Legal Management Magazine

 

Legal Management reports on topics within ALA’s five knowledge areas: Legal Industry/Business Management; Human Resources Management; Financial Management; Communications and Organizational Management; and Operations Management.

May: On the Cover
How to Build a Meaningful Pride Campaign (And Why It’s Important)
Ready to make your firm’s Pride campaign have more meaning this year? Here’s how to put some extra value into it.

When Stephen G. Dempsey, CPA, MBA, graduated college in 1985, in San Antonio, Texas, it was still very much a don’t-ask-don’t-tell world. In 1987, he moved to New York City, landing a job with a large accounting firm. Large was key: The larger the place, the more autonomy. Unless your sexuality caused some kind of scandal, you were well protected. “If somebody else at the office knew, [it] was no big deal, unless you brought it up or you made an issue of it,” says Dempsey, who is the Director of Administration at the Washington, D.C., office at Sidley Austin, LLP, and a member of the Capital Chapter. Read more.

 

Features

Staffing Models that Meet the Moment 
Many firms are looking to modernize their support models to adapt to a post-pandemic world.

Who could have predicted our circumstances even five years ago? With the advent of technology and workplace tools that allow teams to work over vast distances remotely, the ushering in of a pandemic, and mergers where big firms swallowed midsize firms and midsize firms partnered with smaller firms, every law firm in the country now has the same challenge: How do we support a global footprint across attorneys in a single firm? Suddenly, you might find yourself with a 1,100 attorney-firm with offices on both coasts of the United States with other international offices. Does it make sense to have a highly local support model where traditional administration supports four to five attorneys in-house? Or is there a better, more efficient way? Read more.

Understanding and Enriching Neurodiversity Hiring
Recognizing unseen talents can truly add value to your firm.

While 44% of law firms recently told Robert Half they intend to hire full-time employees in the first half of this year, an even greater amount — 78% — are planning to bring contract-based lawyers, legal specialists and other professionals on board through June. Workers who provide assistance on a part-time or temporary basis can be a solution for firms that want to reduce their staff members’ rapidly escalating workloads. This is especially true for firms that aren’t sure hiring someone long-term would be necessary — or even possible, due to the tight job market. Read more.

Columns

We, All of Us, Are ALA
Power of One Networking 

BP Perspective
Quit Overspending on Legal Research

Business Development
Turning Client Service to Client Matters

Innovations
The Right Generative AI Is a Legal Professional’s Friend, Not Foe

Departments

Industry News
Why Law Training Is Critical for Your Administrative Staff 

Tips and Trends
Key IT Services to Succeed in Today's Competitive Legal Landscape 

Tips and Trends
Why Leasing Equipment Is a Smart Move in an Uncertain Economy 

ALA Now

ALA Faces
Anniversaries, Awards and Appointments 

At ALA
What's Happening at Headquarters  

Earn CE Credit

 

As of April 2021, Legal Management is no longer publishing new CE courses. Check out our archived courses below. They are still available! 

Members and nonmembers can read the article, then log in to take a test (members pay $49; nonmembers pay $69). If you pass with at least 70 percent, you will earn one CE credit hour. The goal is to help CLMs get the credits they need for recertification, but some will also count toward SHRM, HRCI or CPE credit. 

  • Click here to read “Making Mental Health Matter” and earn one credit hour in human resources management.
  • Click here to read “Where Are Your Markers” and earn one credit hour in self-management skills.
  • Click here to read “Leading Through Change” and earn one credit hour in organizational development.
  • Click here to read “Building a Better Budget” and earn one credit hour in financial management.
  • Click here to read “Cyber Risk Management: The Vital Role of Legal Management Professionals” and earn one credit hour in operations management.
  • Click here to read “A Lesson in Leadership for Legal Management Professionals” and earn one credit hour in communications and organizational management.
  • Click here to read “The Risk of Idolizing False Profits;” and earn one credit hour in financial management.
  • Click here to read “Responding to a Request for Proposal: Time, Money, People and the Law” and earn one credit hour in writing skills.
  • 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.