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Leadership
Published Monthly For Members Of
February 2010 • Volume 1 • Issue 8
EXCHANGE
16 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYWindOWs 7: dOes Reality = HyPe?by Douglas Hafford
18 FINANCEWHat Financial inFORMatiOn sHOuld yOuR FiRM be tRacking?by David Roberts, CPA
20 HUMAN RESOURCEScObRa subsidy PROgRaM extended – WHat dO i need tO knOW?by Janet Sherry
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© 2009 Robert Half Legal. An Equal Opportunity Employer. 0909-5007
Title: Robert Half Legal Salary Guide adPublication: ALA Greater Los Angeles MagazineAd Size: 7.5” (width) x 10” (height) Insertion/Run date: Nov ‘09, Dec ‘09, Jan ‘10 issuesColors: 4 process colorsDate Created: 10/7/09Production Artist: Al Jacobs (650.234.6290 • [email protected])Publication Contact: Tracy Dragoo (626.487.0784 • [email protected])Robert Half Contact: Amy Hill (510.271.0948 • [email protected])
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange2
February 2010 3
InsIde ThIs Issue
President's Message .................................................6
Editor’s Message .......................................................7
February Calendar ....................................................8
Legal Management Resource Center .....................8
Save The Dates .........................................................9
ALA Webinars ...........................................................9
Monthly Meeting Flyer ..........................................10
GLA ALA WANTS YOU BACK! ...............................12
GLA ALA Membership Application .......................13
Board of Directors ......................................... 14 & 15
Section Reports ......................................................17
Region 6 Officers ....................................................21
HR Challenges ........................................................22
New Members & Member Spotlight .....................25
ELF Thank You Sponsors ........................................26
Community Outreach ............................................27
SOS — Succeed Over Stress ...................................28
Technology Tips ......................................................30
Wellness Zone .........................................................33
Coach’s Corner ........................................................34
BusIness ParTners
Afinety ....................................................................11
Berbay Corp. ...........................................................19
Beverly Hills Bar Association .................................17
City National Bank .................................. Back Cover
Innovative Computing Systems ...............................5
Matura Farrington Staffing Services .......................29
Pride of Los Angeles Cleaning Services ................17
Robert Half Legal .....................................................2
Swiss Post Solutions ...............................................24
WAMS ...................................................... Back Cover
Don't Miss these UPCoMinG events
aLa annuaL ConferenCe & exPo ..............10The Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) Annual Educational Conference and Exposition is the legal management profession’s most comprehensive event of its kind. Featuring dynamic and relevant education presented by recognized leaders in their field, the ALA Annual Conference will enhance your knowledge, devel-op your management skills, and enable you to achieve greater personal and professional growth.
16 inFoRMAtion teChnoLoGYWIndoWs 7: does reaLITy = hyPe?by Douglas Hafford
18 FinAnCeWhaT fInanCIaL InformaTIon shouLd your fIrm Be TraCkIng?by David Roberts, CPA
20 hUMAn ResoURCesCoBra suBsIdy Program exTended – What Do I NeeD to KNoW?by Janet Sherry
www.alanet.org/conf
ConnectLearnOrchestrate Your Future
May 3-6, 2010John B. Hynes Memorial Convention CenterBoston, Massachusetts
See
Association of Legal Administrators75 Tri-State InternationalSuite 222Lincolnshire, IL 60069-4435
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange4
the greaTer Los angeLes LeadershIP exChange
is published monthly to provide information for the educa-
tion and benefit of legal administrators, law office manag-
ers, managing partners of law firms and of 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 counseling through this publication. No statement in this
monthly magazine 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) adver-
tised. Contributing authors are requested and expected to
disclose financial and/or professional interests and affiliations
which may influence their writing position. all advertising is
subject to approval by the editor. advertisers assume liability
for all content of advertisements printed and assume respon-
sibility for any claims based upon subject matter.
The gLa aLa LeadershIP exchangeThe monthly magazine of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter
of the Association of Legal Administrators
Copyright © 2010 — All Rights Reserved • www.glaala.org
gLa aLa 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.
Managing Editormichael morales
310-277-7117
publication tEaMmonica Celis
323-852-1000
maureen Varnes
213-895-4900
layout & dEsignTra-Co graphics
626-487-0784
printingTypecraft Wood & Jones, Inc.
626-795-8093
The legal profession and businesses must adhere to high ethical standards to maintain public trust. The ALA Code of Professional Ethics sets
forth guidelines and standards for the ethical administration of legal practices. All members of GLA ALA are required to adhere to these
standards. To read the Code in its entirety, please go the following page of the ALA website: http://www.alanet.org/join/ethics.html.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION
February 2010 5
Los Angeles | San Francisco | Lake Tahoe | Washington DC
www.innovativecomp.com
Don't you wish it was this easy?
It can be.
Networks - Enterprise IP Communications - Project Management - Technology Consulting
Legal Systems Integration
800.541.0450
Our Valued Partners
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange6
PREsIdENT's MEssAGE
As the current board year entered its “home-stretch” and the
year 2010 was already off and running at full speed, I struggled
with what topics to cover in this month's message. Luckily, I keep
all the old copies of the chapter magazine (like I'm sure all of you
do), and grabbed the February magazines for the past 4 years
and took a look at them. Of course they were all great, but I got
the sense that I wasn't the only president with writer's block for
the February magazine. I also decided that our members would
most likely be able to endure a message without the story of Saint
Valentine (however, if you would like that story, Maureen really
nailed it last year and you can find the February 2009 magazine
posted on the website.)
Our annual Employment Law Forum (ELF) was held at the
Autry National Center of the American West on January 23rd. This
year the program was expanded to include additional educational
sessions, lunch, and a business partner expo hall. None of that
would have been possible without the hard work of the ELF
committee, including Mary McDonnell, Maddie Virbila, Joanne
Stillwagon Boyd, Kim Holme, Jean Jewell, Elaine Van Rensburg and
the several volunteers who helped for the day, and of course all of
our sponsoring business partners including the event's platinum
sponsor Innovative Computer Solutions (ICS).
While the 2009-2010 board year is quickly coming to an end,
there are still a few chapter functions that you will not want
to miss, including the Chapter's Annual Lunch Meeting at the
Beverly Hills Country Club on February 9th. In addition to an
amazing speaker covering advanced Excel Tips, this Annual
Meeting will be where the first official announcement of the
2010-2011 board members will be made. Our nominating
committee has been working hard to assemble an amazing board
for next year that is preparing to take this chapter to the next level
and increase member participation. There may still be a few
positions available on the board on one of the many committees.
If you are interested in taking your participation to the next
level, please contact our President-Elect Mary McDonnell
([email protected]). It's a great way to
network with your colleagues and to learn and practice new skills.
For those of you who have not already done so, we've extended
the chapter renewal deadline to February 15th. Please be sure to
complete your renewal by that deadline to insure you make it in
the membership directory and avoid a $25 late charge.
You no doubt noticed the electronic version of this month's
magazine; electronic versions of chapter newletters are becoming
a big trend throughout the country and we are continuing to
research our options and try new things as we decide how to move
forward. As with any of the many other changes you have seen
and hopefully appreciated over the years, your feedback is very
valuable to us. Please feel free to contact me or any of our board
members with any questions or comments you might have.
robert [email protected]
coming next month, full coverage of the Employment law Forum!
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange8
datE EvEnt tiME & location contact
3 gLa aLaBoard of directors meeting
Beverly Hills Country Club3084 Motor Ave
Los Ángeles, CA 900645:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Robert [email protected]
213-624-6900
5 Magazine articles and ad deadline for March issue
9
annuaL ChaPTer LunCheonexcel(lent) Techniques:
Applying Advanced Excel TipsSpeaker: Ivan Hemmans, Senior Information Technology
Trainer at O'Melveny & Myers LLP
Beverly Hills Country Club3084 Motor Ave
Los Ángeles, CA 9006411:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Elizabeth [email protected]
213-380-3880
11 muLTI offICe seCTIon MEETINGRoundtable
Video ConferenceMilbank–601 S. Figueroa St., 30th Fl.
Los Angeles, CA 90017 and
Reed Smith–1901 Ave of the Stars, Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90067
Bonita [email protected]
213-892-4643
11
memBers In TransITIonThe Legal Market in 2010Speaker: Kristy JolsteadAdams & Martin Group
Adams & Martin Group10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 275
Los Angeles, California 900679:30 AM
Barbara [email protected]
18
sfV seCTIon meeTIngKeys to Effective Performance Evaluations & Reviews
Speaker: Araceli Cornell, Legal Search Specialist at Davidson Legal Staffing
Hewitt & Truszkowski4640 Lankershim Blvd., Suite 600
North Hollywood, California 9160212:00 NOON – 1:00 PM
Deanna Pepe [email protected]
FEBRUARy CALENdAR
The LegaL managemenT resourCe CenTer (LmrC) is an online Internet-based resource
available to help you answer today's most pressing legal management questions.
Comprised of resources in human resources, technology, marketing, finance/accounting,
office operations and leadership, the LMRC can help you find relevant and timely
answers needed to be successful in today's competitive environment.
Specifically for members, the LMRC offers access to the
ALA Management Solutions'SM research studies,
ALA Currents archives, My Page feature, Peer Consulting,
an interactive chapters map and more!
See for yourself how the
LegaL managemenT resourCe CenTer
can help you!
Visit alanet.org today for more information!
Legal ManagementResource Center
February 2010 9
SAVE THE DATES datE EvEnt contact 03/03 gLa aLa Board of directors meeting robert f. santos, [email protected]
03/08 gLa aLa Chapter Luncheon – going green expo elizabeth Wagner, [email protected]
03/15 CLm – study group - application submission deadline Jeannine hamill, [email protected]
03/17 aLa Webinar – Law firm Innovation: Will you Lead or follow rosemary shiels, [email protected]
03/20 Board Crossover meeting mary mcdonnell, [email protected]
04/07 gLa aLa Board of directors meeting mary mcdonnell, [email protected]
04/13 gLa aLa Leadership Luncheon mary mcdonnell, aLa President, susan french koran [email protected]
04/21 aLa Webinar-administrator's role as Coach in a rosemary shiels, [email protected] multi-generational Workplace
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE AND FUTURE EVENTS SEE WWW.GLAALA.ORG AND WWW.ALANET.ORG
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEdddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddduuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccccccaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Register or view archived ALA Webinars at www.alanet.org/webinars
Mark Your Calendarfor 2010 Webinars
Law Firm Innovation:Will You Lead or Follow?March 17, 2010
The Administrator’s Role as Coach in a Multi-Generational WorkplaceApril 21, 2010
The Social Networking RevolutionMay 19, 2010
Strategic Planning: Keys to Successful ImplementationJune 16, 2010
Legal Risks to Assessing Candidates by Social Network SitesJuly 21, 2010
Profi tability EnhancementAugust 18, 2010
Electronic Records Management: How to Manage your ESI in the 21st CenturySeptember 15, 2010
sAVE THE dATEs
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange10
ANNUAL MeetiNg Noticetuesday, February 9, 201011:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Networking12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch and Program
excel(lent) techniques: Applying Advanced excel® tips For legal professionals who are already proficient with Excel, this session takes Excel spread-
sheet solutions to the next level of productivity. Attendees are guided through intermediate and ad-vanced techniques for using Excel to increase the types of financial data they can produce in the legal set-
ting. Attendees should have advanced knowledge of spreadsheet applications.
Learning objectives: • UsetheLookupfeaturetofindvaluesinlists • Distributedelimiteddataacrosscells
• ReportandsummarizehugeamountsofdatawithPivotTables • Setupreliabledatavalidation
Guest Speaker Ivan Hemmans is a senior information technology trainer at O’Melveny & Myers
LLP and has extensive experience with information technology. He has worked with law firms
for 12 years and computers for over 2 decades. With a background in programming and degree
in Cognitive Science, he offers a unique blend of experience and good-natured humor.
Please note that this program qualifies for credit toward the Certified Legal Manager (CLM)SM*
Sponsored by
LocAtioN:
Beverly Hills Country Club3084 Motor Avenue (at Manning)Los Angeles, CA 90064 Free parking at rear of Club; No valet parking.
coSt:
$30.00 (members)$35.00 (guests and at the door)
For questions regarding this event, please contact Elizabeth M. Wagner/Keg-el, Tobin & Truce, A.P.C.; E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (213) 380-3880Checks should be mailed to Sharon Barnes/Haight, Brown & Bonesteel L.L.P., 6080 Center Drive, Suite 800, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Refunds will be provided only if cancellation notice is received by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, February 5, 2010.As this is a sponsored event, please do not invite guests with a competing business.
*CLM is a service mark of the Association of Legal Administrators.
ReSeRve oN oUR webSite www.gLAALA.oRg
PLeASe RSvP bYFebRUARY 3, 2010
February 2010 11
GLA ALA Wants You Back!
A Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators
Time to Renew for 2010!Look for your GLA ALA Application Sent by Email on December 15, 2009!
The Bene�ts of GLA ALA Membership
• Knowledge sharing and networking opportunities.• Professional recognition.• Educational Seminars and Monthly Meetings covering a variety of topics for legal administrators
and legal management. • Section Meetings for Small Firms, Human Resources, Information Technology, Multiple Office,
Corporate/Government and more.• Employment Law Forum – January 23, 2010.• The Leadership Exchange Chapter Magazine.• Annual ALA Conference – May 3-6, 2010 in Boston.• ALA Regional Conference - October 1-2, 2010 in San Diego.• Social and Community Events such as the Holiday Luncheon, Mixers, the Golf Tournament and
CCW's Justice Jog.• Annual Membership Directory – reach your colleagues quickly.• GLA ALA Web Site – resource for current educational events and updates.
All GLA ALA members must also be a member of ALA
Remember to sign up for both. ALA applications can be located at www.alanet.org.
ALA Membership Dues $345 by January 31, 2010ALA Membership Dues $380 February 1, 2010 and after
Please renew by February 15th to be sure to get your information in the 2010 Membership Directory.
GLA ALA Membership Dues $75 postmarked by February 15, 2010 - “Extended Date”GLA ALA Membership Dues $100 postmarked February 16, 2010 and afterGLA ALA Renewal Application on reverse side of this page.
Sign up today! Questions regarding membership should be sent to Shaun Morrison, GLA ALA Membership Chair at [email protected].
We look forward to seeing you again in 2010!
February 2010 13
Name: Check Here if Changed Firms Title: Since Last Renewal: ____Employer: Telephone: Email: ALA ID#:
You will be sent an email to update your full profile online and add any sections you would like to join.
GLA ALA Involvement
□ I am currently an Associate Member and am interested in the MIT (Members In Transition) group.□ I would be interested in serving on the board or a committee.□ I am willing to help on special projects.□ I am interested in serving as a mentor to a new member for 3 months.□ I am interested in having a mentor assigned to me for 3 months.□ I am interested in writing an article for the Chapter Magazine.
Statement and Understanding
I understand that GLA ALA Membership requires membership in the International ALA organization. ALA’s application can be found on the ALA website: www.alanet.org. Further, GLA ALA membership is personal; it CANNOT be transferred to another individual. Members receive notices of Chapter activities by e-mail. By providing this information and signing below, you acknowledge your acceptance of such communication from the Chapter.
I certify that I am familiar with the eligibility rules for membership in the Association of Legal Administrators and that I qualify for membership in, am a member of, or am in the process of joining ALA (www.alanet.org).
Date: _______________ Signature: ___________________________________________ If this form is sent electronically, your name printed on this line will be deemed to be, and accepted as your signature.
MEMBERSHIP DUES Contribution to Membership Fee
Assistance Program Regular Membership (see www.glaala.org for details) $75.00
Associate Membership (Unemployed Legal Administrators qualify for associate membership)
$
Past President of BH, LA, GLAPlease indicate which chapter and year:
LIFETIME DUES PAID
2010 MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL APPLICATION
CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS (Amex, Visa & MasterCard only):
Member's Name: ___________________________________
Name on Card: ____________________________________
Card No: ________________________ Exp Date: ________
Signature: _________________________________________
Checks are payable to GLA ALA, Tax ID 95-4626147Please submit application and payment to:
Shaun MorrisonPersonal and ConfidentialAllen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1800Los Angeles, CA 90067T: (310) 788-2400 F: (310) 788-2410Email: [email protected]
75.00
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange14
Education Chair Lydia TaveraBrowne Woods George [email protected]
Business Partner ChairIlona M. Reddick Phillips, Lerner, Lauzon & Jamra [email protected]
Programs TeamIsabel Ortega Warner310-293-4416 [email protected]
TreasurerSteven D. Jones [email protected]
President-ElectMary McDonnellLegal ManagerEntertainment [email protected]
Programs TeamTerri OppeltKlee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern, [email protected]
Hospitality Co-ChairMargaret Cavanaugh Merrill, CPAHolem, Roberts & Owen [email protected]
Membership TeamTanya M. Russell Katten Muchin Rosenman [email protected]
Membership ChairShaun Morrison Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis [email protected]
Programs TeamKim Robinson Michelman & Robinson [email protected]
BOARd OF dIRECTORs
Membership TeamBarbara J. [email protected]
Programs Team ChairElizabeth Wagner Kegel, Tobin & Truce [email protected]
Hospitality Co-ChairSharon Barnes, SPHRHaight, Brown & Bonesteel, [email protected]
Vice PresidentJean Jewell, CLMWhite O’Connor Curry LLP 310-712-6167 [email protected]
Magazine Editor Michael J. MoralesPhillips, Lerner, Lauzon & Jamra, LLP310-277-7117 [email protected]
PresidentRobert F. Santos Manning & Marder, Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez [email protected]
Immediate Past-President Maureen Varnes, CLMRodi Pollock Pettker Christian & Pramov, ALC [email protected]
SecretaryKen SweetMorris Polich & Purdy [email protected]
Membership TeamMargaret AcossanoBerkes, Crane, Robinson & Seal, [email protected]
Membership TeamManjit EnderRobinson, Diamant & Wolkwitz, [email protected]
Job Referral ServicesMichelle Liffman, SPHR O’Melveny & Myers [email protected]
Magazine Team Monica CelisFrandzel Robins Bloom & Csato323-852-1000 [email protected]
Business Partner TeamTsui Chu, PHRO’Melveny & Myers LLP 213-430-6206 [email protected]
Business Partner TeamDebra Gray Frandzel Robins Bloom & Csato, L.C. [email protected]
February 2010 15
2009-2010
Webmaster & Information Technology SectionMichael MastaWoolls & Peer213-629-8798 [email protected]
Web TeamNorma AyalaGipson Hoffman & [email protected]
CLM Program ChairJeannine M. Hamill Doll Amir & Eley LLP 310-557-9100 [email protected]
San Fernando Valley SectionDeanna A. PepeHewitt & Truszkowski 818-509-0311 [email protected]
Multi-Office Section Bonita J. Paul Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP [email protected]
Human Resources Section Chair Tiffany St. John, PHRReish Luftman Reicher & [email protected]
Diversity Chair Susan J. Seales Davis Wright Tremaine [email protected]
Golf Tournament ChairErin WalshDickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky, [email protected]
Diversity Team Kelly C. Hons, PHR Alston & Bird [email protected]
Lending Library CoordinatorViviane A. Abraham Herzfeld & Rubin [email protected]
Diversity Team Beverly A. Biggs, Ed.D. CA Dept. of Justice [email protected]
Community Outreach Wendy s. sweet, CLMJackson Lewis [email protected]
Finance SectionG. Wayne Mitchell Alston & Bird [email protected]
Small Firm SectionNilo G. BoldenNelsen, Thompson, Pegue & Thornton, APC 310-315-1001 [email protected]
Human Resources Section Madalena R. [email protected]
Chapter HistorianW. James Van Dusen, CLMMorrison Law Group213-356-5504 [email protected]
Justice Jog ChairCindy G. Fortune Gibbs, Giden, Locher, Turner & Senet LLP310-552-3400 [email protected]
Employment Law TeamJoanne Stillwagon213-272-2101 joanne.stillwagon @yahoo.com
Corporate / Government SectionRosemary Orrico Dept. of Justice/CA Atty General’s [email protected]
Santa Barbara /Ventura County SectionKaylyn Johnson ScottBrownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP 805-882-1460 [email protected]
Inland Empire SectionNancy Dillon, PHR [email protected]
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange16
inFoRMAtion teChnoLoGYWIndoWs 7: does reaLITy = hyPe?
Easily, the biggest Microsoft release in years is the new op-
erating system, Windows 7. Considering the struggles Microsoft
faced with Vista, it is no surprise that this new version of
Windows came out so quickly and with so much hype. You have
probably all seen the ads where regular people, just like us, claim
to have designed this new operating system. The reality is not
far from that and the result is truly the best operating system we
have ever seen from Microsoft.
The first thing you notice when you start Windows 7 is speed.
It launches faster than any operating system in recent memory
and is generally ready for use within seconds. The screen is clean
and the graphics outstanding, much like Vista, but with some sig-
nificant improvements.
• You can keep your commonly used programs and files
handy by pinning them to the task bar for single click
opening.
• SearchisbuiltinjustlikeVistasoyoudon’tneedadd-ons
like Google Desktop which results in a significant perfor-
mance hit to your system.
• You can instantly arrange two windows exactly side by
side with the snap feature.
• Theshake featureallowsyou tosimplyshakeawindow
and clear all other windows from your screen. Shake
again, and they all return!
• AeroViewallowsyouto look“through”windowssoyou
canseewhat’sunderneath.
• Windows7isfarmoretolerantofapplicationsanddevic-
es – vastly improved over Windows Vista.
• 64bitisfinallyhere,allowingyoutoovercomethememo-
ry limitations of previous versions of Windows. For users
who routinely keep 4 or more applications open at once,
this can mean a significant performance increase.
• Securityisdramaticallyimproved,whilealertsandmes-
sages are reduced.
• TheHomegroupsfeaturemakeshomenetworksextreme-
ly simple and easy.
• SharingMediawithotherdevices likeyourhomeAudio
System or Television is also very simple.
• AfullerlistofnewfeaturesofWindows7isavailableat:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/compare/versions.aspx
All of this is great, but you can really boil down the advances
in Windows 7 to a simple set of factors. Windows 7 is fast, secure
and reliable. These three simple facts combine to create the best
computing environment we have ever had.
Older computers running Windows XP Professional can take
many minutes to just start and even when it appears the desk-
top is ready, there are often background processes still running
that slow initial performance significantly. Consider a user who
reboots must endure this wait yet a second time! A Windows 7
computer launches in seconds and is generally responsive from
the moment your desktop appears. Firms often underestimate
thevalueofdesktopperformance.Wouldn’tthefirmliketohave
every single staff member for an additional hour each day at no
cost? That is the type of benefit you receive from a new PC run-
ning Windows 7.
Like Vista, Windows 7 has built-in security features that make
it difficult, if not impossible, for users to inadvertently download
malware or detrimental utilities. Unlike Windows XP, which re-
quired extensive setup and configuration to “lock down,” Win-
dows 7 is already locked down when you initially install it. Of
course you still need a quality anti-malware solution such as the
new Symantec Small Business Protection Suite, but Windows 7
now combines with these types of protection to give you a truly
secure system.
The improvement that you will benefit most is the reliability
of Windows 7. It is far more tolerant of misbehaving software
and can run just about anything without difficulty. If you have
very old software, Windows 7 comes with a compatibility mode
douglas hafford Vice President of Consulting solutions at afinety, [email protected] Ext. 101
February 2010 17
FinancE sEction MEEting
The finance section held its quarterly meeting downtown
at the offices of Alston & Bird LLP on January 19. A presenta-
tion was given by Wayne Mitchell, covering alternatives to using
the standard billable hour in bill preparation. A lively discussion
by the fourteen members in attendance followed the presenta-
tion.
sMall FirM sEction MEEting
The Small Firm Section met on Thursday, January 14, 2010 in
Downtown Los Angeles at Manning & Marder. We had excellent
attendance of 17 members and 3 guests and we were happy to
see many new faces. Our primary topic “Records Management –
Why it is so Important” was presented by Lee Nemchek.
Lunch was sponsored by Aimee Spirlin at Equitrac.
The next Small Firm Section Meeting will be held in April
of 2010. Please check the calendar at www.glaala.org for future
dates and topics.
sECTION REPORTsunder which even old DOS programs will run. Microsoft does
this by running a virtual machine within the operating system so
be aware that this may mean additional antivirus licensing, for
example, since this virtual machine is unprotected by the main
antivirus program. Your best bet is to simply make sure your ap-
plication software is up to date and often this means improved
features designed to take advantage of Windows 7 as well.
Like all new operating systems, Windows 7 is not something
you want to roll out on existing desktops. You certainly can do
this, and generally it will work fine offering a number of improve-
ments, however you must wipe the machine and install from
scratch, then reload all of your personal data and applications.
Once you have done this, the time, effort or labor cost generally
outweighs the cost of a new computer with the operating system
already installed. Of course, with a new computer, you will get
the speed of the new Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad processors, bet-
ter memory usage and disk speed as well.
During the economic downturn, many firms have held off up-
grading systems within their office. This has meant poor perfor-
mance, mounting IT bills, lost time and even missed deadlines.
It is not only common but more the rule today that firms are
spending more to keep an old network alive that to replace it with
a proper network system that requires little or no IT intervention
to simply run. With Windows 7, a stable, reliable network that
simply runs is not only possible, but is a business necessity.
About the Author: Douglas Hafford has been a technology
consultant for more than 22 years. As Founder and Vice President
of Consulting Solutions at Afinety, Inc., Doug is responsible for
client consulting and network solution sales. He advises clients
on the latest computing and network solutions, technology best
practices and business applications including calendaring,
document management, practice management and time &
billing applications.
All Work Completed With Pride
• Carpet&UpholsteryCleaning• Leather&WoodCare• FabricProtection&Sealing• PromptandReliableService• QualityWorkmanship• CustomizedMaintenancePrograms• Commercial&Residential
(818)343-8659 www.prideoflosangeles.com
Marsha Cohen & Leonard Cohen
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange18
Reprinted with permission from The Orange Appeal, the news-
letter published by the Orange County Chapter of the Association
of Legal Administrators, July 2007
In today’s extremely dynamic changing economic environ-
ment, sound financial reporting is key. When managing the prof-
itability of a law firm, you need to be able to look at long-term
trendstohelpunderstand:
1. Howtoanalyzewhat’shappeningtoday.
2. What you may be able to change.
3. The effect of any changes to the bottom line.
What I am about to discuss may sound basic to some of you,
but there are numerous firms that do not track this information.
They may have it somewhere on some report, but tracking it on a
consistent basis over time is an extremely important part of trend
analysis and managing firm profitability. Many times when I am
called into a firm to discuss profitability issues, it will take weeks
(or longer) to compile the necessary information. This informa-
tion should be the foundation of your financial reporting. In to-
day’sveryvolatileeconomicenvironment,thistrendanalysisis
even more important to assist management in making critical
decisions.
What follows is a listing of many of the specific categories that
you should track. For larger firms, you will want to break these
categories out by practice groups and offices.
Average Billing Rates –Thefirm’saveragebillingratecanbecalculated by taking the total dollars worked and dividing this by
the total billable hours for the same period of time. You will want
to break this out further into partner average billing rates and as-
sociate average billing rates.
Billable Hours – The lifeblood of a law firm. Even though there
have been many articles written over the years about how every-
one is going towards alternative billing and value billing, it that
seems most of us still live or die by the billable hour. You should
break this out by partner, associate, paralegal and total firm. You
may also want to reflect this on a per-category basis (average bill-
able hours per partner, per associate, etc.).
Work-in-Process (WIP) –There’smorehere thanmeets theeye. You will not only need to track the ending balance of WIP,
butyou’llneedto track thedollarscoming inandgoingoutof
WIP (dollars worked and dollars billed), along with write-downs
and agings.
Accounts Receivable – Similar issues as with the work-in-pro-
cess. You should track the end of period (usually monthly) bal-
ance of accounts receivable, the dollars going in and out (dollars
billed and dollars collected), along with write-offs and agings.
Headcount – You need to track full-time equivalent (FTE)
headcount by partner, associate, paralegal, secretary/wp and
other administrative staff. For example, if an associate starts
work mid-month, they would be counted as a .5 for headcount.
You would utilize a similar methodology for individuals who may
work part-time.
It is extremely important to track this FTE headcount figure
as accurately as possible because it is used to calculate so many
numbers in our report (i.e., average billing rate, average billable
hours per associate, leverage, cost per lawyer, etc.).
Debt–Thisisthetotaldebtonthefirm’sbalancesheetwhichusually will consist of term loans, lines of credit, capitalized leas-
es and loans from owners.
Draws (or Shareholder Salaries) – This amount should be the
total draws paid to partners or salary paid to shareholders dur-
ing the period. You may want to break this down into equity and
non-equity.
Ending Cash Balance – This is the aggregate amount in all
cash accounts excluding trust accounts.
Expenses – This should be pretty simple. It will be the total
expenses on the income statement, less any shareholder salaries.
You should also consider looking at the magnitude of partner
perks. If significant, these perks should be excluded from ex-
penses.
Nowthat thebasicsareoutof theway, let’sseehowthisall
plays out. From gathering the above information, you should be
abletocalculatethefollowing:
Gross Revenue Worked Per Lawyer – This would be the value
of time worked divided by the number of FTE lawyers.
Gross Revenue Collected Per Lawyer – This would be the
gross fees collected divided by the number of FTE lawyers. Costs
reimbursed by the client should not be part of this number.
Average Cost Per Lawyer – This is the total expenses exclud-
ing all lawyer salaries (and sometimes paralegal salaries depend-
ing on the level of work the paralegal performs) divided by the
number of FTE lawyers.
Realization – True realization is the dollars collected divided
by the related dollars worked at firm standard rates. Many firms
use a quicker, easier method, which is to take the dollars collect-
ed in a given period (say, a month) and divide this by the dollars
worked in that same month. For example, if the dollars collected
are $90,000 and the dollars worked are $100,000, then the realiza-
tion would be 90,000 divided by 100,000 or 90%.
Leverage – There are many leverage statistics, but the most
FinAnCeWhaT fInanCIaL InformaTIon shouLd your fIrm Be TraCkIng?
david roberts, CPa [email protected] 478 4148 x 350
February 2010 19
common is the associate to partner leverage. For example, if your
firm has 20 associates and 10 partners, then the ratio is two to
one or two associates for every partner. You can also measure
secretary and word processors to lawyers and support staff to
lawyers.
Net Income Per Partner – Start with the net income of the
firm. Take out all partner/shareholder compensation, benefits
(such as payroll taxes and pension contributions) and any in-
dividual partner/shareholder perks (such as autos). Now divide
this higher net income number by the number of partners or
shareholders and you will have net income per partner.
Number of Months Invested in Accounts Receivable – Take
the ending balance in accounts receivable and divide this by
your average monthly billings (average monthly billings can be
calculatedbytakingthetotalofthepriorsixmonths’billingand
dividing this by six). You can also do this for work-in-process (you
would use average monthly worked rather than average monthly
billings).
Nowthatwe’vedefinedmostofthecategories,let’stakealook
at what this report looks like. First, break out and put in headings
forthemajorcategoriessuchas:FirmStatistics,BillableHours,
Headcount, WIP & AR, Income Statement and Per Lawyer Statis-
tics. Second, decide what specific information will be meaningful
toyouinmanagingthefirm.Don’tforget,you’regoingtotrack
this information for years! Third, and maybe the most difficult,
try to have this information on one page. (To view a sample chart,
please go to www.rbz.com/Publications_RTB_chart.htm).
A major component to analyzing and managing profitabil-
ity is having the availability of the necessary information – the
“Foundation” (as I referred to it in the beginning of this article).
By tracking the above information on a month-by-month and
year-by-year basis, you will have much of the necessary statisti-
cal information already available. There are obviously other cat-
egories (or more detail in the above categories) that a firm may
want to track. This will give you a very good start in which to add
or modify.
About the Author: David Roberts, CPA, has been with RBZ, LLP
since 1998. He is currently the Partner-in-Charge – Law Firm Ser-
vices Group. He has over 20 years of experience in working with
law firms (over 600) to streamline operations, boost efficiency and
increase profitability. David consults with law firms of all sizes
with respect to: partner compensation, strategic planning, profit
improvement studies, mergers, dissolutions, tax consulting and
compliance, operational reviews, budget preparation, capitaliza-
tion studies, deferred compensation, administrative and organi-
zational reviews and internal control reviews. He can be reached
at [email protected] or (310) 478-4148.
This article has been reprinted with the permission of RBZ, LLP.
For more information, visit www.rbz.com
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Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange20
Janet sherryBolton & [email protected]
hUMAn ResoURCesCoBra suBsIdy Program exTended – What Do I NeeD to KNoW?
On December 19, 2009, President Obama signed the Depart-
ment of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 (“the Act”). This leg-
islation extends the COBRA subsidy program that was originally
introduced under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009 (“ARRA”).
the cobra subsidy program in general
ARRAprovidesa65percentfederalsubsidyoftheCOBRAcon-
tinuation coverage premiums for qualified beneficiaries receiv-
ingCOBRAcontinuationcoverageduetothecoveredemployee’s
involuntary termination of employment between September 1,
2008 and December 31, 2009. These individuals are referred to as
“AssistanceEligibleIndividuals”or“AEI’s”.UnderARRA,AEI’sare
entitled to receive the subsidy for up to nine months.
What’s changing?
The Act introduces several key changes to the subsidy pro-
gram,including:
1. The eligibility period for the subsidy program has been
extended from December 31, 2009 to February 28, 2010.
This means that individuals that experience an involun-
tary termination of employment between September 1,
2008 and February 28, 2010 are eligible for the COBRA
subsidy program.
2. The premium subsidy period has been extended from
9 months to 15 months. Individuals that qualify for the
subsidywill receive the 65 percent premium assistance
for a total of 15 months, assuming they continue to meet
all other eligibility requirements (e.g., does not become
eligible for coverage under another group health plan or
Medicare, pay their portion of premiums on time, etc).
This extended subsidy period applies to individuals that
became eligible for the subsidy under the original provi-
sions of ARRA as well as those that first become eligible
for the subsidy under the extended period provided un-
der the Act.
new notices required
1. Employers must provide a special COBRA notice to all
AEI’swhoarecoveredunderCOBRAonorafterNovem-
ber 1, 2009, describing the extended subsidy program.
NOTE:Employersmayprovidesuchnotice tonewlyaf-
fected individuals by providing a COBRA election notice
that has been updated to include the appropriate in-
formation. Keep in mind that any individuals that have
already received an election notice, or those individuals
already covered under COBRA, must receive a special no-
tice describing the extended subsidy program.
2. AnyAEI’swhoseoriginalsubsidyperiodhasexpired(for
example, on November 30, 2009) and have not paid their
respective COBRA premiums for the next coverage period
must be allowed to pay for this period of coverage retroac-
tively.
NOTE:The retroactivepayment graceperiod is 60days
from December 21, 2009 or, if later, 30 days after the date
that the subsidy extension is provided.
EXAMPLE:DavidisanAEIandhashadcontinuousCO-
BRAcoverageunderhis employer’splan sinceMarch1,
2009. UnderARRA,David’spremiumassistanceexpired
with his November coverage period (the original COBRA
subsidy period was nine months). David has not yet paid
for his December coverage period. Under the Act, David
mustbegivena60-daygraceperiodtomakehisDecem-
ber premium payment (or, if later, a 30-day grace period
following the date that the special subsidy extension no-
tice is provided to David).
3. DuetothesubsidyextensionundertheAct,AEI’swhose
original subsidy period has expired and have paid the full
applicable COBRA premium for the next coverage period
have overpaid for coverage. This overpayment amount
mustbeappliedasacredittotheindividual’ssubsequent
February 2010 21
coverage period(s).
EXAMPLE:MaryisanAEIandhashadcontinuousCO-
BRAcoverageunderheremployer’splansinceMarch1,
2009. UnderARRA,Mary’spremiumassistanceexpired
with her November coverage period. Therefore, Mary was
required to pay the full 102 percent premium amount due
under COBRA for her December coverage period. Mary
provided her December payment to her former employ-
ers on November 30, 2009. Due to the subsidy extension
provided under the Act, Mary is now only responsible for
35 percent of the applicable premium for December (as
well as the remaining five months of her fifteen month eli-
gibility period, assuming she continues to meet all other
eligibilityrequirements).Mary’semployermustapplyher
overpayment amount as a credit to her account, thereby
reducing the amount Mary owes for her subsequent cov-
erage period(s).
4. The original subsidy eligibility requirements have been
amended to clarify that eligibility to receive the subsidy
is determined solely by the date that the individual was
involuntarily terminated from employment and NOT the
date on which the assistance eligible begins COBRA cov-
erage.
EXAMPLE: Bob experiences involuntary termination of
employment on February 15, 2010. Under the terms of his
formeremployer’sgrouphealthplan,Bob’sCOBRAcover-
age begins on March 1, 2010 (the day after the extended
eligibility period expires). Under the new rules, Bob is
eligible to receive the subsidy for the full 15 months, as-
suming he continues to meet all other eligibility require-
ments.
possible Future changes to the cobra subsidy law
There are more possible changes on the horizon for subsidy
provisions, including probable extension of the program to June
30, 2010. Any future changes will mean that new COBRA notices
will need to be sent to those that qualify.
If you would like additional information on COBRA Adminis-
tration Services, please do not hesitate to contact me. I welcome
the opportunity to review your existing Group Medical program
in an effort to reduce costs and increase productivity. Please feel
freetocallmeat(626)535-1480forcustomizedsolutions.
About The Author: With over 15 years in the employee bene-
fits arena, Janet’s varied background brings many advantages to
her clients. Her experience includes working for two prominent
Health Insurance Carriers before transitioning to the Broker side
of the industry. As an Employee Benefit Specialist, Janet strives to
keep the insurance process as simple as possible and to find cre-
ative solutions for minimizing risk for her clients. Janet has been
a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters for
many years and has helped with various fundraising events. Janet
has been a featured speaker on a variety of insurance issues be-
fore the Employers Group and their Workplace and Employment
Law Update events and has had several of her articles published
in their newsletter.
Bolton & Company is a business resource companies can count
on for expert perspective in insurance, risk management and em-
ployee benefits. For over 75 years, Bolton has provided companies
with integrated insurance and benefits solutions to address the
broader needs of their business. We know that insurance is just
one part of a much bigger picture. That’s why we strive to ensure
our clients have the options, information and clarity to make the
best insurance and benefits-related decisions possible.
region 6 education officer
Wendy s. sweet, CLMJackson Lewis LLP
region 6 Communications officer
Timora A. Cereghino, CLMSantoro Driggs Walch Kearney
Holley & Thompson 702-791-0308
region 6 at-Large director
steven d. Wingert, CLMMarshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP
region 6 Projects officer
steven M. Morris, CLMAllen Matkins Leck Gamble
Mallory & Natsis LLP415-837-1515
REGION 6 OFFICERs
region 6 director Patricia L. Groff, CLM
Director of AdministrationButz Dunn & DeSantis, APC
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange22
HR CHALLENGEs
I was recently told that it is illegal to ask employees not to
discuss their salaries with other staff members. Have you heard
of this law?
sHort ansWEr
California employers may not prohibit employees from dis-
cussing wages, bonuses or other conditions of their jobs and may
not discipline or discriminate against any employee who dis-
cusses compensation or other aspects of their employment. For
moredetailscheckLaborCodesection232andlookatthecourt’s
opinion in the 2002 case of Grant-Burton v. Covenant Care, Inc.
I keep hearing that to avoid discrimination claims I need to
be especially careful when dealing with applicants and employ-
ees who are in protective classes. I understand that race and in-
dividuals over age 40 are protected classes, but I am not sure if
there are other protected categories in California. Can you give
me a complete list?
There are many specific groups of individuals who receive
protection under California and federal laws against harassment
or discrimination. It should be noted that not all of these legal
protections apply to all size employers. Currently the protected
classesinclude:
• Age
• Disability
• DomesticPartners
• Gender
• Language
• MaritalStatus
• MedicalCondition
• NationalOrigin
• Pregnancy
• Race
• Religion
• Sex
• SexualOrientation
• Veteran
There are also specific legal protections for individuals with
AIDS or HIV status. However, regardless of the number of em-
ployees, all individuals whether or not they are included in one
of the above categories, have general legal protection from dis-
crimination or harassment.
Due to retirements and illness, we will need to hire two or
more support staff in 2010. Evaluating applicant skills is much
easier than trying to determine the “fit” for our culture. I have
made some bad hiring decisions in the past and ended up with
a prima donna, a drama queen, and a chronic antagonist. Con-
sidering the cost of employee turnover and the risks associated
with employee termination, how can I better screen candidates
to avoid hiring troublemakers?
sHort ansWEr
To improve the rate of successful hires, in addition to candi-
date skills testing employers may want to utilize a background
check professional, develop precisely worded ADA compliant Job
Descriptions and ask open-ended interview questions.
applicant selection
Be consistent even in evaluating resumes for the purpose of
selecting candidates to bring in for testing and personal inter-
views. Once the list of candidates is narrowed down, adminis-
ter the same skills tests and ask the same job focused interview
questions of each candidate under consideration.
Wrong interview Questions
Asmuch as employers would like to learn candidates’ an-
swers to certain questions, federal and state laws decree some
information unlawful. No matter how helpful the information
might be in making a hiring decision, DO NOT ask the following
questions:
• Haveyoueverfiledaworkers’compensationclaim?
• WhendidyougraduatefromHighSchool?
• Howmanydaysofworkdidyoumiss lastyearduetoa
sick child?
• Haveyoueveruseddrugsrecreationally?
• Areyoumarriedorsingle?
• YoursurnamesoundsMexican,doyouspeakSpanish?
• Howlongdoyouplantocontinueworking?
• Outsideof theoffice,areyouactive inanyclubsandor
organizations? If so, please describe.
• Otherthanthefirm’sstandardholidays,wouldyouneed
to take additional time off from work for religious
purposes?
Of course, this list is NOT all inclusive. Employers must avoid
Jan Christensen [email protected]
February 2010 23
ANY question on discriminatory topics such as age, national ori-
gin, marital status, etc.
permissible character Questions
It is legal to give candidates psychological and written char-
acter tests as long as they are from a reputable source and are
uniformly and fairly administered. Because of the cost and com-
plexity of test validations, these methods are normally reserved
for executive-level candidates. Behavior-based interview ques-
tions and questions developed to elicit lengthy responses pro-
videanopportunitytogaininsightintocandidates’values,mo-
tivations, and people skills. By tailoring these type of questions
tothefirm’scultureandcharactertraitsofco-workers,questions
such as the following can help match applicant personality style
to supervisors and co-workers.
• Haveyouever receiveda lower jobevaluation thanyou
thought you deserved? If so, why and how did you deal
with the situation?
• Whatwouldmakeyouwanttocometoworkversushave
to come to work?
• Howwouldyouactorrespondifyoulearnedthatawell-
liked co-worker was taking home office supplies and tak-
ing firm postage for personal use?
• Describeanyharassmentordiscriminationinthework-
place you have personally witnessed.
• Whydidyouapplyforthisposition?
• Tellmeaboutasituationwhereyou“blewit’.Howdidyou
resolve or correct it?
• Ifyouhadthepower,describeimprovementsyouwould
make to your current position to make it the best position
possible for you.
• Withoutusingnames,sharewithmethedetailsaboutthe
most unpleasant personality you have ever encountered
in the workplace.
• Whoisgenerallyeasiertoworkwithinanofficeenviron-
ment, men or women? Why?
• Ifyoucouldchangeonethingaboutyourselftoimprove
your relations with other people, what would it be?
• Whatwould irritate you themost a co-workerwhowas
lazy, or a co-worker who bragged about being a superstar
in the firm? Why?
• IfIranintoacurrentco-workerofyourswhodoesn’tlike
you very much, what negative thing might she say about
you?
• Whichwouldyouratherhave-asalarywithtwoweeksof
vacation or a lower salary and three weeks of vacation?
Why?
When recruiting a lateral attorney, questions such as the fol-
lowing, which elicit more than yes or no answers, can be very
helpfulinidentifyingfutureleadersandreducingturnover:
• Would you rather become the best “technician” in the
firm, the best teacher and mentor to younger attorneys or
the most innovative “risk taker/leader”?
• Ifyoucouldachieveacclaimfromonlyonesource,would
you choose the admiration of clients or the esteem of your
fellow attorneys in the firm?
• Ifyouweretoquitworkingasanattorneyinthenextfew
years, what would be the three most likely reasons?
• Whathaveyoudoneinthepastyearwithyourowntime
and money that would make you more valuable to our
firm?
• Howdoyoumeasureyourownsuccess?
• What ismore important to you: 1) assurance of career
longevity and a reasonable financial reward or 2) an op-
portunity to grow and be able to get ahead rapidly?
“Bad Hires” hurt both the employer and the employee. An
unemployed or underemployed job candidate is unlikely to be
concerned about a cultural or personality “fit” when seeking a
paycheck. However, the astute employer recognizes the impor-
tance “fit” plays in productivity, job satisfaction and employee
retention.
alErts
RETIREMENT PLANS - For employers with fewer than 100
participants in retirement and health plans, the Department of
Labor (DOL) has published a final Safe Harbor rule, “Definition
of ‘Plan Assets’ – Participant Contributions.This rule provides
greater clarity to employers about timely remitting participant
contributions and loan payments to pension and welfare plans.
Prior to this new rule, all size employers were supposed to re-
mit employee contributions to 401(k) and other retirement plans
as quickly as they could reasonably be separated from employer
funds but no later than the fifteenth of the following month. Un-
fortunately many employers found themselves in trouble during
audits because their payroll or accounting personnel consistently
sent pension loan payments and employee contributions to their
plans on the fifteen of the month following payroll withholdings.
Thisallowedtheemployerstouseemployees’moneyasoperat-
ingfundsanddelayedinvestmentofthosefundsinparticipants’
accounts.
Under the new safe harbor rule, employers with fewer than
100 plan participants who deposit contributions and loan pay-
ments within seven business days will be deemed to be in com-
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange24
pliance with the law even if those funds could have been segre-
gated from the general assets of the employer sooner.
steps to take
Employers with plans with less than 100 participants - To en-
sure compliance, instruct HR or Accounting to send payroll with-
held contributions and loan payments to the plan within seven
(7) business days of EACH payroll date.
Employers with plans with 100 or more participants – Ensure
that the HR or Payroll department deposits all employee contri-
butions and loan payment by the EARLIER of the date those con-
tributions can be segregated from employer funds or by the 15th
business day of the followingmonth. (NOTE: Employerswith
less than 100 participants in their plans may also elect to use this
method instead of the safe harbor rule.)
COBRA SUBSIDY EXTENSION – Sample notice requirement
changes can be found on the DOL website.
SOCIAL NETWORKS/BLOGGING POLICIES – Second only to
the economy, social networking in the workplace is the hottest
topic. Articles, seminars and law suits on the topic abound. On
December 1, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enacted
revised disclosure guidelines which may require changes to ex-
isting employer policies.
Specifically, the FTC guidelines require bloggers to disclose
any relationship or connection to a product or service being
described in a posting. The FTC also made it clear that it “has
brought law enforcement actions” against businesses where
consumers are injured because a business failed to establish or
maintain appropriate internal policies.
REMINDER - The writer of this column is NOT an attorney.
Responses to questions in this column are based on personal ex-
perience, training and logic. To ensure compliance with federal
and state laws and regulations, employers should consult with an
employment law attorney.
For prompt response, e-mail HR questions to
call her direct at 310-480-3774.
The author is not an attorney and does not engage in rendering
of legal or tax counseling through this publication. No statement
in this article should be interpreted as legal or tax advice.
February 2010 25
nEW MEMbErsBernadette Capozzi
Dept. Administrator for Legal
& Compliance
Nuveen Investments, Inc.
2049 Century Park East, 19th Floor
LosAngeles,CA90067
Telephone:(310)552-5193
Fax:(310)228-5972
Email:[email protected]
Brian M. Geib
Chief Operating Officer & Controller
Milstein Adelman & Kreger, LLP
2800 Donald Douglas Loop N.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Telephone:(310)396-9600
Fax:(310)399-6579
Email:[email protected]
Jay Laifman
General Counsel
Travers Realty Corp.
550 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Telephone:(213)430-2472
Fax:(213)955-9850
Email:[email protected]
Martha A. Bernie
Office Administrator
Sheldon Mak Rose & Anderson, PC
100 Corson Street, 3rd Floor
Pasadena, CA 91103-3842
Telephone:(626)796-4000
Fax:(626)795-6321
Email:[email protected]
Raquel G. Pelayo
Office Administrator
Nixon Peabody, LLP
555West5thStreet,46thFloor
Los Angeles, CA 90013-4435
Telephone:(213)629-6099
Fax:(213)226-4003
Email:[email protected]
NEW MEMBERs & MEMBER UPdATEs
MEMBER sPOTLIGHT
Tanya Russell, Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP
How long have you been an administrator?I have been an administrator for fifteen years.
What career or profession, other than your own, have you always wanted to try?I have always wanted to be an elementary school teacher.
What advice would you give someone entering the legal administrator field?It is important to understand that a high emotional IQ is as important as a high mental IQ. The ability to get along with people and promote teamwork is critical in any work environment.
Share an interesting “tidbit” about yourself that most people would not know:Murphy’slawmotivatesme.Itrytostayatleastonestepaheadofanygivensituationtocircumventthingsgoing“south.”
To be successful, legal administrators have to: Think outside the box! We must be capable of offering strategic advice on how to get things done, all with an infinite amount
of patience.
The best advice I received from a fellow legal administrator was:You have to be flexible in all situations.
In my spare time I like to: be with my family (especially my 9-year-old son, Alex), crochet, and read. Activities (other than work) I'm involved in: I am a constant volunteer at my son’s school, and I participate on the board of the GLA ALA.
Describe yourself in three words:Up-tempo, outgoing and earthy.
Describe your management style and why it works for you: I am hands-on. I keep an eye on positive communication and conflict resolution. It must be working because my current firm and prior firms have all been very happy with me.
2010 Employment Law Forum
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Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange26
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I was struggling as to what to write about this month and was
actually just about to submit a truly uninspired article when,
whileatmydoctor’soffice,Ispottedacolorfulbrochurewitha
single word on the front. That word was “Volunteer.” Perhaps
some of you have also seen this brochure or heard about the offer
I’mabouttodescribe.Ifso,let’sdoit!Ifnot,readonandthen
let’sdoit!
The brochure was advertising Disney’s “Give a Day. Get a
Disney Day.” program which says that Disney is “celebrating the
spirit of giving by inspiring one million people like you to vol-
unteer a day of service to a participating organization in their
community.” It goes on to say that “to celebrate your good work,
we’llgiveyouone-dayadmissiontoaWaltDisneyWorld®orDis-
neyland®ThemePark,free.”Idon’tknowaboutyou,butIwas
impressed and excited by this. What a great way to use the power
and influence of a corporation like Disney to do some good in the
community.
The program began January 1, 2010, and will continue un-
til all tickets are distributed or until December 15, 2010 (tickets
must be redeemed by this date). There are, of course, require-
ments like pre-registering and signing up through disneyparks.
com for an eligible volunteer opportunity which you can search
for by City, Zip Code or Interest Area. Interest Areas include Ani-
mals & Environment, Arts & Culture, Children & Youth, Commu-
nity, Education & Technology, Health & Human Services, Hunger
& Homelessness, and Seniors & Elder Care. I put in my zip code
and dozens of opportunities were listed from grade school class-
room help, story reader, campus beautification, driver, mentor,
food packer; the list went on and on.
You not only sign up and manage your account on the site;
you can print your ticket voucher for one of the parks or donate
it to a designated charitable organization so even if you don’t
like Disneyland (is that possible?), you can donate your ticket to
someone who does! There is abundant information about the
program itself and the various organizations with which Disney
is working to make these volunteer opportunities possible.
I encourage you to check out the opportunities in your area
and when you do volunteer, send me an e-mail about your expe-
rienceandincludesomepictures.Ican’tthinkofanythingbet-
ter than filling up the pages of this magazine with success stories
about our wonderful members giving back!
I wish you happy volunteering.
Wendy
Wendy sweet, CLm [email protected] 213-689-0404
COMMUNITy OUTREACH — Get aCtIVe aND Go to DISNeYLaND
tHank you sponsorsPlatinum SPonSor
GolD SPonSorS
SilVEr
February 2010 27
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange28
sOs — sUCCEEd OVER sTREss
“If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it, even if I did not have the ability in the beginning.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Thismonth: Declutter Your Life
A hallowed New Year's tradition occurs each January, when
millions of us start kidding ourselves. We vow that this will be the
year we keep the one resolution that invariably appears on our
personalto-dolist:Cleanouttheclutterandbecomemoreorga-
nized! Rooms and garages and storage areas that are filled with
too much stuff; desks that are piled high with business cards and
junk mail; the pressure to meet deadlines becomes worse when
papers and notes are misplaced or buried in mountains of paper;
the general clutter and chaos of everyday life feels like a heavy
weight on your shoulders.
According to Regina F. Lark, Ph.D., owner of A Clear Path, Pro-
fessional Organizing for Home, Work and Life, (regina@AClear-
Path.net) January is Get Organized Month.
Here are her ten tips to get started:
1. If de-cluttering were fun, you wouldn't have clutter. Turn
the task into a project with a deadline.
2. De-cluttering takes a lot of time. For every hour of de-
cluttering, allow an hour to re-organize.
3. Once you know how many hours/days you can devote to
the project, choose an area (closet? garage? desk? child's
room?).
4. Ask for help. The work goes faster when you don't work
alone! Invite trusted friends or family members to give
you a hand.
5. Calendar the project. Emergencies and health concerns
should be the only reason you do not do the work.
6. Stepbackandcheckout themess. In thedays leading
up to your project, take note of what's there, how many
and how much. Think about what you no longer need,
find useful, haven't used, can be donated, recycled, or
trashed.
7. When you have a sense of what you've got, start the search
for appropriate donation centers. Electronic and flam-
mable waste should go to special collection centers. This
is a good time to learn how to use e-Bay or craiglist if you
want to make some money from your good work!
8. For nearly every project have at least 5 receptacles for sort-
ing. These can be boxes or bags, or areas marked out on
the floor or flat surface so you can sort. Sorting categories
shouldinclude:recycle,donate,keep,trash.Ifadditional
groupings emerge add more boxes or bags to the list of
supplies. Also, gloves, heavy duty plastic bags.
9. Hold off on buying “organizing” supplies like plastic con-
tainers, drawer dividers, or office supplies until after a
thorough de-clutter.
10. Schedule the pick-up date and time with the donation
center for the items not being kept. Schedule your time to
bring electronic and flammable waste to an appropriate
collection center in your community.
I hope these ten tips will help you get started on de-cluttering
your life!
And remember, slow down, find gratitude in what you have,
take time to take care of youself........and BREATHE.
See you in March.
About The Author: Gloria Albert, Director of WellnessWorks,
has been a health consultant for over 20 years. Her approach to re-
ducing stress and adding wellness to one’s life is practical, hands-
on, pro-active and fun.
To find out more information, request a brochure or schedule a
class, please contact Gloria at (phone) 310-393-6078, (e-mail) gal-
[email protected], or visit our website at http://www.
WellnessWorksUSA.com. Please feel free to pass this information
along to co-workers, friends, family.
SOS (SUCCEED OVER STRESS), a monthly column, is brought
to you compliments of WellnessWorks, providing innovative stress
management and wellness programs.
WellnessWorks is dedicated to providing the utmost in
innovative stress reduction/wellness programs to our clients.
Our goal is to save clients money by helping employees control
their stress, be more productive, and live healthier, happier lives.
WellnessWorks is now offering seminars for your employees that
will help them find that balance in their lives. In addition, we also
work with people individually, and have a comprehensive well-
ness program for seniors.
For more information on what we do, please be sure to visit us
at http://www.WellnessWorksUSA.com.
gloria [email protected]
February 2010 29
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange30
TECHNOLOGy TIPs — Tips for Working with Word’s Track Changes – Part 1 of 2
What are track changes?
MicrosoftWord’sTrackChanges feature isanelectronictext
recorder, similar to traditional redlining. Microsoft Word uses
Track Changes to track (record) the changes you and others make
to a document. Then, you can then choose to accept or reject
those changes.
Why use them?
As an example, Joel creates a document and emails it to a
client, Susan, for further revisions. Susan revises the document
with Track Changes turned on. When Susan emails the document
back to Joel, he can see what changes Susan has made.
identify Whether track changes are on or off
Let's admit it, turning Track Changes on or off is not the most
intuitive feature in Microsoft Word. Often it's hard to tell if Track
Changes is enabled. There's no neon sign in Microsoft Word that
says TRACK CHANGES IS ON. That would be nice, but it's not the
case. The only reliable and quick indication is to look at Word's
Status bar located at the bottom of your screen (see Figure 1).
If the Track Changes button says “Off” your changes are not
being tracked (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 Word's Status bar showing Track Changes is OFF
If the Track Changes button says “On” then your changes are
being tracked (see Figure 2).
Figure 2 Word's Status bar showing Track Changes is ON.
It's simple. All you have to do is keep an eye on Word's sta-
tus bar and the Track Changes button and you'll know instantly
whether the Track Changes feature is On or Off.
know How to turn them on or off – the basics
Ok, now how do you turn Track Changes on? The answer is
there's a long way and a short way to do it. Choose the approach
you feel most comfortable.
• TurnTrackChangesOnorOffusingakeyboardshortcut.
To turn Track Changes on using the keyboard shortcut,
press [Ctrl]+[Shift]+E. This is a toggle. That means that press-
ing [Ctrl]+[Shift]+E turns it On (see Figure 2) and pressing
[Ctrl]+[Shift]+E again turns it Off (see Figure 1).
• TurnTrackChangesOnorOffusingtheMouse
• PointtotheTrackChangesstatusbuttononthestatusbar
with your mouse. (see Figure 1 & 2).
• Clicktheleftmousebutton.Likethekeyboardapproach,
this is a toggle so clicking again turns Track Changes OFF.
display track changes the Way you Want
The way you want it? That's kind of a misnomer, because Mi-
crosoft Word doesn't give you a lot of Track Changes formatting
flexibility.Whatmakesitmoreconfusingisthatyoucan’tcontrol
how others view your tracked changes.
Be aware: A significant shortcoming of formatting Track
Changes is that it is user specific. That is, Track Changes only re-
flects the formatting configuration of each individual's machine.
If a document is opened on another user's machine, the tracked
changesareformattedaccordingtothatuser’ssettings. Unless
everyone involved in the collaboration has Track Changes for-
matted the same, it makes it difficult to visually distinguish the
changes made by each author.
displaying the track changes dialog box
To change the formatting of tracked changes use the Track
Changes Options dialog box (see Figure 3).
ToviewtheTrackChangesOptionsdialogbox:
• SelecttheReviewribbon.
• Inthe“Tracking”groupclickthedropdownmenuonthe
Track Changes button.
• Select“ChangeTrackingOptions”(Figure3).
• TheTrackChangesOptionsdialogboxdisplays(Figure4).
• Fromhereyoucanchangethewayinsertions,deletions,
moves, etc, look in the edited document.
Figure 3
Change Tracking Options
Figure 4
Track Changes Options Dialog Box
randall [email protected]
February 2010 31
power tip: access the track changes options dialog box
quickly by creating a keyboard shortcut:
• ClickontheOfficeButtoninthetopleftofyourscreen
(Figure 5) and select “Word Options.”
Figure 5 Office Button
• Select“Customize.”
• IntheCustomizedialogbox(Figure6)clickthe“Custom-
ize” button next to “Keyboard shortcuts.”
Figure 6 Customize Dialog Box
• Inthe“Categories”listboxselect“ReviewTab”
(Figure 7).
• Inthe“Commands”listbox,select“TrackChanges
Options.”
• Clickinthe“Pressnewshortcutkey”textbox.
• Type[Alt]+O(oranykeyboardshortcutyouwant.)
• The“Currentkeys:”shouldsay[unassigned].Ifnot
then choose another keyboard shortcut combination.
• Clickthe“Assign”button.
• ClickClose.
• ClickCloseattheCustomizedialogbox.
Now when you type [Alt]+O the Track Changes options dialog
box appears (see Figure 4).
Figure 7: Customize Keyboard Dialog Box
changing the Way tracked changes look
There are many ways to format Track Changes, but for the sake
of simplicity let's focus on two Best Practice approaches. First is
to show deletions and insertions as a specific format. Second is to
show deletions and insertions by Author.
c. Showing Deletions and Insertions as a Specific Format
For reviewing purposes, the format that is easiest to read and
is most familiar is Insertion markups set to Underline and Blue
(see Figure 8) and Deletions set to Strikethrough and Red.
Tracking formatting changes, for the most part, are unneces-
sary and should be set at None.
Change Lines are the real jewel of Track Changes. They can
make the reviewing and collaboration process much faster by
pinpointing the exact place in the document tracked changes are
made. It is best to set them at Left border and color set to Auto.
Balloons can be confusing, compress the printed document,
and are a little irritating, so it is recommended that you turn them
off by selecting Never.
Figure 8 Example of Insertions and Deletions using the format-
ting described above
• ShowingDeletionsandInsertionsbyAuthor
Distinguishing deletions and insertions by author is a great
way to collaborate on a document because the Tracked Changes
are shown in a different color for each author (see Figure 10). In
the example below, insertion markups are set as Underline and
the color is set to show by Author (see Figure 9). Deletions are set
as Strikethrough and Author.
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange32
Figure 9 Track Changes Option Dialog Box by Author
Figure 10 Track Changes formatted by Author as described
above
Make sure you’re viewing all of your track changes
Did you know you could be working on a document and add-
ing tracked changes and not be aware of it? That's right; Micro-
soft has made Word's Track Changes so versatile that one can
very easily (if not aware) be working on a document and not see
the tracked changes.
the review ribbon
The Reviewing Ribbon is your Track Changes command cen-
ter (see Figure 11). In Word 2007 whenever you are working with
Track Changes you should ensure that you have the Review Rib-
bon displayed.
Figure 11 Review Ribbon
From the Review Ribbon you can tell Word which chang-
es you want to view, using the Display for Review list box
(see Figure 12).
Figure 12 Review Ribbon - and the Display for Review list box
Most of the time you want to see the document as close to the
final version as possible. The Final Showing Markup view does
this by showing the final text with all tracked changes displayed.
don’t get confused with the display for review list
box
Understanding each of these displays will help to decide
which one to use.
Here's a list of the other three views and a description of
each:
The more you understand how Track Changes works the more
efficientyoucanbe.Innextmonth’ssectionIwillprovidemore
tipsonWord’sTrackChangesfocusingontipsforworkingwith
Word’snativeComparefeature.
About The Author: Randall Farrar is the president and co-
founder of Esquire Innovations, Inc. (esqinc.com), a software com-
pany that develops Microsoft Office integrated applications for the
legal market, located in Temecula, CA. He can be reached at ran-
February 2010 33
A decade ago most women did not strength train. Today,
however, many women have discovered its benefits. Here Patty
S. Freedson, PhD, graduate program director in the Exercise Sci-
ence Department at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst,
answers commonly asked questions women have about resis-
tance training.
1 How Can Strength Training Help Me? In the Baltimore
Longitudinal Study of Aging, researchers found that
women's strength begins to decline at age 40 and decreases 8
to 10 percent per decade after that. Fortunately, strength train-
ing can help stop this decline. Benefits of resistance training
for women of all ages include improved strength and power, in-
creased bone strength, increased lean body mass, decreased rest-
ing blood pressure and lower risk for type 2 diabetes.
2 As an Older Woman, Is It Safe for Me to Train? Abso-
lutely! In fact, older women must participate in strength
training activities if they want to maintain maximum health.
Health benefits include reduced risk for osteoporosis, decreased
risk of falls and sustained independence later in life.
3 How Will Strength Training Impact Muscle Size?
Strength training will result in a small increase in mus-
cle size, but you don't need to worry about getting huge body-
builder muscles. For these, you would need more than the low
levels of testosterone that women typically have.
4 Can I Gain Strength Like a Man? While your muscles
will not become as large as men's, several studies have
confirmed that women's strength gains are similar to those
of men.
5 Should I Use Machines or Free Weights? Both machines
and free weights have their strengths and weaknesses.
Weight machines are safe, easy to use, work all major muscle
groups and require minimal skill. However, they are expensive
(or require that you belong to a gym), offer a limited number
of exercises and restrict movements. Free weights allow you to
perform a variety of exercises, mimic true movements, are less
expensive and can help you develop skilled movements. On the
other hand, they can be less safe, require more skill and may re-
quire a partner to help you train. You can choose free weights,
machines or a combination. Consult a personal trainer for help
deciding which to use.
6Do I Need to Join a Gym to Strength Train? No. You
can use inexpensive strength training devices such as
dumbbells, ankle weights, elastic bands, barbells and weight
benches at home.
7 What Principles Should I Follow? Use low repetitions
and high resistance for increasing absolute strength
and power and high repetitions and low resistance for muscle
toning and muscle endurance. The American College of Sports
Medicine (ACSM) recommends you do eight to 12 reps per set to
improve muscle tone and endurance and six to eight reps per set
to maximize gains in strength and power.
8 Are There Any Other General Recommendations?
ACSM advises you to strength train two to three days
per week. Perform at least one set of eight to 12 reps (if you're
under 50) and 10 to 15 reps (if you are 50 or older) at a weight that
fatigues your muscles.
9 What Exercises Should I Do as a Beginner? Select ex-
ercises that work every major muscle group. Start with
bench press, lat pull-down, lateral raise, triceps extension, biceps
curl, leg press, calf raise and abdominal curl. Begin with one set
of each exercise for your first three to six workouts and build up
to three sets per exercise. You may add or substitute other lower-
and upper-body exercises after you train for a few weeks.
10 How Can I Achieve Maximum Success? Follow the
overload principle, which means you overload the
muscles with more stress than usual to obtain an optimal re-
sponse. Variations in overload are accomplished by manipulat-
ing how much weight you are lifting, the number of repetitions,
number of sets of repetitions, rest intervals between sets and
workout frequency. Consult a personal trainer for help.
About the Author: Judy Hissong is a professional life coach
working with individuals who know they can accomplish more
in their lives, but aren’t sure what obstacles are in their way. She
often speaks to groups on wellness issues including stress manage-
ment and the power of positive thinking. If you would like more
information, contact her at [email protected] or (619)
889-7884. www.positive-energies.com
Judy hissong, CLm [email protected] 800-999-4332
WELLNEss ZONE — Strength training for Women
Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange34
COACH’s CORNER — When Clients Want a Price Cut, Unbundle Your Fees
ed Poll, J.d., m.B.a., CmC [email protected]
Intoday’seconomy,lawfirmsofallsizesaremeetingstron-
ger resistance to increase their fees. This is of course a matter of
economics. The seller of any service must understand costs, set
profit targets and gauge market demand. The decision of what to
chargeultimatelyisamatteroftheseller’schoice.Lawyershave
only the ethical obligation to keep fees “reasonable,” not neces-
sarily low. If a client wants to dispute a charge, a time record
can provide specific documentation – the reason why corporate
clients first demanded billable hour statements in the 1960s.
Hourly rates may not be the best or fairest, but over time they
have become accepted and understood.
law Firms and airlines
There is, however, another approach to billing that can make
senseifclientsdemandthatafirmcutitsrate:createalaundry
list of unbundled services and fixed prices/fees to create a flex-
ible fee structure. It particularly makes perfect sense for smaller
firms to do this, in order to differentiate their law practice from
others. They can tell clients, in advance, what their cost exposure
will be by service so they can budget for their legal engagement.
The model for an unbundled fee structure is the itemized fees
that airlines now uniformly charge for everything from addition-
al luggage to an in-flight meal. Providing these services was once
included in the base passenger fare, but the pressures of reces-
sion and rising fuel costs led the air carriers to feel that ancillary
fees were more palatable to more customers than charging higher
rates. And, surprisingly, most flyers have accepted the reasoning
behind the charges. Rather than raise the fees for all, airlines are
being selective. Just because it's an extra charge doesn't make
it unreasonable, so long as customers see the reasoning and the
value behind it.
Similarly, a lawyer or law firm that unbundles services can
combat price pressures by taking specific services off the table in
order to keep the billing rate steady or to deliver a lower price to
the client. In effect, when the client wants a reduced price, the
lawyer unbundles the services to accomplish that objective. In
other words, for X dollars, you will do this and for “Y” dollars you
will do that less “abc.” The price fits the appropriate level based
on the service to be delivered.
For example, if returned phone calls within 2 hours are part of
afirm’sregularhourlyrate,takethatresponsetimeoffthetable
if you lower your hourly rate in response to your client's request.
Tell the client that your response time will be 24, or even 48,
hours.Thepointwillbeclear:thefirmisnotloweringtheprice,
but rather is changing the value composition of what the client
is buying. So long as the firm understands its cost structure, and
can cover it by properly constructed, unbundled fees, it can be a
win-win situation for all concerned.
the administrator’s role
This is where firm administrators can play a particularly valu-
able role. Unfortunately, most lawyers set rates without know-
ing their costs of operation. Thus, the fee figure chosen often is a
guess, not one based on a cost-benefit analysis. No firm can ad-
equately justify its fee without understanding its business (bud-
get, collections, profit, loss), its billing structure, and how each
attorney determines firm profitability. A bill for legal services is
only defensible if the cost structure behind it is known, and if the
client understands and accepts the value that the fee represents.
Administrators are best positioned to understand this structure,
andprovidethedocumentationsothatthefirm’sratesreflectit.
With airlines as with law firms, the customer/client ultimately
defines value. But in the law, where the specifics of services pro-
vided are less apparent than a checked bag or an in-flight meal,
the firm must educate the client about how value is provided and
measured in a transactional matter or in litigation. And for that
tohappen,administratorsmusteducatethefirm’slawyersonthe
fundamental business truth that revenue minus expenses equals
profit. Any fee, any unbundling of services, ultimately can be jus-
tified if the firm knows the cost structure behind it, details the
costs and services on its invoice, and helps the client to under-
stand the value that the fee represents.
About the Author: Ed is a coach and consultant to lawyers and
law firms; he writes and speaks to lawyers and bar associations
throughout the United States. His audience, lawyers in private
practice settings and corporate law departments, seek advice about
how to better manage their practices and their case loads. Ed is na-
tionally known through his 12 books on law practice management
and many articles in major publications for organizations such as
the American Bar Association, Association of Legal Administrators,
Canadian Bar Association, State Bar of California and others. His
latest work, Law Firm Fees and Compensation: Value & Growth
Dynamics, was released in April. Ed can be reached at www.lawbiz.
com, www.lawbizblog.com, [email protected] or 800-837-5880.
February 2010 45www.alanet.org/conf
ConnectLearnOrchestrate Your Future
May 3-6, 2010John B. Hynes Memorial Convention CenterBoston, Massachusetts
See
Association of Legal Administrators75 Tri-State InternationalSuite 222Lincolnshire, IL 60069-4435
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