EXPERT TIP:

OFFICE 2010

NAVIGATION PANE

Last month we attended the national ALA (Association of Legal Administrators) Conference in Boston. We’ve sponsored the conference for several years. Our main objective in doing so has been to make ourselves known and identifiable to your Executive Directors and Office Administrators. More often than not, our business development efforts and key relationships are held within the IT groups at our client law firms, so the ALA Conference is always a nice place to introduce ourselves to others at your firm and to thank them for your firm’s business. Hundreds of ALA attendees will stop by and thank us for our work on a recent project, or ask what we’re seeing with trends on continuing education in legal. Often, we give a presentation on one of the conference tracks. For example, this year Joe Buser presented “Prescriptive Training Programs that Increase Attorney to Secretary Ratios” to a keenly interested audience of about 50 legal administrators. Every year we sponsor the ALA Conference we are impressed by the friendliness and graciousness of the conference attendees and organizers. At least every other person who stops by our booth thanks us for being there and for supporting the organization. It’s lovely to be thanked and to be considered as a “business partner” rather than a (gasp) “vendor!”

So, what better group is there to “speed date” than this group of polite, respectful, “bring home to Mom” legal administrators? This year, the creative ALA matchmakers (aka: officers, volunteers and staff) established a “speed dating” event – designed for administrators and business partners to come together, make connections and glean a better understanding of each other’s goals and business needs. There seemed to be over a dozen round tables set up, and each willing attendee was given a name card and instructions for the early morning “dating” spree. Every table had no more than three business partners (vendors) and at least four ALA members (administrators). We had 10 minutes, during which time the business partners took turns lobbing questions at the group of administrators and gaining as much insight as possible before the all-to-sudden bell would chime and our “dates” would flee to another table while a new group of members swooped over to our table for a new round of “dates”. This went on for well over an hour before the morning and “speed dating” came to a close.

“Dating” on behalf of Traveling Coaches we had Gina Buser (co-founder and CEO), Joe Buser (Director of Business Development) and me. We strategically spread out across the room and made sure to ask different questions in case any of us had “dates” with the same administrators. I took on the subject of continuing education of legal secretaries and staff, while Joe asked for perspectives on attorney training and Gina focused on economic drivers for increased productivity and skills development. We each averaged about 28 “dates” with members ranging from Executive Directors of Am Law 100 firms to Office Managers of small boutique practices, providing for a truly diverse set of perspectives.

Across the board, your administrators told us that yes, attorney to secretary ratios are increasing. And yes, alternative fee arrangements paired with increased client demands for low cost/high value are driving a greater need for productivity and efficiency. And yes, training is indispensable to the firm’s profitability. And no, attorneys won’t attend hours of classroom training. We talked about how to make learning effective in a law firm, and many of your administrators said they believe in skills assessment of staff and one-on-one coaching for attorneys. As for project-based training around technology rollouts…some said that eLearning is the ticket to attorney training while others said that performing needs analysis upfront and really understanding how the attorneys use the technology for their practice is critical to designing effective learning. I couldn’t scribble my notes down fast enough – the opinions were flying. If you ever have the opportunity to meet with your firm’s Executive Director, HR Director and/or Office Administrators, I encourage you to “speed date” them as well and find out what their perspectives are on these and other areas where you can make an impact through your role at the firm.

Not only was I impressed by how many ALA members got up early to “speed date” with us and allow us to pick their brains, but I was also very impressed by the other business partners who generously shared their time and interests at our tables. I think ALA definitely got it right with this event and I would love to go on more “dates” with your administrators!

by Gina Buser, Chief Executive Officer 

ILTA’s largest and wildly successful annual conference is a standing appointment on many legal professionals’ calendars from member firms to vendors. The leadership and staff of ILTA were busy putting the final touches on this year’s annual conference when they received news of the flooding in Nashville. Unfortunately, the conference venue was under several feet of water and many member firms were temporarily displaced. The ILTA team displayed their character and commitment to its membership when they immediately communicated ways we could all support our friends impacted by this tragedy. In less than three weeks, the ILTA leadership researched alternate venues, completed site inspections and selected another fabulous venue for the annual conference. Their superb service and leadership is one of the reasons that Traveling Coaches is proud to be a Platinum level sponsor of the organization. Join me in giving the ILTA leadership and staff a standing ovation for a job well done. You have once again exceeded our expectations and handled a challenging situation with ease.

On a side note, check out ILTA’s first ever Distinguished Peer Awards to be awarded at the annual conference! Did you know you can nominate yourself or another member for a special award and recognition in your area of expertise? Nominations are due June 15th and you can find the form at http://www.iltanet.org/MainMenuCategory/Awards.aspx. We intend to apply for one of the vendor awards, so if you’ve had a great experience with Traveling Coaches and are willing to share any stories, testimonials or general comments we can use in our application, please contact Brie Stampe at bstampe@travelingcoaches.com. Don’t worry…the information will not be made public beyond the award committee members. What a great way to celebrate one another and all of our successes as an industry of legal technologists. Thank you ILTA!

 

I have a passion for self-discovery—from psychological assessments that tell me if I’m left or right brained to those silly little polls on Facebook that tell me which Twilight character I am (I’m a whole-brained Alice, by the way). So when I went to my favorite bookstore to pick out my next “journey” it wasn’t hard to make my decision: a 3-book series about discovering my strengths. Few books have given me such an “Ah-ha!” moment as when I read the Strengths Finder series by Marcus Buckingham (re-released as Strengths Finder 2.0).

The Strengths Finder philosophy is that our greatest potential for growth is in those areas that come to us naturally. By playing to our strengths daily, not only we will be less stressed and find greater satisfaction and happiness in our lives, but we will flourish.

If someone were to ask you what your top strengths are, could you answer them? I think the majority of people either don’t know or are too modest to recognize them. Sure, we can identify the tasks we’re good at, but can we pinpoint the strengths that lie behind them? It’s finding the why behind the what.

Strengths Finder starts with a basic introduction to the Strengths concept and includes an online assessment that identifies your top five strengths. These are traits which have been identified through research of people who are the best at what they do. Qualities such as Learner, Researcher, Strategic, Ideation and Relator are just a few of these traits. It then delves into each strength, discusses how the combination of your five strengths makes you unique, provides suggestions on what you can do to play to your strengths, and includes some assignments (like the Love-Loathe list).

At Traveling Coaches, we launched the Strengths Initiative company-wide. From those results, we began assigning people to projects, and even some new roles, that allow us to play to our strengths. By sharing and discussing these strengths as a company, it has raised our awareness of each other and of ways we can contribute. It has given us a greater respect for the talents and strengths of each individual and the courage to take new roads.