Articles for Atlanta Association of Legal Administrators

Using Profitability Data to Improve Decision Making By Donald G. Evans "To improve the utility of financial information, financial managers need to develop tools that permit the measurement of financial performance at a number of levels." "The dissemination of cost data for each timekeeper is designed to permit more effective decisions on the part of those in supervisory capacities." Introduction Leaders of successful law firms understand that financial information is one of ...

As we approach the Holiday Season it is natural for us to think of our own traditions in celebrating. Diversity is about more than a “Happy Holidays” greeting card. It used to be enough to change Christmas Office parties to “holiday parties” and it is considered politically correct to say “Happy Holidays” so as not to offend anyone. Today, celebrating diversity is about more than changing labels and titles. Celebrating diversity is about using the holiday celebration time to be with family ...

An Excerpt from Compliance and Culture: A Guide to Employee Matters © Employer Advisors Network, Inc. 2006 Here’s a list of front-end employee health benefits that can provide a healthy return on investment: Make nutritional supplements, snacks, and beverages available. Provide easy access to healthy lunches — and bring in health-care professionals to conduct lunch-and-learns. Get rid of any free or easy junk food. If your employees want to poison themselves, let them ...

by Katie A. Russo So the dreaded decree has come across your desk: your partners want to have a seminar and it falls under the expansive net that is your job description to make sure that it’s a success. Before you start planning your exit strategy, consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, it could actually be a pleasant and fulfilling experience! Start planning early, follow these 10 tips, and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish for your firm. 1. The first thing you’ll ...

By Debbie Goldman Furniture Concept Services, LLC dba Norwalk - The Furniture Idea Eventually, every Administrator has to deal with moves or expansions. Proper planning is essential to ensure a smooth transition. Items to consider are: Physical layout of space Location of telephone/IT cables within individual areas Current network availability for expansion of network/telephone ports, if applicable Budgeting requirements for furniture and equipment; be realistic in ...

THREE STEPS TO SELF-CONTROL They can't get your goat if you don't tell them where it's tied up! by Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA Many people today want everything yesterday and expect the ultimate in quality. They have unreasonable requests with deadlines that are unrealistic. If we are going to keep airport customers, members and people "delighted with our services," we must develop tremendous self-control. As customer service oriented employees, we must first look at who is our ...

By Catherine S. McCollister I came late to the party, so I was not involved when the AALA Board decided to bag the 2007 Community Challenge Weekend participation and instead opted to hold a Casino Night in conjunction with the ALA 30th Anniversary. I sort of envisioned that initial meeting last year as being akin to one of those old Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland movies where the neighborhood kids were sitting around all depressed because someone they knew needed some money to keep their ...

By Reinhard Breckner, Office Administrator, Seyfarth Shaw, LLP I. A new perspective on teleworking Teleworking, the term referring to an employee's working from a fixed location other than her employer's office, usually her home, is certainly not a hot new wave in employment relations. People have been working from home, be it part-time or full-time, for decades and most certainly since computer networks became essentially the operational cardio-vascular system of most ...

By Bob Abramson As we celebrate our 35th year, it is a time to reflect, not only on how far ALA has come as an organization, but on how the profession has changed and evolved over the last 35 years. From those humble beginnings, your organization has grown to over 10,000 members, with a strong and positive outlook toward the future. While there have been many changes in our professional lives since 1971, one thing has remained constant. Then, as now, there is a crucial need to ensure that a ...

By Ian R. MacDonald Because it is unlikely that Congress will enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation before the end of the year, 2008 will be a year of continuing turmoil in the immigration arena. Employers will face the prospect of increasing enforcement efforts that may culminate in higher civil money penalties and/or criminal sanctions. In the Spring, the Social Security Administration will begin sending out mis-match letters based upon 2007 W-2 returns, which will cause ...

By Dr. Rick Kirschner, The Art of Change, LLC Who are the people you can’t stand, and what is it you can’t stand about them? My guess is that they're the people who don't do what you want them to do, and do what you don't want them to do, and you don't know what to do about them. If you're fed up with laziness, frustrated by bullies, disappointed in human nature and tired of losing, don't despair. Instead, remember that you always have a choice. Four choices, actually. The most common ...

By Anne-Marie Mizel Shea, Stokes, Roberts & Wagner, ALC Responsible companies have long since become aware of the need to combat discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, and disability, though incidences of such discrimination unavoidably crop up from time to time. But even responsible companies making every effort to comply with the law may be engaging in conduct or enforcing policies that are potentially illegal. Does your company have a strict, ...

By David R. Moon Lan-Tech, Inc. History of Email Before we had the Internet, there was ARPANET. A very basic version of the Internet, ARPANET came into existence at UCLA back in 1969. Slowly, ARPANET expanded to include other institutions around the world. As you can imagine, back in 1969, technology was not what we have today. But, shortly after the computers became linked, a method for sending text messages was developed and email was born. Email was conceived as a method of ...

By Angus A. McRae, Jr., CEBS Copyright © 3/2007 -- Politician bemoans two-tier health system in U.S. - wealthy vs poor, insured vs uninsured, haves vs have-nots. -- Politician promises government solution of "universal health care" - coverage for all. -- Citizen elects Politician. -- Politician installs a "standard" benefit plan (read high deductible, catastrophic coverage). -- Politician raises taxes to pay for "universal health care." -- Citizen realizes that there are ...

Firms used to be able to protect themselves when terminating employees by changing locks, monitoring the removal of personal items from desks and lockers, and escorting the employee from the premises. Today, computer wise employees can hurt your firm in more serious ways than by simply taking or damaging physical property. In this article, we suggest 10 ways that firms can protect their electronic systems and preserve critical evidence in the unfortunate event that litigation with such ...

One purpose of a weekly or monthly alert is to keep everyone on your mailing list up to date on your successes. Why is this important? Everyone likes to think their lawyer is the best. A former client might hire you again -- or a referral source might send someone your way if you shared your recent experiences so they had continued confidence in your skills. When you send an alert to everyone on your mailing list, you again have the opportunity to talk about the types of cases ...