Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are changing the world. Our leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, and are all doing their part to have an impact in their communities and at their workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their background and path to success.
What is your name and title?
Mandy Ballinger, Director of Operations at NextChapter.
Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.
I manage daily operations, product development, and user support at NextChapter which is a cloud-based software application for attorneys to prepare , manage and file their cases online. I’m also responsible for managing and overseeing NextChapter’s paralegal operations.
What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
Prior to my current role, I worked as a paralegal in a large law firm. While I was ambitious and moved up quickly into a management role, my path was very defined and safe. I never felt like I was reaching my full potential.
One of the best decisions I’ve made in my career was to take a leap of faith and join as the first full-time employee at NextChapter when it was a small startup on the verge of launching its product. I was new to the legal tech industry and there were so many unknowns, but it was an adventure that was just as scary as it was exciting.
From that position, I became the COO and helped launch & develop the product and grow the company to a team of more than 20 employees. Our rapid growth & success eventually got the attention of Fastcase, another legal tech company, who recently acquired us. I’m very proud of my accomplishments with NextChapter and Fastcase. I couldn’t have achieved those if I hadn’t taken a risk almost 5 years ago.
What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?
There have been times where my opinion has been put into question, likely because of my gender. My role is to build and manage software for attorneys, as aa non-attorney and to lead developers as a non-developer. Both of those groups are predominantly male.
Trusting in myself and being confident has been essential in my role to be taken seriously. It’s not an easy thing to do and it’s taken time and practice to successfully become a habit.
Do have any mentors? What does mentorship mean to you?
Yes, I think mentors are invaluable. I think sometimes people can think of mentors as only formal relationships. I consider many people in my life to be mentors that I turn to to help me talk through tough situations and to ask for their opinions and advice.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
My best advice would be to not back down when it feels like the odds are stacked against you. There were so many times in my career where I knew I had the right answer or solution and I would start to second guess myself because I was being challenged, likely because of my gender.
I’ve learned over time that doing what’s right is rarely what’s easy. Every time I stand up for myself, it’s like adding a building block. Over time those blocks have built a strong foundation for trust that I have in myself.
What woman inspires you the most? Why?
I’m inspired by woman who have championed the efforts to support other woman such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, J.K. Rowling and Sheryl Sandberg.
When did your company join Pledge 1%? How long have you been working on your impact program?
NextChapter was founded with the Pledge 1% model at conception. It was one of the aspects of the company that really caught my attention when I was considering joining the team. Having an integrated philanthropy modal so early on as a company has allowed us to integrate giving back and helping others into our core culture and values.
Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment? Please share your most recent favorite book or podcast!
I love Brene Brown’s book, Dare to Lead. She very honest and authentic about the struggles of being a leader and the importance of being vulnerable to be courageous.
What’s something coming up that excites you?
I’ve been working over the last 6 months to build a new service offered through NextChapter, called Paralegal as a Service which will be launching very soon! I’m excited for this launch because it’s been a chance for me to use my new role as Director of Operations to work with, and lead, paralegals again. The service is like an Uber for paralegals, where attorneys can work remotely with paralegals in our network. I have really enjoyed recruiting new paralegals to join our network. We have a very energetic and hardworking team that’s so eager for this service to launch!
Originally posted: March 6, 2020
