March 2022

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: Amy Walkowiak; Emmanuel Adedigba
​Contributing Editors: Robert J. Bieber; Destiny Graham
Newsletter Published By: Gabrielle Webster, MSM


In this issue:

President's Message

Robert J. Bieber

Office Movers Express Success Story video 

Hogan Lovells Case Study 
 Office Movers Express

Hogan Lovells, a leading Global AmLaw 100 firm, needed their 100-person Northern Virginia office prepped and moved into a new building over just one weekend. They were set to be the first tenants of the building and were eager to make a clean transition, with minimal or no disruption to their attorneys and teams. They needed a moving partner who could handle the specific challenges of their move, including multiple moves to different locations. Hogan opted for a mover with extensive experience in the ‘white glove’ nature of relocating law firms. Watch the case study to learn how OMX was able to ensure a smooth transition of sensitive IT equipment, maintain business continuity throughout and facilitate multiple 'mini' moves to partner homes and donation sites.​

To learn more about Office Movers Express, visit www.moveomx.com.

8 Tips for Creating Effective Modern Legal Assistant Pools

Mary Kate Sheridan, Esq. 
Lawyer, Writer and Editor 
​
Indeed, in a 2020 survey conducted by ALA and BigHand, a significant number of respondents noted the difficulty in supporting their multigenerational lawyers: 60% of respondents submitted a score of 7 or more out of 10 (with 10 being “extremely difficult”) with regard to satisfying the support needs of multiple generations of attorneys.
In addition, any modern assistant pool must evolve along with the ever-changing reality resulting from the pandemic.

The demands of serving a group of lawyers with varying expectations plus pandemic-influenced changes in the legal profession have made it more important than ever to take a dynamic, thoughtful approach to legal assistant pooling. Read on for eight ways to maximize your legal assistant pools to meet the needs of your lawyers and support staff.

1. UNDERSTAND THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS

Planning is key to shaping effective legal assistant pools, and legal managers should take a step back and assess the various stakeholders.

“With assistant pooling especially, you need to understand what everyone’s skills are, what the job entails and what everyone’s expectations are so you can manage the workflow,” says Connie Dunn, Legal Operations Manager at Lexicon, a legal services and technology provider.

Firms that put in the legwork to gauge their administrative support needs and the range of skills available in the pool can better plan workloads and assignments.

“To the extent you can, spend time with the attorneys in advance to understand how they work, what kind of work they need help with, or where they feel they were getting the best support prior to this,” says Jean Durling, Chief Talent Officer at Fox Rothschild.

Fox Rothschild recently launched Fox Pro Teams, which takes a two-pronged approach to meeting lawyers’ administrative needs. More than 400 of the firm’s lawyers are assigned to the Attorney Resource Center (ARC), which includes nearly 40 specialists working in a pooled model. The firm also offers Client Service Teams, through which a group of lawyers — mostly partners — is paired with one client service specialist, similar to the more traditional legal assistant model. As part of this rollout, the firm has strived to stay attuned to both the skills in the pool and the lawyers’ support needs.

“Firms that put in the legwork to gauge their administrative support needs and the range of skills available in the pool can better plan workloads and assignments.”“Our objective is to make sure the right resources are working on the right projects — that we’re leveraging people’s knowledge skills to be able to perform at their highest level to be able to perform for the people we support,” says Denise Dellaratta, Director of Practice Support at Fox Rothschild.

Of course, assessing the stakeholders’ skills and support needs isn’t something that should occur solely while planning for the assistant pool. Firms should continue to analyze the unique needs and evolving skill sets available.

Molly L. McGrath, Founder of Hiring and Empowering Solutions, LLC, recommends that firms have weekly meetings during which they assess caseloads, determine where lawyers need additional support, and attempt to anticipate where lawyers will need support in the future. These steps create a more team-centered approach and help firms to better plan and staff their matters.

2. EMBRACE HYBRID SKILL SETS

For the most part, the days of legal assistants taking dictation and logging hours are long gone. Today’s modern legal assistant boasts a broad range of skills — so much so that even the title “legal assistant” no longer encapsulates what they bring to the table.
For example, in a recent survey of lawyers conducted by Robert Half, 50% of the legal support jobs at respondents’ organizations were blended paralegal/legal assistant positions.

“The assistants in these pools are hybrids almost 100% of the time now; they are able to file and understand the court system, federal courts, legal rules, etc. — as well as assist,” says Dunn. “It’s a combination of skills that make these pools more successful.”
By understanding the evolving skill sets of their legal assistants, firms can better build efficiencies within their workflows. Moreover, the pool model offers a space for assistants to collaborate and combine their talents to best serve each attorney. A pool that offers diverse abilities is helpful both in terms of serving one attorney’s various needs and meeting the range of expectations based on an attorney’s seniority level and technological experience.

“Assessing the stakeholders’ skills and support needs isn’t something that should occur solely while planning for the assistant pool. Firms should continue to analyze the unique needs and evolving skill sets available.”“We’ve seen it’s more of a blended group assisting the attorneys in these pools,” says Jamy Sullivan, Executive Director of the legal practice at Robert Half. “Anywhere from 30%–40% are truly clerical in nature. Increasingly, the firms are looking for individuals that are more trained to the level of a legal assistant, having junior paralegal capabilities. Some are even calling them ‘technical assistants’ or ‘practice assistants.’ It’s a blended model, so clerical work can be done at a lower cost, but there is an upskill with assistants who can help attorneys who can do so much more on their own.”

3. INVEST IN LEARNING

A legal assistant pool will only be as successful as the attention and resources allocated to it. The more skilled and efficient a firm’s support staff is, the more effective its attorneys will be.

“Invest in your people because often skill sets are varied, and you are inevitably going to have a less experienced assistant in your pool,” says Dunn. “Invest in each other and create an environment where they can learn.”

Once a firm understands its support needs, it can craft a training program that will strengthen the skills of the assistants in the pool and introduce development programs that are more specialized for legal assistants who focus on certain practices or types of work.

“At Fox Rothschild, we created learning paths with all of our ARC specialists, which include videos, one-on-one training and more, to make sure each user was getting exactly what they needed to fill in the gaps,” says Dellaratta. “We also broke off the ARC specialists into subgroups. The final piece is the team created this amazing onboarding process, which takes a new ARC specialist through the life cycle of training as they onboard through.”

4. FOSTER TEAMWORK

While the traditional legal assistant role may have been somewhat siloed and independent in nature, the pooled model provides an opportunity for teamwork and camaraderie.
“Employees want to have their own tribe,” says McGrath. “They want to have colleagues that they collaborate and work with.”

McGrath suggests that legal managers foster such collaboration within the assistant pool through weekly meetings, coaching opportunities and learning centers. Building a cohesive and communicative team will not only promote collaboration on matters but also allow for further growth as team members learn from one another and their assignments.

5. PRIORITIZE BUY-IN AND COMMUNICATION

Firms may face various responses when moving toward a modernized pool, including resistance from more senior lawyers who are accustomed to the traditional legal assistant model as well from more tech-savvy attorneys who question the need for support. The keys to reaching these and other groups within the firm are strong communication and buy-in from the top.

“Communicate,” says Dellaratta. “There’s no such thing as overcommunication — engaging your stakeholders and understanding what people need and what they think they want in this alternate universe that doesn’t exist yet is critical.”

Strong communication goes hand-in-hand with support from the top down. When the messaging comes from the highest levels of the firm — or is at least supported by those at the top — it creates stronger buy-in for the pool model.

For Durling, advance planning and ironing out the details of Fox Pro Teams before presenting it to leadership was useful.

“I think because the team did so much of the initial prep and work and had the structure pretty well outlined, the process for approval was easier,” says Durling. “The implications both from a staffing perspective and a financial perspective, what the steps would be, and how we would approach it were planned in advance and presented to our managing partner and leadership, and they were on board. From there, we knew we had their support.”

6. CREATE A CULTURE OF SUPPORT

Buy-in from the top is important, but it is just as critical to have buy-in from the firm’s associates. One potential roadblock is that many newer lawyers will forgo administrative support and handle the tasks themselves because they don’t feel the help is meant for them and their level of tech savvy. By communicating the value of the assistant pool and encouraging lawyers to engage with the pool, firms can create a culture of administrative support.

“Moving to a pooled assistant setup — or revamping your current pool setup — can be a big adjustment, and firms should prepare for the ups and downs. Be open to making changes over time to maximize the setup for your firm.”“I think firms should consider assigning legal administrative assistants to these younger attorneys working in these chaotic law firms because they can really help them,” says Sarah Ruttan Bates, Lexicon’s Director of Legal Operations and Training. “The support from the secretarial pools can really truly help mold that attorney in how they practice and ensure they’re not drowning.”

7. BE FLEXIBLE

Moving to a pooled assistant setup — or revamping your current pool setup — can be a big adjustment, and firms should prepare for the ups and downs. Be open to making changes over time to maximize the setup for your firm.
“Being able to be creative and fluid with your model and knowing the first model you attempt or the first centralized point you attempt should be able to evolve is important for success,” says Sullivan, who recommends surveying associates for feedback on how the pool model is working. “Progressive thinking seems to be a best practice to set up the right model for you and your firm and practice group — it’s not a one-size-fits-all.”

8. BE FORWARD-THINKING

The pandemic has launched the legal world into a new reality, and firms should be nimble when navigating legal assistant pools — especially when it comes to virtual work. While administrative support has typically been seen as an in-office service, more firms are embracing virtual or hybrid setups for their legal assistants.

In fact, a 2020 survey conducted by Sandpiper Partners LLC found that 58% of respondents are considering virtualizing secretarial support.

And secretarial pools complement the virtual model well because they offer a centralized point of reference to evaluate how the setup is working for the firm as a whole.
“Having a centralized point really does allow a firm to be more business-savvy and be more forward-thinking,” says Sullivan.

Recent years have also seen a greater demand for virtual or hybrid work schedules, while the competition to hire and retain talent has become steep.

“If you’re not forward-thinking and not going to offer remote flexible work schedules, you will be challenged in attracting the talent and also retaining the talent,” says McGrath, who also notes that remote work has enabled legal assistants to work even more efficiently because they don’t have the constant interruptions that fall on support teams within the office.

Firm leaders and legal managers should keep an open mind about the structure of the legal assistant pool and which setups will bring the most efficiency and best nurture the firm culture.

Creating a legal assistant pool model that aligns with your firm’s needs and the realities of modern lawyering can yield myriad benefits. Develop a plan, communicate, assess and keep an open mind.

Originally published in Legal Management: The Magazine of ALA.

Driving Law Firm Profitability with Application Managed Services

Sue Keno 
Managing Director 
Keno Kozie

Managing the continuous change of technology applications in today’s fast-paced legal industry is a major strategic challenge for law firm leaders. As apps grow in capability and complexity, it’s just not enough to adopt the latest tool; your firm must have the expertise and agility to capture evolving technology opportunities and sustain them on an ongoing basis.

At the heart of this challenge is the difficulty that law firms face with recruiting, acquiring and retaining the talent necessary to implement leading-edge applications, as well as drive their adoption in order to maximize the return on their technology investments. Moreover, the added complexity of managing and maintaining advanced applications that run in cloud operating environments can also strain internal resources.

But what if your firm could access a pool of talent with legal IT expertise that could be leveraged to support your application stack on a 24 X 7 X 365 basis?

A growing number of savvy law firms are turning to an alternative model for supporting their firms’ technology applications. This approach is known as Application Managed Services (AMS), in which the firm partners with an outside service provider to maintain some of their high-value applications (e.g., document management systems, or DMS).

Through AMS, you delegate the responsibility of monitoring, releasing patches, handling bug fixes and managing other app enhancements to another company that specializes in this type of work. In the DMS example, this may also include evaluating the related information governance needs and configuring the application accordingly. Relying on an AMS provider to maintain your apps frees your firm from the overhead of assigning your internal IT or other professionals to provide this crucial support.

The AMS provider draws on their team’s deep cloud functional and technical skills — as well as expertise across a wide range of enterprise applications — to ensure a stable, high-performing environment for the firm’s users. AMS providers have teams comprised of skilled experts who are competent in the relevant technologies and thoroughly understand how your firm’s apps were built so they can be properly maintained.

A good AMS service provider will oversee the integration and deployment of your applications, then continually optimize their value to your firm by maintaining, enhancing and managing them to maximize performance. There are four key components to the AMS provider’s role:
​
  • Design & Build
A skilled AMS team will work to configure your applications ecosystem in a way that is user-friendly and meets or exceeds all IT security requirements. This includes integrating the apps into your firm’s unique workflow.
  • ​Transform & Deploy
​Your AMS service provider will drive the rollout of key applications by engineering the appropriate transformation and work to increase adoption throughout your environment. The AMS team will also take responsibility for validating important software updates, patches and security enhancements.
  • Train & Support
The AMS partner provides end-user training on how to maximize productivity on the applications, as well as ongoing education to the firm’s users. The apps are then continuously supported with the necessary infrastructure management to minimize any software downtime.
  • Optimize & Drive Adoption
An AMS provider with expertise in the legal industry will help you drive user adoption of crucial apps by sharing insights based on best practices observed working with other law firms. They will also guide you throughout your cloud transformation journey to optimize your technology investments and enhance the tools provided to your lawyers.

The goal of AMS is to increase user adoption of your law firm’s technology applications so you can maximize the return on investment in those technologies. In addition, this innovative law firm IT strategy provides turnkey support for your firm’s cloud-based applications, freeing up your IT staff to focus on technology projects that accelerate growth and enhance client service.

If your firm is ready to explore whether the AMS strategy might be a good fit to supplement your internal IT team, it is important to look for an AMS provider that is dedicated to serving the legal industry. This domain expertise is critical to understanding applications built for the unique needs of the practice of law. In addition, make sure that your AMS provider has a track record of cultivating in-depth relationships with legal vendors that have developed the applications of most importance to your firm.

​For more information, please contact me at skeno@kenokozie.com. 

A Guide to Getting the Most Out of #ALAConf22

Originally appeared in AT ALA New: What's Happening at Headquarters March 2022

The latest LM Extra, “How to Get the Most from the ALA Annual Conference & Expo,” explains how preparation and planning is the key to getting the most out of your Annual Conference experience. Take the quiz at the end to see how ready you are for Kissimmee, Florida!
This year’s conference will featuring fresh topics, tried-and-true essentials, new voices and interactive formats, there’s no better opportunity to gain access to the latest industry information while reconnecting with your peers. Check out the program highlights:
  • Keynote speaker Connie Podesta, author of 10 Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd, brings a blend of humor and insight for the new challenges ahead to kick-start the conference.
  • In sharing his dramatic story, Brezina Memorial Session speaker Inky Johnson will encourage you to harness your inner fortitude and empower you to embrace life’s challenges on your road to fulfillment.
  • New this year! Managing for Impact is an immersive management development program dedicated to those responsible for supervising or managing others in the highly competitive world of legal firms. Loeb Leadership will guide participants through this in-depth workshop.
Download the full brochure for details of the varied and compelling lineup of speakers, presentations and opportunities to engage with your legal management community. Advance registration pricing ends April 22. Register today and save up to $200.
Visit alanet.org/annual-conference for complete details.

March 2022 Diversity Observances

​Click here to view the full list of March observances

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 Community 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.

Contact:  Amy Walkowiak (Chair), awalkowiak@perkinscoie.com; Emmanuel Adedigba (Co-Chair), EAdedigba@zuckerman.com
​
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The mission of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee is to advance the concepts of inclusiveness and acceptance in every organization by providing all Chapter members with information so that they can merge these concepts with their firm's policies, procedures, culture, and relationships to be more equitable and inclusive.  We not only strive to raise awareness, but also to increase our sensitivity in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion 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’ workforces and respond to our clients’ requirements for diversity. The DEI Committee meets on the first Wednesday of each month and we welcome all members to join us for discussion on how to further our mission in our firms and in our Chapter.  
 
Contact:  Angela Tyson (Chair), atyson@axinn.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: Herb Abercrombie Jr. (Chair), HAbercrombie@jenner.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. If you would like more information and/or are interested in becoming an Ambassador, please contact the Chair or Co-Chair.

Contact: LaVerne Anenia (Chair), LaVerne.Anenia@dbr.com; Kim Santaiti-Potter (Co-Chair), kim.potter@alston.com


Educational Communities

Small Firm and Branch Office Administrators
The Small Firm and Branch Office Administrators Community focuses on a broad range of topics of interest to local administrators who must coordinate with other offices of their firms, as well as 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 Community's monthly luncheon meetings, held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 12:30 pm, 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: Starr Pratt (Chair), spratt@ftlf.com; Lodora Barnes (Chair), lbarnes@sheppardmullin.com
Listserv: branch@lists.alacapchap.org and smallfirm@lists.alacapchap.org
​
​
Legal Operations
The members of the Legal Operations Community represent a cross section of legal expertise from functional administrators to branch office managers. The Community meets on the second Thursday of each month at noon. 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:  Janelle E. Rynes (Chair), janelle.rynes@arentfox.com
Listserv: legalops@lists.alacapchap.org
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: Brenda Simoes (Chair), bsimoes@reedsmith.com;  Julie Hooper (Co-Chair), jhooper@gibsondunn.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: Ana Sobalvarro (Chair), asobalvarro@bomcip.com
Listserv: nextgen@lists.alacapchap.org