don't miss: pg. 15 pg. 18 pg. 22member profile - nicholas manty 31. get to know your board....

"I.T."Aug/Sept 2014Vol. 2014, No. 4

Pg. 15Mobile Device Security

Pg. 18Microsoft Office 2013: Fifteen New Features

Pg. 22Top Five Apps for the Busy Administrator

DON'T MISS:

2 THE VERDICT - August / September

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE VERDICT STAFF

EVENTS4 Calendar of Events10 ALA Webinars11 Legal Career Fair

NEWS9 Know Your Legal Jargon9 ALAMN Shining Star

MEMBERS 3 2014-2015 ALAMN Officers & Directors8 New Members9 New ALAMN Member Profile - Nicholas Manty31 Get to Know Your Board

MORE INSIDE5 ALAMN Mission Statement 7 2014 Business Partner Sponsors 30 Advertisers in this Issue

COLUMNS5 President's Letter15 Mobile Device Security: Balancing Between Allowing Users to Post the Firm’s Data on YouTube and Limiting Attorneys to Pocket Calculators – There is a Middle Ground!18 Microsoft Office 2013: Fifteen New Features22 Top Five Apps for the Busy Administrator24 Embracing Conflict28 Successful Purchasing: More Than Just Price

REPORTS12 Community Service Committee - June 201414 I've Got An Idea14 2014 ALA Chapter Leadership

Letters to the EditorLetters to the Editor of The Verdict are welcome and can be e-mailed to [email protected]. In your letter, please include your name, firm name, mailing address, daytime phone number, and e-mail address. Letters that do not contain full contact information cannot be published. Letters typi-cally run 150 words or less and may be edited. Your letter can be on any topic. You will be contacted before your letter is published. Thank you.

Editor Tara L. Smith, JD Walling Berg & Debele PA612.335.3227 [email protected]

Advertising David R. AstrameckiMeagher & Geer PLLP612.347.9189 [email protected]

PRESIDENTDeborah O’Connor, CLM

Best & Flanagan LLP

612.339.7121

[email protected]

PAST PRESIDENTDavid Oxley, CLM

[email protected]

PRESIDENT-ELECTKatherine Hubbard

Madigan Dahl & Harlan PA

612.604.2585

[email protected]

DIRECTORSADMINISTRATIONWendy Bartlett

Metropolitan Airports Commission

612.726.8192

[email protected]

COMMUNICATIONSSarah L. Evenson, JD, MBA

Anderson Helgen Davis & Nissen PA

612.435.6354

[email protected]

EDUCATIONPamela Gerads

Merchant & Gould PC

612.336.4668

[email protected]

FINANCETracey Skjeveland, CLM

Merchant & Gould PC

612.371.5211

[email protected]

MEMBERSHIPSarah Didrikson

Nilan Johnson Lewis PA

612.305.7614

[email protected]

2014 - 2015 ALAMN OFFICERS & DIREC TORS

3THE VERDICT - August / September

4

CALENDAR OF E VENTS


AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER

20 – ALA Webinar: “The Mystery Revealed: Completing Professional Liability” 2:00 p.m. Location: Merchant & Gould

21 – Small/Medium Group: “Smarter Technology Decisions for Better Results” 11:30 a.m. Location: Success Computer Company, 6130 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis

2 – HR Committee Meeting 11:30 a.m. Location: Briggs & Morgan

3 – Large Firm Administrators 12:00 p.m. Location: Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi

4 – ALA Webinar: “Having Fun with the Hungry, Hungry HIPAA Hurdles: An Update on HIPAA Compliance” 2:00 p.m. Location: Merchant & Gould

9 – General Meeting: 2014 ALAMN Benefits Survey 11:30 a.m. Location TBD

9 – ALA Webinar “Writing for Legal Administrators” 2:00 p.m. Location: Merchant & Gould

11 – Simpson Shelter Meal Service 5:00 p.m. Location Simpson United Methodist Church (basement), 2740 1st Ave S, Minneapolis

17 – Community Service Committee 11:30 a.m. Location: TBD

17 – ALA Webinar “Billing and Collections: No One Told Me I Would Have to Do This!” 2:00 p.m. Location: Merchant & Gould

18 – Small/Medium Group 11:30 a.m. Location: Town & Country Club, St. Andrew’s Room, Saint Paul

1 – Large Firm Administrators 12:00 p.m. Location: Fredrikson & Byron

7 – HR Committee Meeting 11:30 a.m. Location: Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi

16 – Small/Medium Group 11:30 a.m. Location: Town & Country Club, St. Andrew’s Room, Saint Paul

SU MO TU WE TH FR SA

27 28 29 30 31 1 23 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 1617 18 19 20 21 22 2324 25 26 27 28 29 3031 1 2 3 4 5 6


31 1 2 3 4 5 67 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 2021 22 23 24 25 26 2728 29 30 1 2 3 4


28 29 30 1 2 3 45 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 1819 20 21 22 23 24 2526 27 28 29 30 31 1

Major events tend to revitalize people. What revitalizes you? Is it an event, or a person, or some-thing else? A recent example was the Major League All Star Game. Starting the Saturday before, sev-eral events were held, culminat-ing in the big game. Each of these

events seemed to breathe life into not only Target Field, but the whole downtown area. Thousands of fans visited Minnesota, and we were able to show our pride in our state and the downtown Minneapolis area. Target Field was a shining star, just like it was the first year it opened. The energy provided by the week’s events, revitalized our pride in our beautiful stadium, and we were able to view it as visitors do: a true shining star.

During my last four years on the Board of ALAMN, I have had the good fortune to attend the annual ALA Chapter Leadership Institute (CLI). Similar to the way the All Star Game seemed to revitalize Target Field by reminding us what a great ballpark it is, CLI has the same effect on me. The purpose of CLI is to coach members serving the As-sociation in leadership roles. In addition to assisting with personal growth, it is a valuable tool for chapter manage-ment. Attendees learn what challenges other chapters may be facing, plus gain an opportunity to learn from

those same chapters any new initiatives they may be working on as well as how to use any of the information gained. I would not consider CLI your typical educational conference; however, we still had the opportunity to lis-ten to a wonderful speaker at this event, Dr. Dale Henry. His presentation, “Going for it on Fourth and One,” was a homerun, or more apt for this purpose, a touchdown. Dr. Henry believes reaching our full potential takes hard work, not only during the season, but in the offseason as well. His belief is that we can all succeed if we follow a few simple rules and work to incorporate them into our daily lives:

» Never stop learning! Seek out opportunities to ex-pand your knowledge.

» Laugh! Keep your sense of humor and actively show it to others.

» Maintain healthy relationships with siblings, par-ents, significant others and close friends.

» Move! Everyone needs exercise to maintain his or her health.

» Read and Write! When was the last time you read a book or wrote a letter? (I think the last time I wrote a handwritten letter may have been a couple of decades ago).

» Have purpose! Determine where you would like to be and set goals.

It sounds relatively easy, doesn’t it? But how many of us put one or another of these actions aside for a variety of reasons? I know I do. So, my goal is to keep these simple acts in mind and strive to practice them on a daily basis in order to keep that revitalized spirit. Thank you for al-lowing me the opportunity to participate in such a won-derful event as CLI.

Summer is already approaching the midpoint and un-fortunately, the memory of the polar vortex is still strong. Get outside! Everyone enjoy the remainder of your sum-mer. I know I plan on it!

FROM THE PRESIDENT OF ALAMNBy Deborah O’Connor, CLM


ALAMN has adopted ALA's Mission Statement

To improve the quality of management in legal services organizations; promote and enhance the competence and professionalism of legal administrators and all members of the man-agement team; and represent professional legal management and managers to the legal com-munity and to the community at large.

2014 BUSINESS PARTNER SPONSORS


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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2014 NEW MEMBERS

Robert DuBois Chief Information Officer Briggs and Morgan 2200 IDS Center 80 South Eighth Street Minneapolis, MN 55402 612.977.8460 [email protected]

Marshall Lichty Chief Operating Officer EntrePartner Law Firm PLLC 4470 West 78th Street Circle, Suite 210 Bloomington, MN 55435 612.747.4604 [email protected]

Nicholas Manty Operations Administrator Manty & Associates PA 510 First Avenue North, Suite 305 Minneapolis, MN 55403 612.296.9169 [email protected]

Terry Pressley Director of Information Services and Technology Foley & Mansfield PLLP 250 Marquette Avenue, Suite 1200 Minneapolis, MN 55401 612.216.0346 [email protected]

Bobbie Schuna Firm Controller & IT Manager Nichols Kaster PLLP 4600 IDS Center 80 South Eighth Street Minneapolis, MN 55402 612.256.3230 [email protected]

Marcia Willmsen Firm Administrator Melchert Hubert Sjodin PLLP 121 West Main Street, Suite 200 Waconia, MN 55387 952.442.7717 [email protected]

Joshua Wolff Accounting Manager Nilan Johnson Lewis PA 120 South Sixth Street, Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55402 612.305.7616 [email protected]

Please welcome the following ALA members who recently joined ALAMN:

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NE W ALAMN MEMBER PROFILE - NICHOLAS MANT Y

GETTING TO KNOW YOU…

Quick facts about you: Home town?Mound, Minnesota

High school & mascot? Mound Westonka High School, the White Hawks

College & major? University of Phoenix, Business Management

Hobbies? In my free time, I enjoy biking, boating, working out, and traveling

Quick facts about your firm: Size? 5 Attorneys

Your favorite responsibilities:Planning our marketing and client appreciation events

Your most challenging responsibilities?Shopping for new health insurance

What is a major issue you/your firm is/are facing today?Finding a qualified person for one of our blended LAA/paralegal positions who is also excited to do the work we have for him or her

What is the best advice you have ever received?Don’t let them see you sweat

I joined ALAMN because…I want to share the knowledge I’ve gained during my time as a legal administrator and learn from others.

ALAMN Shining StarIt is with great excitement that we acknowledge Tara L. Smith, JD, Firm Administrator at Walling, Berg & Debele, P.A., and the new ALAMN Verdict editor, as a Shining Star. Though Tara had been a member of the ALAMN for only a few short months, without hesi-tation and with great enthusiasm and tenacity, she jumped into the editor role. She created and learned how to produce the Verdict simul-taneously, and did so with grace, style and efficiency. It was no small accomplish-ment, and we are thrilled to have this talented editor on our leadership team.

Tara L. Smith, JD

KNOW YOUR LEGAL JARGON - SPONSORED BY HCBA

Res Judicata (rays joo-di-kah-te)

Latin for a legal issue that has been finally decided by a court, between the same parties, that cannot be ruled on again.

ALA Webinars can be viewed at no cost to ALAMN mem-bers at Merchant & Gould each month. Sign up by regis-tering online or by contacting Pam Gerads by phone at 612.336.4668, or email at [email protected].

Webinar: The Mystery Revealed: Completing Profes-sional Liability Wednesday, August 20, 2014 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Central Time

What really happens to your firm’s liability insurance ap-plication once it leaves your desk? Completing applica-tions, obtaining bids, and selecting the professional liabil-ity coverage that’s right for your firm can be arduous and risky. Join this webinar to gain insight into the professional liability insurance industry and the underwriting process. Learn how your answers can work for (or against) you!

Webinar: Having Fun with the Hungry, Hungry HIPAA Hurdles: An Update on HIPAA Compliance Thursday, September 4, 2014 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Central Time

Do you have the full scoop on the new Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations? Do you understand what business or client records are considered protected health information (PHI)? Do you know what new standards must be met in order for your firm or legal department to be compliant? Join this webi-nar to figure it all out!

Webinar: Writing for Legal Administrators Tuesday, September 9, 2014 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Central Time

Learn how to write and be heard! Join this webinar to ex-plore how a few key writing tips can improve your mes-sage and enhance your writing experience. Whether you are writing a detailed analytical memo, an important e-mail message, a request for proposal, or any of the myr-iad types of administrative writing, you will learn how to break through writer’s block, write with confidence, and maintain professional credibility through clear, active and persuasive writing.

Webinar: Billing and Collections: No One Told Me I Would Have to Do This! Wednesday, September 17, 2014 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Central Time

Are you ready to learn how to get firm management and partners to see that running a law firm is a business? Learn how to overcome the political and cultural hurdles associ-ated with the introduction of timekeeping best practices. You will hear how to develop approaches that make time entry an easy, daily function and still be seen as providing assistance without overstepping your bounds.


ALA WEBINARS

ALAMN TO SPONSOR AND HOST A LEGAL CAREER FAIR


These three seemingly unrelated questions have the same potential solution: a legal career fair hosted by ALAMN and made possible through a grant from the ALA Foundation and the generosity of our members and business partners.

The Legal Career Fair will be held on Thursday, March 19, 2015. Gray Plant Mooty has graciously agreed to hold the event at their Minneapolis office. We are partnering with Patrick Henry High School in North Minneapolis.

To make this Legal Career Fair a great success, we will need volunteers from many areas of the legal commu-nity. Therefore, we will be forming a Legal Career Fair Committee to help plan, prepare, and implement the event. For further information regarding the event, or if you are interested in volunteering your resources, time, talents and/or energy, please email Kathy Hubbard at [email protected].

How do we increase the level of young people entering the legal support staff work force?

How do we increase the diversity of our chapter and our organizations?

How do we improve our exposure and be better ambassadors of the legal industry to the greater community?

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COMMUNIT Y SERVICE COMMIT TEE - JUNE 2014

On June 26, 2014, ALAMN members and business part-ners served a delicious meal for 110 guests at the Simp-son Shelter in Minneapolis. As we have done for the past several years, our summer meal was an outdoor cookout/BBQ. This year’s menu included grilled brats and chicken breasts, pasta salad, baked beans, lemon-ade and milk. The meal was topped off with strawberry shortcake for dessert.

A very special thank you goes to Tom Millin, who co-ordinates this meal each year. Tom puts his heart into menu planning, shopping and putting together an ex-ceptional meal for the Simpson Shelter guests. The din-ing area was also festively decorated in a beach theme. We were rewarded with numerous “thank-you for the delicious meal” comments from guests and staff.

Not only does our group prepare and serve the meal, but many hours go into planning the menu and shop-ping for groceries and paper products.

Thank you to the following volunteers for making this another successful ALAMN Community Services Com-mittee event: Tom Millin Bowman & Brooke Bryan Bataille Ricoh Kathy Hubbard Madigan, Dahl & Harlan Pat Dillon IV Desk Tracy Smith Smith, Gendler, Shiell, Sheff, Ford & Maher Jill Leddy Advisor Net Financial Steve Leddy (Jill’s husband) Cheryl Nelson, CLM Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Gina Petrella Marco David Elert Complete Graphics Pam Gerads Merchant & Gould Catherine Gorr Mulligan & Bjornnes Erin Hacker (Catherine’s daughter) Alexandra Tseffos Fluid Interiors Michelle Cartier Haworth Vicki Meyer Gislason & Hunter Pat Stender Cousineau McGuire

Watch the ALAMN NewsBlast and website for these upcoming volunteer opportunities with the Commu-nity Services Committee:

» Thursday, September 11, 2014. We will need 12 to 16 volunteers to help prepare and serve the next Simpson Shelter meal, starting at 5:00 p.m. and finishing between 7:30 - 8:00 p.m.

» Fall 2014. We will work at Bridging to assist in the warehouse and build dressers.

You may sign up for either of these events on the ALAMN website! If you are interested in finding out more about the Community Ser-vices Committee, please contact Vicki Meyer ([email protected] or 763.225.6048) or Pat Stender ([email protected] or 952.525.6996). New members are always welcome!

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I ’VE GOT AN IDEA!

2014 ALA CHAPTER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

With so many talented and inspiring members of ALAMN, we can only imagine how many times our conversations have begun with the opening line: “I’ve Got an Idea!” We are not content to let a challenge or obstacle stop us from improving each of our respective organization’s performance. While our giving spirit al-ready propels us to share our ideas and resources with fellow ALAMN members, why stop there?

The Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) has cre-ated a platform for these ideas to be shared and ac-knowledged by the entire Association, and the leader-

ship of ALAMN wants to encourage all of our ALAMN members and business partners to consider submit-ting their innovative ideas, such as programs, services or events that either improve our chapter or the legal community in general.

If you have any questions or would like assis-tance submitting an ALA IDEA Award, please contact any of the ALAMN board members. To learn more about the ALA IDEA Awards, visit www.alanet.org/chapters/IdeaAwards.asp.

The Board of Directors traveled to San Antonio, Texas in July to attend the ALA's annual Chapter Leadership In-stitute (CLI). CLI is an orientation, training and network-ing event for chapter officers and volunteer leaders. CLI provides a unique opportunity for learning about

and strengthening leadership roles, sharing ideas and experiences with colleagues, and expanding networks. Each year, this conference is the springboard event to the ALAMN Board of Director's strategic planning sessions.

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MOBILE DEVICE SECURITY: BALANCING BETWEEN ALLOWING USERS TO POST THE FIRM’S DATA ON YOUTUBE AND LIMITING ATTORNEYS TO POCKET CALCULATORS – THERE IS A MIDDLE GROUND!

The issue of mobile device security is one of increas-ing criticality. Smart phones, tablets, Droids, Kindle Fires and “iStuff” of every configuration imaginable are an ubiquitous part of our business, enabling attorneys to be increasingly available and responsive. This wave of mobile device adoption is unique in that this is the first generation where technology is driven by consumer rather than business initiative. This anomalous method of adoption results in a wide spectrum of ownership and security models among firms.

Any mobile security initiative should be part of a larger firm-wide risk mitigation plan, and its details should re-inforce the basic tenets of the larger plan. However, this article focuses only on some key factors surrounding mobile device security. While this is by no means an exhaustive discussion of the topic, becoming familiar with these concepts should provide you with a good basic understanding of the subject.

Survey the Mobile Environment. Before embarking on your journey toward securing your mobile environment, survey its current state. Key factors to identify include:

• Are devices owned by individuals or the firm? • If owned by individuals, does the firm compensate

them for the cost of their data plan? • Are there any existing documented policies or pro-

cedures related to mobile devices and their use? • Are devices supported (formally or informally) by

your IT Department? • Are devices not supported, or are the choices lim-

ited in your current environment? • Are clients asking any specific questions about

your security that need to be addressed?

Depending on how IT is staffed at your firm, it may be attractive to engage a third party to help evaluate your current environment and design a new environment. Obtaining an objective perspective will help prevent your project from being tainted by misconceptions held by well meaning but uninformed individuals of influ-ence within the organization. Engaging a third party can be helpful even if you outsource your IT function, in that it is a good check and balance for your existing provider.

Document Policies and Procedures. With any security program, it is important to document both policies and procedures to ensure the program is properly adhered to and maintained. Policies capture the what and why: “We’re requiring passcodes of six characters on all mo-bile devices to deter others from easily accessing the firm’s data”. Procedures document how the implementa-tion will fulfill the policy: “We will use software to man-date that the pass code is required to access firm data and that all valid passcodes will contain six characters”.

The keystone of your mobile security program is the Usage Agreement. This document clearly defines the expectations of the user, the disposition of the data on the device, what will happen if the device is lost or stolen, and what will happen if the individual leaves the firm. This document should be executed by the user and kept on file, acknowledging that they agree to abide by the terms of the policy. The content of the policy will vary from firm to firm, especially differing be-tween those where the individual owns the device and those where the firm owns the device. Firms that own the device have unilateral authority to destroy all infor-

By David Oxley, CLM

[ continued on page 16 ]




MOBILE DE VICE SECURIT Y - CONT.continued from page 15

mation on the device if it is lost or stolen. Firms where the individual owns the device often leverage the Us-age Agreement to establish that the firm reserves the right to delete all data from any device configured to access the firm’s network. In addition, they define that it is the responsibility of the individual to back up any personal data stored on the device.

Other items commonly addressed in a mobile device use policy include:

• Establishing the obligation of the individual to re-port lost or stolen devices immediately

• Limiting device access to the employee to protect the firm’s data from inadvertent disclosure

• Defining what actions will be taken to secure the device (passcode, etc.)

• Informing the user of unauthorized uses of the device (in part an extension of your acceptable internet use policy, but also forbidding bypassing security by use of hacks, jailbreaks, or other altera-tion to security settings)

• Summarizing how software on the device will be maintained, patched, and supported

Some other policies and processes often impacted by mobile security include:

• Departure/Termination (when is a device wiped of its data; is the device to be returned before depar-ture; who is responsible for communicating these expectations; etc.)

• Onboarding (does the firm provide the device; is there any initial or monthly monetary obligation for the firm or the individual; is there an asset da-tabase that needs to have device information re-corded; are there other applications or administra-tive configurations that need to be applied before the device can attach to the firm’s network)

Implement Mobile Device Management. The opera-tional counterpart to the policies and procedures is the applications and/or configurations your firm deploys to control or secure the device. These vary greatly in complexity and price. Initially, some firms were will-ing to trust simple passcodes and features available in

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existing systems to secure their devices. Recently, in-creased client interest in the security practices of firms has prompted many firms to adopt a more vigorous ap-proach to actively securing their mobile devices.

A specialized group of software products have evolved to address more complex security scenarios. Called Mo-bile Device Management (MDMs), many of these prod-ucts allow firms to segregate firm information from per-sonal information, using a concept called a sandbox to prevent the two from intermingling. This allows the firm unobstructed control of its data while avoiding any need to affect personal data. In addition, MDM’s can force firm communications to use a secure, encrypted connection and prevent users from independently configuring their devices to connect to firm resources. These products have matured quickly and can be obtained at a reason-able cost. Many MDMs can be obtained on a subscrip-tion basis and are hosted in the cloud, allowing firms to avoid purchasing new equipment to host the solution and enabling them to easily scale as the number of de-vices they service changes.

Test Mobile Device Security Annually. Creating the proper policies and procedures and implementing an MDM to enforce the security is a great way to become relatively secure at a point in time, but maintaining se-curity is an ongoing process rather than a goal with an end date. Mobile device security testing should be in-cluded in your annual security audit. This ensures you will continue to maintain your level of security, and allows you to remediate gaps as they appear. Again, having this audit performed by a third party adds the validity test of objectivity and exposes your systems to security experts who are well versed on the most recent hacks and breach methods.

I’ve often heard it said that the only way to secure a com-puter is to disconnect it from the internet, from power, lock it in a safe, and throw away the key. This might be true, but by putting proper policies in place, implement-ing an MDM that fits your needs and performing regular security audits, you can take steps to protect your firm and be a responsible steward of its data while still allow-ing the use of mobile devices.

Author Bio: David Oxley, CLM is the current Past President of ALAMN. He was formerly Director of Technical Operations at Leonard, Street and Deinard and has over 13 years of experience in IT leadership in law firms.

MOBILE DE VICE SECURIT Y - CONT.continued from page 16

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MICROSOFT OFFICE 2013: FIFTEEN NE W FEATURES

Are you considering a Microsoft Office upgrade in your environment but not sure what version to implement? I was faced with this decision as we began the planning phase for our new computer roll-out. Namely, should we stay with Office 2010 or upgrade to Office 2013? After re-searching the features available in Office 2013, I made the decision to upgrade. In order to give you a better idea of whether a move to Office 2013 is the right decision for your environment, too, the following highlights fifteen useful features new to Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel:

Microsoft Word 2013

1. Resume Where You Left off in a Word Document. After reopening a Word document, a resume-where-you-left-off prompt will appear. Clicking on the prompt moves the cursor to the spot where you were prior to closing the document.

2. Open and Edit PDFs. Word will convert a PDF into a Word document. Open the PDF directly in Word to convert the document.

3. Tables. A new plus sign appears on the left or top of a table that quickly adds a row or column.

4. Simple Markup View in Track Changes. The new sim-ple markup view shows what the final document will look like if all of the changes are accepted in the doc-ument. This view also provides a red line in the left margin where there are changes in the document; clicking on the red line shows the redlined changes in the document.

By Sarah Didrikson


ALAMN 2014-15 MEMBERSHIP RENEWALIf you haven’t already done so, please be sure to renew your ALAMN 2014-15 Membership.

Avoid the hassle of having to go through the new member application process and renew today!

To renew, go to: www.ala-mn-org

Questions? Contact Wendy Bartlett at 612.726.8192 or [email protected]


Microsoft Outlook 2013

5. Message Preview in Outlook. Choose how many lines appear in the message preview. Under the view table, click on Message Preview and choose the number of lines.

6. Inline Replies in Outlook. The Reading Pane provides an option to reply within the reading pane.

7. Message View in Outlook. All and Unread buttons ap-pear above the inbox to quickly change the inbox view.

8. Order of Folders in Outlook. Adjust the order of fold-ers by moving them in the folder pane. Prior ver-sions displayed folders in alphabetical order.

9. Searching in Outlook. When searching email in the inbox, the default scope will search the whole mail-box including deleted and sent items. Search only the inbox by clicking on Current Folder in the up-per left corner. Adjust the default behavior under File | Options | Search.


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REMINDER! ALAMN is constantly working to improve our members' professional lives and add value to their member-ship experience. To that end, we are seeking all individuals interested in studying for the Certified Legal Manager (CLM) exam or simply interested in learning. If we receive a positive response to this inquiry, we will form a CLM study group.

If you are interested in attending the study group, would be willing to assist in facilitating the study group, or if you would like additional information regarding CLM, please email Kathy Hubbard at [email protected]. Thank you.


Microsoft Powerpoint 2013

10. Variants of Themes in PowerPoint. When using one of the built in PowerPoint backgrounds, there are ad-ditional color options available. After choosing one of the design templates, additional variants appear on the right hand side.

11. Spacing/Aligning Objects in PowerPoint. When aligning objects, PowerPoint will assist by providing lines to align objects.

12. Eyedropper for Color in PowerPoint. The new eye-dropper tool copies the color from another area on your slide in order to use the color on another object or font. For example, if you pull a photo or graphic into your presentation and you want to include another graphic that is the same color as something that is in your graphic, you can use the eyedropper to copy the color from the photo or graphic and paste the color onto another graphic.

13. Online Pictures and Video. A new online picture and video library is available. The library searches the Mi-crosoft Office clipart gallery or Bing images.

mailto:hubbard%40mdh-law.com?subject=I%20am%20interested%20in%20attending%20the%20Certified%20Legal%20Manager%20Study%20Group


There are also a handful of other features available in Microsoft Office 2013. For a complete list of features, visit the "What's New in Office 2013" article on the Mi-crosoft website at www.office.microsoft.com/en-us/sup-port/whats-new-in-office-2013-HA102830213.aspx

Author Bio: Sarah Didrikson is the Applications and Database Manager at Nilan Johnson Lewis, P.A. and current Membership Director for ALAMN.


Microsoft Excel 2013

14. Quick Charts in Excel. Quick charts provide access to tools that quickly create different types of charts. Se-lect the data in the spreadsheet to use for the chart and an icon will appear in the bottom left. Clicking on the icon will provide various available tools for creating a chart.

15. Flash Fill in Excel. The Flash Fill will determine a pattern when you are performing an action and prompts you to complete all of the cells. Start in the column to the right of the data you are working with. For example, if you have a first name column and a last name column you can use the flash fill to com-bine the data into one cell (last name, first name).

http://www.office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/whats-new-in-office-2013-HA102830213.aspx

http://www.office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/whats-new-in-office-2013-HA102830213.aspx

TOP FIVE APPS FOR THE BUSY ADMINISTRATOR


While I do not consider myself a techie, I have found a number of apps that I use frequently in my job to help organize myself, make certain tasks easier (and some-times even a little fun), and improve my coordination and communication with others. Here are just a few that I use almost daily:

1. Evernote (FREE). Have you ever been rushing to get to a meeting but cannot find that yellow notebook from a meeting two months ago? Or, has someone asked you a question about a topic in a previous meeting that you were not anticipating? Evernote can help. Evernote’s basic version allows you to take notes electronically (syncs between phone and tab-let) and categorize them by notebooks. It reads your Outlook calendar to connect the meeting’s notes to your scheduled meeting. And, if you have Wi-Fi enabled, Evernote will even track geographically where you are while taking the notes. The premium Evernote upgrade will allow you to share notebooks with others, download larger amounts of data, and scan business cards to make them searchable. Ever-note has also partnered with Post-It® Notes to allow you to capture, save and search your handwritten Post-It® Notes, and then categorizes your notes by the color of the Post-It®.

2. Expensify (FREE). Have you ever lost a receipt while on a trip? Have you ever had to track down a part-ner to get a receipt for something he or she charged on the credit card? Expensify allows users to take a photo of a receipt and add any notes regarding the charge. When the user is ready, the app will create a report to submit tracked receipts via email to any-one (even if they do not have Expensify). The reports

are colorful PDFs with all of the user’s receipts at-tached. There is also an option to sync the app with the user’s credit card and import expenses directly.

3. Wunderlist (FREE). There are a million to-do list apps and they all do one simple thing, make lists of what you need to do, but Wunderlist just does it a little better. Why? Wunderlist is simple, easy to use, FREE, syncs phone, tablet, and website, and has multiple options for sending you reminders. There is a Pro upgrade that allows you to coordinate with others through assigning tasks, add unlimited sub-tasks, and also comment on the tasks, which makes it great for coordinating project management.

4. eWallet ($9.99). While I did not actually count, I would guess I have 100+ different user names and passwords to keep track of between my personal and work accounts. I am unable to remember the unique passwords for each site I visit without mak-ing them all the same or similar, which we all know is something we are not supposed to do. eWal-let is a secure and encrypted way to keep track of and organize your different usernames, passwords, and other account information you may need to have with you at any time. Create different wallets, each with their own password, to help differentiate between different classes of passwords. Within each wallet, create categories and add different cards by the type of account information you are saving to the eWallet (website, travel, membership, email account, serial number, etc.) to further organize your informa-tion. eWallet allows you to remember one password to gain access to all of your different accounts.

By Sarah L. Evenson, JD, MBA


TOP FIVE APPS FOR THE BUSY ADMINISTRATOR - CONT.

continued from page 22


5. 30/30 (FREE) Have you ever had one of those days where your to-do list is so long that you are not sure how you are going to get it all done? Well, with 30/30, you can take it 30 minutes at a time! This app allows you to break up your tasks into thirty-minute increments. The app alerts you when the 30 minutes have passed and it is time to move to the next task. Users are able to pause a task, move tasks up or down throughout the day, and create a daily task list that runs every day. While the app is called 30/30, you are able to adjust the settings to different time increments.

Author Bio: Sarah L. Evenson, JD, MBA is the Firm Adminis-trator at Anderson, Helgen, Davis & Nissen, P.A. and the current Communications Director for ALAMN.

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By Judy Hissong, CLM

Who wants to dance and play with conflict? C’mon, don’t you love the discomfort of disagreement? I haven’t met anyone who welcomes conflict; even those who don’t mind it aren’t out there seeking it. So how does it happen? How do we end up in conflict with each other? Conflict arises from differences – some big, some small. Duh. That’s the easiest statement I’ve writ-ten lately. Conflict is more than that, though. Conflict occurs when there is disagreement over values, moti-vations, and perceptions.

So, if I want to quickly resolve (or eliminate) conflict, I benefit from examining myself. If you want to step up into higher leadership roles, stronger management

skills, and more robust personal relationships, then consider exploring these values, motivations and per-ceptions in yourself.

Values. There are plenty of times when I’ve landed in conflict with someone at work without really under-standing what caused it. Oh sure, you’ve been drinking the last cup of coffee and not making a new pot for a long time now, and I’ve been annoyed about it for an equally long time. Is that really what is causing me conflict? Or, maybe you’ve been my assistant for many moons and you still never say good morning or good-bye. Is that what is causing me conflict? Chances are…not so much. The surface is easy to point to – the con-flict over typos or showing up late is the surface. You’ve likely heard an attorney complain about these surface items over and over. In fact, you may have taken perfor-mance management actions based on surface clashes. However, consider that it is actually values that are the source of the conflict, and when there is clarity about values, there is a great understanding of conflict.

So, show me some respect by putting a new pot of coffee on when you drink the last cup. Show me some thoughtfulness by checking in and checking out with me in your day. Show me accountability by being on time for your workday, and by owning your mistakes and correcting your process so they are not happen-ing over and over. These bold words are values, and in these values, there is opportunity.

Now that I understand which of my core values has been impacted, I can open a conversation about it. And it sounds differently than before. Previously I may have said – “why don’t you just make a new pot of coffee?”

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Or, “Why can’t you get to work on time?” Now I can say, “It feels disrespectful when I see you leave the kitchen after pouring the last cup of coffee and not starting a new pot” or “I see a lack of accountability when you show up late to work”. These approaches to resolving conflict come through value statements, and also per-sonal responsibility for those values.

And you are resolving the conflict for yourself. This is no guarantee you are resolving conflict in your colleague, if they are in conflict at all. Having this conversation may open them to dialogue about their own conflict with you, so be prepared to listen for their values to show up and be honored, much like you are asking them to listen and honor yours.

Motivations. We all have unique styles and motiva-tions, and particularly in our communications we may find ourselves in conflict over them. I may be motivated to quickly move forward on an initiative, while you may believe we need some time to look at all the angles and gather more information before making a decision. You may be motivated to have regular meetings to update everyone involved in the project, while I may prefer to send an email update when a new decision must be made. Are either of us wrong? Nope. Are either of us stifled by the motivations of the other? You bet! I may land in conflict with you over the frequency and dura-tion of meetings on this project, and you may not even know it!

Here is my opportunity to understand how I am mo-tivated. When I have the emotional intelligence – the internal awareness of how I move through the world – I am equipped with the skills to manage and resolve conflict. And there is another layer here, because my

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motivations may change in conflict. I may be motivat-ed by that quick progression on a project, and if I am stalled I may become motivated to accommodate you in having those regular meetings that I initially pegged as a waste of time. What? Talk about confusion! This is exactly why leadership isn’t for everyone, and explains how leadership is amorphous and difficult to define, let alone master.

As I grow to understand my motivations, especially where I am differently motivated in conflict, I grow in my ability to communicate through the conflict to a clearer understanding. Now consider this – what if you aren’t even aware I’m in conflict? You are pleased that I’m now attending the regular meetings without pushback so it doesn’t occur to you that there is conflict inside me.

Now I have an even bigger opportunity to approach and address the conflict through my motivation. I may approach you with something like this, “I’m not clear on the purpose of these regular meetings. I’ve been going along with them because I was tired of fighting them. Can we create a clear agenda and outcome for each meeting so I understand the purpose of them?” Now I’ve declared my motivation (have an outcome) and asked for what will help me feel good again about this project, while identifying that I have been operating in an accommodating capacity in my conflict.

Perceptions. Perception is reality. It’s not a new phrase, and it’s getting a lot more attention in the last several years. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to provide an apology with something like, “I was only trying to help” or “I thought I was doing the right thing”, then you have experience with perception being reality – for someone else! When I go to work each day you are left to decide

what motivates me to be there, and your perception is created by your own filters around career and work.

You may be the consummate professional, each day in a suit and habitually arriving early and staying late. What perception does your staff have of you? Do they see you as professional or stuffy? What about your lead-ership team? Do they see you as professional or difficult to keep up with? Their perception, which is their reality, can cause them conflict with you.

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(even though some days you wonder….) – how do you perceive them? Your filter creates your reality, and in this instance you may deem them less professional than you are. Is that the lens they would look through?

When I’m addressing productivity performance in an employee, I am approaching the conversation through my perception. To have a different view, I need a dif-ferent lens, so I ask instead of answer. The conflict that exists about your productivity starts with a conversa-tion about how you see your contributions, how you feel you are delivering your responsibilities, and how you believe you are perceived by those you work for and with. The clarity of a new lens gives me guidance in managing the conflict.

Perhaps my newest staff member is confident his per-formance is well above standard. This may very well have been the case in his previous role, but in my firm I know the standard is much higher than he is reaching. Once he identifies that he sees himself as soaring high above the bar, I can address the bar location for this firm. Now we have the opportunity to shift perceptions – both his and mine – to resolve the conflict without diminishing our relationship or anyone’s self esteem.

Conflict management isn’t conflict avoidance. And it’s not conflict suppression either. If we really want to grow as leaders in both reputation and in the career of legal management, this is one to embrace and prac-tice. Understanding our values, our motivations, and our perceptions is the framework for delving deeper into resolving disagreements and misunderstandings in our relationships – both at work and home. Start with one thing – do a values exercise, listen for what motivates your closest comrade, ask others to point out

where they see you have a perception that is different than theirs. One thing. You got this. Let me know how I can support you; together we can shift a profession.

Author Bio: Judy Hissong, CLM, is the President of Nesso Strategies. Nesso is the Italian word for connection, and her company is built on the passion of human potential and bottom line improvement. She writes, speaks, trains, and coaches on leadership, wellness, workplace engagement, and communication and conflict

skills. Find her on twitter @judyhissong; email [email protected]; phone 619.546.7885; and join her LinkedIn Group “Engaging Legal Leaders” for more conversation about leadership in law firms.



By Steve Mizes

When you tell a colleague or friend that you manage Purchasing for your company they often think of you as “the person who finds the best deals.” In some respects, that statement can, and should be, true. However, there is much more involved in developing a successful pur-chasing strategy for an organization than focusing ex-clusively on price. A sustainable and effective program, one that demonstrates value to both employer and employees, must have a plan, a leader, and above all, match the goals of the company. Throughout my 14 years in the purchasing profession, I have spoken with numerous colleagues and reviewed several different approaches which have had varying degrees of suc-cess. The aim of this column is to help you define your purpose and develop a successful program.

The reason companies centralize purchasing is in hopes of improving the profitability of their business. By centralizing labor, limiting

suppliers, and consolidating the purchases of products and services, your costs should be reduced. To achieve compliance you will need the support from both your management, and your co-workers. Restrictive guide-lines that limit personal choice encourage employees to find a way to break the rules. Providing a great deal of selection, along with multiple suppliers, will not allow your business to obtain the best prices. You must find a middle ground that works within your company culture. Do not try to be the person to set company culture, but rather, work within the culture that already exists.

For example, let’s review how this relates to of-fice supplies. The largest discounts are avail-able when you restrict the thousands of items

available from a retailer to a handful of products your employees may select. If your list is too limited, your employees will constantly fight to find reasons they need to purchase outside the guidelines. Anticipate this action and offer some variety. Rather than offering just one style of blue pens, offer two. Empower em-ployees with a limited selection from each product cat-egory. Your colleagues understand the company will not allow unlimited options; they just want some per-sonal decision making. With this route, your compli-ance will rise along with your savings.

SUCCESSFUL PURCHASING - MORE THAN JUST PRICE


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Get following & tweeting!



Another example is the management of wireless service-- your mobile voice and data service. If you select a single carrier for the company you

will inevitably disappoint someone. And in many cases the disenchantment exists for a very valid reason. The larger carriers offer great coverage, but ‘dead zones’ are real and they exist where your employees live and trav-el. If you elect to reimburse expenses your employees incur on wireless devices for business I advocate a BYOD approach—Bring Your Own Device. Empower employees to pick both the carrier and the device they want. Work with management and select the dollar fig-ure that makes sense for both the device and the monthly recurring charges. By allowing your employ-ees to make these decisions themselves you can avoid the responsibility of becoming the customer service desk for mobile devices. To the contrary, you are ac-knowledging that there is a company responsibility to help cover the costs that relate to work

The most important take away, and surpris-ingly the least utilized, is to remember that the suppliers you select should work in part-

nership with you. Thus, during the selection process, make your expectations clear and hold them account-able. If you don’t define your expectations your suppli-ers will certainly fail to meet your objectives. Invest the time prior to signing any contract to define roles, re-porting, and service level commitments. At a minimum, meet with your key suppliers quarterly and review their performance. Where there are shortfalls, assign tasks, names, and completion dates. Hold your suppliers ac-countable to all agreements.

The glamour of most businesses traditionally rises to the people that produce sales or top line revenue. Your role in purchasing plays an

important role in the profitability of the company; yet it is only much less visible. As you achieve savings, write them down and share with management. If you care-fully track expenses and document the value you cre-ate you will ultimately ensure greater job security, a higher salary, and inevitably a promotion. Make time to track this, create the visibility, and ‘sell’ yourself.

Author Bio: Steve Mizes, MBA, is President of EC Purchasing, a purchasing organization that harnesses the buying power of more than 200,000 members. Mr. Mizes has over 14 years experience in corporate purchasing and frequently speaks on the subject before professional organizations. His full series of articles is available by contacting Mr.

Mizes at [email protected] or by visiting www.stevemizes.com.

SUCCESSFUL PURCHASING - CONT.

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Name Three Things You Think Will Become

Obsolete In Ten Years


GET TO KNOW YOUR BOARD

Wendy Bartlett Land-line phones, dial-up internet, cigarettes (will be replaced with e-cigarettes)

Sarah Didrikson CD/DVDs for data transfers, emailing, newspapers

Sarah L. Evenson, JD, MBA Email, cell phones, and pennies

Pamela Gerads Flip phones, land-line phones, music CDs

Katherine Hubbard Fax machines, liquid white out, paper dictionaries

Deborah O’Connor, CLM IBM Selectric typewriters, projectors with transparencies, VHS tapes

David Oxley, CLM DVDs, incandescent light bulbs, iPods

Tracey Skjeveland, CLM Pencil sharpeners, 10-key machines, DVDs

don't miss: pg. 15 pg. 18 pg. 22member profile - nicholas manty 31. get to know your board....

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