March 2018


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. Links to Capital Connection may not be shared without permission from the Chapter. 
Editor: Jacqueline Moline 
Associate Editors: Paula Serratore; Cindy Conover
​Contributing Editors: Richard Gibson; Rob Brockman; rand* construction; Jeremy Beam;Claudia M. Baragano; Frank Schipani; Howie Schaffer
Newsletter Designed By: Jessica Davis


In this issue:

President's Message

Picture
It is hard to believe that this message will be my last as Chapter President -- the year has sped by too fast.  In many of my previous messages I focused on what the Chapter could deliver to its members and what it means to be a member.  In this message I wanted to consider my own experience over the last year and what that has meant to me.

First, leadership of the Chapter has been a tremendously rewarding experience.  I had the privilege to work with a dedicated and creative staff, Executive Committee, and Leadership Team, and I could not have been successful without their support and encouragement.  I encountered and met new challenges, but had the opportunity to continue long-established traditions.  And because of the support of members and Business Partners, we had the resources to innovate while knowing that the Chapter was financially secure. 

The leadership role often led me to be introspective, to think about the Chapter’s purpose, its direction, value and particularly its future.  While there is always a need to address current challenges, understanding and building the Chapter for the future is equally important.  Not only is the Chapter’s membership changing by gaining experience or welcoming new entrants, the job of administration is evolving, functions are being combined and regional scope is much more common.  It is certainly the role of Chapter leadership to recognize such trends and to ensure that the Chapter delivers appropriate and meaningful education and networking opportunities.  I know I now have a much deeper appreciation of the forces of change at work on our profession.

During the past year I was also very aware that our Chapter exists within the context of the national association.  As a member of Region 2, we not only receive support and guidance from the Regional Director but also, as the largest Chapter in the region, are looked to for ideas and experience in education and Chapter operations.  I have enjoyed representing the Chapter in regional ideas exchanges, and at the annual conference, especially when celebrating our winning ’60 Seconds of Fame’ videos.  And, for the last two years, attending the association's Chapter Leadership Institute gave me the opportunity to share the knowledge and experience of our Chapter, and just as importantly to learn from other Chapter leaders.

I know that one lasting impact of my year as Chapter President will be my development professionally and personally. Not only was I challenged in ways very different from my ‘day job,’ I was also fortunate to be able to significantly add to my network.  And while the position of Chapter President is unique, that same opportunity for development and networking is available for all Chapter members. 

I would be remiss in not recognizing the support provided to me by my firm, first Nixon Peabody and now Davis Polk.  I am grateful for the investment they made in time, meeting space and financial support, and in particular, for ensuring that ALA could be a priority for me throughout the year.

Thank you for the opportunity to lead the Chapter; whether introducing a speaker, participating in a community service event, networking with Business Partners, chairing a committee, or attending a section meeting, I had a great time.   And as I move to the role of Immediate Past President, I hope to continue to contribute to the Chapter in whatever way is useful and valuable.

In closing I encourage you to consider participating in the Chapter as a leader.  My journey starting as a section co-chair, and in all the roles I have held in the Chapter I found that volunteering my time, experience and knowledge has helped me grow both personally and professionally.  There are many ways in which to become involved with the Chapter and the association, I hope that one of those is interesting to you, and that you start a journey as enjoyable and rewarding as mine.
Richard Gibson

New and Returning ALA Capital Chapter Members

Ronnie Monique Benson
Office Administrator
202-607-3128
ms.ronnie.m.benson@gmail.com
 
Scott Magill
Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz
Chief Operating Officer
2001 M St., NW
10th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
smagill@wilkinsonwalsh.com
 
Nikki Korson
Edell, Shapiro & Finnan
Firm Administrator 
9801 Washingtonian Blvd.
​Suite 750
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
nikkikorson@gmail.com
Thomasina Jasper
Morrison & Foerster, LLP
Administrative Manager, Secretarial Services
2000 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Suite 6000
Washington, DC 20006
jaspercln@verizon.net
 
Tonya M. Harris
Groom Law Group
HR Manager
1701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20772
tharris@groom.com

Congrats from the CapChap!

Congratulations to Ellen Clinton on being selected to serve on the National ALA Committee on Diversity & Inclusion!

​Congratulations to Dot Mooney for receiving ALA's Legal Management Finance Specialist Certificate​!

Congratulations to long-time Chapter member Betsy Taylor on her retirement! 
A message from Betsy:

​"After almost 19 years with Baker Donelson, and a total of 43 years working with law firms, I have finally decided to retire.  I have loved the Capital Chapter of the ALA for the last 25 years, although I have not been nearly as involved in the local chapter as I would have liked.  Best wishes to everyone still left in the “working” world!"
Volume 2 of the Event Planning Guide brings fresh perspectives on popular topics from Volume 1 including Staff Appreciation, Holiday Parties, and Employee Gifts, and explores new trends in law firms such as Work/Life Initiatives, Open Market Vending, and Community Involvement! The book combines survey data from members, tips and tricks, and member recommendations into an easy-to-read reference guide - so the answers you need are always at your fingertips! At the incredible price of only $35, this eBook may be the best sanity-saving purchase you make this year!
 
Missed out on Volume 1? Purchase the Bundle Package - Volumes 1 and 2 of The Leader's Guide to Event Planning & Employee Retention - for only $50!
​
All proceeds will benefit the Toni K. Allen scholarship program!

Is the Bartender Pouring Your Profits Away?

Rob Brockman
Senior Regional Sales Manager, Coyote Analytics 

Is your firm running like a business?  Or are you still running like an old school law firm? My wife is in the food business so we watch quite a few restaurant and food shows.  One particular episode struck a chord with me given my accounting and finance background. A struggling restaurant was getting help from an industry expert.  One question the expert asked the owners was “what is your cost per serving?”  The owners could not answer.  If you can’t answer that question, how are you going to understand why you are losing money? 

If you are a law firm administrator or controller these days and cannot answer similar questions - how much does each paralegal hour worked cost the firm?  Associate?  Partner?  - you are pretty much in the same boat as those restaurant owners.  While analytics have been trending with the big firms for a while now, small to midsize firms are still trying to catch up.  It used to be that if you wanted access to these types of analytics, you wound up paying a bunch of money for a piece of complicated software that you then had to pay other people to operate and interpret for you.  Or you had 15 different spreadsheets and only one person knew exactly how they all related to each other.   Fortunately, these days, there are some lower cost solutions for firms of all sizes.

While most lawyers would rather bury their head in the sand than analyze which cases, which attorneys, which practice groups and which offices are profitable and which ones are not, it is far past time that we as professionals make them understand why this is such an important exercise for their firm’s long-term success.  If you have a practice area that is consistently losing money, maybe it is time to stop investing in that area of law.  If you have a client that is using lots of firm resources for minimal profit, it might be time to sever (or change) the relationship. If 80% of your profit is coming from one office which is of similar size to a second office, we might need to take a closer look at that second office’s costs, revenues and overall business strategies. 

Now we all realize that most of this analysis is not just black and white (or green and red for us finance geeks).   For example, some patent litigation firms have to do some patent prosecution even though the margins on those cases is generally much lower than litigation work.  In order to be rewarded with the high dollar, high margin litigation work, they may have to take on lower profit prosecution work as well.  But we still need to understand the profitability of each type of work so we can make informed decisions about our practice going forward.  As the saying goes, hope is not a strategy.

Matter pricing/budgeting has been a hot topic recently.  Firms should be able to use their prior accounting and time and billing history to predict how many hours of partner, associate and paralegal time is required for a particular type of matter by phase (along with other related costs).  Then, applying the already known cost of those hours, you should be able to understand what the firm needs to bill to the client to be profitable and you should also be able to provide a pretty accurate budget for your clients.

If your firm is not analyzing this type of information, you should be.  And, if your current software is not capable of helping you get this type of information fairly easily (think one click easy), you might want to take a look at what else is out there that can help you.

Now back to that restaurant.  Did they figure out how much each serving cost them?  Yes, they did.  It turned out the bartenders were killing them by giving away too many free drinks and too many generous pours.  Keep a close eye on those bartenders!

March 2018 Diversity Observances

March is Women’s History Month. Started in 1987, Women’s History Month recognizes all women for their valuable contributions to history and society.

March is also National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, which was established to increase awareness and understanding of issues affecting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

March is National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month. It was established to raise public awareness of the autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and assist those with multiple sclerosis in making informed decisions about their health care.

Click here for the full calendar of March 2018 Observances

rand* construction Spotlight: ​ 
​Construction Mock-ups: Setting the Expectations

Picture
When undertaking a construction project, whether it be new construction or a phased in-place renovation, making informed decisions and setting realistic goals and expectations is the groundwork for a successful project.  Construction mock-ups can help teams achieve these goals, and have a role to play in nearly every phase of the construction project life-cycle, from pre-construction through project completion. 

Material Decisions: Aesthetic & Feel
Mock-ups are a powerful tool during the preconstruction phase of a project.  Many times, design committees make decisions that will impact a firm for years down the road based on sample boards and renderings of what a finished product will look like, but construction mock-ups can change the way material selections are made.  For one prominent Washington, DC based law-firm, mock-ups are paving the way for final material selections.  In this instance, rand* completed multiple mock-ups for partner offices so that the design committee could experience first-hand what the final product aesthetic would be.  Using office fronts for this specific example, rand* provided multiple office mockups with different demountable glass office front systems.  The office mock-ups are built to the exact specifications of the final design, including installing final material specifications for lighting, carpet, partitions, paint and even office furniture.  This allows end users of the space to experience the complete product installation, including opening and closing office doors, viewing finish details of each product, and experiencing the different acoustical properties of each system.  Approaching mock-ups in this method allows the design committee to obtain an overall sense of what the people working in these offices will feel every day when they arrive to work, and select the product that they feel will allow their firm to maximize productivity through the final material selections. 

Material Decisions: Schedule
While aesthetic and feel of finished space is important, many times another factor can weigh heavily during material selection: schedule. The mock-up process works best when the contractor is brought on with the design firm well in advance of construction.  As in all things, giving yourself the time necessary to make decisions rationally and not in haste, leads to better results.   Every client has different schedule considerations and constraints, and mock-ups can be the difference maker in achieving a desired schedule.  Understanding each material’s production and procurement time must be factored in to final material decisions.  Sticking with our office front example, if Product A carries a 16-week lead time, while Product B carries an 8-week lead time, Product B may be selected over Product A, even if Product A has a slightly more desirable aesthetic.  It’s also important to understand the processes for releasing materials into fabrication.  In our office front example scenario, Product A likely requires custom shop drawings to be completed ahead of material fabrication, while Product B may be able to be built in the field, further expediting the lead time.  Understanding where materials are being fabricated, and subsequently shipped from, also plays a role in the product lead times.  Product A may be coming from over-seas, in which case the transit time via boat and clearing customs must be considered, while Product B may be built in North America and shipped via truck to the job-site.  This example is applicable for materials from top to bottom, including everything from light fixtures and ceilings to carpet and tile. 
 
Material Decisions: Cost
Of equal importance to feel and schedule, cost plays an important role in material selection. rand* has performed benchmark analyses regarding cost for products ranging from office fronts to light fixtures.  While clients may be inclined to buy-up to a more “premium” material on paper, when they’re able to experience competing materials through mock-ups, the differences may not be as pronounced as initially thought (or vice versa!).  Working with designers to provide a range of materials in a mock-up setting allows clients to make cost-conscious material decisions, and maintain or even reduce their project budgets.
 
Quality Control & Clarity of Expectations
Once final material selections are made, mock-ups can help facilitate quality control and client expectations.  This approach was utilized for another Washington, DC based law firm.  In this example, once the office mock-up was completed, a client and architectural punch list was generated for the office.  This allowed the client to tweak certain aspects of the office to best suit their needs.  The mock-up punch list was then applied to all offices built during construction, helping to maximize quality control on-site.  The final office mock-up served as a bench-mark for all other completed offices within the space, minimizing punch lists and maximizing construction efficiency.  This approach allowed attorneys to physically interact with the new office design prior to construction being complete.  Site visits often started in the completed office mock-up so that the end-users could experience and understand their future working space, allowing them to acclimate to their new work space ahead of construction completion and move-in. 
 
Understand, Plan & Build Relationships
Building mock-ups of finished spaces provide an immersive client experience that serve many purposes over the course of a project life-cycle.  Mock-ups can serve as relationship builders, allowing firms to experience the services of the vendors involved in the mock-up, and that can be invaluable in the selection of materials and products. Partnering with contractors and designers early in the construction planning process helps all parties involved successfully deliver the project space. The tools needed to accomplish this are: mock-ups to suit individual client needs, fully vetted and informed decisions, integrated work plans for critical scopes and clearly defined lines of communication throughout the project.

February Quarterly Networking Lunch

On February 15th, members and Business Partners of the Capital Chapter gathered at Teddy & the Bully Bar for our first Quarterly Networking Lunch of the year. To get to know new faces around the table and reconnect with old friends, attendees took turns answering questions from the conversation jar centerpiece on each table - questions ranged from "where would you like to go on your next vacation?" to "who would play you in the movie version of your life?"

To kick off our 2018 Toni K. Allen Scholarship fundraising efforts, the Community Services team raffled off a one month gift certificate to CorePower Yoga and $100 in vouchers to Pinstripes. Congratulations to our raffle winners Elizabeth West and Tiffany Montgomery! 

Thank you to everyone who attended the lunch - we hope you enjoyed getting to know each other a bit better, and that you'll be excited to see a few familiar faces at our next Quarterly Networking Lunch on May 10th!

How to Future-Proof Your Legal Management Systems

Jeremy Beam
Rippe & Kingston

Migrating your firm’s data and processes to a financial management system is a big deal.  No matter how well thought out and planned the conversion is, migration is a large undertaking – one you don’t want to repeat.

Here are six factors to consider when implementing a new financial management system, so that the system will not only meet your law firm’s current needs but grow right along with the firm over the coming years.

1. Security
Your firm has an obligation to securely record, use and maintain client confidential information. On top of that, of course, you also have firm-level data and information to safeguard. Law firms of every size are vulnerable to security breaches.

Legal management systems using “True” cloud technology offer unparalleled convenience and security. However there are potential data security implications law firms need to understand before selecting a provider. When choosing a legal management system, law firm administrators should research and be comfortable with the third-party service provider’s efforts to mitigate security risks. Speak frankly with potential providers about their security measures and how they plan to address new security issues as they arise.

When a provider takes security seriously, a new legal management system should actually improve data security for your law firm through tighter user access controls and software controls. Additionally, through economies of scale, true cloud providers are able to offer a more robust state-of-the-art security solution for your firm including encryption protection, penetration and breach protection, physical protection and failover protection.

2. Automation
Selecting a legal management system should be based on more than the system’s ability to track and maintain firm and client data. To get the most out of your new legal management system, look for a provider whose features and functionality allow for simplifying workflows by automating tasks and creating paperless efficiencies.

For example, a fully integrated legal management system will provide all the modules necessary to help law firms automate administrative tasks like attorney expense reporting and client/matter intake approvals by having established document routing criteria built into the system. This can eliminate shuffling paperwork back and forth between approvers and can make what was once a labor-intensive paper process easy and less time-consuming.

3. Cloud Solutions
Cloud computing solutions can help increase law firms’ efficiency in a number of key ways. Data stored in the cloud is accessible securely by authorized personnel from anywhere in the world, making it not only a smart tool for ease-of-business and collaboration, but also an important part of a firm’s disaster recovery planning.

With cloud solutions, law firms eliminate the expense of having to purchase hardware and then upgrade that hardware as technology evolves. When an update needs to be implemented to a legal management system with true cloud capabilities, those updates are seamless and automatic. This helps protect firms against security vulnerabilities too.  Gone are the risks of an employee whose hardware wasn’t updated with the latest version of firm management software, because updates are pushed out to all users at the same time.

If you’re serious about migrating to a system that will grow with your firm and provide security and failover protection, a true cloud solution is the only real option.

4. Analytics
Analytics for your law firm can help with everything from budgeting to marketing decisions, because you’re able to slice and dice the data you’re already capturing in order to spot potential issues, trends and opportunities.

Use data you’re already tracking to identify how long cases have been open, what types of cases the firm is actually handling (as opposed to what partners think the firm’s book of business looks like), see how closely income and expenses are mirroring forecasts, and get a big-picture view of how the firm’s clients came to the firm in the first place (i.e. what types of marketing or outreach efforts are having an impact.)

Using data wisely can help law firms serve clients more efficiently, and effectively, and your legal management software must be able to capture and assimilate data at all levels to provide real business insight.

5. Mobility
Connectivity is key, as is the ability to use various modes of technology. Look for a legal management system that offers partners, associates and law firm staff the ability to collaborate from anywhere in the world, using not only laptop computers but also smartphones, tablets and other hand-held devices.

Mobile technology allows users to be more efficient and cost-effective when serving clients, as every record associated with that client can be accessed with just a few touches on a screen or keyboard. So, an attorney meeting with a client off-site can handle anything that comes up in the client meeting just as easily as they could if the meeting was instead held at the firm’s principal place of business.

Of course, firms need to make sure they’re not sacrificing security and data privacy when looking for mobile solutions, so talk to potential providers to verify their mobile applications have the highest security standards before selecting a legal management system.

6. Vendor Partnerships
Relationships with vendors and other third-party service providers are important. After all, the vendor is who you will be dealing with for years to come. Beyond evaluating the vendor’s systems to make a decision about whether or not the capabilities meet your firm’s specific needs, be sure to consider other factors too.

Does the vendor have experience working with other law firms of your size, and firms with similar practice or focus areas? If the vendor’s system experiences downtime or service issues, what’s the service standard (SLA) you and your users can expect?

Make sure you are comfortable and confident that the ongoing vendor/firm relationship can meet your law firm’s current needs, and perhaps more importantly, that it can keep pace with your firm as it changes and grows in the coming years.

Choose Wisely to Avoid Having to Repeat the Process
By considering how the legal management system you’re evaluating addresses these factors, you can help ensure your law firm will only migrate to a new legal management system once.
Claudia M. Baragano
Human Resources Manager - DC, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
Vice President, Community Services

Once again, thanks to your enthusiasm and generosity the 2nd quarter 2018 community service initiative was a great success! For a second year, the Chapter organized a food bank drive for Martha’s Table.  This food drive supported McKenna’s Wagon, Martha’s Table’s mobile food truck, which hands out trail mix and sandwiches to hundreds of homeless men and women in the DC area. In total, the ALACC Community donated 3,751 sandwiches and 718 bags of trail mix​!

A BIG thank you to the following very generous ALACC members, law firms and Business Partners who organized drives to donate sandwiches and trail mix!!!  Together, we can continue to make a difference!

Baker McKenzie LLP - 440 sandwiches
Gray Plant Mooty - 125 bags of trail mix
Hilltop Consultants, Inc - 300 sandwiches
Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. - 382 bags of trail mix
Kelley Drye & Warren LLP - 226 sandwiches
Kutak Rock LLP - 250 sandwiches
Latham & Watkins - 488 sandwiches
Legal Placements Inc. - 120 bags of trail mix
Paul Weiss - 1,130 sandwiches
Saul Ewing - 175 sandwiches
Sullivan & Worcester - 250 sandwiches
Vedder Price, P.C - 492 sandwiches
Weil Gotshal - 91 bags of trail mix
 
Stay tuned for the 2nd quarter community service project!

Financial Management in Limericks

​Frank Schipani
Director of Information Technology, Gilbert LLP
Chair, Technology Section

You too can learn how to measure your firm’s key performance indicators and compare them to industry data.
There was a firm admin named Moffat
Who wanted to measure firm profit.
She searched low and high
And then found KPI.
And now her firm thinks her a prophet!
 
Does your time and billing system leave something to be desired?  You aren’t alone!
A firm named Oldstuffsky & Mabel
Had software that just wasn’t able.
They knew ALA
Could help find a new way,
So they went to a Finance round table.
 
An ode to contemporaneous time entry:
The attorneys at Staal & Beaupre
Won’t enter their time, they delay.
They will never remember
What they did last September
Why won’t they just do it today?
 
A cautionary tale to remind us to get help when we are overwhelmed:
The admins felt under attack.
The data was all out-of-whack.
Those tax forms can’t wait,
But the 10-Ks are late!
Will the partners say “Please don’t come back?”

Diversity Corner: Avoiding Bias Pitfalls at Work

Howie Schaffer
Chief Inclusion Officer, Bonanza Communications

We are all biased. We couldn’t be human without them. Our biases protect us from danger, but also interfere in our ability to make deliberate, informed decisions. Implicit or unconscious bias happens when our brains make incredibly quick judgments and evaluations of people and situations beyond our awareness, control, or intentions. Our biases are normal and are deeply influenced by our personal background, cultural environment and life experiences. Learning more about the patterns of our thinking helps us to make better hires, communicate more effectively, create more inclusive organizational cultures, provide better feedback, and provide career enhancing opportunities for all our colleagues.

Unconscious Bias: How Your Brain Gets Tricked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiTz2i4VHFw
This short video describes the impact of fast and slow thinking and provides several interactive examples of how our brains get easily tricked into taking shortcuts that lead to incorrect conclusions and beliefs.

Priming Effect: Can a Warm Handshake Get You Hired?
https://news.yale.edu/2008/10/23/hot-coffee-we-see-warm-heart-yale-researchers-find
A recent study in Science found that people who had been holding a warm cup of coffee were kinder towards others and viewed them in a more flattering light than those who had been holding a cold cup. This suggests an interviewer might look more favorably on someone they’ve shaken hands with if their hand is warm.

Joe or Jose: Who Would You Hire?
http://www.businessinsider.com/job-seeker-changed-his-name-2014-9
Jose Zamora applied to 50 to 100 jobs every day for several months — without receiving a single response. One day, he decided to drop the 's' from his resume and go by the name of Joe. A week later, "Joe" was flooded with emails from prospective employers who wanted to meet with him.

Got questions or feedback? Reach out to Howie Schaffer at howie@inclusionworld.com or (202) 744-6885.

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: Jacqueline Moline, jam@carmaloney.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: Cindy Schuler (Chair), cschuler@skgf.com; Monique Terrell (Co-Chair),mterrell@stradley.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: Emily Christianson (Chair), echristianson@relmanlaw.com; Julie Tomey (Co-Chair), tomey@thewbkfirm.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: Cheryl Flynn (Chair), cflynn@wileyrein.com; Sarahi Estrella
(Co-Chair), sarahi.estrella@arentfox.commailto:sarahi.estrella@arentfox.com ​


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: Danita Ellis (Chair),danita.ellis@nelsonmullins.com; Jackie Thomas (Co-Chair), jackie.thomas@agg.com
Listserv: branch@lists.alacapchap.org
​

​
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 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:  Kevin O'Hare (Chair), kevin.ohare@cox.net; Greg Fudge (Co-Chair), glfudge@gmail.com
Listserv: ooms@lists.alacapchap.org
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. 

Contact: Kimberly J. Potter (Chair),  kpotter@sgrlaw.com; Astrid Emond (Co-Chair), aemond@bakerlaw.com
Listserv: ipadmin@lists.alacapchap.org



​
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 fourth Tuesday of the month at host law firms.

Contact: Wilmara Guido-Chizhik (Chair), wguido-chizhik@bomcip.com; Dot Mooney (Co-Chair), dmooney@powerslaw.com 
Listserv: smallfirm@lists.alacapchap.org


​
Finance
Based on member feedback the Capital Chapter has formed a new Finance Section. We are seeking active members to helps us get this group up and running in 2016! As we get started, we will be focusing on what issues members are facing within their firms that we may be able to help address together. Topics may range from reviewing new time and billing systems to tax filings and matter budgeting solutions and anything in between. Your input is needed! Please consider adding Finance section meetings to your monthly educational schedule.

Contact: Andy George (Chair),  andrew.george@finnegan.com; Evan Kettig (Co-Chair),  kettige@gotofirm.com
Listserv: finance@lists.alacapchap.org
Human Resources
The Human Resources Section operates as a venue for educational information on global human resources issues.  While the Section 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: Aryn Blanton (Chair),  aryn.blanton@bracewelllaw.com; Jasmine Stribling (Co-Chair), jstribling@bsfllp.com
Listserv: hr@lists.alacapchap.org
​
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: Frank Schipani (Chair),  schipanif@gotofirm.com
Listserv: tech@lists.alacapchap.org