Rising costs and a weak economy may influence the outcome of the libraries’ choice of search engines

By: Tami Kamin-Meyer

As the expression goes, one person can make a difference.

Earlier this year, when J.Paul Lomio and Erika V. Wayne were co-teaching Advanced Legal Research to second- and third-year
students at Stanford Law School, a third-year student earnestly asked whether she would be at a disadvantage in the job market since she was only learning Westlaw but not Lexis.

Her inquiry led the director and deputy
director of Stanford University’s Robert Crown Law Library to wonder the same thing themselves. What if a law firm that used Lexis exclusively was considering hiring a Stanford Law grad? Would the otherwise well-qualified young lawyer lose out on that opportunity since they were adept at one legal search
engine but not another?

The librarians’ curiosity propelled them to create an 11-question survey, which they posted on www.zoomerang.com, about which legal search engines law libraries owned or favored. They asked their fellow law librarians to participate in the survey by using group Listservs. The survey was opened April 25 and closed on May 5, 2008. During that brief window, the survey was visited 953 times. Of that number, 723 people completed the questionnaire while another 122 respondents completed part of it.

With respondents overwhelmingly favoring one legal search engine over the other, does that mean the end is near for one? If not, what does it mean?

The envelope, please. . .

When asked if their law library could
subscribe either to Westlaw or LexisNexis, 70 percent of respondents choose Westlaw.

Lomio says the survey results astonished him because he always perceived the two search engines as “interchangeable. I was surprised to find a strong
preference for Westlaw.”

Wayne was equally surprised.

What didn’t shock her was that an overwhelming majority of federal court, government library and state court staff who completed the survey favored West-law over Lexis. “There is a strong relationship between the courts and Westlaw,” she says.

Further preference for Westlaw over Lexis can be observed at the Stanford Law School. The law school’s library survey from May 2008 showed that law students had a clear
preference.

From the law school’s population of approximately 550 students, 180 responded to the survey in nearly equal
numbers among first, second and third year students.
Respondents indicated their preference for Westlaw over all other search engines, and Lexis did not even place second. That honor went to Google. Lexis came in third.

Comments from the legal community

Despite what the Stanford survey suggests, other legal
professionals have their own opinions. What do the experts
in legal research prefer? Richard W. Schulke, legal reference librarian for the San Francisco Law Library for over 17 years, says he personally favors Westlaw over other Schulke search engines. The reason? “It features more
California-specific materials. It’s also easier for laypeople to use than Lexis.”

The San Francisco Law Library is unusual in at least two ways. First, it is open to the public, and Shulke estimates that 30 percent of its patrons are pro se litigants. Second, the law library does not charge anyone for unlimited use of its services, including Westlaw and Lexis. (Copies, however, cost 20 cents a page.)

One of the San Francisco Law Library’s frequent users is solo practitioner, John Brown. The San Francisco litigator says that he conducts approximately 75 percent of his legal research online, and about half of that is conducted at the San Francisco Law Library.

“I use Westlaw exclusively,” says Brown. He did note that he once liked Lexis better, but today he finds that

Westlaw’s format easier to navigate. He also subscribes to Westlaw at his office.

At least one recent graduate of Stanford Law School uses Westlaw when he conducts legal research for the firm where he works because “that’s what’s provided to me.” However, as a law student, Mark Baller says he favored Lexis because its “Shepardizing feature is far superior to the KeyCite function” available on West-law.

Baller also says he Baller never consults Web sites featuring free law-related content because his employer pays for
Westlaw. However, if he ever opens his own law practice, he “might” surf those sites.

Michael Daw, director of the Golden Gate University Law
Library, says he doesn’t favor one legal database over the other. Daw first learned how to use Lexis in 1993, when it Daw was still a DOS program. “It was the first thing people used back then,” he says.

Rather than maintaining an exclusive preference for one
database over another, Daw lets the material he’s seeking
control whether he uses Lexis or Westlaw. “Each company has its own strong points,” he says.

For example, he labels Matthew Bender’s introductory material “excellent,” but it is only available on Lexis. Rutter Group
materials (including the “bible” for litigators: Weil and Brown’s Civil Procedure Before Trial) is excellent, but it is only offered online through Westlaw.

Daw cautions legal researchers to be wary of Web sites offering legal information at no cost. “Free sites are a great place to start, but before I’d use that information in a legal brief, I’d double check [that] the information is accurate,” he advises.

Daw’s warning is not limited only to the FindLaws or
GetLegals of the world. According to a March 2007 report
issued by the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), no state’s online primary legal resources are authenticated or afford ready authentication by standard methods.

In its State-by-State Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources, the AALL report states that “none of California’s online legal resources is official. But several of those resources have some official characteristics.” Moreover, the report
indicated that “California is not addressing the authentication of online legal resources.”

What it all means

With the U.S. economy tanking and the costs of legal research engines rising, how will the results of the Lomio/Wayne survey impact California law libraries? Will they cancel one service over another?

Shulke confirms that Lexis is the most expensive legal search engine offered by the SF law library, followed by Westlaw and HeinOnline. Still, while his facility has no current plans of
canceling either Lexis or Westlaw, “you never know,” he says.

Despite the costs, the Golden Gate Law Library has also not considered ridding itself of Lexis or Westlaw. However, says Daw, a Listserv he recently read included a thread on just that topic, meaning people are discussing it.

“We like both, and I don’t want to rely on just one,” says Daw. Lomio says the rising costs of legal search engines might one day force Stanford Law School to make some changes in those offerings. “Our Lexis bill went up by about six percent, not as bad as some legal publishers. But our budget is not increasing by six
percent, so at some point, something will have to give,” he says.

Lomio says the school paid $34,980 for access to Lexis from
September, 2008 to August, 2009, an increase of about $1,980 from the prior year.

Lomio says the school paid $34,980 for access to Lexis from
September, 2008 to August, 2009, an increase of about $1,980 from the prior year.

Tami Kamin-Meyer is an attorney licensed in Ohio, the federal and U.S. Supreme Courts. Her byline has appeared in Better Homes and Gardens, The Rotarian, Ohio Super Lawyers, Ohio Lawyers Weekly, Ohio Lawyer and Registered Rep., a monthly publication for financial advisors. Copyright © 2008 by the author.
Reprinted with permission from the author.

 

 Law firms have been belt-tightening for months, and marketing cut-backs can be among the first and deepest when attorneys have to draw up budgets. But now that firms have done their reductions, or have taken a breather on big-ticket ideas, many are re-evaluating things to find cost-effective tools and image-building to augment growth.

In working with legal and professional firms for many years, I’ve found some consistent principles that work time and again, and have added new twists for the era of Reputation 2.0 --  where technology is making our relationships closer and our time more productive.

What works?

A precursor to looking at specific tactics, however, is evaluating what works.  Some call it a marketing-audit, but it boils down to taking a clear-eyed analysis of tools, programs and expenditures to see what’s been accomplished over the past year. A firm with a discreet set of strategies can do its audit in short order with a trained marketer. The simplest form is sometimes the best. For example, a chart can be constructed to list the tools and programs across the top and below them the relevant cost, the results, the cost-per-contact or other metrics, and finally, the action step of repeating, improving or ditching the program.
 
What’s your story?

Expert marketers and executives say it’s optimum in |
communicating a firm’s differentiation if it starts with a sentence or two, a “core positioning” describing the firm in a compelling fashion. Can partners create a strong image of the firm in an elevator conversation – two sentences? Ask them. And if developing the core positioning or evaluating the old one, use the process to get buy-in and begin building a consistent external
reputation. From the core positioning, partners and the firm can pursue new business that builds on a consistent vision.

How to get more from less? What are examples?

1)  Get creative, get collaborative, and push your team for better ideas. Often.
A favorite tool at H.C. is to ask, What would we do if we threw out all the existing marketing and started over? What are other industries doing successfully, and how can we borrow off of the idea? What worked last year that we can do even better?

2) Leverage every marketing idea. 2-for-one, 3-for-one…do I hear 5-for-one?
Partner-articles are a nice e-zine to clients, but don’t write one unless there are media-outlets that might write a story, or influential bloggers who might post it, or potential-clients and clients of colleagues who’d also find it of interest. A law firm recently re-purposed a planned client reception into a client reception AND charity event….which put partners in conversation with dozens of the charity’s high-net-worth members, brought in reporters who covered the interesting collaboration, created newsletter pictures and content for numerous participating-groups and vendors, grew virally through email-sharing and cocktail-party conversations, and brought in business.

3) Help a reporter, help yourself.
Traditional media are shrinking while online news is
growing….but that just increases your potential
communication points to clients and prospects. Reporters at the local major newspaper are still filing stories that get read by thousands of people, first in print and then online. Meanwhile, credible industry media, web-news and blog-posts have a potential for building law firm reputations exponentially. Providing real news and constructive commentary is free, and when compared to ad campaigns and other expenditures still offers the best reputation-builder for the dollar. A consultant wrote an article for a client’s industry magazine, got calls from clients and old friends, was surprised the story made the Most Emailed list and high google results, and was even more surprised with new-business calls.

4) Social Networking, the great online conversation and business driver. For some.
Law firms are right to tread lightly with online tools and Social Media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, Twitter and the like. There’s still no substitute for real relationships with clients, CPAs, attorneys and others who refer business. And the numbers still favor one-to-one contact whether in-person, by phone or by email. Leveraged-contact is a growing phenomenon, which is
easiest with online newsletters and legal-alerts, and is beginning to demonstrate effectiveness in Social Networking. Martindale
Hubbell and Chambers provide popular but costly
reference-tools, but thoughtful use of LinkedIn and Facebook is creating a different avenue for people to find or choose lawyers. In fact, some large companies are saying they prefer using lawyers with Facebook or LinkedIn pages because they provide more
personality and depth.

Maintaining strong client relationships and growing new ones is still based on delivering great client results. Marketing, with
cost-effectiveness in mind, helps leverage mere reputation into Reputation 2.0.

Ron Heckmann, Heckmann Communications, has been creating and implementing marketing programs for over 20 years, specializing in professional services firms, investment firms and privately-held companies. He led teams that won two national marketing awards at Morgen-Walke investor relations/public relations before founding his own firm in 2005. For a copy of Heckmann’s 10 Strategies for Law Firm Positioning and 30 Ways to Implement Them, send a request to ron@heckmanncommunications.com.

 

Well, summer is finally here! The sun is shining bright and the warm weather has arrived. With the onset of summer, comes graduations, family vacations and, traditionally, the “lazy days of summer” begin. This summer, I believe, may not be the norm for many of us and the “lazy days of summer” will be more like the “crazy days of summer”.

In the current economic climate, I am sure that all of you are being asked by your managing partners to “do more, with less”, and at the same time, keep your staffs’ morale and productivity on an “even keel”, or better yet, exceed expectations. With everything going on around us, that can be a daunting challenge for even the most experienced administrator.

Remember, your colleagues at ALA and more importantly, EBALA, are here to help with your “crazy days of summer” and beyond! The endless resources available to ALA members were never more evident than at the ALA National Conference recently held in New Orleans in May. Not only was it an opportunity to attend a wide variety of educational sessions to enhance our professional development, but the conference speakers, Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, the commander of the Joint Task Force in charge of “resurrecting” New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and Billy Mills, the Native American distance runner who unexpectedly won an Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meters in 1964, shared their experiences of how they dealt with adversity during challenging times. For Lt. General Honoré , it was how he developed a plan to get the people of New Orleans “back on their feet” by
taking charge and being prepared for unexpected crises. Billy Mills also spoke about the adversities he encountered during his “run for the gold” and how he rose above the discrimination towards him by others to become a world champion and has since gone on to inspire others to “go for the gold” in their lives.

Another important event at the National Conference was the unveiling of the new ALA logo and “rebranding” message. ALA’s commitment to its members is clear, as evidenced in its new tagline: Your connection to knowledge, resources and networking. Very simple words, but they carry a very clear message. So be sure to take advantage of the resources that your membership in EBALA has to offer. Start now by planning to attend the Regional Conference to be held on September 25 and 26 in Rohnert Park. Yes, right in our own backyard. Call a fellow member and make plans to attend. The Region 6 directors are working hard putting together the final touches on a wide variety of educational sessions that will be offered. So don’t miss out on this great opportunity to take advantage of “Your connection to knowledge, resources and networking”.

Hopefully, you will find some opportunity to enjoy the “lazy days of summer” these next few months but don’t forget, to take a few minutes and let us hear from you. If there is a topic that you would like to have spotlighted at one of our educational programs, let’s us know. If you just have a question of your fellow legal administrators, just ask! Join us for an educational program or up-coming roundtable. I invite, no I encourage you, to become involved! Everyone has something to offer. Let’s help each other “back on their feet” and “go for the gold”.

 

Linda Brady
EBALA President
Craddick, Candland & Conti 

 

Member Linda Brady posed the question:

“Our firm is currently investigating the possibility of converting to digital voice recording.  I would appreciate hearing from any of you who have experience with digital voice recording and what type of equipment you are currently using (yes, both positive and negative comments.”

Linda reports: “The Phillips 9610 was recommended and I have recently purchased several through Transcriptiongear.com.”

Member Susan Forst asks:

“Do any of you have a policy on or offer a data/voice plan for the attorneys or reimbursement thereof?”

Our members replied:

1. “We provide all attorneys with these devices. With electronic discovery issues, you might not want them to use their personal devices.”

2. “We have AT&T and provide cell phones to all attorneys and managers. Our voice plan has a 15,000 minute shared allowance, which costs $800/month. Each line costs us $10 additional. Partners can have whatever phone or device they want, the rest of us get a $100 "allowance" each new phone/upgrade. We pay for text and/or data plans as needed, but folks need to demonstrate that they will use the plans All-told we pay about $1800 per month for 20 phones (including voice/data/text/directory assistance etc.) We have two partners who don't participate in the group plan, and we pay $60/month towards their personal plans.”

3. “We reimburse our Shareholders for about $105/mo. by having the invoices come directly to accounting under a group billing. Through our Verizon plan, that covers the $44.99 calling plan and the $59.99 data plan. Excessive usage gets charged to their personal accounts and billed to them monthly.”

4. “We do not have anything in writing, but we normally pay up to $45 for data on personal devices. If they want to use one of our Blackberries, we pay for the entire bill. Most have opted to buy their own iPhone.”

Editor’s Note: Please keep those questions coming. Questions will be selected to appear in this section in future publications of East Bay Views.

Trina O'Brien
Firm Administrator
Remcho, Johansen & Purcell

Trina O’Brien was born and raised in Hawaii and grew up “kama’aina”. After high school, she jumped to ‘the mainland’ where an ocean of land was a far different sight than . . . well, an ocean. While she attended Rutgers University in New Jersey, she cut her teeth working with attorneys at stiff, super-formal New Jersey law firms. Different from the San Francisco Bay Area, a law firm in the Tri-State Area (NY/NJ/CT) might be considered 'casual' if one is allowed to address attorneys by their first name. Fortunately, Trina also served as an Air Force Reservist for nine years; she had the tools to modify military protocol to business etiquette, which smoothed the transition from easygoing ‘Hawaiian Style’ to NY/NJ ‘Business Formal’.

She was the first to introduce e-mail to the firms she worked with in New Jersey and fondly recalls the days when email was an exciting new technology; when an attorney would send inter-office e-mail, then run to the recipient’s office and excitedly let the recipient know, "I sent you an e-mail!".

After moving to California several years ago, she worked as a Human Resources Generalist at a large engineering firm. Although a wonderful experience, she missed the unique challenges of working with law firms. Trina soon found her way back to the legal industry and was the Director of Administration for a mid-sized law firm in San Francisco.

Trina now enjoys working at Remcho, Johansen & Purcell LLP in San Leandro, where she is fascinated by the firm’s practice areas of political, election and constitutional law and where politics and current affairs are popular lunchtime topics of conversation. As the Administrator of a small, boutique firm, she is never bored – a single day could entail changing a ceiling tile; investigating / testing / repairing new technologies; managing employee concerns and analyzing the firm’s profitability.

Along the way, Trina has earned her BSBA (Accounting) and her MBA as well as the SPHR (Sr. Professional in Human Resources) designation. For a while, she considered pursuing an MS in Statistics, but opted instead to try a few years of NOT being in school while working. Instead, she is training for her first marathon, and in her free time, she trains her oversized Canaan Dog (Mad River Lefty O’Brien) in AKC performance activities such as Agility and Tracking.

Trina's husband is a seasoned network architect who works with Open Source projects. While often charming, her husband does sometimes speak in technical ALL CAPS (BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, MPLS, etc. – TLAs familiar to hard-core techies). Trina and her husband live in the East Bay and enjoy the outdoors.

 

The East Bay Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators has chosen the Alameda County Community Food Bank and the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties as EBALA's Community Challenge project for 2009.
 
To help those in need tackle their every day challenges, the
Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) created its
Community Challenge Weekend (CCW) program in 1999 where it encourages ALA chapters, its members, firms, vendors,
relatives and friends to come together to contribute time,
energy and resources toward improving their own communities.
 
We hope you will join us in October with your time, your food and your firm as we join with Chapters across the country to make a difference.  We will provide more information as the details come together.

 

Advertising Information

For advertising information, please contact:

Alice Wiley
510.444.6800

The EAST BAY VIEWS is published quarterly to provide information for the education and benefit of legal administrators, law office managers, managing partners of law firms and corporate law departments, and others interested in law firm management. The East Bay Chapter of the ALA is not engaged in rendering legal, financial or tax counseling through this publication. No statement in this newsletter should be interpreted as legal, financial or tax advice.

Any articles, letters or advertisements published in the EAST BAY VIEWS should not be considered an endorsement by the East Bay Chapter of the ALA of the opinions expressed therein or any product(s) advertised. Contributing authors are requested and expected to disclose financial and/or professional interests and affiliations which may influence their writing position. All advertising is subject to approval by the Editor. Advertisers assume liability of all content of advertisements printed and assume responsibility for any claims based upon subject matter.

Copyright © 2004 by East Bay Chapter of ALA International. “All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Association of Legal Administrators.”

Requests for permission to reprint any part of the publication should be addressed to:

Permissions
Association of Legal Administrators
c/o Terri Tully Puryear
Beeson, Tayer & Bodine
1404 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor
Oakland, CA 94612

In This Issue

Westlaw versus Lexis: the debate rages on 

Reputation 2.0: Cost-effective Marketing in Recessionary Times

President’s Message

Ask EBALA: Members Helping Members

Upcoming Events

Region 6: Save the Dates!

Member Spotlight:
Trina O'Brien

Community Challenge

2009-2010 EBALA Board Members

Membership Benefits

Job Bank

Top Ten

ALA's Resource Center

Advertising Information

Upcoming Events

September 1, 2009
EBALA Board Meeting
Walnut Creek, CA (TBD)
8:00 a.m.—9:00 a.m.

September 17, 2009
Program, Tentative: Legal Industry
Walnut Creek, CA (TBD)

September 25-26, 2009
Region 6 Educational  Conference & Exposition
Rohnert Park, California

October 13, 2009
EBALA Board Meeting
Burnham Brown
Oakland, CA
8:00 a.m.—9:00 a.m.

October 16-18, 2009
Community Challenge Weekend

December 10, 2009
Holiday Luncheon
Location TBA

 

Region 6 Save The Dates!

September 25–26, 2009
DoubleTree Hotel Sonoma Wine Country
Rohnert Park, California

Educational content is being firmed up and the hotel is holding your room for the 2009 ALA Region 6 Educational Conference & Exposition held this year in California's Sonoma Wine Country.

Make plans now to attend the Region 6 Conference... This is what's in it for you:

· More than 20 educational sessions that focus on the latest in law firm/department management strategies, including "Operational vs. Revenue Financial Management" and "Situational Leadership."

· Timely information from leading experts in the areas of human resources, finance, marketing, technology, and office management, like job coaching and negotiating skills.

· Invaluable peer support, networking, and
mentoring

· Exhibitor business partners with the latest and greatest legal industry products and
services

For budgeting purposes, conference rates and hotel information are conveniently located online at www.alanet.org/region6.

The brochure will be sent to you in July, but before then, we'll continue to update you on the educational sessions and events planned for the conference.

Membership Benefits

 

 

Top Ten Tips for Effective Communication

 1. Communicate with an open mind. We often listen to others while being unwilling to change our minds. Effective communication requires openly sharing perspectives so we can broaden our own
perspectives and learn from each other.

2. If you want people to listen to you, listen 1st and talk 2nd. You send a message that you want to understand what they think. You also can choose how to convey your message so they will understand.

3. Listen to actually understand rather than waiting for other people to finish so you can make your points or building your rebuttal.

4. People often share only their conclusions with little or no explanation. Drill down by asking what led them to those conclusions. What did they experience? What inferences did they drawn? What did they assume?

5. Check for understanding by reflecting back what you hear and asking whether you got it right.

6. Make your thinking visible. Before sharing your conclusions, describe your experience and explain how you interpreted it—with an attitude of “What did I miss?”

7. Speak to communicate rather than prevail. Rather than arguing or “talking at” people, share your perspective so they will understand, if not agree.

8. Take sufficient time to make sure you both understand and are understood. You will avoid more time spent later clearing up misunderstandings.

9. Avoid email except when conveying information. Email strips away both body language and tone of voice, which are 80% of communication. You also lose the opportunity for an immediate exchange.

10. When there is a conflict, preferably meet face to face. If that is not possible or practical, discuss the issue by phone because direct dialogue is critical to resolution.

"Top Ten" provided by Neil Bodine.  Mr. Bodine is a senior partner in the law firm of Beeson, Tayer & Bodine, which specializes in the representation of public and private sector labor unions, employee benefit plans and individual employees. Mr. Bodine's practice focuses on joint labor-management training, mediation, facilitation and problem solving.

 

EBALA 09-10 Board Members

President
Linda C. Brady
Office Manager
Craddick, Candland & Conti
915 San Ramon Valley Blvd
Danville, CA 94526
Phone: 925.838.1100
Email: lbrady@ccclawfirm.com

President-Elect
Margot L. Canapa
Controller
Miller Starr Regalia
1331 N. California Blvd., 5th Floor Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Phone: 925.935.9400
Email: mlc@msrlegal.com

Treasurer
Elizabeth C. Kohlman
Firm Administrator
Shapiro Buchman Provine, LLP
1333 N. California Blvd., Suite 350
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Phone: 925.944.9700
Email: ekohlman@sbllp.com

Secretary
Trina O’Brien
Remcho, Johansen & Purcell
201 Dolores Avenue
San Leandro, CA 94577
Phone: 510.346.6200
Email: tobrien@rjp.com

Past President
Lorie J.S. Gehrke
Director of Human Resources
Miller Starr Regalia
1331 N. California Blvd., 5th Floor
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Phone: 925.935.9400
Email: lsg@msrlegal.com

Program Co-Chairs
Nancy Baker
Office Manager
Wulfsberg Reese Colvig & Firstman
300 Lakeside Drive, 24th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510.835.9100
Email: nbaker@wulfslaw.com

Stacey Bales
Office Manager
McInerney & Dillon
1999 Harrison Street, Suite 1700
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510.465.7100
Email: smb@mcinerney-dillon.com

Membership
Annette Neuhart
Administrator
Randick O’Dea & Tooliatos
5000 Hopyard Road, Suite 400
Pleasanton, CA 94513
Phone: 925.460.3700
Email: aneuhart@RandickLaw.com

Newsletter
Terri Tully Puryear, CLM
Administrator
Beeson, Tayer & Bodine
1404 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510.625.9700
Email: tpuryear@beesontayer.com

Past-Presidents Council
Sheila Garvey
Human Resources Manager
Seyfarth Shaw, LLP
560 Mission Street, Suite 3100
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415.397.2823
Email: sgarvey@seyfarth.com

Web/Communications Co-Chairs
Lorie J.S. Gehrke
Director of Human Resources
Miller Starr Regalia
1331 N. California Blvd., 5th Floor
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Phone: 925.935.9400
Email: lsg@msrlegal.com

Mary Balistreri
Administrator
Selvin Wraith Halman LLP
505 14th Street, Suite 1200
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510.874.1811
Email: mbalistreri@selvinwraith.com

Vendor Relations
Alice Wiley
Director of Human Resources
Burnham Brown
1901 Harrison Street, 11th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510.444.6800
Email: aawiley@burnhambrown.com

Members at Large
Kathryn McCarthy
Director of Facilities & IT
Miller Starr Regalia
1331 N. California Blvd, Fifth Floor
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Phone: 925.935.9400
Email: kmm@msrlegal.com

Rachel Estes
Benefits Coordinator
Archer Norris
2033 N. Main Street, Suite 800
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Phone: 925.930.6600
Email: restes@archernorris.com

Patricia K. Cooper
Office Manager
Pandell Law Firm
1990 North California Blvd., Suite 1010
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Phone: 925.974.1700
Email: pkc@pandell-law.com

Gloria Kennard
Office Administrator
Jackson Lewis LLP
199 Fremont Street, 10th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415.394.9400
Email: kennardg@jacksonlewis.com

ALA's Legal Mgmt Resource Center

Do you have a legal management problem, question or issue that you need to resolve? The Legal Management Resource Center (LMRC), created and hosted by the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA), is designed to immediately provide the information you need or to quickly direct you to other resources, most on the Internet, where the knowledge you seek can be found.

If you need quick personal assistance, use the  LMRC to contact ALA's Management SolutionsSM Reference Desk, where our expert group of researchers will help you find the answer to your legal management  question.

ALA Job Bank

ALA Management ConnectionsSM is an online job bank that connects law firms, corporations, governmental agencies and similar professional service organizations with prospective candidates for nonlawyer positions. The job bank service offers two convenient ways to link employers to potential employees:

Employers can advertise position openings and search through online résumés to find qualified candidates.

Legal administrators and legal support staff can post their résumés online in either a public or confidential manner. Job Seekers also have the ability to search through job advertisements placed by employers.