I ended my Summer, 2009 message with “Let us know how we can help each other..”. The members of the Vendor Relations Committee (VRC) and Vendor Advisory Panel (VAP) met in-person in September, and we continue to meet in various subcommittee groups, via conference calls, on a monthly basis. Our goal is continue to develop and enrich the relationships between and among ALA, its members and ALA's business partners.

In the course of conducting our business, the VAP has been an invaluable resource, representing your interests, and providing input and advice on various projects and ideas. In one example, they have helped to draft a survey for the business partner community, the results of which we intend to share with you. The survey will launch soon, so be on the look out. We expect that this will provide you, our business partners, with a good source of information, as well as give valuable feedback to our Committee. Your participation will be greatly appreciated.

Most of us have recently finished the arduous task of budgeting for 2010. Even though events are “budgeted,” expenses still need to be managed. Shipping to tradeshows can have a significant impact on your bottom line. Here are a few tips and tricks to save on those expenses:

A no-brainer, when it comes to saving on shipping costs, is to consolidate your exhibit and other needs, such as collateral, in one shipment. Planning ahead is your best bet to saving both time and money when shipping your exhibit assets to trade shows. Some more tips:

Know your limitations
Not all freight travels how, when, or where we want it. Specialized trucks, such as those with lift-gates, can be hard to come by. Common carriers haul only floor-loaded pallets and crates. They won't handle blanket-wrapped shipments. Most van lines can handle stacked loads and pad-wrapped items on their air-ride trailers, but they need to know if your crates can be stacked, laid on their sides, or tipped.

Save with pallets
If your exhibit components are not crated and need to be wrapped in moving pads, you can realize shipping and drayage savings by shipping them on pallets. You can purchase your own pads, either disposable paper ones or fabric moving blankets. Pallets will reduce your shipping costs and your chance of damage. Pallet items can also be received at the advance warehouse, where as loose items cannot. Pallets also qualify for a lower drayage rate.

Label your shipment
Bad labeling is the most frequent error in losing shipments. Remove old shipping labels from your crates. New labels should be positioned on at least two sides of each piece of freight. Bright colored labels can help identify your freight on the show floor. If you have pallets of loose cartons that must not be broken down by the carrier, mark DO NOT BREAK DOWN. Mark breakable items as FRAGILE. Have your exhibit builder permanently mark how your crates need to be shipped - for example, on their side or on end.

Name your carrier
Always complete your outbound bill of lading with an accurate piece count, destination and, most importantly, the name of your carrier. After turning in your completed bill of lading to the general contractor's service desk wait to get your shipper's copy back. This is a receipt showing that you transferred custody of your freight to the general contractor to pass to your carrier of choice. If you do not name your selected carrier on the form, the general contractor can assign your shipment to any carrier and the fee is out of your control. In addition, your freight could be held hostage in their warehouse. That scenario could double your cost and result in lost time.

Used by permission of Skyline Exhibits – www.skyline.com.

The Association seeks interested business partner volunteers to fill three (3) upcoming openings on the Vendor Advisory Panel (VAP). Business partner representatives are appointed by the Board of Directors and serve two-year terms. The terms of office begin in conjunction with the next Annual Conference & Exposition in Boston, Massachusetts (Sunday, May 2, 2010). If you wish to be considered for one of these positions, now is the time to volunteer!

The VAP works closely with the Vendor Relations Committee (VRC) and generally has two in-person meetings per year - once during the Annual Conference and once in the fall. Representatives are also involved in regularly scheduled teleconferences.

Details regarding necessary qualifications and the application form are located on ALA's Web site. If you have questions about serving on the VAP, please e-mail Debbie Curtis or call her at 847.267.1388.

All applications and related materials must be received by ALA by December 1, 2009.

ALA's Vendor Relations Committee is teaming up with the Committee on Diversity to increase diversity among ALA's business partners. Do you have a diversity statement on your Web site that you would like to promote? Send us the link, and we will share it with ALA members. Are your law firm clients incorporating diversity components on their Requests for Proposals (RFPs)? Let us know that as well. Please send your responses and forward Web links to Debbie Curtis.

This section of the newsletter features a question relevant to the legal vendor community and three answers to it: from an ALA member, an ALA business partner and an ALA staff member. We hope this approach will help you gain a larger appreciation for topics and issues facing the vendor community.

Having just come back from a Regional Conference, how would you describe the experience of an ALA Regional Conference to someone who has never attended?

I have found that each ALA conference energizes me, brings new perspectives to my every day responsibilities, and broadens my outlook on my daily tasks. The exhibit hall experience always gives me insight to new products and offerings for my firm and enables me to bring back potential offerings of interest or comparison. And the networking opportunities are significant with both the attendees and the business partner community. Attending the ALA conference has consistently proven to be valuable time spent and is constantly beneficial to me and to my firm.

Joan Wean
Legal Administrator
Hamburg Rubin Mullin Maxwell & Lupin

Participating in a Regional Conference is an incredible opportunity to strengthen your existing business relationships and to develop new business contacts in your geographic region. The conference is structured to provide meaningful time for networking and entertaining with your current clients and prospects as well as ample opportunity to meet new business contacts that are interested in learning more about the services that you provide to the legal community. The Exhibit Hall is small enough to ensure that everyone has time to stop by each of the exhibiting booths and ALA does a great job of getting conference participants to visit the booths without them feeling pressure to get back to educational sessions right away.

The Regional Conference offers access to higher level decision makers at firms that you would want to do business with in an intimate environment, all of whom represent firms that are in your same geographic footprint.

Randall R. Reed
Senior Vice President
Institutional Retirement Programs
City National Bank

I was fortunate to attend the Region 3 and the Regions 1 & 2 Conferences this year – firsts for me!  It was a great opportunity to see the culmination of the year's work for both the Regional Planning Teams and the staff. I really enjoyed putting a “face with a name”!

The Regional Conferences are a very unique opportunity for both attendees and business partners to have a low-cost valuable conference experience with very little time out of the office.  Exhibitors can almost pack everything into one box – a table cloth, some branded give-a-ways and promotional material – maybe cheaper to ship than packing a second suitcase nowadays!  Though there was some concern about participation early on, all of the Regional Conferences had outstanding attendance and the business partners found value in the quality of the audience.

Participating in all or some of the Regional Conferences can be a valuable addition to any business partners' marketing strategy.

Jackie Stasch, CEM
Manager, Exhibits & Sponsorships
Association of Legal Administrators

Can you believe it's November already? Where did the year go…?

Just a few short months away from the ALA Annual Conference & Exposition in Boston May 3-6, 2010.

Exhibit Space is filling fast! You can purchase your booth online using the new interactive floor plan. Reserve your exhibit space prior to January 15, 2010, to save $500 per booth.

ALA strives to make your relationship with legal administrators a successful one by providing you an array of opportunities to reach them. As we wrap up 2009 and look ahead to 2010, ALA continues to offer highly visible – and highly affordable – ad positions in its flagship publications Legal Management (print and digital editions) and ALA News. In addition, the twice-monthly e-newsletter ALA Currents features multiple, high-impact banner ad positions.

For more information about all advertising opportunities with ALA, contact Mohanna Sales Representatives:
Phone: 972.596.8777
E-mail: info@mohanna.com

Or visit ALA’s Web site to download the 2009 Media Kit (Note: ALA's 2010 Media Kit is slated for release in late November 2009.)

• February 18-20
  Law Firm Financial Management Conference & Exposition
  Carefree, Arizona
• May 3-6
  ALA Annual Conference & Exposition
  Boston, Massachusetts
• October 1-2
  Region 4 Educational Conference & Exposition
  Dallas, Texas
• October 1-2
  Region 5 & 6 Educational Conference & Exposition
  San Diego, California
• October 13-14
  Intellectual Property Retreat
  Chicago, Illinois
• October 15-16
  Region 3 Educational Conference & Exposition,
  Chicago, Illinois
• October 22-23
  Region 2 Educational Conference & Exposition,
  Miami, Florida
• October 29-30
  Region 1 Educational Conference & Exposition
  Long Branch, New Jersey

Janet I. Krause, CLM
Goodwin Procter LLP

William D. Mech
Squire Sanders & Dempsey, LLP

Robert E. Sander
Wiles Boyle Burkholder & Bringardner Co., LPA

Eric R. Visser
Ray Quinney & Nebeker

Joan Wean
Hamburg Rubin Mullin
Maxwell & Lupin

City National Bank
Randall Reed

Client Connection Inc.
Jake Krocheski

First Legal Network
Mitch Schwartz

Gensler
Barbara Dunn

TransPerfect
Eric Elting

Jackie Stasch, CEM
Manager, Exhibits and Sponsorships

John Delavan
Editor-in-Chief, Legal Management and ALA News

Bob Abramson
Director of Marketing

ALA Annual Conference & Exposition

Professional Legal Management Week (PLMW)

Find A Legal Vendor

2010 ALA Membership Resource Directory Order Form

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