CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — The Association of Legal Administrators’ (ALA) 2017 Regional Legal Management Conferences took place in September and October. The West conference in Las Vegas occurred September 7–9 and the East conference in Nashville occurred October 12–14. Each conference featured more than 30 speakers and sessions totaling 35 hours of education and opportunities for recertification credits for CLM, CLE, MCLE, CPE, HRCI and/or SHRM. The three-day events hosted nearly 500 attendees, speakers and legal industry experts discussing the challenges facing legal management professionals. Each Exhibit Hall featured more than 50 business partners who were on hand to discuss law firm- and legal department-related solutions.
“The Regional Legal Management Conference Planning Committee put together a schedule filled with top-notch educational speakers that covered a wide array of topics to ensure there was something for everyone,” said Aly Lynch, Planning Committee Chair. “The sessions spanned a range of skill levels, from new legal managers and executives to those with decades of experience. The conference featured what’s happening in innovation, strategy, leadership, technology and more.”
Prior to the start of each conference, ALA hosted a pre-conference workshop with Timothy B. Corcoran, principal with the Corcoran Consulting Group, Aly Lynch, founder of Next Step Legal Consulting, and Catherine Alman MacDonagh, JD, chief executive officer and a founder of the Legal Lean Sigma Institute (LLSI). The workshop titled, “Legal Lean Sigma ® and Project Management White Belt Certification Course,” was designed to discuss Six Sigma, Lean, project management and other methodologies and tools in contexts that are immediately useful and relevant to the work legal management professionals do.
Each conference started with a keynote session, “Leadership’s Indispensable Ingredient” led by presenter David Thomas. Following the keynote, breakout education focused on each specialty area — human resources, finance, operations management, legal industry/business management and communications/organizational management. Some of the sessions included technology tips and tools, the future of health care in the current political climate, accounts receivable, artificial intelligence and 401(k) planning.
Building on the success from its Regional Conferences, ALA will be offering additional noteworthy legal management education at its Annual Conference & Expo in National Harbor, Maryland, May 3–6, 2018. This annual event is open to all legal management professionals. For details, visit alanet.org/conf18.
About the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA)
ALA is focused on the delivery of cutting-edge management and leadership products and services to the global legal community. The Association identifies and provides solutions to the most critical strategic and operational challenges its members and customers face today, and it prepares them for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. For more information on ALA, visit alanet.org.
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