2024 Unsung Legal Heroes: Anna Thibert

FAEGRE DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP

Over the past five years Anna Thibert has more than earned her spurs at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.

As director of legal administrative assistant (LAA) strategy and support, Thibert has dealt with the standard challenges of finding and assigning good staff. But she has also excelled at her job during difficult circumstances, such as the 2020 Faegre Baker Daniels merger with Drinker Biddle & Reath, changes in the workplace brought on by the global pandemic and various changes in the delivery of support services.

“Getting here was definitely a progression,” said Thibert. “I’ve been in more office administration roles in both the private and public sectors. When I decided to go back into the private world after about a decade in the public sector, Faegre Drinker seemed like a good fit.”

While Thibert’s role with the firm started with responsibilities in Minneapolis only, her talent and initiative led to a promotion last year. That transition enabled her to develop relationships with staff colleagues and attorneys in all Faegre Drinker’s offices.

To keep things moving, Thibert regularly organizes team gatherings. With the team’s ongoing expansion, she took the opportunity to restructure her group by promoting and recognizing two long-
serving members of her team to new roles as workflow coordinators.

Recently Thibert led an initiative to expand an LAA support model pilot to the entire firm. That meant months of preparation and communications before rolling out a new support model to 11 offices in a six- month period, traveling to each office and working with all impacted attorneys and LAAs.

In the end, Thibert trained a team of 15 LAAs across the country to support more than 200 attorneys.

“My role has done nothing but grow over the past six years,” she said.