She earned an MBA from City University in Renton, WA and has owned several businesses. Additionally, she has been the general manager of an aerospace company, operations manager at a chemical company and a Human Resources manager at a computer company. Also elected to public office, she is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution section of the Washington State Bar Association. While an office manager is frequently a senior secretary who has been promoted, an Executive Director is someone who has both a business background and management experience. Usually, this person also has an MBA or at least an undergraduate degree in Business.
Business is the operative word.
There is a managing partner or executive group of attorneys who make those decisions which the office manager then carries out. Also, office managers usually have a limited number of people who report to them. The accounting person and the HR person and the IS person report directly to the managing partner or executive group. The time that attorneys spend doing billable work, developing clients, or creating and implementing strategic planning for the firm is a greater contribution to the financial success of the firm than attending to the myriad of administrative details. However, this does not mean that the details can go unattended.