Beyond Perfect Attendance: Follow-Up Q&A with a CounselLink Conference Veteran

When we last sat down with Dave Voelpel, he had attended 11 out of 11 CounselLink^® Conferences, and he was scheduled to attend his 12^th. But unlike all the CounselLink Conferences he has attended in the past, this one was going to be a little different. For the first time, Dave wasn’t attending as a client, he attended as part of the LexisNexis^® CounselLink^® team. Dave, now a CounselLink account manager, offers a unique, dual perspective for CounselLink. As a client, he knew what it was like to learn the functionalities, to teach others in his department, and to understand the value that CounselLink Conference offers.

Now, as part of the LexisNexis team, Dave uses his firsthand experience supporting clients who rely on CounselLink to perform all facets of cloud-based legal management solutions, including Work Management, Vendor Management, Financial Management, and analytics.

With CounselLink Conference behind us, I caught up with Dave on his experience at this year’s event.

Congratulations on your 12^th CounselLink Conference!
Thank you! I have enjoyed every one of them, and I think this year has helped me appreciate CounselLink and the conference even more, having attended as part of the LexisNexis team.

What was the biggest shift you experienced compared to when you attended the conference as a client?
As part of the CounselLink team, I got to see behind the scenes just how much preparation went into making a successful conference. It was the time and effort put forth by the entire team here that ensured clients had a positive experience at the conference.

How do you think customers benefitted from the conference?
I think it’s very beneficial for customers to connect with the CounselLink team in person­. This way, customers can see that CounselLink is more than just a software solution; there is a team behind CounselLink who is there to fully support our customers. Also, many of the attendees that I spoke with were excited to have the opportunity to bring back tangible solutions to their office, such as reports that were created in one of the hands-on sessions. And the Insights Bar full of tips and tricks was a huge benefit too.

After attending from both perspectives, which sessions do you think were most valuable to the customer?
The feedback I got from clients sounded very familiar because it related so closely to my experience as a client. Hearing clients say, “I didn’t realize I could do that on the Matter Search screen…” or “My general counsel is going to love this report I just created…” after leaving the Insights Bar, proved how it was valuable to get one-on-one help from an expert. Also, the sessions covering timesaving functionalities seemed to be especially helpful to clients. Also, I felt a lot of great energy coming from the audience during the sessions on “Making an Impact: Leading Change In Your Organization” and “Bringing It All Together: CounselLink Case Study.” Attendees easily related to the challenges and they were able to get helpful insights, think outside the box, and learn ways to view challenges and solutions from multiple viewpoints. I think this really made everyone who attended these sessions feel empowered and energized.

Can you speak to how you became closer to a power user of CounselLink by attending?
When I was a client, since I was responsible for implementing CounselLink, I took it upon myself to be the go-to person for my department.  With that role, I had to learn as much as possible about CounselLink’s functionality. I did this by attending all the conferences and networking with other clients to share best practices. As a result, I was always learning new functionalities and new ways to think about challenges and solutions.

Now that you’ve attended as a CounseLink team member, what was your greatest takeaway from the conference?
My greatest takeaway from the conference was the chance to meet my clients face-to-face and build stronger relationships. Because meeting in person and opening a dialogue helped me understand their needs better, I can offer the best support possible for each client. These conferences also help clients realize that CounselLink is more than just software—it’s also a support team.

What was your favorite part about attending the conference as part of the team?
The conference confirmed that I love being an account manager! I loved hearing how happy my clients were with this year’s CounselLink Conference, and, I can’t say it enough, having the chance to listen to my clients in person and better understand their needs.

What is one example of how the Insights Bar made a difference for one of the conference attendees?
I dropped in and out of the Insights Bar throughout the conference, and I could see the smiles on the clients’ faces. Someone was always learning something new. Here’s one specific example from the Insights Bar: A client noticed an email where her general counsel asked his law firm if they could run a particular report, because he didn’t know if it could be done in CounselLink. The client showed this request to one of our Solutions Consultants, who was able to generate the report right there. Not only did this thrill the client, but it showed the power of CounselLink and how fast we can help provide solutions.

This year’s CounselLink Conference, our clients met face-to-face with our team, learned best practices, and implemented new ways to make their processes more efficient through CounselLink. As Dave has come to know, with every conference comes new ways to help your organization become a competitive player in your industry. We look forward to seeing you at future events!