Melissa Forshey Schwind, Ward and Smith's Director of Attorney Talent, is serving on the Professional Development Institute (PDI) Conference Planning Team for the 2025 program. This year’s conference will take place December 4–5 in Washington, DC, bringing together leaders across attorney training, talent development, and legal education.
As part of the Planning Team, Melissa is helping shape timely, relevant, and forward-looking programming designed to support the professional growth of lawyers at every stage. Her involvement reflects our firm’s continued commitment to elevating attorney development and contributing to the broader legal talent community.
About the PDI
The Professional Development Institute is an annual conference focused on delivering substantive, practice-ready programming for legal professionals involved in attorney training and development. PDI invites speakers and presenters to submit innovative, original session proposals—an opportunity to share expertise, explore new ideas, and help advance the future of professional development in the legal field.