Legal Management

March/April 2006
Volume 25, Number 2

To read any of the stories in this issue of ALA’s journal, Legal Management, simply click on the headline for a downloadable PDF.

Table of Contents

Feature Articles

Service with a Smile … and Much More: Playing a Key Role in Client Relationships 
Legal professionals who understand the essentials of client relationship management (CRM) are vital to law firms’ success. Effective communications, use of technology and process management are among the many integral elements of successful CRM.
BY CHERI TERZIAN

Getting It Right the First Time: Considering New Options for Efficient Calendar Management 
An effective calendaring process is critical to any law firm’s long-term success. While some firms may continue to use manual, paper-based systems, that approach to calendaring still leaves a lot of room for human error. New automated systems that save considerable time and money may be an excellent option for firms ready to harness the evolving technology.
BY JOSEPH C. SCOTT, ESQ.

SPECIAL SECTION: TECHNOLOGY ISSUES FOR LEGAL PROFESSIONALS Legal administrators and law firm managers must constantly stay informed about developments in technology to keep their offices up to date and efficient. The articles in this special section offer insights from legal technology experts about pivotal technology trends, security strategies, new products and resources, online innovations, hot topics and much more.

• Legal Technology Trends 
  In 2006, expect many more small steps than giant leaps involving technological developments within law firms.
  BY DENNIS KENNEDY

• The Growing Role for Legal Administrators in Legal Technology: A Report from LegalTech New York 2006 
  BY DENNIS KENNEDY

• Building Better Fences 
  Legal administrators in small and mid-size law firms should take several rudimentary yet vital steps to ensure effective technological security.
  BY SHARON D. NELSON AND JOHN W. SIMEK

• Employees’ Personal Storage Devices Create Data Security Risks 
  BY DAVID NOLTE

• Everything You Need 
  Take a closer look at the technology-related resources that are essential for the success of solo practitioners and professionals in small law firms.
  BY JEFFREY S. LISSON

• Getting Noticed 
  Technological innovations such as blogs, Really Simple Syndication and podcasts hold tremendous promise for law firms seeking new ways to network with colleagues and reach potential clients.
  BY WENDY DAVIS

• Bridging the Gap 
  Legal administrators can play a major role in improving communications between their firms’ lawyers and IT professionals.
  BY DENNIS KENNEDY

• Mobilizing Legal Professionals 
  One law firm reveals how it benefits from its attorneys’ utilization of additional functionalities available on their BlackBerry handheld mobile devices.
  BY ALAN PANEZIC

• Adobe Acrobat for Law Firms 
  Which of Adobe’s three main versions of its Acrobat software is optimal for use in your law firm or legal department? Take a closer look to learn more about the Portable Document Format (PDF) and the popular software used to read, create and modify such documents.
  BY GREG KREHEL

• Making the Case for Macs 
  If you work for a small firm and don’t have the budget for an IT professional to keep everything “up and running,” you might consider putting an Apple Macintosh on every desk.
  BY JACK HAGGARD

Columns and Departments

To the Point
Nobody Said It Would Be Easy 
BY JOHN DELAVAN

UpFront
Practical News & Perspectives 

Think Tank
The Comp Time Conundrum: How Can a Law Firm Handle Excess Accrued Compensatory Time? 
COMPILED BY THERESA RUBINAS

Best Practices
From Law Practice to Best Practice: How One U.K. Firm Became a Technology Trendsetter 
BY MALCOLM PITT

Big Ideas
Stop the Cash Flow Drain: An Innovative Approach for Managing Hard Disbursements 
BY MARILYN CHENAULT MINOT AND EDWARD GASKIN

Off the Shelf
New Products for Law Firms 

ALA Events
2006 ALA Educational Conference and Exposition Exhibitor/Advertiser Directory 

ALA Update
News from Your Professional Association 

Quick Connect
Legal Management Advertiser Information 

Flashback
Tech Trip: Look at How Far We’ve Come! 

The articles posted here and throughout www.alanet.org are for reference only and are copyrighted 2006, All Rights Reserved, by the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA). Reuse or redistribution of articles without ALA’s permission is strictly prohibited. Request permission to reprint or redistribute content from this publication.