State Bar partners with legal administrators via
Internet; Members can access practice management resources
July 20, 2006 - The State Bar Law Office Management Section has
joined efforts with the national Association of Legal Administrators
(ALA) and the Wisconsin Association of Legal Administrators (WALA)
offering members a unique method to access the knowledge, information,
and resources of their separate Web sites on law office administration,
marketing, and human resource management.
ALA's Legal Management Resource Center, now
available through WisBar, currently contains more than 2,000 articles
relevant to law practice management. ALA has created a system of spiders
that crawl approximately 50 magazine, legal consultation, and law
association Web sites every 60 days to find new articles. The ALA
Reference Desk Team evaluates each article to determine which articles
are posted to the resource center.
The ALA Reference Desk Team comprises a librarian,
a lawyer, and a paralegal who review hundreds of articles per month,
approving only the most pertinent information for publication in the
resource center.
Additional benefits. State Bar members also
can access, for a fee, more than 90 "Research Studies,"
which are compilations of articles and data related to specific topics.
The cost per study is $30 for Law Office Management Section members and
$75 for nonsection members.
"We are happy to announce the availability
of this partnership, which has been in the works for nearly two
years," says William C. Hess, Law Office Management Assistance
Program (LOMAP) Advisory chair. "The availability of the ALA
and WALA resources will benefit all State Bar members by providing
up-to-date compilations of law office management information as well as
forms, checklists, and more. The special benefits available only to Law
Office Management Section members will provide an added reason for
joining the section."
Law Office Management Section members can access
the ALA "Reference Desk" via an email link to ask questions.
The "Reference Desk" usually responds electronically within
24 hours or by phone if more clarification is needed. Section members
also receive access to a searchable archive of WALA Class
Action newsletters.
LOMAP, the state Bar's newest member
service, which launched in February, provides an array of law practice
management resources to help members more efficiently and effectively
practice law. LOMAP provides Practice 411, an electronic list open to
all members to share information, ask questions, and connect with a
panel of experts.
For more information on LOMAP, access to the WALA and ALA sites, or
to join the Law Office Management Section, visit www.wisbar.org/lomap.
