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ALABoston.org Newsletter
A quarterly newletter by the Boston Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators
This is the first in a series of quarterly newsletters from the Association of Legal Administrators Boston Chapter. To learn more about the Boston Chapter, go to ALABoston.org. This is also available here as a PDF
President's Message
Our chapter is doing many great things this year. Membership continues to grow, programs are the best they have ever been, and sponsor support for our chapter is at an all time high! But I want to dedicate this President's Message to one our chapter's successes which occurred this past rainy Saturday and continues throughout the month of October, our ALA Community Challenge Weekend (CCW).
Upcoming Events
| October 26 | October Lunch Meeting | |
| October 27 | October Small Firm Lunch | |
| November 1 | LMRC Special ALA Teleseminar | |
| November 4 | ALA - Intellectual Property Retreat | |
| November 4 | ALA - Corporate/Government Fall Forum | |
| November 9 | ALA Teleseminar - The Ins and Outs of Leaves of Absence | |
| November 16 | ALA - Essential Competencies for Legal Administrators | |
| November 17 | All Day Education Conference | |
| December 6 | ALA Teleseminar - Technology Update | |
| December 8 | Annual Holiday Program |
Announcements
The Seventh Annual ALA Community Challenge Weekend (CCW) is under way. Every year ALA National asks each chapter to use their resources to make a difference in the community. This year the Boston Chapter ALA is supporting The Home for Little Wanderers. In 2004, we successfully raised over $19,000 and it is our goal that we will surpass last year's efforts. We are asking you to participate in one or all of the various events taking place over the next couple of months. Click here to access complete details about this year's Community Challenge activities.
Featured Articles
Rate-Raising Strategy, Increasing Your Fees
By Edward Poll
Published by the American Bar Association, April 2002.
When expenses go up but the workload decreases, lawyers have four basic options if they want to operate at the same profit level: work longer hours, cut costs, become more efficient or be more creative with fee structures.
Option one already seems impossible. Option two can only be effected to a limited extent. Option three should be a goal for every lawyer anyway. That leaves door number four: Be more creative with fees. The focus here is how to raise them creatively. Full Article
Making the future happen – Law Firm Strategic Planning
By: Kevin Costello
In today’s competitive environment, any firm that strives to exceed client expectations and to be responsive, well-positioned and profitable needs a long-range strategic plan. This plan must be both visionary and achievable. It also must maintain a focus on the current practice and operations. The firm must, in effect, keep “both hands on the wheel” to achieve long-term success. Full Article
Member Spotlight
Member Spotlight: Jon Bashein
In this issue of the ALABoston newsletter, we have an interview with member Jon Bashein of Nixon Peabody. Full Articl
Career Center
Career Talk - Six Strategies for Effective Communication
Whether a legal administrator is meeting with the firm’s partners to discuss personnel matters, ordering new computer equipment, interviewing a job candidate, conducting a legal support staff meeting or explaining a policy change via an internal memo, the following six guidelines will enhance the power and effectiveness of his or her communication. Full Article
On The Lighter Side
CrackBerry Anonymous
This issue, a column exploring a modern law firm phenomenon: The BlackBerry addict. Full Article.
Web Tools
| ALA Boston Chapter Home Page | http://www.alaboston.org | |
| ALA Legal Management Encyclopedia | http://alanet.org/alame | |
| Legal Management Resource Center (LMRC) | http://thesource.alanet.org |
ALA Professional Code of Ethics
The legal profession and business must adhere to high ethical standards to maintain public trust. This ALA Code of Professional Ethics sets forth guidelines or standards for the ethical administration of legal practices — private firms, legal clinics, corporate legal departments, governmental agencies and the courts. The ALA Professional Code of Ethics is available here.
Vendor Support
The Boston ALA has enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the vendors who support our organization and service the Legal Industry. We are grateful for the support vendors have given our organization over the years. It has allowed us to become one of the largest, most active chapters in the Country. Vendor support allows us to maintain a high-quality educational program for our members, provide scholarships for National and Regional Educational Conferences and provide out reach to the community for charitable programs. Please visit http://www.alaboston.org/vendorDirectory.php to view an up to date listing of our vendor sponsors.