A Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators

Please join us for a session on 

  Handling Challenging Employees

presented by Jim Cleary, Managing Partner of Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, LLP

Session Description:
Every organization eventually encounters the employee who consumes a disproportionate amount of management time, creates conflict, resists change, generates complaints, or presents performance and conduct issues that seem difficult to address. Law firms face unique challenges because problematic employee situations often involve long-tenured staff, high-performing but difficult personnel, sensitive workplace dynamics, and heightened legal risk. This practical session will examine how law firm administrators and leaders can effectively manage challenging employees while minimizing legal exposure and maintaining a productive workplace culture. Through real-world examples and discussion of common scenarios, attendees will learn strategies for documenting issues, conducting difficult conversations, addressing misconduct and performance deficiencies, managing protected complaints and accommodation requests, and making defensible employment decisions. Participants will leave with practical tools they can apply immediately in their firms.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
• Identify common categories of challenging employee behavior and recognize the legal and operational risks associated with each.
• Distinguish between performance problems, misconduct issues, interpersonal conflicts, and protected activity that may require a different management approach.
• Apply effective documentation techniques that support accountability and strengthen defensible employment decisions.
• Conduct difficult conversations with employees in a manner that is professional, productive, and legally sound.
• Recognize when employee complaints, accommodation requests, leave issues, or other protected activities create additional legal considerations.
• Develop strategies for coaching, corrective action, and progressive discipline that improve employee performance while reducing workplace disruption.
• Evaluate when termination or separation may be appropriate and understand steps that help reduce potential litigation risk.

Speaker Bio:
Jim Cleary is Managing Partner of Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, LLP in Houston, Texas. Jim has more than two decades of experience representing employers in labor and employment matters and advising businesses on workplace issues. His practice focuses on all aspects of the employment relationship, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour disputes, restrictive covenants, trade secrets, wrongful termination claims, employment agreements, and workplace investigations. He regularly represents employers in state and federal courts, arbitration proceedings, and before administrative agencies. In addition to his litigation practice, Jim counsels employers on day-to-day human resources issues, workplace policies, compliance strategies, and preventive employment practices designed to reduce risk and avoid disputes. He also advises businesses on corporate matters and commercial agreements. Jim earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review, and his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University. He is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a distinction held by a limited number of Texas attorneys practicing in this area.  He is also recognized by various groups such as Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers.

CLM® Application Credit: 1.0 hr. of Organizational Development
CLM® Functional Specialist Credit: 1.0 hr. of Human Resources Management (HR) towards the additional hours required of some Functional Specialists to fulfill the CLM application
CLM® Recertification Credit:  1.0 hr. in the subject area of Human Resources Management (HR)

The session will be available via zoom to any member that does not attend in-person.  The zoom portion of the meeting will begin at 11:55am.


**If you register to attend in-person and do not attend, or cancel within 24 hours, there will be a $25 cancellation fee.**

DOWNTOWN LOCATION PARKING:
Hunton's office is located in Suite 4200 at 600 Travis Street. The building is accessible from the tunnel and parking is available and will be validated for those that park in the 601 Travis garage. There is access to Hunton’s building on the street level or tunnel level via the escalator in the lobby of the garage.

GALLERIA AREA LOCATION PARKING:
Daniels & Tredennick's office is located at 6363 Woodway Drive. Attendees can park in the building's parking garage in any visitor spot that is not specifically reserved for the bank. The conference room is in Suite 120, on the 1st floor of the building.

The Zoom login information will be emailed to all registered participants the morning of the session.

Please RSVP for this session by Monday, September 7, 2026

Thank you to our 2026 Platinum Business Partners for helping to sponsor this meeting.

Tickets

$0.00 IN-PERSON Member Registration

$0.00 ZOOM Member Registration

$40.00 Guest of a Current Member Registration (In-Person Attendance only)