CHARLESTON – Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso Managing Member Michael Bonasso said his firm’s recent change to a management structure that includes appointment of a chief executive officer “more closely resembles that of our clients.”
The firm said in a release posted on its website that Michael T. Bumgarner has been appointed as CEO and attorney J. Tyler Dinsmore as assistant managing member. Both Bumgarner’s and Dinsmore’s appointments took effect on Jan. 1.
“Our change in management structure is part of a larger firm initiative that includes succession planning and strategic planning,” Bonasso told The West Virginia Record.
In addition, Bonasso said “we are more effective and provide value for our clients when our leaders lead and our lawyers practice law.”
Bonasso said Flaherty is not the first firm in the country to turn to a management structure headed up by a CEO.
“A few national firms have adopted a similar model and see benefits in doing so,” he said.
According to Bonasso, “the only ‘drawback’ at the moments is managing change – change is difficult, but we feel it’s worth taking the chance to become a more efficient and effective firm.”
In the firm’s release, Bonasso said “Over the years, Mike Bumgarner has done an outstanding job as chief operating officer. He has worked hard to earn the confidence and respect of our members, associates and staff, and he has demonstrated that he can move to the next level of management responsibility.”
In addition, Bonasso said in the release “We also believe Tyler Dinsmore is well-suited to his new role. After joining the firm 25 years ago, Tyler soon became trusted and pragmatic counsel to the firm’s clients, growing his practice particularly in mass tort litigation and class actions for both West Virginia-based and global businesses.”
The firm said Bumgarner originally served as manager before being promoted to chief operating officer in 2009. Flaherty said Bumgarner “is one of only 400 Certified Legal Managers (CLM) worldwide and was the first CLM in West Virginia.”
Bumgarner has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from West Virginia University and is certified public accountant.
"He is a member of the Association of Legal Administrators, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the West Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants," the release states.
The release said Dinsmore is the chairman of the firm’s business development committee and mass litigation group. In that role, Flaherty said Dinsmore “has managed more than 45,000 suits against product manufacturers and contractors in mass and complex litigation, including a number of Fortune 500 companies.”
Dinsmore received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampden Sydney College, a juris doctorate degree from Mississippi College School of Law and a Master of Laws degree in corporate and commercial law at Kings’s College, University of London.
“As we have now opened our fourth office in West Virginia, we want to make sure that our moves forward are deliberate,” Bonasso said in the release. “Yet they must also be gradual enough to allow us to adapt as we continue to leverage the firm’s strengths for the years ahead.”