Ellen Freedman is the founder and President of Freedman Consulting, which was established in 1998. Freedman Consulting assists Pennsylvania law firms with a full range of issues on the business side of a law practice. Services include, but are not limited to, strategic planning (including retreat facilitation); leadership and management structure evaluation and modification; financial management and profitability enhancement; human resource management; insurance and risk management; sales, purchases, mergers, and acquisitions; firm closing and dissolution; marketing; practice management audits; records management and retention; technology upgrades (including needs assessments); partner compensation; and more. Information about Ellen and her law practice management services may be obtained at https://www.FreedmanLPM.com.
Ellen serves as the Law Practice Management Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), a position she has held since 1999. In that capacity, she assists PBA members with management issues and decisions on the business side of their practice. Ellen is also a regular presenter, both in person and through online webinars, for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and she publishes a monthly column in The Pennsylvania Bar News.
Ellen holds the designation of Certified Legal Manager (CLM) through the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA), the credentialing body for the CLM designation. Ellen was one of the first 20 members globally to achieve this distinction. The ALA has over 11,000 members, of which only approximately 350 have earned the CLM credential. Ellen also holds a Certification in Computer Programming from the Maxwell Institute, a Certification in Web Site Design, and a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Temple University.
Ellen was inducted as a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management in October 2020. Membership in the College is by invitation only, extended to nominees who have made significant contributions to the field of law practice management for over ten years. Since its establishment over twenty years ago, nearly 300 practitioners from five different countries have become Fellows of the College.
Prior to launching her consulting practice, Ellen managed inside law firms for twenty years, with most of that time spent in a mid-size (35+ attorney) firm environment. She was an active member of the Association of Legal Administrators for over 20 years and founded its Independence Chapter. She launched Freedman Consulting in 1998 and joined the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1999. She is a frequent author and speaker on law firm management issues on a national level.