Table of Contents

A Growing Commitment
By JOHN MICHALIK
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Association of Legal Administrators
The second annual edition of Professional Legal Management Week Magazine features three new sponsors and a continued focus on the growth and evolution of the global legal management profession.

Law Firm Leadership: A Unique Challenge
BY ED POLL
ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS
Organizational fundamentals, ethical responsibilities, partnership needs, and client service requirements are all unique to the legal setting.

Legal Administrators: Worth Their Weight in Billable Hours
BY KAREN GLOWACKI
ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS MEMBER
Successful administrators are skilled professionals who know how to lead, delegate, and work side by side with the partners to develop and implement a law firm’s strategic goals.
 

Building the Bridge to Inclusion: The Work of Law Firm Leaders
BY MARTHA FAY AFRICA
An inclusive leader in a law firm creates a culture of innovation and celebrates the group over the individual, ultimately changing the firm’s focus from “I” to “We.”
 

Be Part of a Community of Trust
BY RANDI MAYES AND JOY HEATH RUSH
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION
Law firms and other law-related entities can create vital trust-based communities through service, leadership, organizational architecture, and a positive culture.
 

A Land of Opportunities
BY RICARDO FREITAS SILVEIRA
The legal profession in Brazil continues to grow as the country experiences immense corporate progress and development.
 

Professional Development for Law Students and Lawyers
BY PAULA NAILON
Whose responsibility is it to train new lawyers for today’s challenging legal environment? Obviously, both law schools and law firms must assume key roles in this effort, though opinions vary about who should teach what, and when.
 

Managing for Profitability
BY JOYCE Y. McGUINEY AND LYNN GRASSBY
Maximizing the money-making potential of your firm’s workforce requires more effective utilization of paralegals within your organization.
 

Client Satisfaction: It Begins with You
BY DAVID BILINSKY and STEPHANIE CORNELL
Savvy law firm managers should consider several key strategies to enhance clients’ satisfaction with their firms.
 

The Influence of Great Legal Administrators
BY KAREN MACKAY
Successful legal professionals harness the power of relationships, networking, office politics, and new ideas to drive success in their organizations.
 

Law Librarians’ Role in Developing Associates
BY BARBARA CORNWELL HOLT
Law librarians fulfill a vital responsibility in developing the research skills of a firm’s most expensive and critical resource: its associates.
 

Improved Teamwork Yields Better Results
BY LINDA HAZELTON
Understanding personality types – our own and others’ – allows legal professionals to form thriving work teams – driving their organizations’ successes by capitalizing on individuals’ innate strengths.
 

Going Green One Step at a Time
BY NICK SHEPHERD
Professional services firms are doing their parts to reduce their carbon footprints and engage in environmentally friendly behaviors.
 

A Profession in Transition
BY PETER ELLENDER
A structural analysis reveals the substantial long-term impacts of incorporation on the Australian legal industry.

Table of Contents

Professional Legal Management Week^SM: October 1-5, 2007
BY BOB ABRAMSON
ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS
Nine organizations join forces to celebrate the evolution and progression of the global legal management profession.
 

A World of Change
BY AMY DVORAK
ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS
ALA members on six continents address critical legal management issues and envision the future of their rapidly evolving profession.

Legal Administrators as Strategic Assets
BY KAREN STEINBERGER, CLM
ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS MEMBER
Law firm managers’ professional roles continue to evolve as they strive to take on new responsibilities and their colleagues acknowledge the importance of sound business management practices.
 

Innovation in Practice: Why It’s So Hard
BY ERIK MANKIN
FOR THE ABA’S LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SECTION
Law firms that embrace change and implement new ideas that create value are more likely to succeed in an increasingly competitive legal marketplace.
 

The Changing Role of the IT Professional
BY RANDI MAYES
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION
Information technology professionals in today’s law firms hold strategically important positions that are vital to everyday operations.
 

Geared Up for Growth
BY GAYLE P. ENGLERT
NALP — THE ASSOCIATION FOR LEGAL CAREER PROFESSIONALS
More legal career professionals are assuming larger roles in their law firms.
 

Building Clout in a Brave New World
A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION BY THE LEGAL MARKETING ASSOCIATION
NEW YORK CHAPTER
Industry leaders share their insights on how law firms’ business development and marketing teams can further develop their roles.
 

The Value and Advantages of Paralegal Managers
BY THE INTERNATIONAL PARALEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
Investing in a paralegal manager is a cost-effective way to increase and improve efficiency in the legal environment.
 

Walking with Librarians: A Unique Journey
BY MARK GEDIMAN
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES MEMBER
Law librarians have watched their roles expand and now are seen as indispensable assets to firm operations.
 

In Search of Management Talent
BY NEASA MACERLEAN
FOR THE MANAGING PARTNERS’ FORUM, UNITED KINGDOM
Support staffs are finding that professional service firms worldwide offer tremendous opportunities for career success.
 

The Challenge of Change
BY TERRY LEE
FOR THE AUSTRALIAN LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
Successful law firms in Australia and elsewhere require strong visions, carefully aligned cultures and strategies, and inspiring leadership.

A World of Change
BY AMY DVORAK
ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS
The feature story "A World of Change" in PLMW Magazine includes a roundtable discussion on legal management issues featuring nine members of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) from around the world. Via the links below, download and read the unabridged interviews – conducted and facilitated by ALA’s Amy Dvorak – from that discussion, including three bonus interviews not found in the print magazine.

CHARLES BUTLER
Johannesburg, South Africa

FERNANDO FABIANI CAPANO
Legal Administrator
Gregori Capano Advogados Associados
São Paulo, Brazil

CHAR COULBERT
Executive Director
Cairncross & Hemplemann, P.S.
Seattle, Washington, United States of America

GRANT CROWLEY
Chief Executive
Baldwins
Wellington, New Zealand

LINDA C. FELMINGHAM
Director of Administration
Hunton & Williams
London, England, United Kingdom

YINGHUA GUO
Business Manager
Jan Liu & Associates
Beijing, China

JOY HARRISON-ABIOLA
Practice Administrator
Adepetun Caxton-Martins Agbor & Segun
Port Harcourt, Nigeria

MICHAEL J. KATOS
Chief Operating Officer
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

EMILIO MARTINEZ
Executive Director
Cuatrecasas Lawyers
Barcelona, Spain

CAROL PHILLIPS, CLM
Director of Administration
Sidley Austin LLP
Los Angeles, California, United States

GLENDA RALEY
Office Administrator
Ulmer & Berne LLP
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

SHARI TIVY
Director of Human Resources
Bowman and Brooke LLP
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Characteristics and Skills Possessed by Valued Law Firm Administrators
BY JOEL A. ROSE
To the extent that administrators bring particular management insights and business training to law firms, what, then, are the personal characteristics and the professional skills that certain administrators possess – and that others don’t – that make the former “highly valued administrators?” Learn more in this astute analysis by Joel Rose.

Total Commitment
BY MARSHALL FLETCHER
How can the vendor community play a larger role in Professional Legal Management Week^SM (PLMW), and how integral are vendors to legal professionals’ collaborative teams? Learn more in this commentary by ALL-STATE LEGAL’s Marshall Fletcher.

Facing the Challenges of Management
The United Kingdom-based Managing Partners’ Forum (MPF) has also produced a Management Diary as part of its contributions to International Professional Legal Management Week^SM. The 20-page publication spotlights the many challenges professionals managers face and is designed for daily use in chronicling and tackling on-the-job challenges. Download a copy of this unique management tool.