February 2014

Capital Connection is published monthly for members of the Capital Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators to provide information for the education and benefit of legal administrators, law office managers, managing partners of law firms, and other law related associations. Capital Connection is not engaged in rendering legal, financial, or tax counseling or advice through this publication.  The contents of all articles, letters, and advertisements published in Capital Connection should not be considered endorsements by the Capital Chapter of ALA nor the opinion expressed therein of any products advertised.   Contributing authors are requested and expected to disclose financial an/or professional interests and affiliations that may influence their writing position. Articles and materials accepted for publication are subject to editing by the editorial team and become property of the Capital Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators. 

Editor: Paula Serratore; Cindy Conover   Contributing Editors: Dorothy Mooney; Rob Kurucza; Jenna Carter; Mark Brophy; Kimberly White; Beth L. Jeffries; Laurence P. Banville, Esquire; Randall Craig; Marcus Bluestein Newsletter Designed By: Scoti Dodson


In this issue:

President's Message:  Love Is In The Air

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It is February - the month of warm thoughts of Spring, valentines and love.  Love - hmmm.  Love is many things - it is exciting, it is frustrating and it is complicated.  When you love someone or something, are you the type of person that is all in, or do you hold back?  Do you like the status quo or do you experiment with new things and take risks?  You can apply the same “love principle” to your job.  Do you “love” your job?  I found an interesting article on Linked In by Dharmesh Shah, Founder at HubSpot.  Mr. Shah wrote “14 Telling Signs You Love Your Job”.    Here are highlights from his article:

14 Telling Signs You Love You Job

1. You don’t talk about other people; you talk about the cool things other people are doing.   When you love your job you don’t gossip about the personal failings of others. You talk about their successes, because you’re happy for them – and because you’re happy with yourself.

2. You think, “I hope I get to…” instead of, “I hope I don’t have to…”  When you love your job it’s like peeling an onion. There are always more layers to discover and explore.

3. You see your internal and external customers not as people to satisfy but simply as people.  They aren't numbers. You think of them as real people who have real needs.  And you gain a real sense of fulfillment and purpose from taking care of those needs.

4. You enjoy your time at work.  You don't have to put in time at work and then escape to life to be happy. You believe in enjoying life and enjoying work.  When you love your job, it’s a part of your life. You feel alive and joyful not just at home – but also at work.

5. You would recommend working at your company to your best friend.   In fact, you can't stop talking about how cool your company is and the awesome work you're doing even when you're away from work.

6. You enjoy attending meetings.  No, seriously, you enjoy meetings. Why? Because it’s fun to be at the center of thoughtful, challenging discussions that lead to decisions, initiatives, and changes – changes you get to be a part of.

7. You don’t think about surviving. You think about winning.  You don't worry much about losing your job. You're more worried about not achieving your potential. Not being as impactful as you can.

8. You see your manager as a person you work with, not for.  You feel valued. You feel respected. You feel trusted.

9. You don’t want to let your coworkers down.  Not because you’ll get in trouble or get a bad performance review, but because you admire them – and you want them to admire you.

10. You hardly ever look at the clock.  You’re too busy making things happen. When you do look at the clock, you often find that the time has flown.

11. You view success in terms of fulfillment and gratification – not just promotions and money.  Everyone wants to be promoted. Everyone wants to earn more.  You definitely feel that way too, but somewhere along the way your job has come to mean a lot more to you than just a paycheck. And if you left this job, even if for a lot higher salary, you would still miss it.  A lot.

12. You leave work with items on your to-do list you’re excited about tackling tomorrow.  Many people cross the “fun” tasks off their to-do lists within the first hour or two.  You often have cool stuff – new initiatives, side projects, hunches you want to confirm with data, people you want to talk to – left over when it’s time to go home.

13. You help without thinking.  You like seeing your colleagues succeed, so it’s second nature to help them out. You pitch in automatically.  And they do the same for you.

14. You don’t think about retirement… because retirement sounds boring.  …and a lot less fulfilling.

How many of the above statements apply to you and your job?

If you said:

0-3: You may want to find a new job. Life is too short.

4-6: You don't hate your job... but you don't love it either. What can you do differently?

7-10: You really enjoy your job and the people you work with

11-14: You are deeply, madly in love with your job! (and your friends are jealous!)

So, are you ALL IN and committed to your job or are you ready for something new?

New ALA Capital Chapter Members

John A. Feeley
Office Administrator
McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP
1676 International Drive
Penthouse
McLean, VA 22102
Aretha S. Larsen
Human Resources Manager
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP
1300 Eye Street NW
Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005

Early General Contractor Collaboration:  The Cornerstone of a Successful Project

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By: Rob Kurucza of HITT Contracting Inc.

There are some intrinsic brick and mortar aspects to early involvement of a general contractor in the successful outcome of a law firm build out. In the Washington DC Region, clients have the benefit of selecting a good general contractor from a great list of companies.

At HITT Contracting Inc., we strive to make our early involvement with the design team and client an exceptional and rewarding experience.  While many variables can contribute to the success of a project, an organized approach to mitigating risk seems to be a consistent factor in most award winning projects.

Budgets, schedules, lead times and best value are all terms we hear in today’s economy and especially in the construction process of law firms.  By bringing the right General Contractor on board early in the preconstruction phase of a project, a law firm gets all of these things… for free in the case of HITT Contracting. Our experience teaches us that it is wise to get a realistic budget early incorporating our in-house estimating team (that is the same team building the project), current pricing from key subcontractor trades in the industry that have extensive knowledge of law firm design, and direct communication with suppliers and manufacturers have contributed to great end results.

Every law firm walks the fine line between beautiful design and budget realities.  A qualified General Contractor (GC) brings experience in budget applications and in some cases offers value engineering ideas.  Items including opening up the specification to other qualified vendors in the case of items like office fronts and light fixtures,  or revising budgets on the fly with subcontractors to help steer the design process in the most efficient direction without changing the design intent. Would you rather present a design to the partners with an accurate construction budget in the design phase or present a design without a quality budget only to find out months later in the GC bid process that it is 30% more than you wanted to spend. At that point, all efficiency is lost since you are working against the clock, rushing redesigns, delaying material orders, and ultimately hurting the success of the project.

In the cases where a law firm is moving into a building currently under construction, it is helpful to have a contractor on board before the base building project is done.  This early involvement up front, affords the design team with eyes in the field to check existing conditions that may conflict with the proposed design; particularly maximizing clear finish ceiling heights. 

Maybe the sprinklers are too low for the new proposed ceiling height.  No provisions were left in the concrete for a communicating stair. The perimeter shade detail will not work with the existing curtain wall mullions, etc.  All of these things cost thousands of dollars to change after the fact and save thousands if coordinated properly in advance.  With a qualified General Contractor on board, many of these things can be checked ahead of time and coordinated with the base building Contractor so that costly rework is minimized.  To take it a step further even, HITT Contracting has completed several law firms concurrently with the base building project so that occupancy for the building and the law firm occur on the same day…now that’s efficiency.

Finally, one of the biggest cost savings and quality enhancing benefits of hiring a General Contractor early is the ability to control the project duration more easily. This can be achieved by breaking out the longest lead items …pre-engineered office fronts, custom linear lighting packages, stone packages, specialty items, stair packages, etc…into early release packages.  The early high priority releases, allow the submittal and shop drawing process to get an early jump start weeks, and in some cases months, prior to the overall construction starts, in some cases before the final drawings are issued.  This works out so that the long lead material shop drawings are approved for design intent by the time workers arrive on site.  Field dimensions are obtained immediately following demolition, and the installer can provide field verified dimensions for production release shortly after arriving on-site; in lieu of weeks after starting.  This results in a shorter overall duration, cost savings for the client, and provides a more thorough submittal review of the signature items of a project. 

Hopefully, when the time comes for your next project, you will invite HITT Law Team to assist you through every step of the process to keep your project on budget and on time.

For those who would like to contact me with questions on the information above,  please contact me:

Rob Kurucza, HITT Contracting Inc.
Project Manager, Law Firms Division
[email protected]
Office 703-289-9324
Mobile 703-929-7361

Why Do People Do What They Do & How Do I Manage That?

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By: Jenna Carter

Michael Nash’s January 23rd Excellence in Management Part II presentation, Behavior Styles:  Managing Others with Trust and Respect, definitely left me a changed administrator in the best way.

We explored the spectrum of human behavior and uncovered how administrators, supervisors, and managers can use behavior style theories to increase trust, respect and morale in the workplace and improve our efficiency as managers.

The four behavior styles are Promoter, Analyzer, Conductor, and Listener.  Each behaviors style has unique wants, needs, and expectations.
  • The Analyzer has high expectations, wants to follows the rules, and expects you to follow them too.
  • The Conductor is wants immediate results, needs to be challenges, and expects straight talk from others because that is what they will get from them.
  • The Listener wants to help others, expects justice and fairness, and needs to feel appreciated. 
  • The Promoter wants to be liked and well-regarded, needs to be incentivized and recognized, and expects to be kept busy.

According to Nash, most people tend to have a predominate style but will use one at work and another style in their personal relationships. What style are you? How about the members of your staff?

I know that it is a lot to think about but I realized that it is important to take the time to:
  • Discover and gain appreciation for my own behavior style;
  • To be able to identify the various styles among my employees;
  • To use the Behavior Styles theory to help employees resolve conflict;
  • Better recognize signs of stress and burnout by using people’s Behavior Style cues;
  • Understand my impact on others as a manager, co-worker, and employee;
  • Improve my flexibility in the workplace so that I can adjust my management style to better meet the needs of others;
  • Teach tolerance for those “porcupine” people who we all know and love.

Did you miss this session?  Good news: There is one more Excellence in Management Training on March 13th.   In that session, Michael Nash will be covering how to give feedback without lowering morale. Member registration is open, so register now!

Hope to see each and every one of you there!

Policy & Procedure 101

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By: Mark Brophy of Keno Kozie

The hot topic of 2014 is security.  With security breaches and audits surfacing the best action a firm can take is to be proactive versus reactive. One of the best starting points is to make sure your organization has the proper policies and procedures in place. Often, this type of protocol is overlooked or not implemented until after an incident has occurred. Here are the steps to help create and enforce best practice of policy and procedure. It’s important to note that a good security posture is not just an IT issue, but an issue that affects and should involve an entire organization.

To get started your firm must identify the need for policy. This can be rather easy as most major banks are auditing their law firms and making security a priority. Law firms must comply or risk losing business.  The best way to start is to create a charter with upper management on board to support the initiative. Consistency within an organization from the top-down will help enforce all policies. This can serve as a challenge, because often you don’t know what guidelines you need when you don’t have any in place. Getting expert assistance can be of significant value as you take this first step.

Gather information to address who these policies affect, what they will address, and when they will take effect.  Seek out samples of policy and procedure from organizations you admire to jog the thought and creation process. Keep in mind, policies should be written for the masses, not the exceptions. Always keep your audience in mind when crafting each policy and tailor everything to best fit your business environment.

Some policies every organization should either have in place or considering implementing are the following:

  • Acceptable use of computer systems
  • Confidentiality of company data
  • Non-disclosure agreements
  • Social media
  • Acceptable use of passwords
  • Background checks and screening of applicants

Take a step back and review each policy. Evaluate each section with a “what if” approach to see if any loopholes exist.  Make sure everything is clearly defined and easy to comprehend. Does it make sense to the first time reader? If necessary, bring in legal review for guidance.

Once polices are established they need to be articulated to the entire organization. If you are implementing new policies an internal campaign and training program should be created to generate knowledge and awareness. Obtain acknowledgement and sign-off on policy for your records.  Also, guidelines should be noted in an employee hand book during the on-boarding process of new hires.  It’s crucial to communicate the goal of the policies with all your employees at every level.

Policies need to be kept current as laws and technology continue to change. Review policies on a regular basis to ensure they continue to properly address initial concerns.  Have the committee meet to discuss and reevaluate quarterly and perform regular tests to ensure compliance

Human errors and accidents are a major cause of security incidents today. If given an opportunity, honest employees will make mistakes that can have long lasting impact on a company. Having clearly defined and communicated policies in place will help protect organizations improve their security posture and help prevent errors and accidents from occurring.  

January Quarterly Networking Lunch

Members and Business Partners gathered in the Altitude Room of the W Washington DC on January 30 for the first Quarterly Networking Lunch of 2014.  President Dorothy Mooney and VP of Community Services Beth Jeffries introduced the Our Community Our Kids program. Click here to find details about Our Community, Our Kids.

What the Tightening Candidate Market Means for Your D.C. Law Firm

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By:  Adams & Martin Group

Experienced legal staffing and litigation solutions firms like Adams & Martin Group keep their fingers on the pulse of the candidate market, and they’ve found that the candidate market is tightening.  Industry experts support this finding; in a January 2014 publication titled ‘Legal Staffing Growth Update,” Staffing Industry Analysts reported a labor shortage for several legal occupations. 

The report listed particularly low unemployment rates for lawyers—1.7% compared to the average college graduate unemployment rate of 3.8%.  Miscellaneous legal support employees and judicial professionals (judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers) are two categories that also demonstrated lower than average unemployment rates—3.3% and 2.5%, respectively.

The Job Market in Washington, D.C.
Data pulled from CareerBuilder’s Supply & Demand Portal is consistent with the statistics above.  Specifically within the Washington, D.C. area, Adams & Martin Group found that the job market is experiencing a noticeable increase in demand for several positions including:

  • Legal secretaries/assistants
  • Paralegals including litigation paralegals 
  • Attorneys
  • Legal administrative assistants           

“We’re also seeing a spike in demand for legal professionals specializing in intellectual property, especially in the areas of foreign filing and ITC 337 litigation,” says Kim White, Branch Manager for Adams & Martin Group’s office in Washington, D.C. “This tightening of the Washington, D.C. candidate market bodes well for job seekers, but not so well for law firms and legal departments.  They are realizing it’s harder to find qualified candidates who fit their workplace culture.”

This increased demand for legal professionals, in combination with a recovering economy, is also driving up average salaries in the Washington, D.C. area.  Overall, legal professionals in the U.S. are expected to receive approximately 1-2% salary increases in 2014.  In addition, salaries of those considered top performers in Washington, D.C. and around the country will likely increase by 3-6%.

What These Figures Mean For Your Law Firm
These statistics demonstrate a double whammy for employers; organizations and legal departments not only need to go above and beyond to locate talented candidates who fit in and succeed at their workplaces, but they also must make special efforts to motivate and engage their best employees when they land them.

Adams & Martin Group recommends implementing the following recruitment and retention strategies to place and motivate top performers in law firms and corporate legal departments in D.C. and around the country.

Challenge your top performers and give them work they feel is important. 
According to an annual survey conducted by a renowned recognition program, 20% of recognized employees claimed that the number one attribute they desired in a job was challenging and meaningful work.  This may mean sitting down and discussing projects they’ve enjoyed in the past, assessing each employee’s strengths to determine how developed their skill sets are, and giving employees the autonomy to spearhead their own projects with minimal supervision.

Compensate appropriately.
After gratifying work, compensation is the most significant workplace concern of top performers.  If your law firm or corporate legal department needs assistance estimating an appropriate compensation figure for Washington, D.C. employees, Adams & Martin Group’s Salary & Management Resource Guide can help. 

Communicate expectations.
Top performers ranked job security as the third most important job element.  Communication between managers and employees is essential to ensuring that employees are positioned for success and can meet the demands of their position.  Be sure to carve out some one-on-one time with each employee, particularly when they are first hired.


Kimberly White, Branch Manager
Adams & Martin Group
202-350-3976
[email protected]

5 Features Every Law Firm Should Have on Their Website in 2014

One of our niches at Ag ConeXus is building responsive websites and designing effective internet marketing plans for lawyers and law firms. Such plans regularly include advanced Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaigns on viable practice areas. More recently, for more corporate law firms and B2B lawyers we have released our revolutionary business development software and associated program RELMANI, which assists law firms with diversifying their client base by generating more clients from wider and lower levels of the organization. Our responsive website design service is one that is required by all law firms, irrespective of who their target demographic is. In this article I outline 5 Features Every Law Firm Should Have On Their Website in 2014.

1. A Law Firm Website Should Be A Responsive Website Design
What is Responsive Website Design? Simply put, it's a website design technique that renders an optimal visual of your website across smartphones, tablets, and desktops. In today’s competitive legal internet marketing field, this is one of the newest ways to differentiate yourself. The benefits are:
  • your firm will appear on the cutting-edge to your clients and prospective clients,
  • people using such mobile devices will get the information they need and not skip your site and move to the next in the search results and
  • Google has said that a Responsive Design is preferred to a mobile website because it removes certain duplication of content issues, so that means better search ranking.
A recent law firm industry survey of websites show that 98% of law firm websites are NOT responsive. In 2014, law firm marketing committees should really look at this as a way to advance their internet marketing strategy. For some firms, this can be as easy as replicating the existing design with the responsive design technology. For others, it can be an opportunity for a fresh look and new design.

2. Several Clear and Easy Ways To Contact You
When we do a law firm website audit report, we often encounter this as being an issue to add to the list. Some firms make it difficult to find their contact information. As a law firm web marketing specialists we know how much work goes into bringing a prospective client to your site, so it really makes no sense to throw up conversion obstacles when you have them on your site. The preferred methods are:
  • have a clear phone number and contact email in the upper right corner
  • have a quick contact form or call to action button on the mid-right or left of the screen
  • have your address, phone number, email and link to your contact page in the footer
The above will ensure that whether the visitor is on a mobile device (will see contact info at the top of the screen first in a responsive design), or is reading your content in depth, they will almost always have your contact information readily available on any section of the page. If your firm feels this is too much, 1 and 3 are a good compromise.

3. A Blog And Excellent Content
In 2013 we saw a big law firm industry shift towards blogging. Most of the firms that hire SEO firms should have active blogs by now, as content marketing for law firms is the best way to increase your rankings on Google and Bing. That being said, there are several firms out there that don’t have the resources to maintain a blog, and do not integrate it. Our 2014 tip for law firm marketing committees is to elevate blogging in priority in their strategy. The main reasons behind this are:
  • you are keeping your site fresh when you blog, so when Google comes to index your site, there is new content
  • a good content marketing strategy that involves attorneys from your firm can showcase expertise in a specific practice area
  • blog content can be re-purposed for different media, such as newsletters, social media, print articles etc.
  • regular blogging can be used by rainmakers in the sales cycle by pointing to specific topical articles in sales meetings with prospective clients for them to delve into after the meeting and reaffirm that your firm is the best fit for them and that you showcase expertise
DO NOT COPY CONTENT!!!!!! Do not use one of those writing services that generate the same legal articles and content for several firms and distribute the same articles to those firms. This will result in getting a penalty from Google in your rankings! Original content, drafted by your firm, or exclusively for your firm is all that should touch your blog and your website.

4. Written and Video Based Client Testimonials
One of the biggest conversion factors that we have seen for our clients is that the phones ring and contact forms flow in after integrating video testimonials of clients on the law firm’s website. These do not need to be professionally scripted in some cases. For personal injury attorneys, the more authentic it is, the better. For more corporate focused attorneys, a professional video will work more in your favor based on your target demographic. Moreover, people prefer to watch a video than read pages of web content. Videos can also be optimized for search engines to include a script of what is said in the video. As of this time, Google is working on its speech recognition software, however still highly recommend uploading a script with each video for CC.

If video is not something your law firm wants to do, then written testimonials are the next best thing. Genuine testimonials work best. If possible have a picture of the client and a method of contact information available. Typically they will not receive any contact as trust has been won by offering the contact info up to the prospective client. It makes your written testimonial believable.

DO NOT FAKE REVIEW!!!! In 2013 the New York Attorney General charged several SEO firms, law firms and other businesses for posting fake reviews about their businesses on review sites such as Yelp!, Google, CitySearch, etc. The 19 companies charged were fined more than $350,000. While it is difficult for anyone to determine if a review on your website is fake, its just good practice to have authentic reviews. If your testimonial is coming from an actual client, it will be more believable. Stay away from faking it in 2014.

5. A Clear Firm Directory with Attorney Bios
Lastly on this list is having an easy to use law firm directory with detailed attorney biographies. There are several benefits to this:
  • Detailed biographies include V-Cards, Social Media links, especially to LinkedIn, where clients can see special practice areas of attorneys and review specific attorneys on LinkedIn to see their background, experience and to check if they have any recommendations for similar work performed in the past. This is a major conversion technique.
  • You can optimize each attorney’s profile to appear in search results for a specific practice area, which is usually their area of specialty. Again creating more opportunities for inbound business opportunities.
If a prospective client or client wishes to contact a specific attorney, they should be able to quickly find them and get their number/email from the directory. Nobody likes waiting around!

Conclusion
The above list is by no means exhaustive, however in 2014 we feel that these are the top 5 website issues that law firm marketing committees should review on their websites. These issues also span into other areas such as LinkedIn for your law firm. Would you be comfortable having a prospective client or client review any associates LinkedIn platform across the firm? If you are not, then you must do something about this, as LinkedIn is yet another tool that is expected to be used by lawyers as almost a digital resume, and beyond that, a great business development tool if used correctly.

Laurence P. Banville, Esquire
Ag Conexus
Digital Marketing | Responsive Website Design | SEO | LinkedIn Training
Latest Blog Article: 5 Features Every Law Firm Should Have On Their Website in 2014
Direct (US): +1 (215) 764-5464
Cell (US): +1 (267) 974-1069
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.agconexus.com

Ten Tests: Can Your Website Live Through One More Year?

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by Randall Craig on August 23, 2013

How long do you keep your car?  Some people swap their car every 2-3-4 years, while others keep them for ten, and run them into the ground.  There are pros and cons to both strategies, and endless arguments about which is best: older cars have higher maintenance costs, sport some rust, and look dated.  But there are no monthly payments.

How long should you keep your website before swapping it for a new one?  Here are ten key questions that can help:

1.     Does it generate leads (or registrations) at the level you expect?  Every marketing channel needs to pull its weight: if the web is not doing so, then there needs to be a change.

2.     Is your blog still separate from your website?  To improve search engine rankings – and expose users to your static content – your website and blog need to be completely integrated.

3.     Is the site built on an “open” social platform, such as WordPress?  22% of all new sites are built on this platform, for good reason: It’s free, it’s a social platform, and you’re not locked into a vendor’s proprietary system.  And there are 10K+ plug-ins that extend the functionality to do whatever you want.

4.     Are the pictures dated , or are they stock photography?  Is there video on the site?  Visuals give users the best clue to your relevance, and engage at an emotional level.

5.     Do site statistics show that users arrive on the site, then rarely click through to other pages?  This indicates poor page layout, poor content, and poor information architecture.  They expected something, and were either frustrated finding it – or disappointed in what they found.

6.     No mobile or tablet version of the site?  In some cases, the majority of users access the site on the go:  why frustrate them with a site that only looks good on a huge screen? (Read about Responsive Design.)

7.     Does your website’s look and feel reflect your real-world branding?  Websites should reflect what your brand aspires to be: does your website do this, or does it reflect a real-world brand from several years ago?

8.     Is your website connected to – and powered by – your systems?  Old-style sites are disconnected from internal systems; new sites tightly connected to both CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and Supply Chain systems.

9.     Do you get feedback that the site looks stale, is hard to find information on, or doesn’t “do” what they want?  It takes effort to complain, so listening carefully  – and doing something about it – makes sense.

10.  Are you satisfied with your site’s search engine ranking?  The site’s initial construction plays a significant role in how well it ranks: no amount of after-the-fact money paid to so-called SEO experts can fix a site that isn’t built with SEO from the ground up.

This week’s action plan:  What grade does your site get on each of these questions?  While you may not need to re-do your website immediately, as each year passes, the site’s grades will continually worsen.  How long will it be before your site completely fails?  Planning for that time (this year/next year/the following year) isn’t such a bad idea.

Bonus question #11:  Check out the websites for your top three competitors: how does yours stack up?  If it is seriously out-classed, then re-doing your website should be a high priority – even if your answers to the other ten questions all seemed OK.

An offer:  Interested in direct feedback on your website and strategy?  I can be reached at[email protected], or directly at 416-256-7773, ext. 101.

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.RandallCraig.comto register.
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About Randall Craig

Randall has been advising on Web and Social Strategy since 1994 when he put the Toronto Star online, the Globe and Mail's GlobeInvestor/Globefund, several financial institutions, and about 100+ other major organizations. He is the author of seven books, including the recently released "Everything Guide to Starting an Online Business", and speaks across North America on Social Media and Web Strategy. 

@RandallCraig (follow me)
www.RandallCraig.com:  Professional credentials site
www.108ideaspace.com: Web strategy, technology, and development
www.ProfessionallySpeakingTV.com:  Interviews with the nation’s thought-leaders

Technology Section: Cybersecurity

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By: Marcus Bluestein of Kraft Kennedy


Marcus Bluestein is the CTO of strategy and technology consulting firm Kraft Kennedy, which specializes in the legal industry. He has extensive experience architecting systems at law firms of all sizes, and knows the security threats that they face. Presenting at the Technology Section, he outlined today’s risks and urged law firms to consider the costs of neglecting cybersecurity.

In the recent past, hackers have cast a wide net in their attacks. Today targeted cybercrime is much more common, and public hackings of formidable companies indicate the danger facing law firms, which hold troves of coveted client data. Malware, created today in record numbers, is constantly evolving while social engineering tactics become increasingly ingenious and difficult to combat. Cybercrime is on the rise, and a determined hacker intent on an organization’s data has various potential weak links to test.

Law firms have many links that need protecting—physical facilities (can someone just walk into your office, no questions asked?), networks, websites, desktop computers, cloud data, and mobile devices. Some of these present relatively new challenges that demand careful analysis by IT teams and firm management. For example, hackers who access a cloud server today have the key to an unprecedented amount of computers and data, and while firms have ubiquitously embraced mobile computing, not all have adopted password and locking policies with the same enthusiasm.

In addition to password-protection, there are other simple and cost-effective measures firms can take to close some of their security gaps, including first-line-of-defense protections such as anti-virus and malware programs, hard drive and email encryption, and patch management. Further, firms should carefully weigh the possible repercussions of losing their data or control of their networks, and then consider the security measures that require a bigger investment of resources, like virtualized desktops, two-factor authentication, and the removal of local administrative privileges, which can cause issues in some cases if a firm’s network has not been configured for it.

The most difficult and most important to implement is education. A law firm’s management should be thoroughly educated on today’s cyber-threats and on the consequences of not protecting itself from them, as well as on the pros and cons of various precautions. Firms should decide on security policies, clearly communicate their point, and follow them, with no exceptions. 

JK Moving Services Named Best Mover in Loudoun County

Leesburg Today Readers' Poll Awards "Best of Loudoun"
STERLING, VA, February 11, 2014 - JK Moving Services, a full-service moving company founded in 1981 and specializing in residential, commercial, and international moving and storage, is pleased to announce that it has been named the best mover in Loudoun County, Virginia by Leesburg Today. JK Moving received the honor as a result of the publication's annual readers' poll.

"Since the company's inception in 1981, JK Moving Services has proudly served Loudoun County's residents, corporations, and government agencies," said Charles Kuhn, Founder, President and CEO, JK Moving Services. "I moved JK's corporate headquarters to Loudoun in 1993, seeking room for expansion and knowing that the county was poised for tremendous growth. The Loudoun community has embraced JK with open arms, and we are honored by this recognition from our customers and partners."

Each year, Leesburg Today conducts its Best of Loudoun poll among readers, allowing the community to name the best-of-the best. 2013 marked the 20th year of the annual Best of Loudoun readers' poll.  According to the publication, more than 96,000 votes were cast by nearly 7,000 participants in 180 categories in December 2013.

Administrative Committees

Communications and Media Relations
As members of the Newsletter and Media Relations Committee, Chapter members participate in producing the award-winning Capital Connection. Members gather to brainstorm new ideas for editorial themes for upcoming editions. The newsletter reports Chapter business activities such as Section and Committee news and provides information about upcoming educational and other events. It also includes articles of interest to members and other legal management personnel, collected, authored and/or edited by members of the committee. This committee also works with other legal associations and the media to ensure that ALA and the Capital Chapter are represented in the legal industry. The Newsletter Committee welcomes new members.

Contact: Paula Serratore, [email protected]
Salary Survey
The Salary Survey Committee is responsible for maintaining, updating and running the local survey each year. They review the positions listed, the job descriptions, and the benefits questions to ensure that the survey remains relevant to the end users. The members of the committee also promote the survey within the Chapter to stimulate participation. In addition, the committee is tasked with selling the license to the survey software to other chapters within ALA for use in their locales. They also provide technical support and logistical guidance to those chapters who purchase and utilize our survey software.

Contact: Catherine S. Barron (Chair), [email protected]; Dina Dalecki (Co-Chair), [email protected]
Listserv: [email protected]

Educational Sections

Branch Office Administrators
The Branch Office Adminsitrators Section focuses on a broad range of topics of interest to local adminisraotrs who must coordinate with other officees of their firms. The Section's monthly luncheon meetings, held on the second Tuesday of the month, provide a venue for members to discuss issues of common interest, share ideas, and network. Members are encouraged to raise topics and to recommend speakers.

Contact: Sheri Shifflett (Chair), [email protected]; Richard Gibson (Co-Chair), [email protected]
Listserv: [email protected]
Intellectual Property (IP)
The Intellectual Property (IP) Section focuses on all aspects of legal management as it pertains to the IP Administrator. The group discusses the complexity of the ever-changing IP environment and how to effectively create and apply IP specific, non-legal procedures in both boutique and general practice firms. The Section's monthly meetings, held the third Tuesday, are primarily lunch meetings and every third month is a dinner meeting. 

Contact: Dina Dalecki (Chair), [email protected]; Kristine Miller (Co-Chair), [email protected]
Listserv: [email protected]
Human Resources
The Human Resources Section operates as a venue for educational information on global human resources topics and issues. While the Section comprises mostly HR professionals, any member is invited to participate. The Section meets the second Wednesday of every month and often has either industry speakers or roundtable discussions on topics such as recruiting, benefits, strategic planning, performance management, career pathing, retention and more!

Contact: Cynthia D. H. McEwen (Co-Chair), [email protected]; Donna Williams (Co-Chair), [email protected]
Listserv: [email protected]

Office Operations Management
The members of the Office Operations Management Section represent a cross section of legal expertise from functional administrators to branch office managers. The Office Operations Management Section (OOMS) meets on the third Wednesday of every month to discuss operation0related hot topics. We welcome all members to join the section, especially if you are an administrator in a small law office and you have to wear multiple hats. We can provide you with many best practices to run your operation smoothly.

Contact: Barbara Mannix (Chair), [email protected]; Gregory Fudge(Co-Chair), [email protected]
Listserv: [email protected]

Small Firm Management
The purpose of the Small Firm Management Section is to provide Administrators of law firms with 35 or fewer attorneys educational opportunities through vendor presentations, idea sharing and open forums specifically designed for those who work in smaller firms. The Small Firm Management SEction meets the 4th Tuesday of the month at host law firms.

Contact: Melody R. Watson (Chair), [email protected]; Emily Christianson (Co-Chair), [email protected]
Listserv: [email protected]

Technology
The Technology Section is looking for members to join the group for lively discussions about practical situations we all face daily in the information technology world. With ever-changing IT needs and issues, we will look at our firms' policies and procedures and help develop best practices and speak of the many concerns we all have. Even if you are not in the IT field,  your experiences and opinions will help us in bringing all departments of a law firm together and working on the same page.

Contact: Kenny Mitchell (Chair), [email protected]; Janis Foster (Co-Chair), [email protected]
Listserv: [email protected]