Chapter Leadership Institute - 2009

ALA's Chapter Leadership Institute (CLI) was held this past weekend in Carefree, Arizona. Representing the Austin Chapter were: Amanda Koplos, James Cornell, Chrissie Eastin & Chris Sims. It was a blistering 104 degrees in Arizona (although we heard it was hotter in Austin). But I don't care how many times someone tells you that "it's a dry heat," it's still hot.

CLI is a conference specifically geared toward training current and incoming chapter leaders on association issues as well as giving those leaders an opportunity to brainstorm with leaders from other chapters. Finally it gives leaders on the chapter a chance to interact closing with members of the Regional Management Teams, Board of Directors, and headquarters staff.

The conference started on Friday afternoon, June 26th with a keynote session by Marsha Petrie Sue titled: "Smart Moves in Tough Times: Leading Your Chapter in a Different Climate." Friday also included a session on chapter successes as well as Breakout Sessions for each Region.

Saturday was full of elective sessions and our representatives attended classes like "Recruitment & Retention," "Transitioning: Keeping the Leadership Chain Strong," "Preparing for Your Presidency," "Healthy Chapters in Touch Economic Times," "Current Chapter Management & Legal Issues," and more. Saturday ended with Breakout Sessions by Chapter size.

Sunday had a few more elective session and a closing general session, and the group returned home to Austin.

In all, CLI is a great teaching tool for current and incoming chapter leaders and our chapter is very fortunate to be able to send attendees each year.

As The Firm Churns - The ALA Players

For the June Monthly Luncheon, 6 Chapter Members put on a skit titled "As the Firm Churns." In this skit, fictious firm Administrator "Anita Break" (played by Debbie Roan), struggled to deal with problem employees while trying to maintain her sanity. Her list of troublesome employees included: *The seasoned employee, "Imma Whiner" (played by Mary Smith) whose lunchtime drinking habit is nothing compared to her ability to start problems and to tattle on fellow employee "Anita Tention" *The young, yet superbly skilled, "Anita Tention" (played by Cara Mueller) whose poor interpretation of the dress code was hard to enforce because of she was very valuable to Senior Partner "Lecherous Larry" *Senior Partner "Lecherous Larry" (played by Bill Elkjer) whose fascination with Anita Tention's feet and his habit of buying her toe nail polish led to a sexual harassment claim that Anita Break certainly didn't want to investigate. *Quiet, timid "Iwana Tellusomtin" (played by Bonnie Zook) who always wants one more minute of Anita Break's time. The story was narrated by Chrissie Eastin who, after the skits, led the chapter attendees in a discussion analyzing the administrator's success in handling each of the employee's complaints and the issues that arose, including: dealing with sexual harassment claims, the correct way to set up and maintain an employee personnel file, how to deal with the generational differences in employees and more. The skits were certainly a comic relief but were a great example of how to deal with some of the impossible scenarios that legal administrators face on a daily basis.

One of the highlights of the event was the revealing of the "Dewey Cheatum & Howe Dress Code"

C If it's too CASUAL, dress it up

R If it's too REVEALING, cover it up

A If it's too AFTER FIVE, 8-5 it

P If it's too PUNKY, lose the funky

And don't forget to watch the quick video clip to see what you missed!

Chapter Retreat Plans are Under Way

Last Friday, James Cornell (President-Elect) and I toured the Horseshoe Bay Resort. This lake and golf resort is just at an hour drive from Austin and is going to be the perfect location for our 2009 Chapter Retreat.

Of course we are still in the preliminary stage of planning but we are anticipating having time on the lake (pontoon boats, jet skis), a cocktail hour, a dinner with a trivia contest, a Service Awards reception, Putt-Putt Golf After Dark, and a great educational speaker (hopefully one of our very own chapter members), all combined with a good opportunity to network and socialize with your fellow chapter members.

The retreat will start on Friday, September 18th, at around 1:00pm and conclude on Saturday morning after our Educational meeting, probably around noon.
Please save the date! Registration will be open soon!

Welcome New Chapter Members

A warm welcome to the newest members of the Austin ALA Chapter:

Elizabeth Walker, Administrator
Chamberlain & McHaney

Leah Walters, Administrator
Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, PC

Welcome to the Austin ALA President's Blog

Welcome to my first blog as President of the Austin Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators. My intent is for this blog to be an ongoing means of communicating with our chapter members as well as members within the Austin legal community. I will update this blog as frequently as possible with news, pictures and information that involve our chapter. So check back regularly for updates.

For my first blog I wanted to start with some "Save the Date" Items for our Chapter:
*June 25th - 11:45am, Headliner's Club - Monthly Luncheon - Topic "As the Firm Churns: An
Interactive Presentation on Sex, Lies and Generational Challenges for the Law Firm
Administrator"
*July 23rd - 11:45am, Headliner's Club - Monthly Luncheon; Topic: "Are Your Tweets
LinkedIn to your FaceSpace: Successful Social Networking for the Law Firm Administrator"
Speaker: Amanda Koplos
*August 13th - 11:45am, Palmer Events Center - Fall Educational Seminar ; Topic: "Jane
Jackson's Really Bad Day" and "The Interrelationship Between the ADA, FMLA and Workers'
Compensation" Speaker: Sheila Gladstone
*August 13th - 3:00 - 5:30pm, Palmer Events Center - 10th Annual Legal Expo
*September 18 - 19th - Chapter Retreat: Horseshoe Bay Resort, Horseshoe Bay, Texas
*September 24th - 11:45am, Headliner's Club - Monthly Luncheon; Topic: "Busienss
Insurance for Law Firms"
*October 1-3rd, Crowne Plaza Riverwalk, San Antonio Texas, Region 4 Conference.
*October 22nd - 11:45am, Headliner's Club - Monthly Luncheon: Topic: "Roundtable
Discussion on Budget Planning"
*November 19th - 11:45am, Headliner's Club - Monthly Luncheon: Topic: "Roundable
Discussion on Technology"
*December 1 - 5:30pm, 111 Congress, Ste 850 - Chapter Holiday Party

Please mark your calendar for all of these exciting events! We hope to see you there! And don't forget check back regularly for more posts.