What's Happening at Headquarters June 2020

Register for ALA Today: The Virtual Conference

Register now for ALA Today: The Virtual Conference, presented by the Foundation of the Association of Legal Administrators. Connect to this digital event from the safety of your home or office on Thursday, June 25, 9:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Central.ere’s what you can expect from this digital experience:

• Accredited education sessions that are relevant to the pandemic-affected legal workplace
• Inspiring keynote address from Paralympic skier Danelle Umstead, who was going to speak in Salt Lake City
• Closing session led by Judy Hissong, CLM, PCC, featuring a panel discussion about changes coming for the legal industry by functional specialty
• Opportunities to meet with business partners and discover new solutions for today’s business environment
• Engage with peers in small groups, one-on-ones or Meetings of Minds (formerly known as Idea Exchanges) between education sessions

ALA Today is free for anyone who transferred their 2020 Annual Conference & Expo registration to 2021. Otherwise, it’s $149 for members and $249 for nonmembers — but the Foundation is generously providing a promo code for $100 off.

Contribute to the Compensation and Benefits Survey

The 2020 Compensation and Benefits Survey and its companion, the 2020 Large Firm Key Staff Survey, are now open for participation. These surveys provide comprehensive information on law firm salaries, benefits, staffing ratios and turnover. Contributing your firm’s information is crucial to making the report a success.

When you complete the survey, you’re contributing to a more comprehensive and detailed data set that can provide your office the edge it needs to stay competitive. The more firms that participate, the more localized and useful the survey results will be. Participating firms receive a discount on the final survey report, plus access to digital dashboards and customizable reports that compare data locally or nationally.

Get started now! The participation window closes on July 10.

Sign Up for 2020’s Web-Based Courses

Registration is open for ALA’s web-based courses, which go deep into the essentials of law firm human resources and financial management while providing the continuing education credits you expect.

Led by an expert instructor with years of experience, each course meets live online via our learning management platform once a week for six weeks. (Sessions are made available on-demand for anyone who can’t make the appointed time.) Participants are thoroughly prepared to take on HR or FM challenges at their firm. And passing both courses in the HR or FM package sets you up to earn a Legal Management Specialist Certificate.

View the 2020 schedule for web-based courses here. Register for the individual courses or save by registering for both courses at once by selecting the HR or FM package. 

Update on the Chapter Leadership Institute

The Board of Directors recently determined that it’s not in the best interest ofALA or its members to proceed with the 2020 Chapter Leadership Institute (CLI) in person. This decision was based on survey responses, other information collected, and the willingness of the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch to reschedule our event for 2021 without any financial penalty to the Association. It wasn’t an easy decision — CLI is an event that we look forward to each year. But given the uncertainty and fluidity of the current situation, it’s what the Board feels is best.

So what happens now? The Board has assembled a task force whose goal is to provide CLI-style content in a virtual format. Submissions to the earlier call for presentations are being reviewed as part of that effort. Additional details on these endeavors will be shared in the near future.