Strategic Plan Update — Q3

Goal #1 — Define Identity

Define a clear, compelling organizational identity that reflects who/what the association represents and that effectively focuses its programs, services and activities.

  • Defining Our Identity Initiative: ALA staff has been working to develop variations of potential brand positioning statements. The initiatives are focused on developing a clear and compelling organizational identity. The work began with development of a matrix to capture an overview of potential target audiences, their different wants and needs, the benefits being provided, and the brand delivery systems. The work is based on the cumulative quantitative and qualitative feedback gathered across multiple audiences and outreaches.

    By the end of the 2018 Annual Conference, we had conducted four focus group discussions to begin gathering feedback on three brand positioning options. Based on these discussions and collected data, we developed a method for taking the positioning statement options to chapter and individual member levels for feedback during the 3rd quarter. 

    We created an online landing page and survey to deliver the same background information and Q&A that a focus group would have received, but in a way that allows each individual member to participate at their own convenience. Chapter presidents were asked to distribute the content and survey links to their members. A standalone email was distributed to individual members and links to the webpage and survey were distributed multiple times via BOLD Bites e-newsletter and social media.

    The survey data reports were delivered to the Board for analysis and discussion. Initial statistics include:

    Who responded
    • 542 surveys completed, ~6% of membership
    • 98% belong to chapters
    • Experienced legal management professionals — 70% have 11+ years of legal industry experience
    • Long-term ALA members — 70% have belonged for 7+ years

    What we’ve seen

    • 58.5% felt Statement A was best fit for need in the future
    • 88% considered Statement A best fit what ALA was today
    • 92% felt Statement A was most believable in delivering benefits and services

    • Statement A = Profession-based
    This Association provides continuing education, curated content, thought leadership and networking opportunities for legal management professionals in all roles, and across all career stages, in the global legal industry.

    We are the only association serving all aspects of the legal management profession and its work in the business of law. We deliver the tools and resources that guarantee a competitive edge that is essential to our members’ professional development and success.

    The survey was extended for input through July 30. Results of the survey will be incorporated in to all other data collection efforts. The Board will be examining the existing DOI timeline and considering adjustments based on the cumulative data collected.

    Membership Renewals: The 2018 renewal campaign ended on March 30, having achieved a greater than 85 percent renewal rate, reaching our target goal. Statistics related to reasons for nonrenewal note that retirements (38%) and job changes (18%) account for a total of 56 percent, representing the bulk. A total of 1,309 members were dropped.  As of June 30, new member acquisitions were running slightly ahead of pace for the year.  Midyear recruitment campaigns are underway for chapters, lapsed members and proactive website leads.

Goal #2 — Increase Member and Business Partner Value

Develop relevant, actionable, timely, responsive resources to increase value of ALA to members, business partners and other legal management professionals.

  • Event Planning Plus — New and Improved: ALA has meeting professionals who can assist with planning an organization’s event. ALA will be reintroducing the new and improved Event Planning Plus (formerly Retreat Planning Plus), including the all-new Speakers Services program. EPP will allow members to hire ALA to help plan events and retreats for their firms and chapters, with a range of services offered including logistical support and education planning.

    Services could include:
  • Determine purpose and objective of meeting
  • Decide when to hold meeting (time of year, hours, weekday or weekend)
  • Decide who will be invited (staff, guests, business partners, vendors, etc.)
  • Create a Budget
  • Determine Location
  • Consider Speakers and Entertainment
  • Confirm Transportation, Parking
  • Create an Agenda
  • Set Up and Distribute Invitations and Monitor Registration
  • Consider any Giveaways or Gifts
  • Miscellaneous (anything unique to your event, not on this list)
  • Facilitate and Supervise On-site Activities
  • Post-Event Evaluation — Book Next Event

Through ALA’s Speaker Services, members can browse a database of vetted speakers or topics and have ALA help them contract the speaker who will give a knockout presentation on the topic of their choice.

  • Job Description Toolkit: ALA has designed a toolkit to assist legal management professionals and their employer organizations write job descriptions using the UPBMS Taxonomy classifications/codes. The first email introducing the toolkit went out to ALA leadership (Board of Directors, Regional Representatives and chapter leaders). The toolkit will be going out to members starting in September. The team is in the process of picking several job descriptions that will be created as examples to be included into the toolkit. There will be multiple stages of this project, leading to the final goal of an online tool to generate job descriptions using the UPBMS Taxonomy classifications/codes.

  • White Papers: The first 2018 white paper, “The Changing Role of the Legal Secretary,” has been published along with additional related resources, and can be found on alanet.org/education/research/whitepapers. Our second 2018 white paper, “Seven Steps to Better Profitability: Integrating Process Improvement, Legal Project Management and Pricing,” has been published and can also be found at alanet.org/education/research/whitepapers.

  • New BOLD Bites Template: Weekly content in BOLD Bites newsletter is focused on one of five areas: 
  1. Leadership
  2. Operations
  3. Human Resources
  4. Finance
  5. Specialty

The second phase in the revised email communication strategy is moving forward. The new strategy, and resulting templates, are meant to create standard content topics for each day, so audiences will learn to expect specific information (education, or events, or leadership, etc.) on set days during the week. The new strategy is targeted to launch in the second half of the year. 

  • Online Communities: ALA’s Online Communities are a place for members to have discussions and network with one another on daily business questions. The conversations grow organically and often include samples and checklists that other members provide.

    Another way to connect with people is within the Forums. If you see a post by someone you want to follow, click on the post and under the poster’s name, you will see an option to “follow” this person. This also triggers an option for to follow you.

    Top searched terms in the Online Communities include: “job descriptions,” “retention” and “bylaws.”
  • Reference Library: The Reference Library continues to grow with content that Regional Representatives updated from the old ALA Management Encyclopedia. In the coming months, ALA will be adding additional checklists, forms and job descriptions to the site so members can easily access them. You can easily find the Reference Library in the Online Communities. 

  • VIP Program: ALA has welcomed its newest VIP business partner: NextPath Legal, a joint venture between Affinity Consulting and GLJ Benefits Group. NextPath provides succession planning services exclusively to ALA members. Through hands-on collaboration, NextPath Legal (NPL) provides each firm a proven 360-degree, all-inclusive, written succession and contingency plan tailored to meet the needs of the four most important constituents of a solid firm plan:

    • The Partners
    • The Clients
    • The Successors
    • The Firm

This benefit is exclusive to member firms of five-plus attorneys with an additional 5 percent discount for Certified Legal Managers (CLMs)®.

  • ALAbp.org: ALA business partners, current and prospective, can find all the information they need related to ALA events and marketing opportunities at the ALA Business Partner Portal. The ALA Business Partner Portal was awarded the 2017 Gold Excel Award by the Association Media & Publishing, recognizing the best, and the brightest in association media and publishing. 
  • Legal Marketplace: ALA's free, one-stop resource for business solutions and services is visited more than 2,700 times each month by members seeking a competitive edge for their legal organization. Legal Marketplace features enhanced business partner profiles, interactive content, and easy-to-navigate solution categories like “exhibitors,” “business development,” “finance” and “human resources.”

 

Goal #3 — Enhance Thought Leadership

Become recognized as a thought leader in the legal industry by conducting critical industry research and developing new ideas, innovations and solutions to guide the legal management industry. 

  • ALA Joins the Global Legal Blockchain Consortium: ALA is the first membership association to become part of the Global Legal Blockchain Consortium (GLBC), joining more than 30 large companies, law firms, software companies universities. The GLBC exists to develop standards that govern the use of blockchain technology in the business of law. Members of the GLBC are required to initiate a proof of concept project (a “POC”) on blockchain technology. A blockchain POC evaluates an idea for a real-world application of blockchain technology to a legal challenge. The overall objective of the POC is to find potential solutions to technical and business problems, to define and evaluate core-use cases, and to determine the feasibility of proposed solutions.

    • ALA’s proof of concept project was its work in the Global Legal Hackathon. Team ALA focused on how the Uniform Process Based Management System (UPBMS) can play an integral role in capturing data for the many processes and tasks that support the delivery of legal services.
  • UPBMS and SALI: The Standards Review Committee is working on final revisions to version 2.0 of the UPBMS. Changes and updates include some reclassification of tasks and processes and new and revised definitions of processes and substantive areas. ALA’s IT staff is developing expertise in building APIs for the UPBMS, which should help encourage adoption of the code set. Staff and volunteers (Teresa Walker and Bill Mech) have had conversations with representatives of Big Hand and the Accord Project on how the UPBMS might be useful in their respective initiatives.

    • SALI was officially launched on April 11 in conjunction with LMA’s Annual Conference in New Orleans. An integrated payment system has been brought online and it is now actively taking memberships. It has received endorsements from the Association of Corporate Counsel, GlaxoSmithKline, Microsoft, Shell, Citi, Allen Matkins, Baker Donelson, Greenberg Traurig, Honigman, Perkins Coie, Intapp, Prosperoware and Foundation Software Group. SALI currently has seven paid memberships, including ALA and LMA.

  • Compensation and Benefits Survey: The 2018 Compensation and Benefits Survey data collection period complete., The goal is to release the survey in early September — one month earlier than its previous release date — and to increase participation through with chapters.

    Data collection for ALA's 2017 Compensation and Benefits Survey and Large Firm Compensation Survey generated responses from nearly 1,000 firms. The survey covers 50+ positions, with dedicated sections for metropolitan areas with sufficient participation. The 2017 reports include additional information on partner capital contributions and succession planning.
  • Legal Management magazine: The second annual print edition of Legal Management is underway, and will be published and mailed in early July. More than 80 percent of the publication with be original content. ALA staff is writing a feature covering the effects of the #MeToo movement on HR policies, and the remaining original content will come from a variety of sources, including ALA’s PDAC and business partners.
  • Sexual Harassment Survey: The survey closed in March with 461 responses. The data analysis is complete, and results indicate that ALA members welcome an ALA leadership role along with more education and support around this issue. Further analysis/utilization, and communications are planned to share these results in future.

Goal #4 — Advance Legal Management Professional Development

Advance the knowledge, skills and leadership of legal management professionals and strengthen the role of legal management professionals in the legal industry.   

  • Preconference Workshop Added: Legal Lean Sigma ® and Project Management White Belt Certification Course will be offered again this fall. It is scheduled for Wednesday, September 26, in conjunction with the Intellectual Property Conference for Legal Professionals in Washington, D.C.

  • Continuing Education (CE) Courses: Legal Management offers a continuing education course in two issues of the magazine per year. There are currently three published courses, and a course on RFPs is planned for Fall 2018. Members and nonmembers can read the article, then log in to take a test. If you pass with at least 70 percent, you will earn one CE credit hour. The credits apply to CLM recertification, but also count toward SHRM, HRCI or CPE credit.

    • Click here to read “How to Ethically Oversee Trust Accounts,” and to earn one credit hour in financial management.
    • Click here to read “Confronting Addiction in the Law Firm,” and to earn one credit hour in substance abuse.
    • Click here to read “The Ever-Evolving World of Legal Ethics,” and to earn one credit hour in ethics.

  • Chapter Education Database: We are expanding and enhancing the chapter education database to include speaker contact information, session format details, and accreditation details. We are also planning to make session ratings visible to members, to assist education planners in selecting the best presenters.
  • Certified Legal Manager (CLM)® Program: The Study Guide for the CLM Exam is available! The study guide is a new tool that potential CLMs can use to gain further insights into the type of knowledge they’ll need to pass the test. The guide includes chapters covering financial management, human resources management, legal industry/business management and operations management. Each chapter has additional resources and practice quizzes. It concludes with “Terms and Concepts You Should Know,” an index and “Preparing for the CLM Exam.” Download the Study Guide for the CLM Exam through the alanet.org e-store.

    The first phase the Certification Program update has begun and includes internal process improvements and technology upgrades. We are also creating CLM digital certificates, that will enable CLMs to share their verifiable credentials on social media, email signatures and other digital platforms. 

  • Legal Management Magazine: The second annual print edition of Legal Management is in mailboxes. More than 80 percent of the publication is original content. ALA staff has contributed a feature covering the effects of the #MeToo movement on HR policies, and the remaining original content comes from a variety of sources, including ALA’s PDAC and business partners.

    Legal Management print PDF: Since the publication became digital, many members have requested the ability to print out a full PDF of the digital issue. Now you can download a fully designed print PDF. Each issue has averaged 250 downloads of the PDF. In recent issues, more than 500 people have downloaded the publication
  • e-Learning: ALA's e-Learning program provides education through 6-week, instructor-led, online courses. The spring and summer courses are focused on Financial Management with an option for individuals to earn a Legal Management Finance Specialist certificate.
  • Webinars: ALA is offering 42 webinars this year. Users can listen to them live or on-demand. These one-hour sessions allow listeners to receive continuing education (CE) credits to put toward their education. The webinars will take place several times per month.
  • Job Bank and Career Center: ALA rolled out a new and improved Job Bank and Career Center. It's easier than ever for members to search and find job postings — and they are! ALA's Job Listings page is the second-highest visited page, with more than 26,000 views during May and June, and almost 100 jobs posted during that time period. 


Goal #5 Build Community and Engagement

Build a stronger sense of community and shared purpose and increase engagement among members, chapters, business partners, and other stakeholders.

  • Regional Legal Management Conferences: REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
    ALA’s Regional Legal Management Conferences provide identical education in two locations, and include networking opportunities and roundtables based on region. The high-caliber educational content is geared toward the needs of legal management leaders and functional specialists.

East (Regions 1,2,3) 
September 13-15
Palmer House Hilton 
Chicago, Illinois

West (Regions 4,5,6)
October 18–20
Hilton Austin
Austin, Texas 

  • Specialty Conferences: REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

Large Firm Principal Administrators Retreat
August 2-4, San Diego, Hotel Coronado

Law Firm Management Essentials
September 12–13, Chicago, Palmer House

Advanced Finance Administration for Legal Management Professionals
September 12-13 and October 17–18 (before each Regional Legal Management Conference)

Intellectual Property Conference for Legal Management Professionals
September 27–28, DC, Capital Hilton

  • Call for Volunteers: Beginning July 16, we called for our next wave of Association leaders and volunteers. We encourage members to nominate inspiring, hard-working members as ALA President-Elect, new members of the Board of Directors and Regional Representatives. Also, we welcome volunteers who will help direct the activities and policies of our Standing Committees and Project Teams.

    As with any association, volunteers are the heart of ALA. It is because of the dedication and expertise of more than 100 volunteer leaders that ALA is able to provide its members with the high-level education, networking opportunities and resources needed to effectively manage law firms. ALA looks for ambitious members who are interested in serving on one of its many committees or in a leadership role. Every position has a different level of responsibility and time commitment. Check out the various roles and activities for the standing committees, conference committees and leadership roles. ALA encourages self-nominations this year, too.

  • Peer Consulting: New evaluation forms have been created for both volunteer consultant and participating member to gather more information on how the program is utilized. Additional volunteer categories have been added to the Share My Expertise profile tab: In addition to Peer Consultant (390 volunteers), members may now indicate interest in volunteering as an Author (5 volunteers), Forum Moderator (3 volunteers) or Speaker (7 volunteers). 

  • Leadership Development Task Force: A board task force has been examining how we develop, select and train association leaders. The first step was re-engineering the leadership selection process to streamline processes. Members now have the ability to update their profiles to include information about their skills, interests and abilities relative to volunteer opportunities. This will provide year-round, on-demand information to support the full range of volunteer opportunities, including micro-volunteering.
  • Foundation of the ALA: The Administrative Pro Bono Program matches the needs of legal services organizations (LSOs) with the skills and expertise of our members, business partners and firms. Participants can offer HR, financial, IT, marketing and other expertise that these organizations need. The Foundation is in the early stages of the planning process and would like to understand better the level of interest from our members to assist in determining how we should structure the program.
  • ALA Social Media Channels: ALA’s social media channels can keep you up to date on the latest in industry trends, education opportunities, chapter news and member events. In 2018, ALA is emphasizing increased engagement on all social media platforms. Be sure to follow us, tag ALA in your posts and use #ALABuzz.

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