Hiring & Retaining In-House Talent: Adapting to the Evolving Needs of Your Workforce

As Deputy Director of Legal Operations at U.S. Bank, Amy Wagner is engaged in all aspects of Law Division talent management and planning & budgeting. In addition, she leads the Strategic Services team which is responsible for communications, learning & development, and support for the Law Division’s six programs – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Equity & Racial Justice, Pro Bono, Student & Early Career Attorneys, Team Building & Recognition and Well-being. Amy’s experience leading organizations, strategic projects and collaborative efforts spans the private and social sectors. Prior to U.S. Bank, Amy launched her own consulting firm, served as Associate Director of a nonprofit capacity-building organization, was a Project Manager at Andersen Corporation and a Change Management Consultant at Accenture. She is an active community volunteer and has served on several nonprofit boards.

Trisha Ananiades is a Senior Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs for BBC Studios, where she negotiates deals and drafts agreements for both scripted and unscripted programming produced by the studio and intended for exhibition on linear television and streaming services. She routinely counsels creative, casting, and production executives on deal structure and business strategy and collaborates with colleagues in production and finance to solve production or contractual issues. In her role, Trisha takes an active leadership role in hiring and training members of the team. Prior to her time at BBC Studios, Trisha worked in business affairs at Universal Studio Group, a division of NBC Universal, where she was a part of the Professional Development Committee that created and taught training sessions for junior executives on the team. She has previous experience in business and legal affairs at The Walt Disney Company and DreamWorks Animation, and began her legal career as a corporate transactions associate at the Los Angeles office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Trisha earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Sociology from UCLA, where she also earned a Master’s in Education. Prior to attending Harvard, Trisha was a high school teacher and worked for education-related non-profit organizations. She resides in Southern California.

Sara got her start as a commercial litigation lawyer at Simons & Simmons in the UK, before joining Axiom’s London office, where she managed clients across commerce, industrial, and financial services industries. In 2018, she moved stateside to lead Axiom’s North American Financial Services sector, with a specialized focus on large regulatory and investigatory work. Sara now sits on the Executive Leadership Team, overseeing a global network of over 5,800 lawyers, serving clients across all major industries and legal practices.

As Deputy General Counsel at Compass, Timothea Letson oversees Litigation, Employment, Risk Management and Corporate Insurance.

Prior to Compass, Timothea worked at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP in their Employment Group and spent time on secondment at Facebook. She was also a Litigation Associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP where Timothea was seconded to Barclays following the Lehman Brothers asset acquisition.

Timothea earned a JD from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and a BA in Political Science from The Ohio State University. Prior to attending Northwestern, Timothea was a Congressional Finance Director, working on campaigns in Oregon, Washington DC and South Dakota. She and her husband currently reside in Brooklyn where they are raising their two sons