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The
Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) was formed in 1971 to
provide support to professionals involved in the management of law
firms, corporate legal departments and government legal agencies.
ALA provides educational opportunities and services to more than
10,000 members in 28
countries. ALA is structured into six regions with more than 100
chapters in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and New
Zealand.
ALA’s mission is to
“promote and enhance the competence and
professionalism of legal administrators and
all members of the management team; improve
the quality of management in law firms and
other legal service organizations; and
represent professional legal management and
managers to the legal community and to the
community at large..” The
association’s members are law office
administrators who manage such areas as
finance, human resources, systems and
technology, facilities, marketing and
practice development.
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Patricia
L. Groff, CLM
ALA President |
The
association’s information-based site on the Internet’s World
Wide Web - at
www.alanet.org - provides law office managers and
the legal community with news and information about ALA’s
educational programs and member services, print and online
management resources, online educational opportunities and
jobs available in legal management.
The site also
provides links to more than 250 law-related
management resources and organizations and
vendors to the legal industry. At the local
level, the Atlanta Chapter’s web page
provides up-to-date information to members
and guests at
www.atlanta-ala.org. |
ALA
offers many educational opportunities for legal administrators
of all experience levels. ALA’s Annual Educational Conference
and Exposition
features more than 100 expert speakers including law office
managers, attorneys and professors from leading management
schools. Also, more than 250 vendors display the latest products
and services available to the legal industry.
Legal
administrators can add to their credentials by becoming a
Certified Legal Manager (CLM) .The voluntary CLM certification
program allows a qualified legal administrator to demonstrate,
through an examination process, a mastery of core areas of
knowledge identified as essential to the effective performance of
a principal administrator. Examinations are administered each
autumn, and then each spring during the Annual Educational
Conference and Exposition.
Each
fall, ALA sponsors the Corporate/Government Fall Forum, the Large
Firm Principal Administrator Retreat and the Intellectual Property
Retreat. These events address the unique needs of managers from
these types of law practices. ALA’s regions also host individual
conferences each autumn, and ALA’s chapters conduct many
seminars and retreats at the local level.
The
latest developments in law office management are covered in Legal
Management, ALA’s journal. ALA News and ALA News International,
the member magazines, provides the latest association news and
career information for legal administrators. ALA offers many other
resources, including publications, audiotapes, videotapes and
teleseminars on such subject as communication and general
management, human resources, office systems, finance and client
development.
Regular
membership in ALA is open to any full-time administrator or
support manager who is employed in a private law firm, corporate
government or university legal department, or charitable legal
agency. Associate membership is available to certain individuals.
Membership is not open to vendors or consultants.
If
you are interested in joining the Atlanta Chapter, please
click here
for more information.
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