Legal
Meet Our Team
Roland Smith, Ph.D.
Senior Faculty and Lead Researcher
Roland Smith is a Senior Faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership. He is one of the lead designers and trainers for CCL's work in the legal sector. He has ten years of experience working with in-house counsel, senior teams (executive committees), practice groups, and regional law offices.
Roland leads CCL's current research agenda focused on senior lawyer-leaders (Changing Nature of Leadership in Law Firms) as well as organizational/firm issues related to new generation lawyers, high impact teams, diversity, wellness and fitness.
In addition to his work with attorneys, Roland has provided leadership training for doctors, scientists, engineers, accountants, and C-level corporate executives.
He received his Ph.D. in Organizational Learning from the University of Idaho.
Dave Loring
Senior Faculty
Dave Loring is the Design and Delivery Manager at the Colorado Springs campus of the Center for Creative Leadership. His areas of expertise include the formation and sustained growth of senior firm leadership, measuring lawyer team effectiveness, and assisting lawyer teams in the creation of action plans that improve business results.
He has more than 23 years of experience developing and delivering leadership programs for clients worldwide. He has been designing and facilitating leadership training for lawyers and law firms since 1999.
Dave received his Master's degree in Organizational Development from Loyola University in Chicago.
Ted Grubb, Ph.D.
Senior Faculty
Ted is a Senior Enterprise Associate at the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs. His areas of expertise include developing and delivering custom programs on leadership and coaching for law firms, individual and team coaching of senior partners and executives, and writing and research.
He has more than fifteen years of experience working with lawyers and in-house counsel on a variety of issues related to individual and organizational leadership development.
Ted received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts.
Jamie Gurley
Senior Faculty
Jamie is a Senior Program Associate with the Center for Creative Leadership. He assists lawyer-leaders in setting strategic direction, creating team alignment, and ensuring staff motivation in support of business performance.
Jamie designs and delivers leadership development, executive team building, coaching, and strategic alignment processes and programs. He is an expert in organizational culture change.
Jamie has extensive international experience delivering multiple leadership programs in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Zealand, and Korea.
He holds a Master's of Divinity from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.
Corey Criswell
Faculty
Corey is a faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs. She is the co-lead of the Legal Practice group. She has five years of experience working with lawyers and studying lawyer-influenced cultures. She concentrates on the needs of senior lawyer leaders, in house counsel, government lawyers, early career lawyers, and law firms. Her research serves as the basis for the development of customized solutions for organizations, law firms, government agencies, and law schools.
In addition to her work with attorneys, Corey has provided leadership development training for scientists, senior executives, high potentials, and human resource professionals.
She received her M.S. in Ecology from the Florida Institute of Technology.
Leary Davis, J.D., LL.M.
Visiting Senior Legal Fellow
Leary Davis is Founding Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law at Elon University School of Law. He practiced law for nine years before entering legal education as founding dean of Campbell University School of Law, where he designed, facilitated and taught award-winning courses that combined the practical and theoretical.
A former Army officer, helicopter pilot, and National Guard OCS tactical officer, he recently received the NC Bar Association's highest honor, the Judge John J. Parker Award. The award, for contributions to the jurisprudence of the state, is not awarded annually but on the basis of merit, and he was only the 32nd recipient since 1959.
A member of the American Law Institute and a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, he chaired and conducted two of the country's leading surveys of attorney satisfaction. He has over 20 years experience consulting with law firms and legal organizations on strategic planning, leadership and professional responsibility issues.
Leary received a J.D. from Wake Forest University and an LL.M. from Columbia University.
Dirk Metzger, J.D.
Senior Faculty
Dirk Metzger is an Adjunct Senior Faculty member and executive coach with the Center for Creative Leadership. He is an expert in organizational intervention, particularly in the area of conflict management.
Dirk is an attorney and a former Marine Corps officer. He has been practicing law for over thirty years, specializing in handling complex business litigation. He continues to run his own mediation practice. Dirk is a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is also an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, handling complex business matters.
Dirk earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia where he was on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review.
Sharon McDowell-Larsen, Ph.D.
Fitness and Health Faculty
Sharon is a Program Associate at the Center for Creative Leadership at the Colorado Springs campus. She has created a Fitness for Leadership module designed specifically to help law firm partners improve their health and fitness. In addition to her work with law firm partners, Sharon has worked with a variety of other top professionals including senior corporate executives, surgeon generals, and military leaders. Her areas of expertise include examining the relationship between law firm leadership and fitness, and the impact of exercise on reduction of risk factors for coronary heart disease.
Sharon holds a Ph.D. in exercise physiology from the University of Nebraska where she conducted extensive research on the effects of exercise on the immune system.
William McCord, Ed.D.
Senior Advisor
Bill is a Senior Account Manager at the Center for Creative Leadership. Because of the depth and breadth of his business experience, Bill manages key accounts including several large and mid-sized law firms. He is skilled at assessing firm needs with particular expertise in the areas of senior firm leadership and leading lawyer teams for impact. Bill has experience providing account management for a variety of professional groups including physicians and astronauts. He has years of experience matching firms with the right instructional designer, faculty, and executive coaches as well as making sure that services and outcomes meet each firm's expectations.
Bill holds a Doctorate in Education from Syracuse University.
