July/August 2021
VOLUME 40, ISSUE 7

Table of Contents

Features

  • Legal Industry/Business Management

    By Erin Brereton

    Law firms have worked to increase efficiency and cut costs — but have been less successful at letting clients know about it.

  • Human Resources Management

    By Paula Tsurutani

    Your role in driving more meaningful change to confront racial disparities in the workplace.

  • Human Resources Management

    By Kylie Ora Lobell

    Everyone has these biases — here’s how you can keep them from seeping into your hiring process.

Columns

Departments

 
At ALA News About ALA

What's Happening at Headquarters July/August 2021

There’s always a lot going on at ALA headquarters in Chicago. Here’s a snapshot of what’s in store for the coming weeks.

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Coming Soon to Your Mailbox:
Special Legal Management Celebrating ALA’s 50th Anniversary

As you may have heard, ALA turned 50 this year. To commemorate our golden anniversary, Legal Management has put together a special print edition that will be hitting your mailboxes late July. In this commemorative edition, we look back at ALA’s history with an eye toward where the profession is going.

We had a little fun along the way: This edition is styled as a yearbook. If you’re coming to the Annual Conference & Expo this October in Austin, Texas, be sure to bring your copy — we’ve included a special autograph section for your ALA friends to sign.

Megaphone-Icon-150x150 -brownNow You Can Listen to Select Legal Management Articles: If your eyes need a break from the screen or you just prefer to listen on the go, you now have the option of having some Legal Management articles read to you. Look for the audio icon near the headline, click it and choose your playback speed. Give it a try with our latest cover story.
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Fall CLM Exam and Webinar Bundle

Now that spring has passed, the next Certified Legal Manager (CLM)® exam will be on November 16. The deadline to apply for the fall exam is September 16. (Prospective CLMs will have a choice between an in-person exam and live, online proctored testing.)

Between now and then, make sure you have all the prerequisite education under your belt. The easiest way to do that is with the CLM Webinar Bundle that debuted earlier this year. Although a webinar bundle was previously available, this one has been newly calibrated to set up certification seekers for success. It includes nine webinars and one conference recording.

After that, buckle down and prepare with the Study Guide for the CLM Exam, relevant books and perhaps even an online study group.

 


MembershipOrganizational Pricing for Membership Enrollment to Open Soon

Open enrollment for organizational pricing begins on August 1 and runs through September 30. This dues model is based on the total number of attorneys across an entire organization, including all office locations in any country. It delivers better value for organizations of all sizes and offers the new ability to extend ALA membership to all legal management professionals who can benefit from ALA’s resources — without any additional dues payment required.

Benefits for enrolled organizations include:

  • Organizational pricing supports your professional development program with ALA knowledge, networking and resources for more of your people.
  • It may save your organization money compared to your current ALA membership dues investment. And it’s more efficient — you just have to make one payment in November.
  • ALA member benefits can be extended to an unlimited number of employees.
  • It supports your organization’s development of next-generation leaders and provides a ready-made track for succession planning.

To see if this is an option for your organization or to learn more, click here


E-Learning Courses: A Vital Resource

An excellent venue for on-demand learning is our e-learning courses. Participants work their way through each course at their own pace, picking up new knowledge whenever they have time to complete a module or two or eight. And features such as quizzes, worksheets, games and animation help reinforce important concepts.

Best of all, there are plenty of courses to choose from. Right now, all are based around law firm management essentials (LFME) — in other words, the foundational knowledge needed to succeed as a legal management professional. Brush up on the fundamentals of operations management or human resources, or purchase the five-course LFME package for a full professional development program for yourself or your staff.