Legal Administrators Descend On Denver at ALA Conference

By Dr. John W. Olmstead, Jr., MBA

On May 8-11, 2000 I attended the Association of Legal Administrator's (ALA) 29th Annual Educational Conference and Exposition in Denver, Colorado. The conference theme Law at the Speed of Light: Knowledge, Skills and Tools for Success in the New Millennium was quite appropriate given the current challenges facing law firms and the legal profession as a whole and the content of the conference.

The conference included:

• More than 100 educational sessions. Topics included general management, communications, finance, human resources, office management, the legal industry and many additional special topics.
• More than 300 exhibit booths representing the latest in law office technology, products and services.
• Opportunities for networking via educational programs, idea exchanges and numerous social activities.

Throughout the conference we were put through our paces by leading law firm administrators and industry experts as they helped us focus on the future and beyond and learn the management skilled needed to be successful in the 21st Century. Administrators learned how to use new management tools, gather fresh insights, and develop new strategies to lead their law firm or legal department into the next century.

The conference was a great experience. The keynote conference opening sessions: A Place in Society: Law Firms As Leaders was given by Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York. The general session speaker was Michio Kaku, PhD, author of international best seller Visions Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century. Numerous other speakers were on hand for the educational conference.

During the three days that I was able to spend at the conference, we heard from leading law firm administrators and management experts, networked and exchanged ideas with other conference attendees, and mingeled with vendors in the exhibit hall.

Day One

Although ALA's traditional pre-conference workshops were held on Sunday with a welcoming reception Sunday evening, the official conference began on Monday. The conference began with ALA's Grand Opening Event: The Colorado Children's Chorale. This children's chorale provided us with excellent illustrations of song and dance.

After the traditional kickoff introductions by the ALA president and conference committee, the keynote speaker - Mario Cuomo was introduced and he kicked off the conference with his presentation A Place in Society: Law Firms as Leaders. Governor Cuomo began his presentation by stating that "the legal administrator has become an indispensible part of the legal profession." He then went on to make a few predictions:

• More globalization of law practice with more mergers and consolidations.
• Whole new jurisdictions.
• Office administration will involve management across global offices.
• By 2010 law firms may be holding their annual meetings in Hong Kong.
• There may be talk about making legal administrators partners.

ALA has helped administrators achieve much more than respectability. The overall direction for legal administrators is up.

The major challenge facing law firms is lawyer dissatisfaction with the profession and legal work. Dot.com's are a passing fad. In the long run these companies will need both good ideas and good financial performance. (numbers)

The central theme of Cuomo's presentation was current lawyer discontent with the profession, the negativism that has developed, and the impact upon our persona and value systems. "We are too busy with facts and information. We have produced a generation that admires nothing - no heros." There is less respect for traditional conventions. The most successful people are searching for meaningfulness. "It is easy to get rich but not easy to get happy." Cuomo went on to state "if an attorney has a dissrespect for the law - you don't belong in the law." Associate attorneys must start out with the right attitude about the law - otherwise they don't belong in the law. They need a passion for the law. Attorneys need to do something useful using the law.

Cuomo concluded the session by stating that legal administrators can help in the following ways:

• Legal administrators should be role models. Love your work and let it show.
• Find ways to remind lawyers how meaningful a career in law can be.
• Use a reiterated process that deals with attitudes. Ask your associate lawyers, "tell me about the law and how you feel about it."
• You are the leaders. Help lead the firm.

After the Cuomo session attendees headed to a wide assortment of educational sessions. I attended the The Small Law Firm 2005 session led by Edward Poll. Ed began his session by stating that "lawyers have abandoned their traditional role as counselor. Until this is regained - they will have a difficult time in making it in this world." Ed believes that lawyers should only do two things: (1) practice law, and (2) market the practice. Ed also strongly believes that lawyers must provide clients with the entire solution - not just the legal solution. Ed then went on and shared with us helpful hints in managing the small law office of the future. Noteable suggestions included:

• Consider alternative/value billing
• Unbundle legal services
• Enbrace knowledge management
• Develop a sense of focus
• Develop training and education programs
• Productize the practice
• Management is not complex. Knowledge is available. The problem is not the knowing - it is the doing.
• It is the execution of basic skills that wins ballgames
• Ask clients how they would prefer to communicate
• Get bills out before the 5th of the month

After having a quick sandwich for lunch, I spent time in the exhibitor area browsing the booths and meeting with vendors. Then I headed for my next session - a panel on Knowledge Management: What Does It Mean for the Law Office. with Simon Chester, Jeffrey Flax, Reba Nance, and John Tredennick as panel members.

Knowledge management was defined as (1) a technology, (2) a management approach, and (3) an approach to firm culture. Another definition - getting the right information to the right people at the right time. Knowledge management - does your firm know what your lawyers know. It is a means to an end - not an end in itself. It involves the ways and means by which a firm leverages its knowledge resources to generate business value. Knowledge management is:

• 40% cultural change
• 20% technology
• 40% process

Law firms must consider implementing knowledge management for the following reasons:

• For efficiency
• Because we are in a knowledge business
• Because clients often hate our work habits
• Because we must move beyond the billable hour
• Because the accounting profession will do this if the legal profession doesn't

Each of the panel members went on to outline how each of their law firms had approached and implemented knowledge management.

After a short break I headed to a general session The Future and Beyond: A Look at Life in the 21st Century presented by Michio Kaku, PhD. This session was lively, fun, entertaining, and very educational. The speaker, an internationally recognized authority on theoretical physics and the environment, was nothing short of excellent. He led us on a journey into the future that was truly insightful. His comments on scientific achievements included: cures for the aging process and cancer, designer children, computer wall screens in the home, the car of tomorrow that drives itself, and surgery done over the internet. Specific comments concerning work and jobs included:

• Big job loosers will be the middlemen. These jobs will turn to dust. Bank tellers will be the first victims. In Canada over 50% of travel agency jobs are already gone.
• Car dealerships will be gone.
• Fastest growing jobs will be tour guides.
• Construction workers will have jobs.
• Artists will florish.
• Attorneys will exist and law will florish. There will be more wealth and technology will outrace the law.
• New laws will be needed in areas of cyberspace, genetics, privacy, and bandwidth.

Day Two

I began the morning in the session Early Warning Signs of a Financial Decline led by Howard L. Mudrick. Howard began the session with the comment that administrators must provide the partners with meaningful reports, on a few sheets of paper, that can truly help them manage the firm. He then walked us through the process of preparing and analyzing the key financial statistics that are the most important indicators of impending financial decline. Howard provided us with a great financial toolbox and useful list of financial warning signs.

After a break in the exhibit hall I was off to my next session Fighting Fire with Fire: How Some Law Firms are Becoming MDPs which consisted of a panel led by Jeff Coburn. Panel members consisted of Bill Bachman, Drew Novak and John Kirk each. Each of the panel members have implemented some form of subsidary or ancelliary business with law firms ranging in size from large to small. After a general discussion of the benefits and disadvantages of MDPs, the panel discussed their individual experiences in implementing MDPs. The majority of the panel members have set up MDPs as subsidiary business organizations.

After lunch and time in the exhibit hall I ran to my next session Financial Reporting: What, How Much, and to Whom led by Howard Mudrick. This was the best financial management workshop that I have ever attended. Quite pertinent, meaningful, and easy to understand. Howard led us through the process of creating a financial profile and creating key ratios and other financial statistics. Sample reports and graphs were provided and discussed as well as their distribution. This session was a great supplement to the session that I attended earlier that day.

After a short break I was heading for my last session of the day Three Hot Partner Topics for the Millenium led by Charles Maddock with Altman & Weil. Charles provided us with an overivew of the following three hot topics:

• Retaining highly productive partners
• Dealing with unproductive partners
• Partner peer review

Charles made the observation that while most firms have done a good job of setting up governance they have not faired as well with practice group management which tends to require more hands on management and is more difficult. In the future we will see law firms with 3000 or more attorneys. Mid-sized firms will survive. They will be differentiated, have strong cultures, and well managed.

Day Three

I began the day by attending the session Technology Trends for Small and Mid-Sized Law Firms led by David G. Briscoe with Altman & Weil. David highlighted the following trends:

• This year there will not be much change. Good year to sit back and wait to see what develops.
• APC will be the new model. In the future we will rent software.
• Technology investment will continue to eat away at partner pie.
• E-commerce will change the way legal services are bought, sold, and delivered.
• ASPs will become the dominant providers of commodity and practice specific systems.

The session was very informative and provided excellent insights into technology issues law firms will soon be facing.

After a short break I attended my next session Profitability Analysis: A Forward Looking Approach led by Paul Evancho, CPA. Paul outlined the concept of performance management and stressed the importance of focusing upon a balanced mix of financial and non-financial measures. He then reviewed numerous performance measures that are crucial to law firm profitability. Same reports and charts were provided and reviewed as well.

I had a quick sandwich for lunch and made one last trip to the exhibit hall. I spent most of my time in the ALA bookstore where I browsed the extensive selection of management books and tools and made a few purchases. I then headed from the bookstore to my next session Mergers and Acquisitions: Culture led by Brad W. Hildebrandt and Lisa Smith. After providing us with a working definition of culture, they walked us through a strategic merger assessment model and a merger agreement and implemetation model. These models serve as basic work plans and guides for planning law firm mergers. The importance of cultural due dilligence was stressed over and over, especially in mergers involving equal size firms. We were then provided with a model used to assess the four types of cultures that exist in law firms. The four types of cultures were identified as:

• Fragmented
• Mercenary
• Networked
• Communal

This was truly an outstanding session with all of the special antedotes for which Brad Hildebrandt is known. Specific comments included:

• The consolidation of practices will continue.
• The law profession is in an enoromous consolidation - internationally and nationally.
• Be careful merging down market.
• The real test of merger success takes of couple of years. Are we better off together?
• Don't get to the nitty gritty until you make a business case.
• The most important thing is if partners like each other.
• The competitive world will destroy fragmented firms. It is a problem merging these firms.

After a short break I headed for my last session Coaching Attorneys to Develop Business led by Karen Johnson. This was a fast paced, interactive, and entertaining session. Karen did an excellent job. The central theme of Karen's presentation was how to adapt coaching styles to the learning styles of attorneys and then convince attorneys that they actually need coaching. Learning styles were defined as visuals styles, auditory styles, and kinesthetic styles. Karen reviewed a diagram of a coaching interaction and how coaching styles are tailored to the learning style of the subject. We were then introduced to the concept of relationship selling and how attorneys can be coached in the area of client relationship skill development and marketing.

Day Four

Due to my pressing schedule I was unable to attend the final ½ day nor the close. I have been advised by other attendees that the final day was up-to-par with the other conference days.

The conference was nothing short of outstanding. My time was well spent and a good time was had as well. The conference was educational and fun. ALA did an excellent job organizing this event.

Dr. John W. Olmstead, Jr., MBA, is a Certified Professional Consultant to Management and the President of Olmstead & Associates, Legal Management Consultants, St. Louis, MO. The firm provides organizational performance, management, leadership development, and marketing advisory services to law and other professional service firms. He is the Editor-in-Chief of The Lawyers Competitive Edge: The Journal of Law Office Economics and Management, West Group. He may be contacted by e-mail at jolmstead@olmsteadassoc.com.

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