A big thank-you to the 1,000+ attendees and 175 exhibiting companies at the Annual Conference & Expo in Los Angeles, California. We hope you walked away with plenty of inspiration, new connections and cutting-edge solutions that you can put into practice right now at your law office.
Were you unable to attend this year’s conference, or are you looking to relive some of the fun? Check out a day-by-day recap of the conference as told by attendees’ tweets: Sunday and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. (No login required.)
During Tuesday’s Association Lunch, the 2016-17 ALA Board of Directors took office. Click here to see your new Board of Directors.
Nearly 500 individuals registered to attend ALA’s first-ever virtual conference experience, which comprised three Annual Conference education sessions on Wednesday, May 25. “The technology was flawless,” said member and Virtual Conference attendee Diane Sherman. “Thank you for an outstanding job!” Learn more and access the recordings on-demand.
We asked participants to use their personality, unique ideas and creativity to produce a video testimonial telling us why they value their ALA membership or relationship - and you voted for your favorite! The 60 Seconds of Fame Video Contest winner, the Capital Chapter, was announced last week at Annual Conference. View the video here.
The Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2016 Awards Program.
Janine Book
Each year the Board of Directors identifies members who have made significant contributions to the association. The first of these awards went to Janine Book of Pepper Hamilton LLP in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Janine joined ALA in 1996. In addition to serving as President of the Pittsburgh chapter, at the international level she has served as Regional Officer, Director, Annual Conference Committee member and – most recently – IP Retreat Planning Chair.
Paul Farnsworth
The second Outstanding Association Volunteer Award went to Paul Farnsworth of Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP in Rochester, New York. Paul joined ALA in 1994. He quickly became involved with the former Rochester Chapter, and has since held multiple roles both locally and at the international level. He served on ALA’s Board of Directors for more than five years, and he served as ALA President. When he left the Board in 2015, he immediately became the Chair of the International Relations Committee.
Steven Morris, CLM
Several years ago, the ALA Board of Directors created an award to recognize individuals for special and unique achievement – the Spirit of ALA Award. The traits and qualities that this award recognizes are leadership, commitment, tenacity and dedication. The Board felt this award should be the Association’s highest honor.
This year’s Spirit of ALA recipient has served ALA tirelessly at the chapter level, through committee service, as a Regional Officer and on the ALA Board of Directors: the Chair of the Professional Development Advisory Committee, Steven M. Morris, CLM, SPHR, of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble in San Francisco, California.
The Quest Award recognizes a new member of ALA for his or her conviction, dedication and relentless pursuit of personal and professional excellence. There were more than 500 eligible candidates this year, 11 of whom were nominated by their chapters for this recognition.
This year’s Quest Award winner is Shundrallah A. Covington of Murray Law, PA in Miami Lakes, Florida. Shun joined ALA and immediately became involved in chapter activities. During a lunch with a board member, the idea for the chapter’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee was born. Being new to the organization, Shun was reluctant to lead this committee but instead served as a member. Her enthusiasm and passion led to the coordination of a half-day diversity seminar as well as a diversity spotlight for each chapter meeting. To challenge herself even further, Shun joined a Certified Legal Manager (CLM)SM study group and became an advocate for the group.
ALA’s IDEA Awards program, now in its third year, seeks to recognize initiatives that model innovation, development, engagement and advancement in the legal community. Congratulations to the following recipients for 2016:
Complete details regarding ALA's IDEA Awards program can be found at alanet.org/awards.
Congratulations to the following evaluation raffle winners! Each winner received a $25 American Express Gift Card:
The following overall evaluation winner is the recipient of a Fitbit ($200 value):
Virtual Conference Evaluation Winner won one package of the three virtual session recordings ($309 value):
Virtual Conference Chat Winner each won a $25 American Express Gift Card:
Hear from ALA Conference attendees who shared their experiences through Twitter:
Motivating keynote address by Shark Tank's Daymond John #BizLaw16
— Suzanne Schwartz (@suzyschwartz) May 23, 2016
The 3 virtual sessions were perfect. Kudos to all the hard work to stream these today. Thanks to @ALABuzz for the innovation. #bizlaw16
— Debbie Holland (@debbieholland28) May 25, 2016
What a wonderful way to end the conference. Nan DeMars speaking about ethics in the workplace #bizlaw16 EXTRAORDINARY!
— MEVargas (@mevfer) May 25, 2016
Thanks to #bizlaw16 organizers for their hard work. Conference was great.
— Cheryl528 (@Cheryl528) May 26, 2016