Effective Communication Across Generations: Reducing Stress and Strengthening the Management of Legal Work
This program is part of the 2026 Professional Development Workshop Series – for more information on the Series, view the brochure here 2026 Professional Development Workshop Series.
Online registration is now closed. Please call 212 382 6663 for assistance!
Thursday, February 12, 2026 | 9:00 am - 10:45 am
Free for New York City Bar Members & Attorneys from Sponsoring Law Firms*
Attorneys from sponsoring law firms: To ensure your free registration, please register using your law firm email address.
Format: Webinar
Description:
Today’s legal workplace spans multiple generations — from Traditionalists to Gen Z — each bringing different expectations, communication styles, and levels of comfort with technology. When these styles collide, misunderstandings can increase stress, slow down workflow, and complicate the management of legal tasks across practice settings, from courtrooms to conference rooms.
This interactive program explores practical, inclusive communication strategies that help attorneys and legal staff work more effectively across generations. Using memorable pop-culture lawyer archetypes and real-world scenarios from a variety of practice settings, the session illustrates how communication habits can either support or undermine collaboration, clarity, and the effective management of legal work.
Participants will learn how to navigate generational differences in communication style; how to provide and receive direction (including constructive feedback framed as communication) with clarity and professionalism; and how to reduce stress caused by ambiguous, inconsistent, or outdated communication practices. The program also examines how emerging technologies — including digital collaboration tools and AI-assisted drafting — are reshaping communication expectations across generations.
By the end of the session, attorneys will have actionable strategies to improve daily workflow, strengthen team collaboration, and enhance the management of legal matters through more intentional and generationally aware communication practices.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify communication patterns, preferences, and stress points that commonly arise across generations in legal workplaces.
- Apply communication models that strengthen clarity, professionalism, and workflow efficiency across attorney and staff teams.
- Use effective strategies for providing and receiving direction (including constructive feedback as communication) in ways that reduce avoidable stress.
- Improve collaboration in key practice settings by increasing understanding of generational dynamics and adjusting communication approaches accordingly.
- Recognize how leveraging technology and emerging tools (including AI and digital collaboration systems) can support more consistent and effective communication.
- Understand how communication breakdowns impact the management of legal work, and adopt practices that promote smoother processes and stronger client service.
CLE Credit:
New York: 2.0 Law Practice Management
New Jersey: 2.0 General
California: 2.0 General
Pennsylvania: 1.5 General
Connecticut: Available to Licensed Attorneys
For New York Newly Admitted Attorneys: Skills credits completed after December 31, 2025, must be completed in the traditional live classroom setting or by fully interactive videoconference. City Bar Webinar programs are not considered a fully interactive videoconference. Please see the CLE Format Requirements for Newly Admitted Attorneys for additional information.
For New York Attorneys: This program is a transitional/non-transitional course.
Program Fee:
Free for New York City Bar Members & Attorneys from Sponsoring Law Firms | Non-Members: $75
Speaker:
Paula T. Edgar, CEO, PGE Consulting Group LLC
Paula T. Edgar is CEO of PGE Consulting Group LLC, a firm that provides training and education solutions at the intersection of professional development and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Paula is a highly sought-after speaker for clients across industries. Paula’s professional development expertise includes personal branding, relationship-building, and mentor/sponsorship best practices. Paula develops customized programming for all engagements and her areas of diversity topics include unconscious bias, microaggressions, and allyship. Paula hosts the Branding Room Only podcast, sharing career stories and personal branding strategies. She also serves in leadership roles with the New York City Bar, the American Bar Association, and is a past President of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association. Paula’s expertise has been featured in top publications including the New York Times. Her impact has been recognized by several organizations, including receiving the CUP 2023 Law Catalyst Award and the Outstanding Non-Traditional Career Award from the National Bar Association's (NBA) Women Lawyers Division. She earned her B.A. from California State University, Fullerton, and her J.D. from CUNY Law School. Stay up to date with Paula at paulaedgar.com and LinkedIn.
Information about our Financial Aid Policy and Application can be found here.
Thank you to our Sponsoring Law Firms:
A&O Shearman · Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP · Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP · Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP · Covington & Burling LLP · Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP · Debevoise & Plimpton LLP · Dechert LLP · Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian LLP · Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP · Jenner & Block LLP · Kauff McGuire Margolis LLP · Kelley Drye & Warren LLP · King & Spalding LLP · Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP · Mendes & Mount LLP · Milbank LLP · New York City Law Department · Outten & Golden LLP · Proskauer Rose LLP · Seward & Kissel LLP · Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP · Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP · Sullivan & Cromwell LLP · Thompson Coburn LLP · Venable LLP · Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz · White & Case LLP