september 2004 finalx - gla, alaglaala.org/clubportal/clubdocs/194/september 2004...gray area. when...

In This Issue...

Leadership ExchangeLeadership Exchange AN EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL RESOURCE FOR LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS SEPTEMBER 2004 • VOLUME 2 • ISSUE 6

• SPECIAL FEATURE “SO YOU WANT TO BE A CLMSM?”

• COMMUNICATIONS AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT “BURNOUT REJUVENATION AND PREVENTION:

KEY STEPS AND STRATEGIES (PART II OF III-PART SERIES)”

• FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT“BANKING TIPS FOR THE LAW OFFICE* - AVOID UNNECESSARY PROBLEMS BY

INSTITUTING DEFENSIVE BANKING PRACTICES”

• LEGAL INDUSTRY“AN EMERGING INFORMATION SECURITY MINIMUM STANDARD OF DUE CARE”

• OFFICE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT “GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR VENDORS

(WHETHER YOU CHOOSE THEM, OR THEY’RE CHOSEN FOR YOU)”

A View of LA’s Diversity - LA’s Educational Opportunities - pg 5

Leadership ExchangeLeadership ExchangeLeadership ExchangeLeadership ExchangeLeadership ExchangeLeadership ExchangeLeadership ExchangeLeadership ExchangeLeadership Exchange

(SEE PAGES 24-25)

REGION 6 CONFERENCE

OCTOBER 8-9, 2004(SEE PAGES 22-23)

LA Goes Back To School!LA Goes Back To School!

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PAGE DIRECTORY

ON THE COVER: A View of LA’s Diversity by Steven Jones ........................................................................................... Front Cover, 5

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: Adult Continuing Education – Can it be a path to a bet-ter future and togetherness? by Luci Hamilton .............................................................................................................. 4

So You Want to Be a CLMSM? by Michael Steiner, CLM, Janet Krause, CLM,Wendy Sweet, CLM, and Steven Jones .............................................................................................................. 6

GENERAL MANAGEMENT: Burnout Rejuvenation and Prevention: Key Steps and Strategies (Part II of III-part Series) by Mark Gorkin, LICSW ................................................................................................. 10

TECHNOLOGY TIP: Two Styles in One Paragraph? (Word 2002 or 2003 Only) by Dodie Edelstein ......................................................................................................... 13

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: Banking Tips for the Law Office - Avoid Unnecessary Problems by Instituting Defensive Banking Practices by Diane Baxa ................................................................................................................. 14

LEGAL INDUSTRY: An Emerging Information Security Minimum Standard of Due Care by Stan Stahl, Ph.D.. ....................................................................................................... 32

“How toWrite a Records Retention Policy” June 27, 2004 Educational Seminar at Morrison & Foerster by Rosela Marin.. ............................................................................................................ 34

OFFICE OPERATIONS: Getting the Most from Your Vendors (Whether You Choose Them, or They’re Chosen for You) by Ann D’ Angelo ........................................................................................................... 36

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT: Up Close and Personal with - Worldwide Network Inc. ............................................................................................... 34

On The Town: by Steven Jones ..................................................................................... 44

GREATER LOS ANGELES LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE

The newsletter of theGreater Los Angeles Chapter

Association of Legal AdministratorsCopyright © 2004 - All rights reserved

www.glaala.org

Wendy Sweet, CLM, Managing EditorAndrews Kurth LLP

P: 213/896-3107 • F: 213/[email protected]

Steven Jones, Co-EditorLister Martin & Thompson


Janet Shaw, Newsletter TeamWickwire Gavin LLP


Michael Steiner, Vendor LiaisonFrandzel Robins Bloom & Csato, L.C.P: 323/658-9758 • F: 323/658-9658

[email protected]

Tracy Dragoo, Graphic DesignerTra-Co Graphics • P: 626/487-0784

Typecraft Wood & Jones, PrintingPasadena, CA • P: 626/795-8093

The GREATER LOS ANGELES LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE is published monthly to provide information for the education and benefit of legal administrators, law office managers, man-aging partners of law firms and corporate law departments, and others interested in law firm management. The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators is not engaged in rendering legal, financial or tax coun-seling through this publication. No statement in this newsletter should be interpreted as legal, financial or tax advice.

Any article, letter or advertisement published in the GREATER LOS ANGELES LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE should not be considered an endorsement by the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators of the opinions expressed therein or any product(s) advertised. Contributing authors are requested and expected to disclose financial and/or pro-fessional interests and affiliations which may influence their writing position. All advertising is subject to approval by the Editor. Advertisers assume liability for all content of advertisements printed and assume responsibility for any claims based upon subject matter.

Any comments, questions, suggestions?Please contact Wendy Sweet, CLM at

213/896-3107 or [email protected]

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SOS (Succeed Over Stress) ............................................................................................ 17Membership News ........................................................................................................ 18 Mini Spotlights .............................................................................................................. 19 Calendar of Events ........................................................................................................ 21Community Challenge .............................................................................................24-25Chapter Leaders .......................................................................................................26-27Chapter News .......................................................................................................... 20, 29Office Leasing ................................................................................................................ 35

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GREATER LOS ANGELES LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE • WWW.GLAALA.ORG 4 September 2004

PRESIDENTS

MESSAGE

Adult Continuing Education –

Can it be a path to a better future and togetherness?

Luci Hamilton310-629-0206

[email protected]

There are classes to suit everyone. Whether you want to enhance your career prospects or take up a hobby for fun, you’ll find there’s something for you at our universities, community colleges, community centers and neighbor-hood centers throughout the city.

Change can be scary. Whether you are the child stepping into a kindergarten classroom, a new boss meeting their team on day one, or a non-traditional student stepping into a room full of “typical” freshmen, being the new kid on the block is hard enough. Without the support of those closest to us, these kinds of life changes can seem even scarier, almost impossible. However, with a little preparation, your re-entry into education can be smooth, and exciting.

Most people know what it’s like to live in a comfort zone. Just by contemplating returning to school, you are making a major step, by stepping out of your realm of comfort—daily routines, hobbies, being surrounded by people you already know and feel at ease with. What you may not realize is that by stepping out of this world, those who live in it with you will also be affected.

Whether you spend a certain day of the week with an aging parent, always call the numbers at Friday night Bingo, have never served dinner later than 6:30pm, or have been the designated carpool parent for three sea-sons running, some of these things will have to be dis-rupted, which may leave others feeling displaced.

It is important that you take the time to help people understand that while your schedule and daily priorities may shift somewhat, that those important to you cannot be replaced. Do not resent having to do this. By assum-ing that everyone will automatically be accepting of these changes and willing to instantly adjust, you will be guilty of taking those feelings for granted. Do not look at the task of preparing your loved ones as an obstacle; instead, view this as a major part of the positive changes you are making in your life.

Be sure to make it clear that what you are doing is for the benefit of everyone you are close to, and that you could not do this without their love and support. Explain to those who see themselves as being less important to you (particularly your children), that just because your schedule will be a little different, that your priorities are the same and that nothing can replace them in your life. Also, if you are happier, you will be able to offer more of yourself. Don’t present the lost time together as a gray area. When you talk to your spouse, parent, child or friend, go to them with your date book, asking them how and when you can reschedule time together. If it is a

civic obligation (your house of worship or child’s team), provide them with an alternative way you can help, and inform them of your new schedule.

By putting ourselves first, we often feel guilty for not choosing someone or something else we see as more needing or deserving of our time and attention. However, by always extending ourselves, we can end up feeling stretched too thin and burned out. Giving some of your energy to yourself will raise your self-esteem and make you feel stronger and more balanced. You will always be called upon to give of yourself in another way.

A real team consists of people with different strengths playing different positions. Reach out to those that are willing and able to assist with things you normally han-dle. Another team parent can share carpool responsibili-ties; your spouse can warm up dinner (and don’t cringe at the thought of pizza sometimes!). You’ll be surprised at the ways people are willing to help.

If homework time is something you normally share with your children, don’t run and hide now that you’ll have homework too. Ask if they would mind if you all studied together. Seeing your commitment can inspire your children, and they may be able to help refresh you on some formulas you’ve forgotten. Your spouse may even bring home some work and get into the act.

One of the most common side effects of living in a comfort zone is the automatic “yes” response. We find ourselves adding new responsibilities to date books and day planners that threaten to explode with one more entry. Education is a serious commitment, and must be a priority. Therefore, learn to say no to things that will interfere with your studies. You can offer alternatives, but people must learn how serious you are about your new commitment.

In the beginning, these changes will be uncomfortable for everyone, but just like we all adjust to the change of seasons, people will grow accustomed to the “new you,” and soon respect what you are doing. Respecting their place in your life is the best way to help them reach that point. New things can be refreshing and energizing for you and those you love. By taking the time to ask for help and make a few changes, your life can become what you always wanted it to be, and those you care about will come along for the ride.

Luci Hamilton


On the Cover – September 2004by Steven Jones

Some of you have been putting it off for months and in some cases years. Yes, that’s right…it’s time to get back into school and take those extension courses to enhance your career or complete your bachelor’s or master’s degree. Administrators know all too well how important education and knowledge is in managing today’s law firms. The overall management of a law firm takes more than just knowledge of technology, finance and human resources.

Savvy administrators are starting to tap into the business management side of managing law firms by obtaining global views of their business environments. Understanding management concepts, which include orga-nizational behavior, marketing management, strategic planning, business ethics and managing diversity are just a few of the courses critical to the success of you and your firm.

Managing partners are depending more and more on the advice administrators to help make key decisions. The mere complexity of our legal environment requires us to expand our knowledge and increase our capability of making greater contributions to our firms. Furthering your education will help develop your capacity to make deci-sions at the individual, group and organizational level. A good source for information is the national ALA website. ALA has made it quite easy for us to access an unlimited amount of information to help us succeed in the manage-ment of our firms.

You can visit ALA’s website at www.alanet.org/home.html and find information on practically any subject we encounter as administrators. The site has an entire section dedicated to our educational needs. ALA’s site includes teleseminars, online education, specialized retreats and information to obtain your CLM. If you like the classroom environment and want to brush up on a specific subject you can attend one of our local CLM evening classes. Contact Susan Seales at (213) 633-6800 for additional information.

If your interested in obtaining your bachelors or masters degree, get back in the groove by taking a class a your local community college. If you’re pressed for time, check out some of the universities online at www.top-online-colleges.com.

Here’s a list of the major universities in our area:

UniversityEvening

Undergraduate Courses

EveningGraduate

Course

Non-Degree Certificated

Programs

SatelliteCampuses

University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity Park CampusLos Angeles, CA 90089(213) 740-1111www.usc.edu

YesYes Yes

University ParkMarina del Rey,Downtown L.A.

Pasadena

Pepperdine University24255 Pacific Coast HighwayMalibu, CA 90263(310) 506-4000www.pepperdine.edu/main/

Yes Yes Yes

Malibu, W. L.A.,Encino, IrvineLong Beach,

Pasadena, Santa Clarita,

Westlake Village

University of California Los Angeles405 Hilgard Avenue(310)825-4321www.ucla.edu

Yes Yes YesMain Campus

Downtown L.A.

California State University, Los Angeles5151 State University DriveLos Angeles, CA 90032(323)343-3000www.calstatela.edu

Yes Yes YesLos Angeles,

Pasadena

Schools shown on cover are from left to right: Hollywood High, UCLA, USC & Beverly Hills High

education and knowledge is in managing today’s law firms. The overall management of a law firm takes more than


So You Want to Be a CLMSM?by Michael Steiner, CLM, Janet Krause, CLM,

Wendy Sweet, CLM, and Steven Jones

This article was prompted by some of our respected peers who have been both intrigued and inspired by what Michael, Janet and I accomplished this last year. We’ve heard all the questions: “What is this going to get you?”, “Was it hard, scary, etc.?”, “What do I need to do to take the test?” We will attempt to answer some of these questions in this article. If you still have questions, pick up the phone and call one or all of us. We’re here for you!! – Wendy Sweet, CLM.

Part I: The Eligibility Requirements, by Michael Steiner, CLMSomewhere back in time, actually it was just before the Region 6 Conference in Monterey Bay, CA, I began pre-paring for the CLMSM exam. No, the studying came many months later. My first task was to read the CLMSM informa-tion package to learn about the certification and to see if I could meet the eligibility requirements needed to sit for the exam.

Of the four eligibility requirements, I was able to accomplish three of them without trouble. These include: (1) full time employment in the management of a legal organization; (2) affirmation, in writing, that I endorse the ALA Code of Professional Ethics; and, (3) being a Principal Administrator with at least 3 years of experience managing a law firm or office in an exempt level position or a Functional Specialist with at least 5 years of experience as an exempt level spe-cialist with 3 of those years being in a supervisory position with responsibility for employee selection, termination, salary and the assignment of work.

Thinking that qualification will be easy, I read the education-al requirements that all candidates must provide evidence of having attended, within the 24 months preceding the date of the application: at least 120 minutes (2 hours) of course work in each of five of the following nine Communication and General Management areas: (1) Written communication skills; (2) Oral communication skills; (3) Interpersonal rela-tions skills; (4) Time management strategies; (5) Leadership styles and techniques; (6) Negotiation techniques; (7) Stress management techniques; (8) Conflict management tech-niques; and, (9) Project management. Of these, a maximum of 240 minutes can be met using an interactive technology-based self-study program. Functional specialists must also provide evidence of having completed, within the preced-ing 24 months, 15 hours of course work distributed in areas other than their specialty field.

Doing what any good administrator would do, I sat back, thought a bit, and then created a spreadsheet. Yes, spread-sheets do a body good. I listed the nine categories across the top including columns for dates, times, course titles and instructions. Great, now all I had to do was review my continuing education file and input the data, right?

Wrong! Even though I knew I had attended a number of seminars and the like, I could not provide evidence, let

alone remember all of the details. My file wasn’t all that populated let alone organized. Is yours?

My quest for educational hours began in Monterey at the 2002 Region 6 Conference. I concentrated my efforts and attended all of the classes designated as eligible for CLMSM

credit. Being fortunate enough to attend the 2003 National ALA Conference in San Diego and the 2003 Scottsdale Region 6 conference, I was able to obtain most of what was needed. My remaining hours were met through participa-tion in two ALA provided teleseminars (http://www.alanet.org/education/regconf/telesem.html) and an interactive web-based seminar through Fred Pryor Seminars (www.pryor.com). Being careful to “manage” the process, I was able to successfully complete the educational requirement and go on to pass the CLMSM examination.

For those of you interested in sitting for the exam, I am pleased to provide a gift - my original spreadsheet. You may download the Excel file from our chapter’s web site by typing the following link into your browser (www.glaala.org/newsletter.htm). Download the spreadsheet, attend the CLMSM designated classes at the upcoming Region 6 Conference, and start your preparation for becoming a Certified Legal Manager in 2005. It was and continues to be one of the best career decisions I have ever made.

The complete CLMSM information package and application can be found on-line at http://www.alanet.org/education/CLMpacket.pdf.

Part II: CLMSM Test Checklist by Steven JonesI wanted to contribute in some way to this article and so I created the following checklist of all the areas one needs to cover in order to be prepared to take the Certified Legal Manager Exam. Now that it’s in one place, it’s amazing how much we have to know to manage a firm! Feel free to use this as a model for your own job description.

OFFICE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENTo Business Planningo Strategic Planningo Expansiono Leasing/Contract agreementso Disaster Recoveryo Facilities Managemento Filing Systemso Records Management and Retention

Requirementso Project Management

TECHNOLOGY/AUTOMATION MANAGEMENTo Interneto Web-based technologyo Hardware and software systemso Electronic security and confidentialityo Document Imaging

Michael Steiner, CLMMichael Steiner, CLM Wendy Sweet, CLM

?

Wendy Sweet, CLMJanet Krause, CLMJanet Krause, CLM Steven JonesSteven Jones


LEGAL/INDUSTRYo ABA Model Rules of Professional

Responsibilitieso Business Related Insuranceso Professional Liability Issueso Trust Accountso Current Trends – Fees/Technology/Legal

Research

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENTo Recruitment and Employee Selectiono Compliance Guidelineso Compensationo Anti-Discrimination Safeguardso Promotiono Retentiono Federal Employment Lawso State Employment Lawso Performance Appraisal Procedureso Disciplinary Procedureso Orientation Programs and Training

Methodso Employee Motivational Techniqueso Compensationo Reward Systemso Employee Benefitso State and Federal Employee Benefit Lawso Leadership Styles and Techniqueso Team Development and Management

Principleso Organizational Development Techniqueso Negotiation Skills and Conflict

Management Techniqueso Leadership Ethics

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTo Accounting

ß General Accounting Procedures, Systems, Terms, Concepts, Policies, and Forms of Organization

ß Banking Investment Concepts and Types of Accounts

ß Trust Accounting Procedures and Regulations

ß Payroll and Employee Benefit Procedures

ß Tax and Reporting Requirementsß Special Law Firm-Related Accounting

Issues

o Financial Management and Analysisß Methods of Financial Analysisß Financial Statementsß Financing Methodsß Budgeting, Financial Reporting, Cash

Flow, Variance Analysisß Financial Controls and Cost Analysisß Legal Fees and Billable Hoursß Collection Procedures and Cost

Recoveries

Part III CLMSM: A Mental Attitude, by Janet Krause, CLMI have heard so many people say, “Test? I haven’t studied

for nor taken an examination in years!” Believe me, it will all come back to you (the terror, the sleepless nights). It is important to remain focused on your mental attitude before, during, and after taking the CLMSM exam. I have had plenty of practice taking tests, having just completed my B.S. degree within 17 months of taking the CLMSM exam. You could say I was “conditioned.” However, for me it takes the same discipline each time I sit for an examination.

Before taking the test, I reminded myself that I had stud-ied all that I could study in the allotted time; that, I could assure myself. The study process began early, I made cer-tain of it. I found that the time of day that best suited me was first thing in the morning (and I do mean first thing – 5:00am). Additionally, joining a study group gave me con-fidence in that I was provided both information and con-text from many different professional experiences. Finally, I reviewed those areas where I knew I was still uncertain.

In the final days before the exam, I poured over the practice exam questions to accustom myself to taking exams again. By marking those questions that I was uncertain of, I was able to track my “guessing” accuracy. After completing the practice exams, I reviewed those questions to determine if my educated guess was correct – or not. For me, by this time, it was usually correct. This provided me with added confidence while I was taking the actual exam. By this time, my brain felt like a saturated sponge; I had absorbed all that I could.

During the CLMSM exam, I marked questions I was uncer-tain of just as I had marked the practice exams. After completing the entire test, I reviewed those questions. If I could not convince myself that I had made a blatant error in reading the question, I stood by my original answer. Having made this decision ahead of time, it allowed me to remain positive and focused during the test. I did not say relaxed…just focused.

I attempted to tune out everyone around me, such as the “sighs” and paper shuffling. The proctor did a good job of keeping everyone and everything quiet (cell phones had to be turned off and placed at the far corner of your desk). It bothered me when I first saw others leaving the room hav-ing completed the exam. I found I was far from done – was I so slow? “Focus, focus,” I kept thinking, there really was plenty of time left. The methodology I selected seemed to be working; I could finally relax.

After completing the exam, I left the room and found a quiet corner. For me, I needed some time alone to reflect on the test. Some of the information in the questions I’d never seen before. Then I remembered, twenty of the ques-tions were sample questions and would not be calculated in the final score. “Had I passed?” “Had I studied enough?” “Relax,” I told myself. Had I passed? The test was over and there was nothing more I could do. Did I study enough? Absolutely! Besides, I had already answered that question before I started.

Part IV: A Path Worth Taking, by Wendy Sweet, CLMMichael and Steven helped you understand what it takes to prepare to take the Certified Legal Manager exam and Janet walked you through her test-taking experience. So that leaves one thing for me to share with you. I’m going to dub it “Life After Passing the Exam.” I mentioned earlier that people have asked me what passing this test is going to do


for me. I’ve been able to give a variety of sincere answers to that inquiry and will share them with you here. First and foremost, being able to set a goal and actually reach it is a major accomplishment. How many times have you set a New Year’s resolution and two months into the year can’t even remember what it was? I’ve done that but was deter-mined not to do that with respect to this particular quest. For me, it was a natural step to see if I had actually soaked up enough of what I’d been learning over the last six years to successfully pass a test.

Next, I like to say that becoming a Certified Legal Manager gives me yet another reason to talk to people about this wonderful association I’m so thankful to be part of. The ALA has provided so much for me and I communicate that message every opportunity I get.

I also believe that I have become an invaluable asset at my firm. Through my studies and continuing education, I am better able to do my job effectively. The ethics portion of the study group alone was worth the entire course. Too seldom we, as managers, are required to study ethics.

And, finally, this glorious journey I started last year has lead me down a path where I have come to know an amazing core group of GLA members and supporters. The cama-raderie and friendships I formed through the study group are unparalleled.

If you are considering going down that same path, we’ll all be there cheering you on! Go for it!!

We buildrelationships .

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GENERAL

MANAGEMENT

Burnout Rejuvenation and Prevention: Key Steps and Strategies

(Part II of III-part Series)

Mark Gorkin, LICSW“The Stress Doc” ™

[email protected]

In the last issue Part I of this three-part series exam-ined “The Four Stages of Burnout”: 1) Physical, Mental, and Emotional Exhaustion, 2) Shame and Doubt, 3) Cynicism and Callousness, and 4) Failure, Helplessness, and Crisis. And while the erosive spiral can undermine energy, confidence, and even physical health, a burnout crisis can provide both danger and opportunity. And the Stress Doc knows from personal experience.

Back in the 80s, I was a very unrealistic doctoral student trying to turn a mystical-like experience in psychoanalysis into a doctoral dissertation. Several factors fired my questionable motivation: a) a desire to discover a doctoral topic that wouldn’t feel like an academic exercise, b) being driven to pursue a unique dissertation to compensate for long-standing feelings of intellectual self-doubt and unworthiness: I was going to “show them,” i.e., those past and present skeptics, critics, and so-called authorities, and c) a still inchoate inner artist having a subliminal tug of war with my prac-tical doctoral student persona. For the sake of brevity, let’s just say I was definitely off the academic wall. As I would later write: “Academic flashdancing definitely whirled to a burnout tango.” And for several months, I was laid low by exhaustion, existential emptiness, and stress-induced and frightening dizzy spells.

Fortunately, a silver lining emerged from the aca-demic ashes. I became an expert on stress and burnout eventually evolving a process of self-care that, I believe, can be instrumental for both burnout recovery and, even, prevention. Consider these strategic steps for “R & R” – Rehabilitation and Rejuvenation:

1. Good Grief. While the burnout experience ulti-mately helped clarify my career path, it took several months to get out of the “Big Muddy” and “Big Moody.” I needed time to tend to my wounds. Also, a major loss can undermine your sense of identity. I needed to know that significant others still loved and respected me despite my feelings of academic failure and personal humiliation. You may need a mentor or a counselor who can reconfirm your pre-crisis identity, who can see strengths when you are fixated on your weaknesses. And you don’t have to wait till you are in fourth stage burnout to start grieving. In fact, recognizing the need to grapple with a changing reality or to question irrational or ideal-istically rigid expectations is a sign of ego strength. And

the earlier that one can grieve and “let go” the easier for emotional catharsis to become a burnout prevention tool as well as a base for rebuilding healthy purpose and passion.

2. The Four “R”s of Burnout Recovery: Running, Reading, Retreating, and Writing.

(a) Running. After regaining my energy and bal-ance, I started a regimen of daily jogging. First, thirty-forty minutes of nonstop large muscle movement (jog-ging, brisk walking, cycling, swimming, etc.) will get those disposition-enhancing endorphins pumping. The chemical influx helps slow a racing mind and helps lift a sluggish mood. Also, running or jogging is great for grounding you when you’re feeling vulnerable or when life feels uncertain and up in the air. There’s a beginning and end point culminating in a tangible sense of control and accomplishment. This routine can readily evolve into a success ritual, a robust tool for both burnout pre-vention and recovery.

(b) Reading. In some of my darkest hours I turn to humorous novels or cartoon books (like Calvin and Hobbes) to add some absurdity, if not levity, to my per-spective. Hearty laughter also releases endorphins, giv-ing vital organs a brief but vigorous internal massage. As the erosive effects of burnout had spiraled, my playful and humorous mindset had withered. How wonderful it was to laugh again and to chuckle at the irrationality of my outrageous egoal quest. (What is an egoal? Basically it is goal-seeking behavior that is driven by obsessive thinking and rigid, wounded, false, or self-righteous pride.) Self-accepting laughter is a great antidote to embarrassment or shame. And if reading still feels like a strain, turn on those Seinfeld reruns.

(c) Retreating. After my academic meltdown, I need-ed time to reflect on this ego-and identity-shattering process: how and why had I generated this situational drama and psycho-physiological trauma? Retreating also allows time for engaging some existential biggies: What are my skills, gifts, and talents? What are my emotional, knowledge, and learning gaps? What direction(s) and what enterprises really feel like me? The blank canvas is scary. There’s no absolute way or pre-existing structure. The blank canvas is exciting. There’s no absolute truth or pre-existing limits. To paraphrase Walt Whitman: Follow the open road and discover or recover your soul.


(d) Writing. Journaling through angst and loss is a time-honored tradition. And contemporary research indicates that taking the time to express and analyze your emotions through writing provides a stress-relieving anchor in a stormy, troubled sea. Reflective writing can also be a source of self-discovery – a tool for your healing, understanding, and action, as well as a medium for keeping the faith.

And one of my favorite ways to prepare for serious writ-ing is by reading. Reading for enlightenment followed the abovementioned lighthearted variety. I started devouring books about burnout, and then began to write about it. Actually, I wasn’t quite ready to write directly about my dis-sertation meltdown. However, in my therapy practice I was working with a couple of lawyers who were struggling with exhaustion and other serious smoke signals. Analyzing their erosive spiral was cathartic. And these writings even led to speaking at several legal conferences. This academic lemon would make lemonade by becoming an expert – therapist, writer, and lecturer – on stress and burnout...and spread the word far and wide. (Obviously, once an egoal-driven narcissist…)

3. Transition and Diversification. The grieving path – from shock and sadness to fear and rage – and the retreat-ing process have three basic goals: (a) to mourn and let go of a painful or problematic past or path, (b) to help you reenergize and refocus in the present and (c) to enable you to envision, design, and achieve a vital future. As Nobel Prize-winning author Albert Camus observed: “Once we have accepted the fact of loss we understand that the loved one [or loved position] obstructed a whole corner of the possible, pure now as a sky washed by rain.”

And it’s not just chronic overload or elusive goals that can be pathogenic, leaving us bereft. Experienced pro-fessionals are often susceptible to what I call the Bjorn Bored Syndrome, named for Bjorn Borg, the late ‘70s-early ’80-s Swedish tennis great. After winning the French and Wimbledon championships five years back-to-back, Borg suddenly burned out and dropped out of the circuit. Despite his many triumphs and the glamour of this stel-lar world, the novelty and thrill were gone. The hours and hours of repetitive practice was taking a toll. The Bjorn Bored Syndrome: “When Mastery times Monotony pro-vides an index of Misery!” The Stress Doc’s recommenda-tion: Fireproof your life with variety.

Recovering from burnout or rebuilding the fire means engaging in soul searching, shaking up the personal-pro-fessional puzzle, exploring anew, or even returning to one’s passionate roots. This might include such job or career path changes as:

(1) restructuring current roles and responsibilities; work-ing in another department or division,

(2) taking a sabbatical; perhaps doing some extended travel,

(3) consulting independently or working for a founda-tion, an association, or an institute,

(4) going back to school to pursue a heartfelt interest, or even returning to the classroom as an educator,

(5) going into business for yourself or, if self-employed and running on empty, joining a company,

(6) recovering a previous creative pursuit and turning it into a career path or, perhaps, balancing a job with a pas-sionate hobby, e.g., being a musician or a web programmer on the side, and

(7) pursuing a different professional setting or field, a new geographical location and, in some cases, even mak-ing a major “out of the career box” transition. While one should carefully consult with family, friends, and advisors this period of reflection is also the time to listen not just to your head but also to your heart.

Final Reflection

Burnout evokes an experience of loss: from loss of control or abandoning a cherished goal to a sense of help-lessness and hopelessness. However, wrestling with loss often yields new possibilities. As I once penned: Whether the loss is a key person, a desired position or a powerful illusion, each deserves the respect of a mourning. The pit in the stomach, the clenched fists and quivering jaw, the anguished sobs prove catalytic in time. In mystical fashion, like spring upon winter, the seeds of dissolution bear fruit-ful renewal.

Engaging with these three strategic steps will provide preventive fireproofing while enabling you, if necessary, to recover and rejuvenate from a burnout experience. These ideas and actions will stimulate you to define and design your transitional future. And finally, these are words to help us all…Practice Safe Stress!

About the Author: Mark Gorkin, LICSW, “The Stress Doc”™, is a keynote and international/Celebrity Cruise Lines speaker, trainer and syndicated writer specializing in stress, team building, managing anger and difficult people and HUMOR! The Doc is the author of Practice Safe Stress: Healing and Laughing in the Face of Stress, Burnout, & Depression and The Four Faces of Anger: Transforming Anger, Rage and Conflict into Behavior and Attitude that Inspire. As AOL’s “Online Psychohumorist”™ the Doc runs a weekly “Shrink Rap ™ and Group Chat.” National Public Radio (NPR) cited his USA Today Online “Hot Site” – www.stressdoc.com – as a “workplace resource.” Email [email protected] for his free, monthly award-winning newsletter, and for more info on his speaking programs and a complete list of products.

Part III of this series will appear in the October issue of Leadership Exchange.

http://www.stressdoc.com



*He may not have argued the closing statement that won the million dollar judgment…

... But, boy did he ever type andspell every word of It properly.

A great law firm needs more than great lawyers.

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Dodie Edelstein is the owner of Legal Information Systems Training (LIST), which specializes in helping you get the most from the software you have. She provides customized legal-specific training and support services for document processing, e-mail and document management software.

Using the Style Separator

If you use Word 2002 or 2003, you can be thankful for one big improvement called the Style Separator. What is this thing? The Style Separator is an undocumented command in Word that acts like a paragraph mark, but what it real-ly does is separates two parts of one paragraph so you can stop using one style and start using another in the same paragraph. What I’m trying to say is you can now have two or more paragraph styles in the same paragraph.

For years we’ve been using special buttons, hidden paragraph marks, macros, menu choices, and such, to “hide”the paragraph mark once a heading ends and the paragraph body text begins. Those of you who do transactional documents, wills and trusts, real estate documents, and others know what I mean. Here’s the scenario:

Your first subparagraph under an article or a major level might look like this:

1.1 Definition of Terms. The definitions in this agreement have been defined in the paragraphs hereinafter as heretofore told before. . .

Now, what we all want is a Table of Contents with just the paragraph heading in it and not the rest of the text. Just like the little description of uni on a sushi menu, this has always been defined as “challenging” for those of us struggling to make this work. We’ve used hidden paragraph marks, made them blue, red, whatever, in an attempt to get our Table of Contents to only show the number and the underlined heading and not the entire text of the paragraph. Some people call this “Run-on Headings” – whatever you name them, they’re no fun and they cause extra manipulation to get them to work.

So, here comes Word 2002 with a fix. Don’t you deserve that? You’ve waited long enough – here’s how to get this feature:

1. Put in your heading numbering and type your paragraph title.

2. Wherever you want the style to change to whatever style follows your numbered heading, press CTRL + ALT + ENTER. (This is the well-hidden shortcut key for a Style Separator.) It does look just like a hidden paragraph mark without all the hassle.

3. Now go on typing the rest of the paragraph.

4. Repeat until you’re finished with the agreement.

If you already have agreements set up, you can insert the paragraph marks right after the end of the paragraph heading anytime. It doesn’t have to be done while you’re typing it in from scratch.

Now, go about your regular process of generating the Table of Contents. I’m sure you’ll find this much easier than the other methods you’ve grown to tolerate.

If you want this feature to be a button that you can click with your mouse, you’ll have to customize your toolbar and look for the command under “All Commands” – as it doesn’t show up anywhere else. It’s called “InsertStyleSeparator”in the menu list of commands.

It’s funny, but I first heard about this new feature when Word XP (2002) first came out and I tried it right away. The strange thing is that when you generated your Table of Contents, the numbers were missing in front of each entry! I don’t know what was going through the minds of the programmers in Redmond, but it looks like it works now.

I’m currently using Microsoft Word 2002 with Service Pack 2, so please make sure your software is updated if this new feature doesn’t behave like it should.

Dodie EdelsteinLegal Information Systems Training

[email protected]

www.aboutlist.com

TECHNOLOGY

TIP

Two Styles in One Paragraph?(Word 2002 or 2003 Only)

1.1 Definition of Terms. The definitions in this agreement have been defined in the paragraphs hereinafter as heretofore told before. . .


FINANCIAL

MANAGEMENT

Banking Tips for the Law Office*

Avoid Unnecessary Problems by Instituting Defensive Banking Practices

Managing an offi ce today requires a good defensive strategy – thoroughly vetting potential employees to avoid future personnel problems, instituting segrega-tion of duties to limit the possibility that employees will embezzle, incorporating tight online security measures to protect against hackers. But one aspect of fi rm man-agement often is overlooked when legal administrators are planning their next defensive move – banking.

Banking can seem straightforward – an institution holds your money, and releases it when you say to. But understanding some of the nuances of banking law – and incorporating strategic practices accordingly – can help legal administrators prevent unnecessary headaches, fees and legal troubles in the future.

Following is a summary of some of the key laws that could affect the way your fi rm conducts its bank-ing business, including tips on how to protect your fi rm from some common banking mistakes.

Retainer agreements: The structure of your retainer agreements can facilitate – or hamper – opening deposit accounts and depositing checks. If appropriate, make sure your retainer agreements give you the power to en-dorse and deposit checks payable to your client (wheth-er payable to the client alone or payable to both the at-torney and client). Without this, banks may require the client’s signature to be guaranteed by his or her bank (which could be a problem if the client does not have an account) or that the client be present when the check is deposited.

Depositing checks into your trust account and “col-lected” funds: When a check is deposited, your bank must get the money from the bank of the person who is-sued the check. Until it actually collects, your bank may allow you to use the “uncollected” funds. While you can write checks against those funds, you do so at your own risk. If the deposited check is paid, no problem. If re-turned unpaid, potential problem.

If you have paid out funds on a check later returned unpaid, you are out of trust—you used one client’s funds to pay another client. If the returned check creates an overdraft, your bank must report you to the State Bar, and the State Bar may sanction you.

To avoid these problems, explain to clients that you will not be able to issue a check against the deposited funds for a week (for local checks) or two (for checks out of the area). You may want to try to verify that a check

has been fi nally paid. Contact the bank on which an item is drawn to confi rm receipt and payment. To make sure the bank hasn’t changed its mind and returned a check after a phone call, call the bank a second time one or two business days later and re-confi rm. At that point, the check probably is fi nally paid, but note, even a “fi -nally paid” check can be returned up to three years later if there is a claim that the endorsement is forged or that the check has been altered.

Accord & Satisfaction (“Paid in Full” Checks): Before 1993 you could take a check marked “paid in full” which actually was for less than the amount due, strike the restrictive language, cash the check, and preserve your rights to collect the balance. Now, with few exceptions, under Commercial Code § 3311, if you cash a check which says “paid in full” and the debt is disputed, pay-ment really is in full. You can’t recover the balance, even if you could prove more is owed. Don’t cash “paid in full” checks unless you are prepared to accept the sum as payment in full.

Death/Incompetence of Bank Customer: After a bank customer has died or been declared incompetent, a bank is not liable for paying checks against that per-son’s account until the bank has been given offi cial no-tifi cation of death or adjudication of incompetence and has a reasonable opportunity to act upon it. A bank may pay checks up to 10 days after the date of death unless it is ordered to stop payment by a person claiming an interest in the account. (Commercial Code § 4405)

Postdated Checks: Banks may pay early unless the customer gives it notice of postdating. Most banks have a form for this notice. Such notice generally is effective for six months. (Commercial Code § 4401)

Staledated Checks: There is no legal obligation to pay checks more than six months old, but a bank may pay staledated checks “in good faith.” Never assume an “old” check won’t be paid, simply because it is old. (Commercial Code § 4404)

Stop Payment Order (on your check): Any signa-tory on an account has the right to stop payment on a check issued against the account, regardless of which authorized signer signed the check. A stop payment is generally effective for 14 days if it’s an oral order, six months if confi rmed in writing. Some banks allow “per-manent” stop payments. If the bank pays a check after a stop payment has been issued, the accountholder must

Diane BaxaSenior Counsel

City National Bank


prove loss. A stop payment does not prevent a “holder in due course” from collecting on the check. (Commercial Code § 4403)

Holder in Due Course: A holder in due course is one who takes the instrument (a) for value; (b) in good faith; (c) with-out notice that the instrument is overdue or is otherwise defective. This is most likely to affect you when you place a stop payment on a check because work wasn’t performed, goods weren’t delivered, etc., and you receive a nasty let-ter from the accountholder’s bank or a check casher who claims to be a holder in due course – in other words, the bank/check-casher already gave the payee funds for the check. If the bank/check casher did give funds and so is a “holder in due course,” it/he is entitled to payment even if you didn’t get anything for the check.

Stop Payment Order on bank’s “Cashier’s Check” or other official check: A cashier’s check is an obligation of a bank, rather than an individual. If a Cashier’s Check or other bank check is lost or stolen, the purchaser or payee of the check may execute a declaration of loss and, on the 90th day after issuance of the check (or the date of the declaration of loss if more than 90 days after issuance), if the check has not been paid, the bank shall pay the amount of the check to the claimant. If the bank pays the amount of the check to the claimant, it is not liable on the instrument. So, if you’re given a cashier’s check that’s more than 90 days old, it may not be good. Also note that while a cashier’s check is an obligation of a bank, a bank is no more liable for a fictitious cashier’s check than you are. In these days of color printers and copiers, be careful when taking an official check, espe-cially for personal transactions such as the sale of a used car, etc.

Writs and levies and the attorney-client trust account: When suits are filed or judgments are obtained against at-torneys, creditors sometimes place a hold on that attorney’s funds. Banks first will hold the individual funds of the at-torney. However, if individual funds are not sufficient to satisfy the attachment or levy, many banks will hold funds in an attorney-client trust account. Attorneys often are sur-prised to learn that their trust accounts are not exempt from levy. Banks take this step because it’s possible that some of the funds on deposit in the trust account might actually be-long to the attorney – for example, if he or she deposited a personal injury settlement check but hasn’t yet taken his or her percentage.

If this happens, call the levying party rather than the bank – especially when the levying party is represented by counsel. The bank will not release the funds unless so advised by the sheriff’s office. Usually the levying party’s counsel will agree to release funds held from the attorney’s attorney-client trust account.

Most people only discover some of these basic banking laws after a costly mistake. The more you know now, the better able you and your firm will be to avoid hassles in the future.

About the Author: Diane Baxa has been senior counsel with City National Bank’s Legal Department since 1985. Ms. Baxa is a litigator, primarily handling lawsuits involving nego-tiable instruments and other operational issues. She also provides general operations advice, especially in the areas of legal process, account documentation, and bank fraud, and provides general labor advice on wage and hour laws. Ms. Baxa is a member of the Los Angeles Country Bar Association and the Bank Operations Counsel Association. She earned a B. A. degree in political science, summa cum laude, from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and her J. D. from the University of Southern California. Ms. Baxa is available to speak on the law of checks, negotiable instru-ments and bank fraud, and on deposit account documenta-tion and legal process.

For more information on Banking for Legal Services firms and professionals, please contact Bonnie Rubin at (310) 282-7888 or Denise Woodruff at (213) 553-8236.

# # #

* This article summarizes general principles and is not intended to express any legal opinions or advice. You should review the applicable law and/or consult an attor-ney for legal advice.

E-MAIL ETIQUETTE TIPSJust a friendly reminder...

When soliciting answers to questions from fellow Chapter members, please observe the following basic rules of etiquette:

1. Please put the member e-mail addresses in the BCC section. This “Blind Copies” the members so each one receiving the initial e-mail only sees their own name and e-mail address and prevents respons-es to your e-mail from going to everyone.

2. If the sender forgets to put everyone in the BCC section, please use the “Respond to Sender” func-tion rather than “Respond to All” when answering the initial e-mail. Otherwise, you’re cluttering every-one’s in-boxes with unsolicited responses.

3. If you wish to know the outcome of the results of the original query, request them in your response to the sender.

Informal surveys are great tools for all of us to use so let’s help one another by following these simple steps.

Thank you.

Kelly A. Shultz Membership Co-Chair ALA-Greater Los Angeles Chapter


FINDING THE RIGHT HIRE FOR

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RIGHT SEARCH FIRM.

Presenting Robert Half Legal. Understanding your needs is one thing – fulfilling them is quite another. And that’s whereRobert Half Legal* comes in. As North America’s leading provider of legal professionals, we offerlaw firms and legal departments the highest quality project and full-time professionals. We actquickly to pinpoint and fulfill your needs, because our account executives are practicing attorneys –with a network of experienced legal professionals that offers clients a range of skills, including:

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So no matter how high you raise the bar, Robert Half Legal has the right person – with the specialized experience – to suit your needs. To find out more, call or visit us online today.

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Technology ConsultingNetwork InstallationDisaster RecoverySecurity AnalysisTechnical Support 24x7Document ManagementApplication & Desktop SupportTraining ServicesCustom MacrosDatabase DevelopmentHardware & Software Sales

Contacts:Kevin [email protected]

Catherine [email protected]

Servicing the Legal CommunitySince 1974

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SOS (SUCCEED OVER STRESS)We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.

----Anais Nin

Below are some examples of helpful ways to manage stress. Read through the list, and check all of the ways that you’re already managing stress. (Check statements even if you only use them from time to time.)

____ 1. When I have a problem, I talk it over with a friend or relative.

____ 2. When I’m faced with a problem, I take time to look at all of my options, and then I make a plan to do what I can.

____ 3. When I know I have to be somewhere on time, I plan ahead to prevent any mess ups from happening at the last minute.

____ 4. When I feel my body tensing up from demands, I take time out to exercise or relax.

____ 5. When I need to, I step away from a problem for awhile to clear my head.

____ 6. When I make mistakes, I remind myself that no one is perfect and then look at what I can learn so I don’t do it again.

____ 7. To keep up my energy, I try to eat right during hectic times.

____ 8. I exercise regularly to stay fit and reduce tension.

____ 9. I try to get enough sleep to have the energy I need for my day.

____10. I openly tell people my feelings instead of bottling them up inside or exploding later.

____11. I stand up for myself when there’s something I don’t like.

____12. When I’m feeling overwhelmed with problems, I take things one step at a time. Taken from Pelletier, Kenneth R., MD, Lutz, Robert W., MD and Klehr, Nancy. “That’s Life: Learning to Manage Life’s Stresses”. University of California School of Medicine.

So, remember, slow down, find gratitude in what you have, take time to take care of yourself ........and BREATHE.


NEW MEMBERS

IN BETWEEN JOBS? You may want to join in on the networking group Carol Leemon has put together to assist out of work members. Feel free to contact Carol at [email protected] or 213-617-5248.

MEMBER CHANGES

Paul J. BishopBusiness Manager Southern

California OperationsReed Smith, LLP

355 South Grand Avenue, Suite 2900

Los Angeles, CA 90071-1514T: (213) 457-8051F: (213) 457-8080

[email protected]

Valerie JanssensHuman Resources Director

Hatch & Parent21 E. Carrillo Street

Santa Barbara, CA 93105T: (805) 963-7000F: (805) 965-4333

[email protected]

Tanya M. RussellChief Operating Officer

Tyre Kamins Katz & Granof 1880 Century Park East, Suite

300Los Angeles, CA 90067-1666

T: (310) 553-6822F: (310) 552-9024

[email protected]

William K. WeechOffice Administrator

Tucker Ellis & West LLP1000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite

1800Los Angeles, CA 90017

T: (213) 430-3230F: (213) 430-3409

[email protected]

MEMBERSHIP

NEWS

Vicki CyrNew Address, Phone and Fax

333 South Hope Street, 24th FloorMail Code: CA9-193-24-01

Los Angeles, CA 90071T: (213) 617-8706F: (213) 617-8752

Debbie MogrenAll New InformationHelp Desk/Trainer

Ervin, Cohen & Jessup LLP9401 Wilshire Blvd, 9th FloorBeverly Hills, CA 90212-2974

T: (310) 273-6333, ext 261F: (310) 887-6822 (direct)

[email protected]

Stephen GreenAll New Information

IT Manager Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP

300 South Grand AvenueTwenty-Second Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90071-3132T: (213) 612-7377

F: (877) 4FAXMLB or (877) 432-9652 [email protected]

A third generation California native, Robert Santos is a seasoned professional having spent 10 years as the head of the operations and information technology with the growing law fi rm of Manning & Marder, Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez LLP. In his position as Director of Information Technology and Facilities, Robert is responsible for both departments which includes fourteen employees. When asked what he likes best in his position at the fi rm, Robert advised, “I like my work dealing with computers and facilities. I am very fortunate to do work that I like for a company that I helped build for senior partners that are second to none.”

Robert is an expert in relocating offi ces having coordinated facilities and technology for the fi rm’s of-fi ces in Irvine, San Diego, San Francisco and Phoenix. His largest relocation consisted of 100 employees to a 45,000 square foot location with less than 60 days notice and virtually no computer down time for the accounting department that worked through the weekend!

Prior to his work with law fi rms, Robert directed “taped live” television shows, worked on several short format, instructional vid-eos, as well as, full length features for both fi lm and television. He is a strong advocate of community involvement and his public service work includes fi ve years as a chairperson on the California corporate board of HOBY (Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership), a non-profi t organization that teaches leadership skills to over 25,000 high school sophomores worldwide each year. Robert is also an active member of the Pasadena Junior Chamber of Commerce. He was elected as a Delegate from California’s 26th Congressional District and recently returned from the Democratic National Convention held in Boston, MA. He stated, “The convention was really exciting and the city was great! I also enjoyed watching the Red Sox beat the Yankees at Fenway Park!”

WELCOME ABOARD!!by Robin Sommerstein

NEW MEMBER BIO

Correction to August Issue: Mark Doorn was inadvertently listed as “Michael.” Mark has moved out of state and can be reached at [email protected]

Robert Santos


MINI

SPOTLIGHTS

August Mini-SpotlightsQUESTIONS: What new information or tools have you learned through attending Chapter education seminars and luncheons?

How have you implemented some of these tools or information in your work environment?

Karla Kallasorg, Offi ce AdministratorSchmid & Voiles

Answer 1 - I am guilty of not attending many of the luncheons but I found this last one to be of particular interest since my company is planning on going “paperless” by 12/05. I found the topic to be very timely and the speaker knowledgeable on the subject. Another seminar I attended was on knowledge management and my fi rm did start to corral our “knowledge” in a way that has made it easier to fi nd and, more importantly, to use.

Answer 2 - My company is implementing the “paperless” offi ce by the end of 2005 and I wanted to get information from a law fi rm’s perspective since I work for an in-house fi rm in the insurance industry and much of the focus on the paperless environment has been from an insurance standpoint. I intend to mention some of the items raised by the speaker at the planning meetings we are having re the implementation of the software and hardware.

Carlene Hilliker, So. Calif. Facilities/Offi ce Services SupervisorReedSmith, LLP

Answer 1 - I am a new member and have only attended one luncheon….so far. It was the seminar on a paperless offi ce which was very informative. I rejoined ALA after several years specifi cally for the educational tools available and the great net-

working….well, good food also helped.

Answer 2 - Since I just rejoined ALA I have not had the ability to implement any-thing I have learned. I do know, from my past membership in ALA, that this will change with continued involvement.

Michael Glowartz, Records CoordinatorReed Smith LLP

Answer 1 - With this being my fi rst seminar I would have to say that it seems you of-fer a variety of topics and people to help educate and train those in the legal fi eld.

Answer 2 - With regards to a paperless offi ce, we have implemented some of the speaker’s ideas, but like most, have more to change on the “to do list” before all can be implemented.


The Technology Section met at Akin Gump’s offices on June 24, 2004, to hear a presentation from Jeff Roback from Praxis Computing and Stephen Green from Akin Gump. The presentation’s title was; “Hackfest: An Overview of Hacking Tools and IT Defenses”. The presentation covered the most common hacker tools and methodologies and how law firm IT departments can defend themselves against these types of attacks. (Note that a copy of the presentation, as well as the script used in the live demonstration can be retrieved from the Technology Section page at www.glaala.org.) It is important to remember that the information presented in this meeting is for educational and research purposes only. Use of these tools and concepts in your own environ-ment may prove to be illegal. Seek the advice of your legal counsel before running any of these tools, even in a test environment.

The majority of the presentation was centered around the tools and techniques that the more advanced hack-ers today are using. There was a lengthy discussion regarding advances in toolkits and rootkits that today’s more advanced hackers are using, as well as the types of security concerns and proactive stances that law firm IT depart-ments must take in response. Jeff and Stephen also talked about recent examples of security breaches and threats that have been exposed. The reality of the dangers of lax security policies and ignorance of what tools are now available to script kiddies and hackers were discussed in great detail.

There was much discussion about how hackers choose their targets, as well as some of the more popular motiva-tions for doing so. We looked at the different phases of attacks including reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation and expanding control.

We then focused on some security “Best Practices,” including reviewing hardware, software and people approaches to security that lend themselves to a well integrated and firm security posture.

After a question and answer session, Jeff and Stephen did a little role playing and presented a live hacking demon-stration using real tools and defenses. Jeff took on the role of a hacker named Scott Daniels (aka n3T51ay3r) who had decided to attack a law firm network maintained by Stephen, who played the part of a junior IT staff mem-ber.

The types of attacks used were widely varied and very effective. As we saw, the attacks escalated in quantity and sophistication. During the live demonstration, countermeasures were discussed and demonstrated. The demon-stration ended with a discussion on wireless security and also a live wireless hacking demonstration.

The session ended with a summary of lessons learned by both the attacker and defender. Comprehensive security strategies were discussed for the benefit of the attendees and ended with a question and answer period.

Despite the wide-eyed fear that the attendees displayed and verbalized throughout the presentation, the meeting was a huge success and was extremely educational.

Technology Section Meeting Recap

CHAPTER

NEWS

Stephen Green

Section Chair

Presenters, Jeff Roback and Stephen Green

Stuart Lapp and Annette Morales Wayne Meyers and Cindy Fortune

Cesar Marrufo, Account Manager with Praxis Computing, and Rosela Marin

Jim Van Dusen, Mark Verbecken, and Vince Klein

GREATER LOS ANGELES LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE • WWW.GLAALA.ORGSeptember 2004 21GREATER LOS ANGELES LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE • WWW.GLAALA.ORGSeptember 2004 21

CALENDAR

OF

EVENTS

CALENDAR

OF

EVENTS

Technology Section Meeting Recap SEPTEMBER 2004Mon 6th LABOR DAY HOLIDAY

Wed 8th

GLA Chapter MeetingTopic: LEGAL ETHICS: THE GOOD, BAD and UGLY;

Speaker: Dr. Arthur Gross-Schaefer, Attorney, CPA and Rabbi

11:45a-1:00pLos Angeles Omni Hotel

$30-members; $35-guests

Register online www.glaala.org or Maureen Varnes 213-895-

4900

Thu 9th

CLM Study GroupSession 5 - Financial Management & Analysis;

Speaker: Michael Palmer, Director of Administration of Akin, Gump

6:00p - 9:00pSulmeyer Kupetz, 333 S. Hope St.,

#3500, LA, $20 (dinner/pkg)

Susan Seales 213-633-6800 [email protected] or

or Rosela Marin 213-972-0119 [email protected]

Fri 10th GLA Board Retreat12:00p - 7:30p

Omni Hotel, Downtown LALuci Hamilton 310-629-0206

[email protected]

Mon 13th

GLA Education SessionTopic: Electronic Court Filing Systems: Requirements,

Compliance and Procedures; Speaker: Karyn Beyer

9:00a - 12:00pQuinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver

& Hedges, 865 S. Figueroa St., 10th Floor, LA, RSVP by 9/9

Rosela Marin at 213-97-0119 [email protected]

Tue 14th

Live, Online SeminarsPetroleum Institute for Continuing Education;

Topic: Workplace Wisdom for Successful Negotiations

12:00p - 2:00pCLM qualified

403-284-1250 or e-mail www.peice.com

Wed 15th Live, Online Seminars - Petroleum Institute for Continuing Education; Topic: Workplace Wisdom for Managing Stress

12:00p - 2:00pCLM qualified


Thu 16th Multi-Office Section MeetingRoundtable Discussions

11:45a - 1:00pDavis Wright Tremaine LLP, 865

S. Figueroa St., 24th Floor, LA

Susan Seales 213-633-6800 [email protected]

Thu 16th Live, Online Seminars - Petroleum Institute for Continuing Education; Topic: Workplace Wisdom for Decision Making

12:00p - 2:00p(not CLM qualified)


Thu 16th Small Section MeetingTopic: TBA

11:45a-1:00pDowntown location TBA

Jerry Calcagno 213-833-4500 or [email protected]

Sat 18th

CLM Study Group - Session 6 - Human Resources; Speaker: Jan Christensen,

Executive Director of Silver & Freedman

9:00a - 4:00pMcDermott, Will & Emery

2049 Century Park East, 34th Fl., $20 (breakfast/lunch/parking)



Tue 21st ALA Teleseminar - Law Firm Profitability Enhancement; Speaker: TBA

11:00a-1:00pReg. Fee: $169-5 days prior

$170 for late reg.

Jan Marshall [email protected]

Tue 21st Finance Section MeetingSpeaker and Topic TBD

11:45a-1:00pLocation: Downtown

Jan Marshall [email protected]

Fri 24th DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR CLM EXAM IN NOVEMBER

Tue 28th

CLM Study Group - Session 7 - Organizational Development; Speakers: Lee Nemchek of Morrison & Foerster (filing systems);

and Denise Jackson, The Ajament Partners, Inc.

6:00p - 8:30pSulmeyer Kupetz

333 S. Hope St., #3500, LA$20 incl. dinner and parking



Tue 28th HR Section Meeting Downtown location, TBDKim Robinson 213-892-5661

[email protected]

Tue 28th LACBA - Law Practice Management Session; Speaker: TBA; Topic: Search Engine Optimization

Time and location TBAChris Thalman 213-833-6704;

www.lacba.org

Wed 29th ALA Teleseminar - Managing the Law Office Complainers, Bullies and Curmudgeons

Connie Merritt of Connie Merritt Productions

an Marshall [email protected]

Thu 30th LACBA - Career Development Conference - Tools and Resources Needed to Advance and Enhance Legal Career

5:00p-9:00p Downtown Marriott333 S. Figueroa

$10-members/Assoc. members; $15-non-members;

Early regis. online by 9/24 $20-regist. after 9/24 or at door

http://lacba.expertprosearch.com/lacbacareerfair/default.

aspx

Thu-Fri 30th - 1st ALA - Intellectual Property Retreat Westin Harbour Castle - Toronto

Lisa Mikita [email protected]

FOR MORE INFO ON THESE EVENTS SEE WWW.GLAALA.ORG and WWW.ALANET.ORG


REGION 6 EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE PREVIEW October 8-9, 2004 - The Century Plaza Hotel & Spa

Join Us in Los Angeles for Lights, Camera and Education

Casting Party! Start off your Conference production under the Hollywood stars Thursday night at the Welcome Reception. Enjoy the evening sur-rounded by the crystal reflecting pools and lush gardens of the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa.

Kick off Friday morning with a unique performance from the juggling duo, The Passing Zone. As we “juggle” the many demands of our lives each and every day, The Passing Zone will provide a fun and inspiring routine featur-ing refreshing concepts relating to creativity and teambuilding. One of the most sought after comedy acts in the U.S., The Passing Zone, has appeared on The Tonight Show, NBC’s Today and Live with Regis and Kelly.

Friday’s session highlights include: Branding, Positioning and Differentiation (Larry Kohn), Fraud Detection & Prevention (Dave Roberts), Labor Law Update (Bob Wenzel), Managing E-mail (Laura Stack), 7 Steps to Investigate Internal EEO Complaints.

The Friday night celebration promises to be an event to remember! Join us at Universal Studios Hollywood for a night of mingling on Parisian streets, a walk on the red carpet, and dinner and dancing in the Globe Theater.

Saturday’s session highlights include: Counter-Intuitive Approach to Profitability & Success (Hap Ziegler), Computer Security Strategy (Jeff Roback), Substance Abuse (Patricia Tierney), E-Evidence Tampering (Eric Frieberg)

After brunch and an ALA update, the Conference will close with a general session by author, teacher and motiva-tional speaker, Chic Thompson, from the Creative Management Group. During this session, Thompson will inspire you to become an “idea generator” while problem solving. After the closing session, Thompson will also lead an interactive workshop. Following the workshop, be sure to take part in the CLMSM Idea Exchange.

Save the Date!October 8–9, 2004

ATTENTION VENDORS: Set-up and Exhibit Hall – October 8Vendor and Participant Welcome Reception – October 7

Association of Legal Administrators2004 Region 6 Educational Conference

Century City Plaza HotelCentury City (Los Angeles, California)

For more information contact:

Vendors: Jeannie CaBell, Region 6 Projects Officer(949) 932-3687; [email protected]

Erica S. Tamblyn, Region 6 Director(213) 892-4435; [email protected]

Patti Groff, Director At Large(619) 233-4777; [email protected]

Shawn M. Derfer, Education OfficerRegion 6 Representative(714) 668-5520; [email protected]

Joyce Patrick-Bai,Communication OfficerRegion 6 Representative(480) 655-0073; [email protected]

ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS

Save the Date!October 8–9, 2004

ATTENTION VENDORS: Set-up and Exhibit Hall – October 8Vendor and Participant Welcome Reception – October 7

Association of Legal Administrators2004 Region 6 Educational Conference

Century City Plaza HotelCentury City (Los Angeles, California)

For more information contact:

Vendors: Jeannie CaBell, Region 6 Projects Officer(949) 932-3687; [email protected]

Erica S. Tamblyn, Region 6 Director(213) 892-4435; [email protected]

Patti Groff, Director At Large(619) 233-4777; [email protected]

Shawn M. Derfer, Education OfficerRegion 6 Representative(714) 668-5520; [email protected]

Joyce Patrick-Bai,Communication OfficerRegion 6 Representative(480) 655-0073; [email protected]

ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS


Early Bird

Registration

Deadline:

September

8th


REGION 6 EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE PREVIEW October 8-9, 2004 - The Century Plaza Hotel & Spa

Join Us in Los Angeles for Lights, Camera and Education

Casting Party! Start off your Conference production under the Hollywood stars Thursday night at the Welcome Reception. Enjoy the evening sur-rounded by the crystal reflecting pools and lush gardens of the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa.

Kick off Friday morning with a unique performance from the juggling duo, The Passing Zone. As we “juggle” the many demands of our lives each and every day, The Passing Zone will provide a fun and inspiring routine featur-ing refreshing concepts relating to creativity and teambuilding. One of the most sought after comedy acts in the U.S., The Passing Zone, has appeared on The Tonight Show, NBC’s Today and Live with Regis and Kelly.

Friday’s session highlights include: Branding, Positioning and Differentiation (Larry Kohn), Fraud Detection & Prevention (Dave Roberts), Labor Law Update (Bob Wenzel), Managing E-mail (Laura Stack), 7 Steps to Investigate Internal EEO Complaints.

The Friday night celebration promises to be an event to remember! Join us at Universal Studios Hollywood for a night of mingling on Parisian streets, a walk on the red carpet, and dinner and dancing in the Globe Theater.

Saturday’s session highlights include: Counter-Intuitive Approach to Profitability & Success (Hap Ziegler), Computer Security Strategy (Jeff Roback), Substance Abuse (Patricia Tierney), E-Evidence Tampering (Eric Frieberg)

After brunch and an ALA update, the Conference will close with a general session by author, teacher and motiva-tional speaker, Chic Thompson, from the Creative Management Group. During this session, Thompson will inspire you to become an “idea generator” while problem solving. After the closing session, Thompson will also lead an interactive workshop. Following the workshop, be sure to take part in the CLMSM Idea Exchange.


Off-Site Data StorageDisaster Recovery ServicesData Products & Supplies

Tel: (800) 490-2770 Fax: (805) 581-1827

www.dpsi.us

“DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR DATA IS?”

“DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR DATA IS?”


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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Past-PresidentJim Van DusenPond North LLP

(213) [email protected]

Past-President

Seminars Co-ChairDebbie Mogren

Ervin, Cohen & Jessup LLP(310) 273-6333, ext [email protected]

Programs Co-ChairFelice LevineArnold & Porter(310) 788-8208

[email protected]

Programs Co-ChairJoan Fraser

Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP(213) 683-5050

[email protected]

Programs Co-ChairPrograms Co-Chair

Seminars Co-Chair Seminars Co-ChairTeresa Cherman

Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP(213) 892-4967

[email protected]

Seminars Co-Chair

Vendor LiaisonMichael Steiner, CLM

Frandzel Robins Bloom & Csato, L.C.(323) 658-9758

[email protected]

Vendor Liaison

Seminars Co-ChairRosela Marin

Kamine Ungerer LLP(213) 972-0119

[email protected]

Seminars Co-Chair

Membership Co-ChairKelly Shultz

Parker, Milliken, Clark, O’Hara & Samuelian


Membership Co-ChairRobin Sommerstein

Bet Tzedek Legal Services(323) 549-5814

[email protected]

Membership Co-Chair

HospitalityMaureen VarnesRodi, Pollock, Pettker, Galbraith & Cahill ALC


Hospitality

Membership Co-Chair WebmasterStephen Green

Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP(213) 612-7377

[email protected]

Webmaster

PresidentLuci Hamilton


Vice-President & Managing EditorWendy Sweet, CLM

Andrews Kurth LLP(213) 896-3107

[email protected]

SecretaryNaomi Haver

Iverson Yoakum Papiano & Hatch(213) 624-7444

[email protected]

Vice-President & Managing EditorPresident President-ElectBrian Robbins

Hunt, Ortmann, Blasco, Palffy & Rossell, Inc.


President-Elect


Treasurer &Newsletter Team

Janet ShawWickwire Gavin LLP


Newsletter Co-EditorSteven Jones

Lister Martin & Thompson(818) 551-6444

[email protected]

Newsletter Co-Editor

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Membership Co-ChairPeggy Mead

Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP(213) 683-5011

[email protected]

Membership Co-Chair

Job Referral ServicesIlona Reddick

Glassman, Browning & Saltsman, Inc.(310) 278-5100

[email protected]

If you’re interested in becoming a Chapter Leader, contact any board member.

If you re interested in

Your

Picture

Here!


SECTION LEADERS

Corporate/Government Co-Chair Vicki Cyr

Bank of America(213) 617-8706

[email protected]

Corporate/Government Co-Chair Corporate/Government Co-ChairIris Stein

City Attorney’s Offi ce(310) 458-8309

[email protected]

Corporate/Government Co-Chair Human Resources Co-Chair Kim Robinson

Morrison & Foerster LLP(213) 892-5661

[email protected]

Human Resources Co-Chair Human Resources Co-Chair Norma Ayala

Gipson Hoffman & Pancione(310) 557-8855

[email protected]

Human Resources Co-Chair

Finance Networking GroupBrian Robbins

Hunt, Ortmann, Blasco, Palffy & Rossell, Inc.


Finance Networking Group Multi-Offi ce SectionSusan Seales

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP(213) 633-6800

[email protected]

Multi-Offi ce Section San Fernando Valley SectionJanis Smith

Steinbrecher & Associates(818) 528-7600

[email protected]

San Fernando Valley Section Technology SectionStephen Green

Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP (213) 612-7377

[email protected]

Technology Section


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REGION 6 OFFICERS

Region 6 Director Erica Tamblyn

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy


Region 6 Communications Offi cerJoyce Patrick-Bai

Schmeiser, Olsen & Watts LLP(480) 655-0073

[email protected]

Region 6 Vendor Chair & Projects Offi cerJeannie CaBell

Dorsey & Whitney LLP(949) 932-3687

[email protected]

Region 6 Education Offi cerShawn M. Derfer

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP(714) 545-9200

[email protected]@milbank.com [email protected]

GLAALA MISSION STATEMENTThe Association of Legal Administrators’ mission is 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 management team; and represent professional legal management and managers to the legal community and to the community at large.

Small Firm Jerry CalcagnoCarroll, Burdick & McDonough LLP


Small Firm

The Greater Los Angeles Board of Directors would like to welcome Kim Robinson and Norma Ayala to

its team. Kim and Norma have volunteered to lead the HR Section. Look for their bios in the October 2004 issue of Leadership Exchange.

Welcome on Board!!

GREATER LOS ANGELES LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE • WWW.GLAALA.ORG28 September 2004GREATER LOS ANGELES LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE • WWW.GLAALA.ORG


Finance Section 7-20-04 Topic: Economics of Outsourcing Presenters: Panel Discussion with representatives from Uniscribe, Merrill, and Oce Location: Offices of Quinn Emanuel et al (Downtown LA)

Approximately 15 members of the Section attended an interactive panel discussion. Experts from three outsourcing vendors active in the legal community addressed a variety of questions on out-sourcing. Topics included the current scope of activities that are typically outsourced (Records/

Information management is a growing area), the potential value of outsourcing partners as “aggregators”, events that typically trigger an outsourcing engagement, ways to view outsourcing as a means to revenue enhancement, and cost neutral but service positive solutions.

The Corporate/Government Section met on Thursday, July 1, 2004, at Bank of America’s Legal Department. It was a roundtable discussion regarding how the role of legal secretaries has changed and what Legal Administrators are doing to keep up. The meeting was attended by Iris Stein, Linda Santos, Annette Morales, Bella Serrano (who brought four guests), and Vicki Cyr. The meeting was sponsored by Kristene Foster of Matura Farrington Staffing Services. The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for Thursday, October 7, 2004; however, there is so much going on with the ALA around that time that we decided that the next meeting will be January 7, 2005, on the Westside.

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Glenn Yamasaki of Oce Business Services

Brian Robbins

The Human Resources Section met on Tuesday, July 27, 2004, at noon at McDermott Will & Emery LLP. Lunch was hosted by Joan Darpinian Schulman. At the meeting, guest speaker, Harvey Thompson of Humanscale, gave a pre-sentation on ergonomics. Following the presentation we had a roundtable discussion on several different topics, such as PTO; profit-sharing contribu-tions; flexible work arrangements. The next HR Section meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 21, 2004, at a Downtown location that has not yet been confirmed.

HUMAN RESOURCE SECTION

Vicki Cyr

FINANCE SECTION

CORPORATE/GOVERNMENT SECTION

Iris Stein

Tim Sheehan of Merrill Corporation

Jeff Han of Uniscribe

Section Co-Chair Section Co-Chair

Section Chair

Kim Robinson Norma Ayala

Section Co-Chair Section Co-Chair


— JULY LUNCHEON RECAP —

Our July 8, 2004, luncheon was a series of roundtable discussions led by our very own GLA Chapter members. The luncheon was sponsored by Overnite Express and the Chapter extends its thanks for their support. Topics covered and recaps of most of those sessions follow:

• Change Management/Outsourcing, led by Erica Tamblyn of Milbank Tweed

• Compensation, led by Jan Christensen of Silver & Freedman

• Benefits, led by Jeanne Gervin of Paul Hastings

• Finance, led by Brian Robbins of Hunt Ortmann

• Motivating and Rewarding the Team, led by Petrice Ryan of Heller Ehrman

• Technology, led by Stephen Green, formerly with Akin Gump

• Am I a Candidate for the CLMSM Exam? led by Michael Steiner, CLM, of Frandzel Robins

Am I a Candidate for the Certified Legal Manager (CLM)SM Exam? Presented by Michael Steiner, CLM and Wendy Sweet, CLM, participants enjoyed a discussion regarding the overall process and benefits of becoming a CLMSM. Perhaps the hardest part of the process is documenting your prior course work to satisfy the required 120 minutes of course work. Functional Specialists also need to have completed 15 hours of course work outside of their specific field of expertise.

Whether or not CLMSM is your ultimate goal, it is recommended that you keep accurate track of all of your educational work. Certain classes from the National, Regional and Chapter level may be applied to the CLMSM requirement. From there, join a study group. The actual exam consists of 120 multiple choice questions of which 100 count and 20 are throw-a-ways being tested for future examinations that test your knowledge in General Accounting, Financial Analysis and Management, Human Resources Management, the Legal Industry and Office Operations Management. Through participation in the group and/or a fair amount of independent study, you will be prepared for the exam.

Passing the exam is a fantastic accomplishment; however, the real satisfaction comes from being a part of something larger than just one individual. Joining the group, meeting new people, enlarging your network, and improving yourself are the real benefits. Whether you take the exam or not, the CLMSM process is one that can benefit everyone.

Is it hard work? Yes. Is it a challenge? You bet. A commitment? For sure. Worthwhile? Without a doubt! For further information go to www.alanet.org/education/cert.html.

Motivating and Rewarding the Team - The group consisted of administrators and HR managers from a variety of firm sizes, from under 10 attorneys to large international firms. The discussion was lively and wide ranging, but some of the themes that came into focus were: Open communication, consistency, fairness and respect are the most important components of employee moti-vation and good morale. An environment which is inclusive of all employees, that encourages direct communication between attorneys and staff and upholds the dignity of all employees at all

Joan Fraser, Programs Chair and Paul Hekemian of Overnite Express

Vendor Liaison Michael Steiner and Rene Acosta of Overnite Express


times is the best way to build a positive working environment. We discussed some nominal tangible tools that could be used to recognize employees (parties/gifts, etc) but the overwhelming focus of the discussion was how the firm treats its employees and how it deals with issues as they arise are the major determining factors of morale in the office.

Finance - Brian Robbins lead the discussion on Finance issues. Participants were representatives of small, medium and large firms. Here’s what was dis-cussed.

• Financial reporting - keep it simple, partners typically have a limited attention span. Consider providing a narrative “Executive Summary” of key financial results for the period presented and supplement that with the detailed schedules for those who care to look further.

• Profitability analysis - be careful. There are a lot of assumptions that go into an analysis and partners can tend to “spin” the results for their own purposes. It can be informative but also divisive if not carefully managed.

• Continuing education - leverage what ALA can provide and supplement with professional journals and other seminars, videos.

• Collections using credit cards - law firms are accepting client payments by credit card more frequently (no so much at the BIG firms).

• Benefits - clients get the credit card benefits (e.g. airline miles) and the firm gets fast payment at a cost of a few percent of the invoice. Can be used selectively. Get client’s authorization in writing to avoid disputes.

Technology - Our table discussed best practices relating to document manage-ment systems and the status of recent rollouts from a couple of firms; IP tele-phony and the various ways to implement it; IT staffing and ratios; office moves and technology considerations; fire suppression options for data centers, as well as overall data center design; cabling plant design and maintenance best prac-tices and practical examples; and laptop programs.

Change Management/Outsourcing - Our table topic was change management and outsourcing. Discussion ranged from identifying the kind of change firms have experienced (new technology, merger with another firm, acquisition of lateral attorneys, execution of a new business strategy, implementation of a new compensation system, new marketing programs, opening a new office, etc.) to identifying what skills are required to successfully manage change (time manage-ment, conflict resolution, negotiation techniques, knowledge re planning techniques, project management, knowledge of industry trends, and more). All agreed that change is never easy, but strong leadership and clear communication from the top certainly facilitates successful change.

We also discussed outsourcing - what kinds of things are being outsourced? (mail, copy, fax [traditional FM], hospitality/ conference services, reception, records, library, help desk, total IT function, printer management, disaster recovery, word processing and more).

Why? What are the benefits? (reduced costs, improved service, other have to manage staffing issues, introduction of and experi-ence with new technology).

What are the pitfalls?

What is new in this arena? Much of the discussion revolved around a current pilot program at one firm to outsource word processing to India.

Sponsored by Overnite Express


An Emerging Information Security Minimum Standard of Due Care

Tuesday, October 21, 2003. Memorize the date. It’s the

date information security management naiveté died.

On October 21, 2003, New York State Attorney General

Eliot Spitzer announced an agreement with Victoria’s

Secret to protect the privacy of its customers.

The agreement follows the discovery that personal

information of Victoria’s Secret customers was available

through the company web site, contrary to the compa-

ny’s published privacy policy.

Under the terms of the settlement, Victoria’s Secret

is to provide refunds or credits to all affected New York

consumers, and is to pay $50,000 to the State of New

York as costs and penalties.

Also under the terms of the settlement, Victoria’s

Secret is required to:

• Establish and maintain an information security

program to protect personal information

• Establish management oversight and employee

training programs

• Hire an external auditor to annually monitor com-

pliance with the security program

In announcing the agreement, Mr. Spitzer said: “A

business that obtains consumers’ personal information

has a legal duty to ensure that the use and handling of

that data complies in all respects with representations

made about the company’s information security and

privacy practices.”

From this date forward, every Board of Directors,

every CEO, and every President of every business in

America has the duty to recognize that they are respon-

sible for securing the information in their company’s

computer systems.

From this date forward, executive management can

no longer hide behind the naive myth that information

security is a technical problem to be managed by the

information technology organization.

The Victoria’s Secret privacy case serves to tighten the

“security noose” around the necks of executive manage-

ment. For just as the information age has spawned an

epidemic of cyber-misuse, so it is also generating a wave

of new laws and regulations demanding of business that

it protect the sensitive information of others residing in

its computers.

HIPAA requires the protection of health informa-

tion. Gramm-Leach-Bliley requires that personal finan-

cial information be protected. Sarbanes-Oxley requires

executive management of publicly traded companies to

certify that the accounting and control systems are safe-

guarded against tampering. COPPA requires the protec-

tion of information about minors.

Raising the ante, California Civil Code 1798.84

(SB1386) requires any business whose computer sys-

tems contain personal information about California

residents to notify these residents should the company

have reason to believe that their computer systems have

been breached and personal information disclosed.

The noose will continue to tighten. Senator Dianne

Feinstein (CA) has introduced a bill extending California’s

“breach disclosure” law to all Americans. Congressman

Adam Putnam (FL) has introduced legislation that would

require every publicly held corporation in the U.S. to

have an information security independent review and

include a statement in the annual report that the review

established compliance with SEC-mandated informa-

tion security standards.

Drawing the noose ever more tightly, more busi-

nesses that take their security responsibilities seriously

are requiring the same of their trading partners. A failure

to protect sensitive competitive information of trading

partners can result in a suit for breach of contract.

At the same time as legal responsibility for manag-

ing the security of information is being pushed into the

Executive Offices, the professional information security

community is developing a common body of Information

Security Management Practices for executives to use in

effectively managing the security of information.

Taken together, the emerging body of laws, regula-

tions and responsibilities, combined with the emerging

body of Information Security Management Practices

LEGAL

INDUSTRY

Stan Stahl, Ph.D.Citadel Information Group, Inc

323-876-1441www.citadel-information.com


combine to define a minimum standard of due care for the

protection of sensitive information.

This emerging Minimum Information Security Standard

of Due Care includes five key elements.

Executive Management Responsibility: Someone at the

top is watching the store.

Information Security Policies: The organization has

documented its management approach to security in a

way that complies with its responsibilities and duties to

protect information.

User Awareness Training & Education: Users receive

regular training and education in the organization’s poli-

cies and their personal responsibilities.

Computer and Network Security: IT staff is securely

managing the technology infrastructure.

3rd-Party Security Assurance: Take steps to be certain

organizations with whom you share information protect it

appropriately.

Periodic Independent Assessment: The information

analogue of the annual financial audit.

As the likelihood of an actionable security event climbs,

these five elements can form the basis for a defense against

a charge of gross negligence. Without these in place, a

company would have a difficult time finding an unim-

peachable information security professional to testify that

it meets a minimum standard of due care.

Conversely, with these five elements in place, a business

will likely be able to easily find an unimpeachable expert

to testify that, while information may have been compro-

mised, the company is not grossly negligent.

The bottom line is financial risk management. Without

an effective information security program, led from the

top, senior management imprudently risks fines, lawsuits,

and even treble damages for its security lapses. Given

that the cost of compliance is often two or more orders of

magnitude less than the exposure, the decision by man-

agement to implement an effective information security

program has become a “no-brainer.”

About the Author: Stan Stahl, Ph.D. is president of Citadel Infor-mation Group, Inc., a company which secures the critical infor-mation assets of middle market businesses, mid-sized government agencies, and the not-for-profit community. During his career, Dr. Stahl has worked on a wide-range of technology projects, including several advanced computer, communication technology systems, and information security services for the White House, Department of Defense, NASA, and numerous middle-market companies.

www.providusgroup.com

CONTRACT AND PERMANENTATTORNEYS • PARALEGALS

Cheryl Moore, Sandy Ayeroff, Karyn Schlinkert

HOUSTON LOS ANGELES

213.244.9994CHICAGO


In recognition of the great need for records retention relat-ed information, the Greater Los Angeles Chapter, in con-junction with known expert in the field, Lee Nemchek of Morrison & Foerster, organized a program design to teach records managers and firm administrators how to begin the process of creating a Records Retention Policy for their firms. This program was sponsored by Pitney Bowes.

Recognizing that records management can be a daunting subject to tackle in just 2-1/2 hours, Lee, nevertheless, man-aged to present a very concise, detailed and organized pre-sentation. She briefly covered the elements of a retention program: (1) Policy, (2) Schedules and (3) Implementation Procedures. Then went on to talk about the “scope” that such a program should cover. She explained that the devel-opment of a records retention program first and foremost requires upper management support. Without a senior risk management partner or equivalent to act as “cham-pion,” firms will have difficulty conducting the organiza-tion-wide records inventory that is so essential in creating the program. How can you have a records program if you do not know what records you have? She points out that sometimes it will be necessary for someone to spend time reviewing those dusty old bankers’ boxes that have been in storage for years and this task requires an individual with enough institutional knowledge of the firm and its clients to really make an informed decision as to the disposition of those records.

Lee spent a lot of time in the area of research. She explained that research must be conducted in order to determine the legal, regulatory, and ethical requirements for retain-ing various records series. Her list of essential reading includes: Court rules and decisions, ethics opinions,

agency regulations, professional conduct rules and stat-utes of limitations. Other resources she recommended for “keeping current” were Lexis or Westlaw and the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct (monitoring weekly Current Reports and ethics opinions under index heading “Files of Client”).

Constant reference was made to the book that she co-authored, Records Management in the Legal Environment: A Handbook of Practice and Procedure. Lee apologized early in the program regarding her constant reference to this valuable resource, for as she kept saying everything you need to know about records retention “is all in the book.” In recognition of how valuable it would be to have this Handbook, the Greater Los Angeles Chapter partnered with Pitney Bowes who paid for the first 40 attendees of the program to obtain the book for free.**

The latter part of the program concentrated on apprais-ing the fiscal, legal and historic value of having a records retention program, what constitutes “trigger events” and the types of law firm records that would be affected by the policy. She also touched on how to go about publishing and disseminating the policy throughout the firm and to clients. Lee pointed out that there is no model that can be used by all firms “as is.” Every records retention policy must be tailored to the culture and risk management poli-cies of the firm AND to the bar rules of the states where the firm has offices. Having said that, however, she also pointed out that a Model Policy for Client Records is pro-vided in the Handbook.

**Because of so much interest in the Handbook, additional books

have been ordered. Please contact Rosela Marin at (213) 972-

0119 or e-mail her at [email protected] if you are interested

in obtaining a copy of the Handbook OR the handouts that Lee

Nemchek provided during her presentation.

Pictured from left: Lee Nemchek, Speaker, Rosela Marin, Seminars Chair, Betty McAlvany, Manager of Records and Information Mgmt Services and Mary Joe Gove,

Solutions Consultant/Records and Information Management Services of Pitney Bowes. Other Pitney Bowes reps who attended but are not pictured: Carlos Garcia, Western

Region Sales Manager and Phillip Ramirez, Vice President for the Western Region

“HOW TO WRITE A RECORDS RETENTION POLICY” June 27, 2004 Educational Seminar at Morrison & Foerster

by Rosela Marin Sponsored by Pitney Bowes



Long before an office space suite tour, you should have discussed your requirement with your Office Tenant Representative and thoroughly reviewed geographic loca-tion, budget, and the size and layout of the office suite.

The tour should include approximately the best three to five buildings that come closest to your requirement and take around 3 to 5 hours. At the start of the tour, you should receive a tour package that contains a summary and detailed information regarding each building and office suite.

During the tour, take note of the following items (and especially any discrepancies from your specific require-ments):

1. As you travel to the building - note how close it is to the freeway, public transportation, and places to eat.

2. When you approach the building - note the look of the neighborhood, the building, traffic, and the parking entrance and exit locations.

3. When you enter the building - note the appear-ance of the lobby and how effective is the security.

4. Once in the Lobby - check the Tenant Directory.5. Waiting for an elevator – note if it arrives quickly,

is clean, and operates smoothly and rapidly.6. As you arrive at the suite – note the appearance

of that floor’s elevator lobby and if the suite is located on the floor in a location that works for you.

7. As you look around the suite - are there the right number of offices, enough open space, a kitchen, a storage area, etc. (it should meet all your requirements or be able to be modified or built so that it will).

8. The views from the suite – if you need a lot of nat-ural light make sure it has it; check if the sun may overheat the suite; make sure you like the view.

9. The lights and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system – make sure they work prop-erly, adequately and quietly.

10. Tenant improvements – if you plan a partial or complete build out of the suite and you don’t already have a Space Planner, check if the build-ing recommends one.

11. Upon leaving the suite – check the restrooms.

There is a lot to check, but your Office Tenant Repre-sentative can help you. Also, it can also help to bring other concerned people from your office.

Shortly after the tour, decide on what you are NOT inter-ested in. Your goal is to narrow down to the one or two best picks for which you want to enter in to negotiations with.

To Obtain More Information: Do you have a ques-tion or need information about office leasing? Or, are you interested in receiving a monthly email Newsletter regarding the latest that is going on in the Downtown Los Angeles Office Market? If so, you can reach me at email [email protected] or direct phone (213) 270-2233.

About the Author: Scot McBeath is a Commercial Real Estate Broker. He specializes in being an Office Tenant Representative in Downtown Los Angeles plus surrounding areas. He has 22 years of negotiation and project management experience, plus a BS and an MBA.

OFFICE LEASING You Are About to Tour Space - What Do You Do?


OFFICE

OPERATIONS

Getting the Most from Your Vendors (Whether You Choose Them, or They’re Chosen for You)

The decision to outsource is supposed to make life easier. You focus on what you’re good at, your vendors focus on what they’re good at, and everybody shares the same vision of success.

Yet when the home office and the branch offices have set their sights on different outsourcing providers or cri-teria, a firm’s vision of the ideal vendor relationship can leave the administrator seeing double.

Whether your firm has signed a national contract or has authorized its branches to make their own vendor decisions, you can get the most from your outsourcing partner by sharing your vision. Open communication with your vendors, which includes defining expecta-tions even before they become your vendors, is the key to every successful outsourcing relationship.

The Home Office Is Making Me: How to Get the Most from National Contracts

The main office chooses a national vendor in order to benefit from discounted pricing, consistency of service, and national bandwidth. The branch offices don’t want the national vendor; they want their own local providers and are only accepting the national vendor because they have to. How can you prevent internal tensions from derailing the initiative or impinging upon the productiv-ity of your attorneys, paralegals, and staff?

Here are a few simple guidelines that will help keep you on track:

1) Get to know the vendor inside and out. Each branch should have the opportunity to learn about the national vendor in detail, including quality and service records, client testimonials and feedback, and overall service offering. Each branch should meet both national and local vendor contacts and get to understand the vendor’s organization, inter-nal decision-making process, values, and capabili-ties, including tours of local overflow and produc-tion facilities.

If each branch office has a clear sense of who to talk to within the vendor’s organization in order to get a fast, effective response, then each branch can better negotiate the daily satisfaction of its indi-vidual needs.

2) Let the vendor get to know you. Your vendor will do the best job if provided an honest chance to succeed and meet your needs. Give your vendor a good sense of how your location works and what

the specialized needs of each administrative depart-ment and practice group are.

3) Define success. Each branch should articu-late reasonable, measurable “standards of success”- that is, in addition to the metrics in the contract, items that are critical to the health of that location’s unique culture, such as particular levels of user satisfaction and user adoption, methods of prob-lem or complaint resolution, efficiency, etc. These standards should be clearly and universally com-municated, so that each branch knows what the home office expects, the home office knows what each of the branches expects, and the vendor’s local and national representatives know what they have to deliver at every level.

4) Define failure. Each branch should also artic-ulate their idea of a “failure” – and how to manage it. How will problems be brought to the vendor’s attention? What is an appropriate timeframe for the vendor to make improvements? How will those improvements be measured and communicated? What types of issues are serious enough to be esca-lated, and by what means? Building some consen-sus among all branches will curb internal distrac-tions such as emails being fired off to the main office for minor hiccups in service. This type of communi-cation and planning allows everyone to stay focused on their core jobs.

5) Benchmark against your other locations. Talk with your counterparts and compare notes. Are your service levels as high as other locations’? Use the leverage of the national contract to ensure the best possible service.

6) Ask the vendor’s advice. Vendors have seen organizations triumph and struggle with national initiatives. Find out what makes for a successful process based on your vendor’s experiences with other organizations and adopt the “best practices” that make sense for your culture.

I Can Do It Myself: Choosing a Vendor on Your Own Authority

If you’re in a firm that gives each office location the authority to choose a vendor, good communication, combined with a thoughtful decision-making process, is still the key.

1) Survey other offices in your firm. Which ven-dors are they using? What do they like – and what

Ann D’ Angeloformer VP of Training for Uniscribe

[email protected]


would they change – about those vendors? What kind of pricing do they have? How does the vendor measure their performance? Ensure that your vendor is pre-pared to meet the commitments that other offices have from their providers.

2) Choose a vendor who can help you consolidate. Some firms choose a single, national provider in order to consolidate vendors, which in turn reduces invoices, increases control, and introduces standards and met-rics by which to hold the vendor accountable. An “independent” branch office can still reap the benefits of consolidation by choosing an outsourcing vendor with a broad spectrum of services that the firm uses and needs. Increasing the amount you spend with a particular vendor gives you increased power – to nego-tiate discounts that you can pass through to clients, to demand preferred customer treatment, and to require change and innovation from the vendor to meet your needs.

3) Choose a vendor that doesn’t need a national contract to sit up and take notice. Just as your firm has premier clients, most vendors have premier cus-tomers. Ask prospective vendors about the size of their “typical” accounts and their premier accounts. If they specialize in large accounts, and your branch is on the smaller side of the vendor’s radar, ask how you will be ensured the vendor’s full attention and priority.

Final Thoughts

Smart businesses insist upon smart communication strategies.

If you’re willing to ask (and answer) some tough ques-tions at the beginning of your outsourcing process, you can build channels of communication that will help you get things done no matter what your situation. Your vendor will appreciate knowing exactly what the people in your office expect, and you can relax a little, knowing that you have clearly defined your needs – and you’ve been heard.

By maintaining frequent, healthy communication with your vendor, in the home office and at the branch level, you will also develop a relationship that is dynamic, evolving, and productive. And that’s the kind of relationship that not only gets things done, but also gets you noticed.

About the Author: Ann D’Angelo is currently a writer and former

Vice President of Training for Uniscribe Professional Services, one

of the leading outsourcing and document service providers to the

legal industry. Ann developed Uniscribe University, where all

Uniscribe onsite employees are trained. Ann also taught English

for four years at Boston University and co-edited a college com-

position anthology called Essays in Context.


VENDOR

SPOTLIGHT

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH...

CONTACT INFO:Louis Nelson, Executive Vice PresidentWORLDWIDE NETWORK, INC.1533 Wilshire BoulevardLos Angeles, California 90017Telephone: (213) 353-6060Facsimile: (213) 353-6030

[email protected]

COMPANY PROFILE:WORLDWIDE NETWORK, INC.imagination * innovation * determination

For over a decade, California’s most respected law fi rms have entrusted Worldwide Network with their time sen-sitive court fi lings, court research, service of process, off-site legal photocopying, reprographics and messenger assignments.

In addition, Worldwide Network provides on-site fa-cilities management to some of the most respected law fi rms in California, such as, O’Melveny & Myers; Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Morrison & Foerster just to name a few. The on-site personnel at the law fi rms provided by Worldwide dramatically reduces employee and equip-ment overhead while providing competent, experienced personnel to assist fi rms to operate in the most cost ef-fi cient manner.

Worldwide Network, Inc.’s reputation has been built on our accomplishments by assembling and developing a staff of hand picked court specialist, process servers and responsive knowledgeable drivers. Solving extraor-dinarily complex and diverse projects on a daily basis separates us from the competition. To be successful, there has to be commonality of purpose, ideas, goals and objectives. Understanding that structured growth takes planning and unifi ed team work enables us to reach our common goal to provide the highest level of service to our clients.

As the needs of the legal community grow and change, as a company, we, continue to expand our services to meet the needs of our clientele. We are happy to an-nounce that we have expanded our services to include legal photocopying service, geared for the time sensitive over-fl ow copy assignments of the busy law fi rm. In ad-dition, Worldwide now provides town car / limousine service with a large fl eet of sophisticated cars for your business and personal needs.

Today, from our six California locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Ana, San Diego, Riverside and Sac-

ramento, Worldwide Network, Inc. continues to be Cal-ifornia’s leading attorney and messenger service, with some of the most respected and talented individuals staffed under one roof.

On the opposite page you’ll fi nd a brief history of some of our experienced and noteworthy personnel who make up the team of Worldwide Network, Inc.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT OFTHE VENDOR-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP?

Communication!

WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU POSSESS THAT HELP YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL?

Integrity: Because trust and respect of our custom-ers, employees and our community must be earned

everyday.

WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY AWESOME?

Rather than pontifi cate on our own behalf, we would prefer you hear directly from one of our clients:

I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the out-standing effort by one of your employees, Joe Caamal, on a very diffi cult court fi ling I had on June 18.

I knew beforehand that this was a fi ling that the regu-lar messenger and attorney services would not be able to do. I called Holly and explained my concerns about this fi ling. She insisted that it would not be a problem for Worldwide and gave me Joe’s number. I was appre-hensive; nevertheless, I called Joe and explained the pa-rameters of the fi ling. He assured me that it would not be a problem. He said these are the types of challenges he enjoys!

As it turned out, this fi ling was even more complex than I had originally stated. Some of the documents had ex-tremely large exhibits (as many as 61), and the fi ling had to be coordinated with our co-counsel in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, on the day of the fi ling I learned from our co-counsel that it was going to entail much, much more than I had expected. Needless to say, my anxiety and stress level went to overload. Through all of this, Joe was calm, professional, courteous, and constantly reas-suring.

My fi ling was done on time and correctly. I can’t remem-ber when I’ve had better service.

Very truly yours,

Sylvia Coleman, CCLS


Ms. Sunie Lasky – Prior to joining the team of Worldwide Network, Inc., Ms. Lasky was the President and Founder of Sunkae Enterprises, a packaging and pro-motional company, with an internation-al clientele list consisting of some of the most respected Fortune 500 Companies in the World. After selling her company,

Ms. Lasky took several years off to raise her daughter. In 2002, she was sought out by Worldwide Network, Inc., and joined their growing sales and marketing team. Ms. Lasky brings her international flair, savvy business sense and ar-tistic passion to the team of Worldwide Network, Inc. In her short time in the industry she has brought a number of major law firms to the Worldwide family. She resides in Los Angeles with her daughter and two dogs Ginger and Pepper.

Mr. Michael Lazcano – Mr. Lazcano has over 15 years experience working in op-eration. Not only does he have exten-sive knowledge in ground and air cou-rier dispatch, he has brought with him management skills working hands on with courier staff and office personnel. Mr. Lazcano was formerly with Express

Network, Inc. for six years as Vice President of Air Couri-er. In 1999, Mr. Lazcano accepted the position of Senior Vice President with Worldwide Network, Inc. In addition to developing the air courier division for Worldwide Net-work, Inc., Mr. Lazcano is responsible for generating and maintaining sales and over-seeing operations company-wide. He resides in Anaheim Hills with his wife and three children.

Mr. Louis Nelson – Mr. Nelson was for-merly with Express Network, Inc. for seven years as Vice President of Sales, where he was responsible for generat-ing and maintaining sales, developing a telemarketing department and imple-menting company policy and procedure for the sales department in Southern and

Northern California. In 1999, Mr. Nelson was sought out by Worldwide Network, Inc. and appointed Executive Vice President. He resides in West Hollywood with his partner and their 30 lb. Persian cat named Griffin.

Ms. Holly Godshall – Ms. Godshall was formerly with Express Network, Inc. for 10 years where she was responsible for maintaining and generating sales. In addition, Ms. Godshall was responsible for implementing a “customer care” pro-gram, a first in our industry, which in-sured consistent follow up of customer

satisfaction. Ms. Godshall started in this industry at a Cen-tury City law firm where she was responsible for accounts payable. Spending time on both sides Ms. Godshall’s phi-losophy has always been to put the needs of the client first by maintaining the highest level of service. Her personal hands on approach to each individual situation, coupled with her 14 years of experience in the attorney and mes-senger service industry brings strength and stability. She divides her time between Los Angeles and San Francisco with the occasional San Diego visit. She resides in Thou-sand Oaks, with her husband who is a professional surfer and a marine biologist enthusiast.


CIVIL ELECTRONIC COURT FILING IN DISTRICT COURT: WHAT ADMINISTRATORS NEED TO KNOW! Karyn Beyer

LIT – Litigation Instruction & Training925-330-5060

[email protected]

Summary: Many Federal civil courts are implementing Electronic Court Filing systems, which require mandatory compliance and participation from counsel. These pro-grams raise significant issues for administrators in terms of training and software needs, changes to filing procedures, and require attention to new areas of professional liabil-ity risk exposure. While electronic records do not differ in their retention requirements, work flow processes must be redesigned to capture critical dates and communications when transactions are solely via e-mail and internet.

Chances are, you’ve heard of it. Perhaps someone in your office is doing it. Maybe a colleague passed on some rumors. Regardless, you know its coming… For some of you, it’s already here.

The Case Management/Electronic Case Files Project – as it’s affectionately known by the Federal Judicial Center – began rolling out into District Courts in 2002, and is currently being used in 48 District Courts, including the Northern District of California. The program is scheduled to be rolled out in the Eastern District of California in January 2005, with both the Southern and Central Districts to follow.

What exactly is CM/ECF? The program requires nearly all civil court filings – in nearly all civil cases - to be done electronically. Only in limited circumstances will cases be exempted from the program (i.e., cases in which there is a pro se litigant); as with all court practices, local rules are critical to understanding how CM/ECF is applied within each District and Division. Documents to be filed are sub-mitted via the internet in .pdf format, and Notice of Filing is sent electronically to all parties. This Notice of Filing replaces the “File Endorsed” stamp traditionally used to verify court receipt, and the Proof of Service. Once Notice is sent out, counsel/staff is responsible for accessing the document (via the PACER program), printing it and cal-endaring it as appropriate. The CM/ECF program works closely with the Federal PACER program, and like PACER, the software is generally the same regardless of Federal District or Division.

As with all new technologies that make their way into firms, there’s good news and bad news. First, the good news: the program is relatively easy to use, can be quite efficient and can save time and money (particularly in messenger and express delivery fees). Now, the bad news: In order for CM/ECF to work efficiently in your office, you need to take the necessary steps to prepare your technology, your internal systems and your attorneys and staff. From an administra-

tive perspective, there are specific areas that require devel-opment, management and training before introducing CM/ECF to your firm’s practice in terms of both program management and risk management.

STAFFING CM/ECFHow you staff the CM/ECF responsibilities will depend largely on how much you will be using the program and the Districts in which you will be practicing.

If you do only limited practice in District Court, you might find it more efficient and controllable to train only a handful of your staff in CM/ECF. Some firms train 2-3 litigation sec-retaries and/or their Word Processing Dept. in the CM/ECF process. These individuals handle all aspects of CM/ECF, including document conversion, scanning, internal docu-ment management, maintenance of attorney accounts and the actual e-filing. By keeping control centrally located amongst a select group, it makes it much easier to manage the myriad of details involved in the process.

If your firm has a large percentage of its cases in District Courts, then prepare to train both staff and attorneys. Most District Courts, as well as the Federal Judicial Center, pro-vide extensive training manuals, streaming video instruc-tions, and mock filing sites to assist in educating legal per-sonnel in the process. It may also be both cost efficient and time efficient to have your own internal staff trainer learn how to teach this program or to bring in a private trainer.

The Local Rules for each District may also aid in making a determination on how you will control the program and who will be trained. Some courts place the training onus directly on the firms, and it’s your decision as to who needs to learn the processes involved. Other Districts, however, require attorneys to attend mandatory training sessions before they will issue login ids/passwords. (Note, logins/passwords are District-specific, so if counsel is working in multiple Districts, they must sign up with each).

The CM/ECF program is essentially “intake” – documents are put into the docket, provided to the court, and Notice sent out to parties via this program. However, the “outtake”portion of the system is PACER ( Public Access to Court Electronic Records) – you must use PACER to retrieve filed documents, review the docket, generate reports and access the court’s case calendar. PACER accounts are usually by firm (no need for each individual to sign up) and they work in all participating courts (including Appellate, District and Bankruptcy). Unless those involved are already well versed

CIVIL ELECTRONIC COURT FILING

Karyn BeyerLIT – Litigation Instruction & Training– Litigation Instruction & Training–

Don’t miss Karyn’s Sept. 13th presentation on

Electronic Court Filing Systems.

See Calendar on page 21 for details.


in using PACER, you will need to include this in your train-ing program.

THE ATTORNEY CM/ECF LOGIN ACCOUNTThe key that unlocks the CM/ECF filing process is based pri-marily around the attorney login and password. Attorneys must sign up through the Court for their login and pass-word. If counsel is not already in the Court’s CM/ECF system, then the need for registration will be provided upon a party’s first appearance and case assignment to CM/ECF. Only attorneys can get login accounts, and the Court assigns them filing privileges for their specific cases. Documents submitted under an attorney’s login are deemed signed by that attorney – the electronic signature created by logging in replaces the flourish of the pen.

It is an ethical breach for an attorney to file a document under another attorney’s login id/password – the electronic equivalent of forging someone’s signature. For this reason, don’t leave the master list of login ids/passwords on an open file system or hanging on a bulletin board. Yes, you should have a master list that keeps track of this informa-tion, but manage it appropriately. In the case of documents requiring multiple signatures or signatures of someone other than the filing attorney, the document must include a declaration or statement attesting to the concurrence of the signatory for the filing of the document.

The attorney’s login account provides a utilities frame that allows for additional e-mail recipients to be listed on a given case. It’s a good idea to add secretaries, calendar clerks, case clerks, paralegals, etc. to this notification list. You can’t have too many people receiving notice, but you can definitely have too few, especially if someone is in trial or on vacation and not available to react to critical notices. You can have multiple attorneys assigned to a case – and you should for risk management purposes. At the very least, everyone on the caption should have an account and be assigned to that case. When a Notice of Filing is sent by the Court, that Notice will go first to the Attorney(s) listed for the case. Most firms have enough challenges and mal-practice risks in just managing paper trails in their office; you now must develop a means to manage the electronic trail. One technique used by a number of firms is to employ a unique attorney address for court communications so that they stand out from routine e-mail correspondence.

Another approach is to create a CM/ECF Notice Group with its own e-mail address for use in all cases (i.e., [email protected]) as a secondary notification address. Again, this allows for central control within a key group of people who have been trained in the CM/ECF process. Regardless of who is getting the Notice, make sure there is a procedure in place to confirm that the documents referenced are being handled in an appropriate fashion. Everyone may simply read the e-mail Notice; make sure someone is printing it, calendaring it, copying it, etc. The documents referenced in the Notice need to go through

the same process as a document received in the mail, and one of the most critical recipients of the information is the Calendar Clerk. While Calendar Clerks don’t necessary need to know the entire CM/ECF process, they are an inte-gral part of the information loop and it’s imperative that they receive notice of e-filings just as they do paper filings.

SOFTWARE AND INTERNAL DOCUMENT MANAGEMENTThe most obvious - and usually the easiest - part of the software equation for CM/ECF is your Internet browser. The current browser recommendations are Netscape 4.6 or 4.7 (6.0 is NOT recommended) or Internet Explorer 5.5. Netscape 7.02 and IE 6.0 are being tested to certify compat-ibility, and many users have had positive results. If you are running browsers other than those suggested, plan to install a compatible browser on at least a few machines, so you have a backup program in case of compatibility issues.

There are no word processing program recommendations or requirements, as all documents must be submitted as .pdf documents. This requires software to convert docu-ments to .pdf, and while Adobe Acrobat PDF Writer is the recommended program other tools are available on the market, such as JAWS pdf Creator, Dane Prairie Win2PDF and RoboPDF, all of which will provide an acceptable result. While .pdf conversion software is becoming more commonplace, if you aren’t currently running it on all machines, the purchase/installation of the programming will go back to the staffing question – are you leaving con-trol of CM/ECF with a small group of people, and perhaps a few dedicated computers, or will you be purchasing the appropriate licenses to install the needed software for everyone on your staff? And, if you are not scrubbing all Word documents prior to departure from the firm, should you be deploying .pdf services so that all documents can leave the firm electronically in a fixed format?

For documents created in-house, courts prefer that you convert the documents directly to .pdf using Acrobat or the equivalent; do not scan hard copies and save as .pdf. This conversion process can occasionally result in minor formatting changes (page length, widows/orphans), so always print and proof a converted file before submitting it, particularly when court rules impose particular guidelines or restrictions on document preparation/presentation. For documents created internally and filed, no signature is required; the attorney login id is deemed the signatory to the document.

Other documents (forms, exhibits, case law) which can-not be internally converted into .pdf will require scanning and saving as .pdf. Most scanning programs automati-cally include an option to save as .pdf files. While this can be a cumbersome process, it is one that can be done well in advance of filing deadlines. Documents are identified and named when submitted for filing; you do not have to


know which is Ex. A and which is Ex. B before scanning and prepping the document – that determination can be made when the documents are actually submitted to the court via the CM/ECF program.

It is expected and understood that some documents will be too large or cumbersome to convert to electronic format for filing. In this case, a Manual Filing Notice is submit-ted electronically (form available at the court website) and the documents are then filed and served in the traditional method. The traditional service method also applies to documents filed under seal. Routine discovery is not affected by CM/ECF, as discovery documents are not regu-larly filed with the court.

As pleadings and documents are electronically prepared for filing, they need to be saved and stored electronically. These should be saved in a matter specific directory in your document management system in a manner that shows that they are the actual e-filed document. You might have a document prefix of “e-file: DOCUMENT NAME” so that each user can easily locate the actual filed document. This is even easier if you use folders for your cases and a hierar-chical case organization within the folder.

You will also need to track hard copies of all filings. When an e-filing is successfully completed, the CM/ECF system will generate a “receipt” of e-filing. This receipt is your confirmation that the filing was successful – the electronic “file endorsed” stamp. It should be attached to hard copies of the documents for in-house files. Finally, notification of this filing should be submitted to the calendar clerk for processing.

MANAGING THE NEW 24/7 OFFICE ENVIRONMENTOne thing that attorneys find particularly appealing about the CM/ECF program is that filings can be done 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No more waiting on messengers, getting in before the doors close, rushing to meet the FedEx deadline. While this is seemingly good news for the attorneys, it poses staffing challenges. Most firms are not willing to have secretaries working until midnight, waiting for a completed motion – and few secretaries are willing to do it. It’s imperative that you decide prior to implementa-tion what in-house guidelines will be established for filing deadlines. Attorneys may now be free of the court’s time clock, but you have a staffing time clock that has to be managed. The lack of a court-imposed deadline can be a valuable asset, so long as your office is staffed and prepared accordingly. Managing this aspect of CM/ECF is all about planning ahead, and having adequately trained – and avail-able – staff on hand.

The CM/ECF program is still in its infancy, although grow-ing quickly. A similar program is also running in Bankruptcy court, and the state courts are investigating their e-file options as well. When first integrating any kind of e-file program into your firm, it’s imperative to fully investigate

your needs, your risk and your options for managing its usage. E-filing is just another step on the legal technology ladder; we all survived the transition from punch cards to direct keyboard computers, from DOS to Windows. Odds are, this will be pro forma and second nature to all legal professionals in no time at all. Remember the les-sons learned from past technology changes – planning, investigation, training and time will assist in making the implementation go smoothly for everyone involved. And, to make it go smoothly at your firm, you need to focus on these items:

1. Decide how you will staff it and who needs to be trained;

2. CM/ECF works closely with PACER – don’t for-get to include this program in your training plans;

3. Keep a master list of all login accounts and passwords, but keep it secure;

4. Err on the side of caution and add an abun-dance of people to the e-mail notification list for each case – better to be safe than sorry;

5. Create a distinct e-mail group that includes individuals specifically responsible for handling electronic notifications;

6. If you don’t plan on rolling out CM/ECF to the entire office, then consider a stand alone station with all appropriate software, hardware (i.e., scanner) and pro-grams to handle e-filing;

7. Create an in-house intake form/cover sheet that sets forth all pertinent details for each e-filing, such as court case no., file no., attorneys assigned, name of docu-ment, type of filing, related documents on docket, exhibits and deadline;

8. Develop a firm policy on internal deadlines – just because attorneys can file at midnight doesn’t mean you can provide the staff to assist them.

There is no reason not to pursue e-filing as soon as it is available. But, be prepared and deliberate in your approach. And, do not underestimate the need to properly train attorneys and staff – a little preparation and plan-ning will eliminate problems and professional liability exposures, giving your firm a new resource welcomed by everyone involved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Karyn Beyer has taught professionally for more than 12 years and currently teaches at City College of San Francisco. She has more than 10 years’ experience as a litigation secretary and has worked in a variety of litigation practice groups, including general civil litigation, construction, real estate, busi-ness and employment. Ms. Beyer currently offers training seminars and private instruction in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Her next Los Angeles seminar in Basic Civil Litigation Skills for Secretaries and Support Staff will be held on September 21/22/23 in Century City.(Copyright 08/14/04 by Karyn Beyer, author.)


Out on the Town by Steven Jones

It’s 4:30 p.m. on a Friday evening and you’ve had a long grueling week. You’ve got ten projects on your desk that won’t take less than three hours fi nish each, fourteen unreturned telephone calls, nine voice-mail messages and 72 unanswered e-mails blinking on your computer screen. Everyday has been fi lled with countless meetings, employee related issues, computer problems and associate demands. And the icing on the cake for the week…you managing partner wants a new fi le man-agement/billing/tracking/dictation/catering/coffee-making/summer golf and winter ski reservation system. Oh, and let’s not forget about that 15 minute project that you’ve been working on for six hours still peeking at you from underneath that stack of mail still sitting on your desk.

You’ve got two choices – sign a new lease with the building offi ce for a bedroom sized closet and order from E-Bay your new Space Saver 3000 Series Army Cot, some of Billy Ray Bob’s Famous beef jerky and a water purifi cation kit because you’ll be living the offi ce for the rest of the weekend or… give yourself a break and create some balance in your life and head out to the nearest entertainment complex with all the dazzling lights, great shopping and fi ne dining.

That’s right it’s time for you to get away from the offi ce. In the September issue, we highlighted the various amphithe-atres in Los Angeles in L.A. Under The Stars. This month, we thought we’d demonstrate that Los Angeles also has some of the coolest entertainment complexes in the country… The Grove at 3rd and Fairfax, 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Mon-ica, The Bridge in Culver City, The Entertainment Complex at Hollywood and Highland and Colorado Street in Pasadena. Check out the newest entertainment complex – The Valencia Town Center near Magic Mountain. They’ve got everything, including a surprise for some of our readers. In this issue we’ve included six gift certifi cates to The Valencia Town Center to get your started. Visit their website at www.valenciatowncenter.com/index.asp to receive specials and store sales in-formation. I’m getting excited just thinking about it.

So, where else can you go all in one place for great food, the latest movie, unlimited shopping, and excellent live enter-tainment? Meet your friends or take your favorite person out to dinner and check out the live entertainment in the main square while waiting for your blockbuster movie. Walk past the all stores and get your window-shopping in, pick up a birthday present for your favorite niece and sneak a little something in for yourself. You deserve it! It’s all waiting there, just for you, to indulge and enjoy…L.A. Under the Stars. And don’t forget…create some balance in your life and enjoy.

Venue Entertainment Events Shopping Dining

The Grove at Farmers Market6301 W. 3rd St. Los Angeles, CA 90036(323) 900-8000www.thegrovela.com/?

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Valencia Town Center2421 W. Valencia Blvd.Valencia, CA 91355-1861(661) 287-9050www.valenciatowncenter.com/index.asp

Yes Yes Yes Yes

The Beverly Connection8489 W. 3rd St. Los Angeles, CA 90048

No No Yes Yes

Media City Center201 E. Magnolia BlvdBurbank, CA 91502www.mediacitycenter.com/html/index.asp

Yes Yes Yes Yes

3rd Street Promenade at Santa Monica Place395 Santa Monica Pl.Santa Monica, CA 90401(310) 394-5451

Yes No Yes Yes

Paseo Colorado280 E. Colorado Blvd.Pasadena, CA 91101(626) 795-8891

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Hollywood & Highland 6800 Hollywood Blvd.Hollywood, CA 90028(323) 960 2331www.hollywoodandhighland.com/home.html

Yes Yes Yes Yes

system. Oh, and let’s not forget about that 15 minute project that you’ve been working on for six hours still peeking at you

Out on the Town It’s 4:30 p.m. on a Friday evening and you’ve had a long grueling week. You’ve got ten projects

on your desk that won’t take less than three hours fi nish each, fourteen unreturned telephone calls,

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Wendy Sweet, CLMVice-President & Managing Editor

Andrews Kurth LLP(213) 896-3107

[email protected]

Happy September fine readers! You may have noticed that this month’s issue is a tad heavier than usual. We’re up to 48 pages now…had no choice because the interest in Leadership Exchange keeps growing, my friends. There was a time when I had to search high and low, near and far for articles. I’ve often been teased at ALA meetings for my repeated solicitations for articles. In the past, I’ve filled in the gaps in our newsletters with articles from ALA’s wonderful article library, or I’d send e-mails to my various sources almost begging them for help. I don’t have to do that anymore. Okay…well…I admit that I still do beg for financial articles :)

I think now may be a great time for me to express my thanks to everyone who has contributed to the success of this publi-cation and its predecessor, LA Update. People always ask me how I manage to get everything done. I don’t always know the answer to that question but what I do know is that I couldn’t do it all without the unfailing support of the wonderful people in my life. My supportive family, excellent friends, the great team I work with at Andrews Kurth, the other great team I work with on the Greater LA Board of Directors, the divine Divas, my amazing newsletter team, the impressive network of peers I’ve devel-oped over the last six and a half years, and the countless folks who have contributed with articles, write ups, recaps, photos, monthly features, and ideas. Together you make up the force that drives me. I hope I can continue providing you with valu-able information, or at least an interesting diversion, through the pages of this magazine. Please keep the ideas coming!

This month’s theme is going back to school. This is a subject close to my heart for I personally have done just that…gone back to school. I’m well into my third on-line class toward finishing my bachelor’s of science in business management. I’ve spent my whole life learning and over the years had finished half of a four year degree through night school and early morning classes. I’ve spent countless hours in workshops, seminars and conferences learning how to become an effective administrator. After passing the Certified Legal Manager’s exam, I decided it was time to finally finish my degree. Ten years ago going for a degree in management would have made no sense to me. I’ve always considered myself a “psychology major.” But today, this is exactly what I should be doing. Management has become sec-ond nature to me and the classes so far have seemed more like review than new concepts. I have the CLM study group to thank for a great deal of that.

Have you thought about going back to school? I know most of those with whom I’ve shared my personal tale have expressed a desire to do so, however, they’ve also expressed a fear or anxiety about the concept. I’ve heard comments ranging from “it takes too long to go through the process,” to “I’m only six credits away from my Master’s…I don’t know what’s holding me back.” What’s holding YOU back? Why not enroll right now and figure out the answer to that question along the way? Consider it exercise for your mind. I highly encourage it!

A Note from the Editor:

BRAIN TEASERSby Wendy Sweet, CLM

QUOTATION PUZZLE: In the puzzle below, fit the letters in each column into the boxes directly abovethem in order to form words. The letters may or m ay not go into the boxes in the same order in which they aregiven. It is up to you to decide which letter goes into which box above it. Once a letter is used, cross it off thebottom half of the diagram and do not use it again. A black square indicates the end of a word. When the diagramshave been filled in, you can find the completed quotation by reading across the boxes.

E TD

FUH

CEO

AO

DT

BI

FRO

NOA

RI

NI

S

(For solution, go to www.glaala.org/newsletter)


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Wendy S. Sweet, CLM @ Andrews Kurth LLP 601 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 1725 Los Angeles, CA 90017-5722