2024 Unsung Legal Heroes: Alysa Hannula

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MESSERLI KRAMER

Since being named director of human resources at Messerli Kramer last year, Alysa Hannula has overseen efforts to unify and streamline processes at the firm’s three locations.

Hannula operates within the firm’s downtown Minneapolis location, which is a full-service law office, but also oversees the St. Paul office, which handles government relations, and its Plymouth office, which focuses on credit and collections.

She led the firm’s process of converting to a new payroll system, of documenting and memorializing core processes across the entire firm, and moving toward digital conversion of old archival files. To do that, Hannula had to consider that the firm’s three offices are quite different from one another.

“I would say that each of the divisions actually have separate cultures because they’re run so differently from one another,” Hannula said. “So, gearing HR needs to what those divisions are is what my core focus was.”

In addition, Hannula has spearheaded Messerli’s recruitment efforts, resulting in increased total headcount and revenue-generating attorneys.

“To get the right people in place, we’re dealing with a lot of competition here in the Twin Cities market,” she said. “So, it’s important to get our firm name out there more so attorneys know of the growth that we’ve been striving for and that we continue to see.”

Attracting and recruiting new hires is a big part of Hannula’s responsibility, but so is making sure that they thrive once they are hired, she said.

“I love the ‘people’ aspect of my work,” she said. “I enjoy being able to say, ‘Hey, I brought that person on,’ and then watching them grown and evolve. It’s really fun to watch that whole cycle.”