm’s youngest female equity partner in July 2016.
What sort of change has resulted from the concept?
While successfully managing the high volume of case work, I introduced creative ways to increase efficiencies by
building unique processes to scale across large teams. BAL was able to leverage my experience to revolutionize
methods the firm uses to meet regulatory immigration processing requirements, while producing a seamless
experience for our clients and their employees going through the immigration journey. This was especially true
during COVID-19 when we were able to move cases amongst our 11 offices and work as a single, harmonized team
and still meet all filing deadlines, even for high-volume clients, without missing a beat.
What bearing will this have on the future?
BAL’s industry-leading technology coupled with operational discipline, process design, and efficiency metrics, en-
able our teams to perform at even higher levels of customer service. As global workforce trends become increas-
ingly competitive and complex, BAL is able to help leading U.S. companies attract and retain the world’s best and
brightest talent, and give immigrant employees and their families opportunities to pursue their dreams.

Jack Hales and Ryan Sellers

Hales & Sellers

What was the genesis of the idea/path that has made you a trailblazer?
During the heat of Covid in 2020, many funeral homes in our area and around the country struggled to keep up
with demand. Morgues were running out of space, leading some funeral homes to create makeshift morgues and
stop following the necessary procedures needed to store a body properly. After speaking with numerous families
who were impacted by poorly run funeral homes, we decided to make a change and help these families that were
affected by negligent funeral homes to get the compensation and peace they deserve.
What sort of change has resulted from the concept?
We are still fighting on behalf of these families and believe that by publicly pointing out the negligence and
trauma they have caused, we can prevent other families from having to deal with similar issues in the future.

What bearing will this have on the future?
The funeral industry does not have to be so complicated. Families should be able to be smoothly walked through
and updated during all parts of the process. The good funeral homes already do this, we are here to weed out the
negligent ones.

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