ATLANTA, GEORGIA — The Association of Legal Administrators’ (ALA’s) 2015 Business of Law Conferences continued with the second of three conferences in Atlanta, Georgia. The event ran from Thursday, October 1, to Saturday, October 3, and hosted nearly 120 attendees, 35 business partners with various legal solutions, legal industry experts and speakers covering aspects of the business of law.
“The business of law is evolving within our midst, and administrators and functional specialists, both seasoned and new, must be on the forefront of such an evolution,” says Planning Committee Chair, Mark Tallent.
The association’s 2015 Business of Law Conferences provide identical education across three convenient U.S. geographical locations. The high-caliber educational content is geared toward the needs of legal management leaders and functional specialists in the business of law. Attendees can get insights on hot topics in the legal industry and learn from experts on profitability, innovation, strategy, leadership and technology.
On Friday, October 2, Financial Management speaker Pam Woldow presented a session titled “Budgeting as a Strategic Planning and Control Tool.”
“Value is perceived by the client,” Woldow advised the audience. “Does a client ever really want to work with the lowest bidder?” She went on to give practical advice on teaching attorneys to ask important questions of their clients – what their main priorities are, their drivers and goals – and developing pricing strategies based on their answers.
On Friday, October 2, ALA held a town hall meeting to discuss a rebranding initiative. Attendees had an opportunity to ask questions of two members of ALA’s Board of Directors regarding the proposed name change. ALA President Teresa Walker and ALA Region 2 Director, Gary Swisher, CLM, fielded questions that encompassed the voting procedure, motivation behind the change and concerns about the proposed new name.
“The business of law is a big umbrella, and we want to be sure that we appeal to all the people who make the business of law what it is today,” said Walker. “We believe this name will be more inclusive to make that happen.”
The rebrand initiative must pass by a simple majority of ALA chapter presidents’ votes in order to pass, per the association’s bylaws.
On Saturday, October 3, legal industry speaker Michael Moore, JD, presented “Value Migration: Strategies for Creating Success in a New Age.” He described the way that disruptors in the legal industry are beginning to appeal to the middle market and unseat the major players of the recent past.
“Every year, a major U.S. firm has disappeared,” said Moore. “Once they pass the tipping point, it is a matter of weeks or months – boom. Now it is starting to happen in mid-size firms.”
Moore went on to explain that client service and efficient technologies are a firm’s best defense against value migration. “We need to learn how to communicate with clients,” he said.
Building on the momentum and success from its second Business of Law Conference, ALA will be continuing with the same speakers for the final event taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada (October 22-24). For details on this event and other upcoming events from ALA, visit http://www.alanet.org/events.