President's Message By: Carole Morris

More than five months have passed since I assumed my position and I cannot believe how quickly the year is going.  We had an extremely successful Business Partners’ Lunch with157 members and guests and 137 business partners attending.  This is one of our most successful events of the year.  Our Chapter sponsored the Atlanta Legal Aid Society at this lunch and thanks to our members and business partners, collected over $6,000 from our members, their firms and our business partners to assist those who cannot afford to hire an attorney.  My thanks to everyone who contributed to this effort.

As I sit here writing this, it’s still 90+ degree weather outside and I am thinking of the change of seasons and longing for Fall!  Not Winter, mind you; but the crispness and chill of the fall season sure sounds good to me.

Thinking about the change of seasons led me to think about changes in our lives.  Life is full of changes.  Each day we change, or circumstances surrounding us change, hopefully for the good but not always.  Our selves change, our firms change, our Chapter changes, it is as inevitable as taxes and death.  It is up to each of us to make sure the changes are positive ones. I looked up the definition of change in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary and found …

Change:

 “1 a : to make different in some particular : ALTER <never bothered to change the will> b : to make radically different : TRANSFORM <can't change human nature> c : to give a different position, course, or direction to”. And

“2 a : to replace with another <let's change the subject> b : to make a shift from one to another : SWITCH <always changes sides in an argument> c : to exchange for an equivalent sum of money (as in smaller denominations or in a foreign currency) <change a 20-dollar bill> d : to undergo a modification of <foliage changing color> e : to put fresh clothes or covering on <change a bed>

intransitive verb
1 : to become different <her mood changes every hour>
2 of the moon : to pass from one phase to another
3 : to shift one's means of conveyance : TRANSFER <on the bus trip he had to change twice>
4 of the voice : to shift to lower register : BREAK
5 : to undergo transformation, transition, or substitution <winter changed to spring>
6 : to put on different clothes <need a few minutes to change for dinner>”

The past few years have definitely wrought a change in me – I’ve become different (I think for the better) and I’ve certainly moved from one phase to another.  I’m sitting here now serving in a position where I never wanted or expected to be, and loving it.   I stood before 300 people in August and spoke without any nervousness at all.  If someone had told me 3 years ago I would be comfortable standing in front of 300 people and talking, I would have laughed in their face.  It just took a little pushing and prodding to get me more involved in ALA and I am thankful to the ones who did the pushing and prodding.  The past few years have been rewarding, fulfilling, educational and FUN!

Not only has my ALA involvement been a rewarding experience, it’s been a growing period for me, both personally and professionally.  Many of you know that I took – and PASSED – the CLM test last April.  You cannot imagine how proud I am of that accomplishment.  When you reach my age, you begin to wonder whether the brain cells still work because there are times when words just slip right out of your mind – mid-sentence – and you wonder where they went.  Memories get a little faulty (although I prefer to believe this is because I’m so busy rather than blame it on age) and one worries about mental capacity.  The decision to take the CLM and further let it be known that I was taking it was, first of all, an act of courage!  Had I failed, many of you would have known it.  I did this deliberately because, unless you dare to act, you won’t change and grow.   I hoped that the fact I let people know I was taking the test might encourage others to reach a decision to take the test.  It’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.  It’s also not the end of the world if you don’t pass it the first time or the second.  I’ve read reports from other ALA members and some of the highest ranked members took it three times before passing.  But one thing is for sure, if you don’t take it, you’ll never pass!

During this time, also, my firm has changed.  In 2000, we went from a 76-person firm to a 30-person firm.  It was a tough time and in order to survive, we had to make some drastic decisions and some were full of risks.  However, had we not acted, the firm would have folded.  We are today facing another challenge.  One of our partners left and took 8 people with him, leaving us even smaller at 22 people.  It’s just another bump in the road which I am sure will smooth out within the next few months and the firm will continue on as strongly as ever.

Our Chapter also has changed quite a bit in the past few years.  We’ve grown to a membership of over 240 members; we started the Vendor Sponsorship Program which has allowed us to provide more educational opportunities to our members through local sessions and allowed us to send more members to National and Regional Conferences.  The better educated our members become, the better for them, their employers and ultimately the Chapter.

And, of course, no one can deny how much technology has changed us and the world around us.  We now can “talk” to anyone anywhere in the world over the internet – either by instant messenger or by telephone.  While this is great in some respects, it’s extremely stressful in others.  It’s increased our workloads and forever changed the way we communicate with each other.

So, what, you ask, is my rambling message about?  It’s time to change!  If you are not involved in AALA, get involved.  If you are involved, get more involved!  You will benefit from your involvement more than you ever would believe.  You can stretch, change and grow in a safe environment.  You’re among friends who always wish you the best and never want you to fail.  Never will you have as much encouragement as you will receive from your fellow members.  As much as someone might love you, they cannot possibly understand what you go through on a daily basis as much as your fellow members.

I hope you are using all of the tools offered to you through ALA and AALA.  There are many tools through both of these organizations to help you become a more effective leader.  Some of these are listed in an article in this newsletter under Educational Opportunities through ALA.  If you haven’t tried any of these, I urge you to do so because otherwise you are missing valuable assets.

You might also sign your managing partner up to receive a free subscription to Legal Management.  Not only will it offer educational opportunities to your MP, it also shows what YOU do for your firm on a regular basis.  As most of us know, our attorneys really have no clue what we do and the more we can educate them, the more valuable we become to our firms.

Editor: Marianne M. Lawhead (mlawhead@sheastokes.com) (This publication is the property of the Atlanta Association of Legal Administrators. Reproduction or reprint without prior permission is strictly prohibited. Click here to request reprint permission.)

Designed/Distributed By