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  Capital Connection

February 2019

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 and/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. Links to Capital Connection may not be shared without permission from the Chapter. 
Editors: Cindy Conover; Valerie L. Williamson
Associate Editor: Paula Serratore
​Contributing Editors: Jenna Carter; Patricia Carrera; Kathleen McCormac; Rob Kurucza; Karen K. Won; Eli Nussbaum; ASALH; James Cornell

Newsletter Designed By: Jessica Davis


In this issue:
  • President's Message
  • New and Returning ALA Capital Chapter Members
  • Members on the Move
  • Three Diversity and Inclusion Musts for 2019
  • February 2019 Diversity Observances
  • A Letter from Safe Shores
  • Spotlight: HITT Contracting, Diamond Business Partner
  • Letters to the Workplace Generations
  • Spotlight: Keno Kozie, Gold Business Partner
  • ASALH Announces 2019 Black History Theme: Black Migrations
  • Member Diversity Spotlight
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President's Message

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Jenna Carter
 

New and Returning ALA Capital Chapter Members

Marisha N. Lewis
O'Melveny & Myers LLP
HR and Operations Manager
1625 Eye St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
marishalewis@omm.com
 
Mallika Srinivas
Sidley Austin LLP
Human Resources Generalist
1501 K St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
msrinivas@sidley.com
 
Dmitriy Galyutin
Perkins Coie LLP
Human Resources Manager
700 13th St., N.W.
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20005
DGalyutin@perkinscoie.com
​
Starr Pratt
Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP
Legal Administrator
1129 20th Street, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
spratt@ftlf.com​ 
Kathleen Jennings
Allen and Overy LLP
Operations and Development Officer
1101 New York Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
Kathleen.Jennings@allenovery.com
 
Christine Harper
RKM LLP
Firm Administrator
20609 Gordon Park Square 
Suite 150
Ashburn, VA 20147
ChristineHarper@rkmllp.com
 
Lynda M. Tompkins
Husch Blackwell LLP
Office Administrator
750 17th St., N.W.
Suite 900
Washington, DC 20006
lynda.tompkins@huschblackwell.com
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Members on the Move

Astrid E. Emond
IP Practice Personnel Manager
Cooley LLP
1299 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Suite 700
Washington, DC  20004
aemond@cooley.com
 

Three Diversity and Inclusion Musts for 2019

Patricia Carrera
Attorney and Senior Director for Member Experience, Association of Legal Administrators

Many legal organizations are dissatisfied with their diversity and inclusion programs. Some consider the time and effort dedicated to these efforts, and are disappointed with the results, or are unsure whether their programs are truly meaningful. Because this kind of introspection typically takes place at the beginning of a new year, it seemed a good time to provide reminders that may help evaluations of your firm’s diversity and inclusion program.


1. Have a diversity and inclusion program.The only way to ensure disappointing diversity and inclusion program results is not to have a program at all. Do not let a (mis)perception about the amount of time and effort that may be required derail an attempt, any attempt, no matter how small. Even highly focused efforts can have an impact over time. The very act of including a diversity and inclusion theme in an organization’s collective mindset may, if reinforced, become embedded in its culture and deliver positive effects.


2. Include a fundamental cornerstone.An uncomplicated “mantra” will clearly distill the meaning behind a diversity and inclusion program, simplify messaging, and enhance recall. Something as straightforward as “treat others the way they want to be treated” is likely sufficient to catch the attention of and encourage consideration by colleagues in most organizations.


3. Conduct diversity diligence.Metrics are critical. Revisiting the value of chosen measurements and evaluating progress against them are two equally important tasks. The effect of diversity and inclusion programs is impacted most when the program itself evolves to address current and upcoming needs. For example, considering whether recruitment data is still a valid diversity and inclusion program criteria is as important as a notable change to that statistic.


A comprehensive, all-encompassing diversity and inclusion program will include any number of elements, such as how to address unconscious bias, observing cultural heritage months, and tracking employee engagement. But a diversity and inclusion program need not be overly complex to have an effect. In fact, a minimalist approach may be the most appropriate for many organizations. Diversity and inclusion efforts need not be difficult. Just an attempt itself is meaningful for those involved, and that, in and of itself, is a good start.

©2019 by the American Bar Association.  Reprinted with permission.  All rights reserved.  This information or any or portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

 

February 2019 Diversity Observances

February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada. Since 1976, the month has been designated to remember the contributions of people of the African diaspora.

Click here to view the full list of February 2019 Observances
 

​A Letter from Safe Shores

Dear Capital Chapter:

A resounding "thank you!" to the Association of Legal Administrators Capital Chapter for your incredible support of Safe Shores' 2018 Holiday Giving Drive! In all, over 300 DC children and families affected by abuse and violence were given the opportunity for an extraordinary holiday season after what has been an extremely difficult year. Thank you for helping make wishes come true this holiday season.

We would additionally like to thank ALACC for your generous sponsorship of our Holiday Giving Wrapping Party on 12/12/18. Your organization's support helped ensure that children served through the drive received their gifts wrapped beautifully and with the utmost love and care. 

We are immensely grateful to ALACC for your continued commitment to Safe Shores. Best wishes from everyone at Safe Shores for a peaceful and joyous new year!

With gratitude,

Kathleen McCormac
​Development Manager
 

HITT Contracting Spotlight: Schedule, Schedule, Schedule

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Rob Kurucza
Senior Project Manager, HITT Contracting


In real estate, the saying is “Location, Location, Location.” In construction, it should be, “Schedule, Schedule, Schedule.”  Nothing has the potential to make an exciting law firm buildout become a nightmare more than missed deadlines.  Building a high-end law firm on time, on budget, and with a high level of craftsmanship is a skill that takes years to perfect.  Most of us compare, large commercial law firm renovations to our own experiences from the past…non-responsive carpenters, missed deadlines, incomplete work, etc.  While it may be easy to just say, “that’s construction,” it is not necessary to accept consequences ranging from disappointed partners to large holdover rent penalties if you hire the right team.  There is never a good reason why a law firm should ever need to move in late or with subpar craftsmanship.

The biggest step that can be taken to ensure an on-time delivery is to form your team early in the process.  It is important to look at the large picture and understand the durations for design, permit, materials, and construction.  Every project is different, so this can be quite variable.  Many law firms have realized the benefit of bringing the general contractor on board early. Depending on the contractor, some of the advantages include real time budget updates, design assistance, scheduling assistance, and permit navigation. When considering moving into a brand new or repositioned building, law firms benefit from having an ally who can review the base building progress, and also provide recommendations on scope and measurements to the base building team so that tenant Improvement funds can be spend on finishes and amenities rather than demolishing or replacing something that could have been coordinated early on…things ranging from mechanical equipment and ductwork heights to perimeter bulkhead and shade design… saving thousands of dollars.  One of the classic excuses for contractor delays is that the base building progress was behind.  It is important to work with a tenant contractor who can navigate these delays and work around hurdles so that your move date is not compromised.

The next step that helps ensure an on-time delivery is choosing a general contractor with a strong track record of on-time completions and a very experienced project management team. The finishes in law firms have evolved into some of the longest lead materials in the industry…office fronts from Italy, custom pattern light fixtures, complicated stairs, etc. This shift from just wood paneling and drywall cut on site to metal and glass manufactured thousands of miles away has raised the stakes on the project schedule.  There is a very intricate process to make sure that materials are ordered in the proper sequence, so they arrive when needed.  There is simply not enough time to wait for all questions to be answered.  It takes the most savvy and experienced construction project managers to know how to fill in the blanks to those questions to order the material so that it arrives on time.

Finally, it pays dividends to hire owner vendors such as AV, furniture, security and tele-data at the same time the GC hires subcontractors.  This often overlooked step is crucial to maintaining the critical path of the schedule as the information from these vendors directly impacts the other trades ability to complete their work and to pass wall and ceiling concealment inspections on time.  There are many things that go into making a project successful.  For those of you embarking on the construction process, I would be happy to discuss further any details or unique questions about your goals.

Rob Kurucza
Senior Project Manager, HITT Contracting
rkurucza@hitt-gc.com | 703-929-7361

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Letters to the Workplace Generations 

Karen K. Won
Special Counsel, Cooley LLP


Multiple generations are working side-by-side in today’s workplace: the Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials. Venerable practitioners from the Silent Generation and summer interns from Gen Z bookend this core workforce. In particular, Millennials now comprise the largest generation in the workforce, quickly becoming key influencers in workplace culture as well as entering leadership ranks. I am supposedly a “Xennial,” a member of a micro-generation born during Gen X/Millennial cusp years. Equal parts Gen X and Millennial, I am fortunate to have roughly equal numbers of older generations and Millennials among my friends and colleagues. From this position, I’ve observed (and studies have affirmed) the chasm between the diverse worldviews of the two generational groups. Among other things, Millennials typically do not base their diversity identities on collective characteristics like race or affinity, as older generations do. Instead, Millennials focus on individual experiences and perspectives. How, then, should we evolve the diversity dialogue so these future leaders will carry the torch in the campaign for minority integration in the legal profession, particularly the senior ranks? Below is my appeal to both sides.

To my Gen X and Baby Boomer colleagues: (from my Millennial half)Thank you for your tireless crusade to pave the path for us. We stand as beneficiaries to the fruit of your labors. But for the younger generation to continue the cause, I respectfully request two things:

First, please change the dichotomous narrative often used in the diversity dialogue. Typical career panels for minority attorneys usually share advice like this: We need to perform better to earn their approval. We need to be more outspoken so they won’t overlook you for new opportunities. We need to blend in socially so they will feel comfortable. They will not share credit unless you demand it. In one panel, a particularly impassioned speaker said, “If you just put your head down and do your work as you’re told, you’re no different than a donkey. And they will treat you like a donkey. You need to speak up if you don’t want them to treat you like a donkey.”

We have a knee-jerk reaction to the “us versus them” narrative. For one thing, it does not resonate with a generation that is diverse (44% of Millenials are racial or ethnic minorities). Further, such adversarial dialogue sounds distorted, divisive and counter-productive. It implicitly fuels the tendency to paint the “others” as the problem, whether by their offense, ignorance or complicity. It also demeans the very people you need as allies. Maturing through post-9/11 America and today’s political climate, we have witnessed the destructive power of a divisive narrative; we will not partake in it.

Second, please give us advice other than telling us to become [insert established pre-defined success trait here]. We are a generation driven by ideals and identity. For example, I am a petite Asian woman who is mild-mannered, soft-spoken, and introverted. So naturally, based on appearance, others (who have never worked with/against me) have doubted whether I can effectively negotiate against adversaries, confidently communicate, or engage prospective clients. In response, the typical advice from my older mentors includes: “be more assertive,” “walk in and work the room!” “speak louder,” and “wear tall heels.”

Such advice sounds like you’re telling me to conform myself to the stereotype of success as promulgated by the dominant culture. But isn’t reconstructing that very stereotype and eliminating its underlying biases the cornerstone of the diversity struggle? If I rise to senior ranks only by talking and acting like a petite, black-haired woman version of the dominant majority demographic in law firm leadership, is that really a meaningful diversity accomplishment? Isn’t mere integration of different skin and hair colors into senior ranks, without more, a somewhat hollow victory? It should be accompanied by a cultural transformation embracing the value of the different attributes and perspectives that stem from diverse candidates.

To my Millennial colleagues: (from my Gen X half)I admire your boldness and innovation. You are a community-minded generation dedicated to ideals, and that makes the older generations truly hope that you can catalyze meaningful change. However, while Millennials are committed to equality, many of you don’t seem to understand the relevance of advocating for certain demographic groups. So I want to say two things to you:

First, and most importantly, racial and gender diversity matters. Yes, I understand that you grew up in communities (in real life and digital) where encountering all different types of people is the norm. You might question why it is necessary (let alone important) to single out and give special attention to any one demographic subgroup. In short, it’s because society and history are bigger than the Millennial generation. Before and outside of your generation, there were/are struggles in many corners of society—including the legal profession—that deeply entrenched distorted prejudices against women and minorities. The underrepresentation and compensation gap between women and minorities are vestiges of such struggles.

Whether or not you see it, double standards applied to women and minorities do exist, and that is wrong. Some people do judge others’ professional capabilities based on presumed traits tied to gender, skin color, or sexual orientation, and that is unacceptable. The legal profession apparently remains resistant to diverse leadership, and that must change. Diversity is a social justice and business imperative and we all have the duty, if not the desire, to work towards greater progress.

Second, please understand that “meritocracy” is not an alternative to, or solution for, diversity. You may be familiar with the fable about the giraffe who invited an elephant into his house: The giraffe could not understand why the elephant couldn’t navigate the narrow doors and stairs without wreaking havoc. The giraffe suggested that the elephant exercise to lose weight so he could fit through the door and go up the stairs. The elephant, however, saw that a house designed for a giraffe will never work for him unless major changes happen.

This fable illustrates why meritocracy fails. Meritocracy, in practice, operates in a vacuum. It focuses solely on the individual, divorced from the preexisting infrastructure that constrains one’s performance. I’m sure you’ll agree that true meritocracy requires a level playing field for all participants. For underrepresented groups, the field is uneven. One person is shooting from the free throw line, another is at the three-point line. In this context, meritocracy can operate more like an aristocracy of the dominant majority—the “merits” passing down the same lineage due to an implicit advantage (or lack of implicit disadvantage).

My hope is that all the workplace generations can unite to work effectively in advancing diversity within the legal profession, particularly in growing underrepresented groups in senior ranks within firms and companies.

©2018 by the American Bar Association.  Reprinted with permission.  All rights reserved.  This information or any or portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.
 

Keno Kozie Spotlight: ​Is Your Data Secure?

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Eli Nussbaum
Managing Director & Director of Business Development, Keno Kozie

While that may sound like a simple enough question, it isn’t!  There are many facets to securing data in a legal IT environment and it is important to regularly review that your policies, procedures and systems are up to date, including:

  • Security Training. All employees should complete annual user security awareness training. Even if such requirements are in place, it’s important to make sure that they are actually met. Review your training records – whoever hasn’t taken the training within the past 12 months should be first in line to take it this year. All employees should be scheduled to retake the training at some point over the year. As your first line of defense against threats, educating your users to think critically and to spot phishing/malware threats before they become problems is critical.
  • Network Policies. Your users may be your first line of defense, but they can also be a weakness if they are free to open your system to threats, even unintentionally. To help curb that possibility, you should review your network policies and update them to account for the changing IT security landscape.
  • Passwords. Passwords are the most direct means of accessing data, and therefore they should be changed regularly. Administrative, user and services passwords should be changed system-wide for the new year. Going forward, they should be changed on a regular basis. If you don’t already have a password-change policy, you should implement one in the new year, ideally requiring that passwords be changed every 90 days and force complex passwords upon change.
  • Wireless. The same notion goes for your wireless network. If your network has a shared password, consider changing it for the new year and resetting it on a regular basis going forward.
  • Administrative Accounts. You need to make sure that only active and necessary administrative accounts are enabled. Similarly, be sure that only active users and employees have access to your systems. An HR review of user accounts can easily identify valid and active employees; the IT department may not have been informed of all personnel changes.
  • Upgrades. Schedule an upgrade to ensure that your network is protected from the latest security threats and take advantage of available functionalities. Going forward, consider implementing a schedule for software upgrades, ideally every month and/or as critical patches become available.
  • Equipment Review. Just like your software, you want your hardware to be up-to-date. Review your physical equipment and software, create a current inventory and add replacement dates to ensure you are planning for their eventual end of life. Discard equipment that is old or unused and make better decisions about your infrastructure needs going forward.
  • Backup Systems. Backing up data and systems is crucial to security. Confirm the last restoration and BCDR test - when is the last time you checked to see if they actually work? Audit to ensure that your systems and critical data are, in fact, backed up and can be recovered if necessary. The best time to test is before you actually need it, or before your clients ask to see a record of successful testing.
  • Anti-Virus Measures. Many firms rely on software to help keep out intruders and stop malicious attacks. Review the various anti-virus solutions, firewall systems, and host intrusion prevention systems that you have in place to make sure that they are not just up to date, but performing the tasks you need to meet your security objectives.
  • Mobile Devices. Few areas have changed as drastically in the last decade as the expanded use of mobile devices. Chances are, your users are using multiple devices and have cycled through more over the years. Run a review of the mobile devices that have connected to your system, and delete or purge those that have not connected in a while. Mobile device management starts with active monitoring of exactly which devices are being used to access your systems and data.
  • Physical Security. It’s important not to forget your physical environment. Take the time to cycle your locks, check your smoke, humidity and water alarms, test your UPS environment and ensure that your security cameras are covering all critical areas.
 
In an organization as complex and with as many moving parts as a law firm, there are countless factors that go into securing data. By starting with the measures outlined above, legal administrators can ensure that they are leading with their best foot forward.
 
Eli Nussbaum is a Managing Director and the Director of Business Development at Keno Kozie. He continues to manage client accounts while also serving on Keno Kozie Associates’ Board of Directors. He joined the firm as an intern in 1998 as part of its Y2K audit team. He then shifted into a full-time engineering position and has held every position within the engineering department, including Director of Engineering. During Eli’s tenure with Keno Kozie, he has focused on physical, virtual, and Cloud infrastructure design and implementation services.

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ASALH Announces 2019 Black History Theme: Black Migrations

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​ASALH’s 2019 theme Black Migrations emphasizes the movement of people of African descent to new destinations and subsequently to new social realities. While inclusive of earlier centuries, this theme focuses especially on the twentieth century through today. Beginning in the early decades of the twentieth century, African American migration patterns included relocation from southern farms to southern cities; from the South to the Northeast, Midwest, and West; from the Caribbean to US cities as well as to migrant labor farms; and the emigration of noted African Americans to Africa and to European cities, such as Paris and London, after the end of World War I and World War II. Such migrations resulted in a more diverse and stratified interracial and intra-racial urban population amid a changing social milieu, such as the rise of the Garvey movement in New York, Detroit, and New Orleans; the emergence of both black industrial workers and black entrepreneurs; the growing number and variety of urban churches and new religions; new music forms like ragtime, blues, and jazz; white backlash as in the Red Summer of 1919; the blossoming of visual and literary arts, as in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Paris in the 1910s and 1920s. The theme Black Migrations equally lends itself to the exploration of the century’s later decades from spatial and social perspectives, with attention to “new” African Americans because of the burgeoning African and Caribbean population in the US; Northern African Americans’ return to the South; racial suburbanization; inner-city hyperghettoization; health and environment; civil rights and protest activism; electoral politics; mass incarceration; and dynamic cultural production.

 

Member Diversity Spotlight

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James Cornell
Office Administrator - Washington, D.C., Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.

How do you try to bring diversity/inclusion into your workplace and everyday life?

I like to focus on bringing different perspectives to challenges and opportunities that we have with operations within our office and at the firm, so I ask the opinion and thoughts of colleagues throughout all levels of our organization. This helps provide a broader perspective and brings more ideas and solutions to the table for consideration. I believe this allows us to solve problems more efficiently while creating engagement in being a part of the solution. In everyday life, I enjoy living in a place like the District of Columbia where diversity is woven into the fabric of the area. Meeting and getting to know people who have a different background or experience than my own is actually easy and enjoyable.
 
What does diversity mean to you?
For me, diversity is about knowing that your own experience and background, and the experiences and backgrounds of others, are different and those differences are what make us unique, interesting and capable of great things when considered and brought together.  
 
What do you like to do outside of work?
Hike, travel and just about any form of performing art.

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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: Cindy Conover, Cindy.Conover@Shearman.com; Valerie Williamson, valerie.williamson@bassberry.com;
 Paula Serratore, pserratore@alacapchap.org

Diversity & Inclusion
The Capital Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators is a professional organization comprised of administrative managers from private, corporate and government legal organizations in the Washington DC, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland areas.  ALACC embraces and encourages diversity within the legal profession. We value diversity and those initiatives that promote it and look to partner with affiliated professional legal organizations to advance diversity. We not only strive to raise awareness, but to increase our sensitivity in the area of diversity and more closely reflect the diversity of our community at large. Having a more inclusive and diverse legal community will improve the quality of our organizations workforce and respond to our client’s requirements for diversity. As a committee we are very interested in your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about achieving greater diversity in our Chapter, our profession, and in our firms. 

Contact: Ellen Clinton (Chair), ellen.clinton@kutakrock.com;  Cameron Gowan (Co-Chair), cgowan@jonesday.com
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. 

Contact: Julie Tomey (Chair), tomey@thewbkfirm.com; Sheri Shifflett (Co-Chair), Cheryl.Shifflett@saul.com 






Member Experience
The Member Experience Committee will establish a welcoming environment for new members to be integrated into the Chapter through a formal Ambassador Program. Ambassadors will provide support and guidance to new members through their first 12 months of membership, ensuring new members realize benefits of membership and become ambassadors of the Chapter. 

Contact: Sarahi Estrella (Chair), sarahi.estrella@arentfox.com ; Dot Mooney (Co-Chair), dmooney@powerslaw.com​


Educational Communities

Branch Office Administrators
The Branch Office Adminsitrators Community focuses on a broad range of topics of interest to local adminisraotrs who must coordinate with other officees of their firms. The Community'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: Jackie Thomas (Chair), jackie.thomas@agg.com; Anjanette Milladge (Co-Chair), amilladge@sandw.com 
Listserv: 
branch@lists.alacapchap.org
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Office Operations Management
The members of the Office Operations Management Community represent a cross section of legal expertise from functional administrators to branch office managers. The Office Operations Management Section (OOMS) meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month to discuss operations related 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:  Linda Padron (Chair), lpadron@curtis.com; Janice Byrum-Jackson (Co-Chair),  jbyrum-jackson@hunton.com
Listserv: ooms@lists.alacapchap.org
Intellectual Property (IP)
The Intellectual Property (IP) Community 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. 

Contact: Astrid Emond (Chair), aemond@bakerlaw.com; Matthew Cichocki (Co-Chair), mcichocki@cooley.com
Listserv: ipadmin@lists.alacapchap.org



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Small Firm Administrators
The purpose of the Small Firm Administrators Community 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 Community meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at host law firms.

Contact: Wilmara Guido-Chizhik (Chair), wguido-chizhik@bomcip.com; Jo Jo Ruby (Co-Chair), jruby@btlaw.com
Listserv: smallfirm@lists.alacapchap.org


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Human Resources
The Human Resources Community operates as a venue for educational information on global human resources issues.  While the Community is mostly comprised of HR professionals, any member is invited to participate in the meetings which typically take place on the second or third Wednesday of each month.  The meetings feature industry speakers or roundtable discussions on topics such as recruiting, benefits, strategic planning, performance management, career pathing, retention and other matters of interest.

Contact: Jasmine Stribling (Chair), jstribling@bsfllp.com; Tiffany Montgomery (Co-Chair), tmontgomery@velaw.com
Listserv: hr@lists.alacapchap.org

Next Generation Leaders
The mission of the Next Generation Leaders Community is to support our next generation of leaders and close the gap faced by our association and the legal industry as a whole by providing a community for Millennial legal managers and new managers in the legal field with a focus on mentoring, education, and networking. To accomplish this goal, the section hosts monthly meetings, pop-up events, and educational sessions, and provides 2-way mentoring opportunities. 

Contact: Danielle Smith (Chair), danielle.smith@hklaw.com; Tania Jose (Co-Chair), tania.jose@powerslaw.com
Listserv: nextgen@lists.alacapchap.org
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