NALI 2026 Region II Conference

Chad Catalino

Title: Applied Culture-Based Ownership in Our Teams: Building Autonomy, Accountability, and Shared Standards for Ethical and Substantive Excellence

My presentation is an interactive practical leadership discussion, designed to develop the following takeaways: (1) Protecting your teams’ autonomy through an ownership culture; (2) Maintaining ethical accountability; (3) Building shared standards of excellence. This session is drawn from real (mistake-laden) implementation in public defender’s office.

Chad D. Catalino is the Chief Public Defender for Allegan County, Michigan, where he leads a holistic defense office committed to zealous, innovative, and ethical client-centered representation. Chad earned his B.S. in Legal Studies from Grand Valley State University and his J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law, graduating Cum Laude and in the top twenty percent of his class. Additionally, as part of his numerous ongoing professional development trainings, Chad participates in the Extreme Ownership Online Leadership Academy. Chad is admitted to practice in Michigan and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Since entering the practice of law in 2003, Chad has primarily worked in the public sector, litigating a wide range of criminal and juvenile matters, including serious felony offenses and child welfare cases. In recognition of his work advocating for parents in the abuse and neglect system, Chad was honored as the 2013 Parent Attorney of the Year by Michigan’s Foster Care Review Board.

Chad is a partner in advancing holistic defense models in Michigan. Through partnerships and technical assistance with the Bronx Defenders, he has helped develop interdisciplinary approaches to representation, including social work integration and community-centered advocacy, by standardizing and operationalizing the holistic defense model aligned with the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission reforms throughout Michigan.

Chad has also developed internal training and mentoring systems designed to strengthen trial performance, ethical practice, and organizational consistency. In addition to his courtroom leadership, Chad is an experienced educator who has also developed and delivered external interactive trainings on trial skills, testimony preparation, and the intersection of law, social work, and justice system practice. His training experience includes statewide and regional programs for attorneys, social workers, investigators, universities, police departments, and justice system agencies.

Chad additionally develops and teaches leadership trainings in both legal and manufacturing environments, translating high-accountability leadership principles into repeatable operational practices. His leadership approach integrates mission clarity, empowered, decentralized decision-making, and psychologically safe accountability, grounded in high-trust team leadership culture-building models, to help public defender offices strengthen autonomy, improve quality, and build leadership cultures that endure beyond individual personalities. Finally, Chad has expanded this teaching as a partner in a leadership development company, engaging in an experiential transfer model of holistic culture-based leadership focused on practical operational implementation.