OC-ALA Waves · Fall 2019

D I A M O N D B U S I N E S S PA R T N E R

Fall Edition 2019

P R E S I D E N T ’S M E S S A G E

Michael Shuff OC-ALA Chapter President 2019-2020

G O L D B U S I N E S S PA R T N E R S

P L AT I N U M

B U S I N E S S

PA R T N E R S

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Welcome to the Fall Edition of WAVES. I cannot believe that summer has already come to a close and the holidays are just around the corner. Many of us are already deep into year-end planning and reporting as we quickly wrap up the 40th year of the OC-ALA. Time surely does fly when you are having a great time.

Over the past few months we have been quite busy as a Chapter. We have had many educational sessions including a couple of General Meetings, as well as section meetings on HR, Finance and Technology, and the Small Firm Round table. In these meetings we covered a wide array of topics that sparked lively roundtable discussions and featured great speakers on topics including Profitability, Understanding and Resolving Incivility and Bullying, and Back Office Efficiencies. As we wrapped up summer and moved into the fall months it was not all about education as we took time to make new connections and rekindle connections with old friends.

We had our Premier Networking Event at the Rooftop Patio of the Hyundai Capital building. We connected with new members and old as

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NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE

Kristie Amato (949) 442-7110 kea@severson.com

Cindy Brown (949) 622-1661 cbrown@cdflaborlaw.com

Christine Wilbur (949) 250-5412 cwilbur@awattorneys.com

Amy Wright, CLM (949) 622-1661 awright@cdflaborlaw.com

ORANGE COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATOR ’S MISSION

OC-ALA's mission "to meet the needs of its members through education, networking,

and the exchange of information" is carried out via programs and events promoting

professional education and development, community involvement, and

collaboration between members.

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

President’s Message 1

Business Partner Appreciation Mixer 4

Calendar of Events 5

ALA VIP Program Overview 6

Business Partner Spotlight: Afinety 7

The Value of Business Partner Relationships 9

Administrator Spotlight: Kaylen Steele 10

Premier Networking Event 11

Article: Why do you need a disaster recovery plan and a business continuity plan? 12

2019 Compensation and Benefits Survey 14

Business Partner Spotlight: Nationwide Legal 15

40th Anniversary Celebration 16

Business Partner Spotlight: Lisa Renee Photography 19

2020 ALA Annual Conference 20

New Member Welcome 22

Member Updates 23

Business Partner Update 24

Article: Why Diversity and Inclusion? 25

Member Anniversaries 28

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we enjoyed the views of Orange County and also danced while experiencing a silent disco. We thank Savills, First Legal, TFG Benefits, and WAMS for sponsoring that wonderful event. We were also able to connect with members current and past as well as their significant others at the Santiago Estate as we celebrated our 40th Anniversary of gaining our charter as the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators. It was a great evening celebrating all that we have accomplished in our illustrious 40 year history. A huge thank you to the members of the Leadership Committee that helped with the planning and execution of this wonderful evening. Many of our great accomplishments would not be possible without the support of our Business Partners, so at the end of October we were able to get together with our Business Partners at Bistango to show them our gratitude for their generous support of our Chapter. There are no amount of “Thank Yous” that will ever be able to truly express how deeply we appreciate the support of each and every one of our Business Partners.

After a year hiatus we were happy to bring back the Law Firm Leaders Forum. This year we tried a new format by having a breakfast meeting featuring a dynamic presentation from the amazing Dr. Jeff Salz. This event is our Chapter’s opportunity to demonstrate the great value of our organization to the leaders of our law firms. Dr. Jeff Salz gave an impactful presentation on Harnessing the Adventure Advantage. He told stories of his adventures through Patagonia and the lessons that he learned through adventure and the people that he met along the way. He expressed that adventure does not necessarily require that you go anywhere or buy equipment. Rather, everyday things can become an adventure from which you can learn great life lessons if you simply see them with a new perspective. He explained how the meaning of life is often over looked and how the hero’s journey can often expose the true meaning of one’s life as you “Return Home”. Don’t let life just pass you by. Get out and experience adventure every day!

You may have already received information from ALA Headquarters regarding membership renewals; regardless, it is that time of year. Be on the lookout for OC-ALA membership renewal information for both Members and Business Partners. The Business Partner Packages are slightly changed, so be sure to take a close look at the Business Partner Levels to determine your sponsorship level. Members and BPs will want to get their registration in by December 31, 2019 to ensure that you enjoy a full year of benefits.

The Nominating Committee is hard at work putting together the proposed slate of Officers for the 2020-2021 board year. If you feel like you have what it takes to serve in the Chapter Leadership, be sure to reach out to any of this year’s board members. We are always looking for new volunteers, as new minds bring new ideas and with new ideas comes great change!

As we wrap up 2019, we are all looking forward to our greatest event of the year, ACES 2020. The keynote for this event will be Rebecca Heiss who has presented at ALA Annual conference in the past. We will also have a surely entertaining Labor Law Update from the brilliant Richard Simmons from Sheppard Mullin. The educational portion of the day will be followed by our Business Partner Expo Hall, where we will “wine down” and connect with all of our great Business Partners and learn all about their products and services. You will not want to miss this event on January 31st at the Hilton John Wayne Airport. Members and BPs alike should be on the lookout for details regarding registration for this all day event.

This year has been filled with many great educational sessions, opportunities to connect with members and business partners, and an opportunity to take some time to be proud of all that we have accomplished in the past 40 years. As we wind down the last couple months of 2019, we reminisce on all the great things of the past, and look forward to the bounty of opportunity in the future. Cheers to you all as you ring in the New Year and I hope to connect with you all soon!

Michael Shuff President, OC-ALA 2019-2020

P R E S I D E N T ’S W E L C O M E M E S S A G E C o n t i n u e d

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C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S

NOVEMBER

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DECEMBER

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JANUARY

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JANUARY

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31 JANUARY

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Executive and Extended Board Meeting Jackson Lewis, PC

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Executive Board Holiday Luncheon Event details to be announced soon

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Executive and Extended Board Meeting Jackson Lewis PC

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

General Meeting—The Ethical Considerations of Law

Antonello Ristorante

Friday, January 31, 2020

ACES Premier Educational Event and BP Expo Irvine Airport Hilton

Click Here for additional event information and to register online.

OC-ALA Waves · Fall 2019 6

A L A V I P P R O G R A M O V E R V I E W

Find member-exclusive VIP services and discounts from nationally known companies in solution categories like cyber security, technology consulting, office products and video conferencing. The savings provided by ALA’s VIP program business partners can add up to 70 percent overall — enough to offset the cost of membership!

The information provided below is for the exclusive use and convenience of ALA's members. This information may not be distributed or reproduced in any manner or used for other than the intended purposes.

ABA RETIREMENT FUNDS AFFINITY CONSULTING GROUP

ALLIED WORLD BREACHPRO

GLJ BENEFIT CONSULTANTS GLJ FINANCIAL

iSOLVED LAWPAY

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NEXTPATH LEGAL PRINCIPAL

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THOMSON REUTERS MYPAY SOLUTIONS THOMSON REUTERS ELITE

UPS VIBE (Visual Image Building Enterprises)

For more information go to ALA website at: http://www.alanet.org/about/vip-program

OC-ALA Waves · Fall 2019 7

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Pain Point: Security Security is especially relevant for law firms since they hold onto some very important data for their clients, and they also often work with institutions from regulated industries like finance and healthcare. Understanding and adequately protecting your firm from outside threats is of the utmost importance. Forbes outlines that the cloud is one of the most secure ways to store data due to its redundancy, security and safe sharing methods. There should always be multiple copies of important documents, ideally stored in different locations. Unlike hard

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W H Y L A W F I R M S A R E H E A D I N G T O T H E C L O U D Submitted by: Angie Moskalenko, Afinety

Hello OC-ALA Members! As a long-time business partner, we appreciate the opportunity to provide you with IT information relevant to the legal industry. We hope you find the following helpful. As you may know, cloud computing has advanced significantly over the years and has become mainstream in many legal practices. The American Bar Association released its 2019 Cloud Computing report highlighting the changing relationship between law firms and the cloud. Cloud technology is slowly but surely becoming the norm for law firms Some of the most interesting news from the ABA survey is more law firms are using cloud services. The number increased from 55% in 2018, to 58% in 2019. This technology is being utilized more often by small firms, at 60% of those surveyed, while 44% of larger firms with 50-99 lawyers have adopted it.

drives and physical paperwork, the cloud will always store duplicates in multiple places, so even if the worst-case scenario occurs, your data will still be accessible. Law firms should consider utilizing security measures such as encryption to stave off any major cybersecurity breaches. Many financial institutions require this for the law firms they retain due to the private data being shared. With this security technique, information is scrambled to the point that only the person with the right decryption key can read the data.

C O N T I N U E R E A D I N G

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The Afinety Cloud Platform: A cloud network designed for law firms by law firm IT experts

With a focus on law firm IT since 1986, Afinety understands the legal environment and applications in depth. The Afinety Cloud Platform (ACP) is designed specifically for law firms' needs. Built on the largest cloud provider in the world, Amazon Web Services, ACP continues to evolve to ensure the most solid security available, including multifactor authentication, current firewalls technologies. In addition, Mimecast with URL Threat Protection provides instant protection from targeted attacks and phishing attempts across all devices, plus defense against good websites turning bad or delayed exploits.

B U S I N E S S PA R T N E R S P O T L I G H T C o n t i n u e d

How to Choose a Cloud Provider Adopting a new solution can be daunting. However, the current tried-and-true onsite networks are typically outdated, creating significant security holes, workflow bottlenecks, not to mention skyrocketing maintenance costs, lost productivity and hindering performance. The ABA reports that an overwhelming majority of law firms (94%) consider vendor reputation to be important when selecting a cloud provider. Implementing a cloud-based system specifically designed for law firms is naturally the best path because the firm will benefit more from improved security, performance, reliability,[- costs savings, as well as the most current software.

• Eliminates the need for purchasing and maintaining servers

• Reduced capital investment and overhead costs

• Elasticity and scalability

• Unmatched security and compliance

• Encrypted data

• Increased performance and reliability

• Mobility - work securely from anywhere, from any device

• Built-in disaster recovery

• Ongoing support

• Simple monthly pricing structure

• Long-time partnership/certifications with legal specific applications

Benefits of the Afinety Cloud Platform

Afinety knows legal and supports hundreds of law firms with their IT needs so they can focus on their business. At a single low monthly cost, your entire network, including all data and applications, can be moved to a fully managed cloud platform built on Amazon Web Services. This includes massive redundancy and security, featuring 24/7/365 monitoring to identify any unusual activity and prevent issues before they cause damage, as well as a 99.999 percent uptime, ensuring the highest level of accessibility possible. Safe, secure, elastic, reliable and available anywhere, your network will be ready wherever and whenever you need it. Click here for a short video on the Afinety Cloud Platform. As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Angie Moskalenko | amoskalenko@afinety.com | www.afinety.com

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S I LV E R B U S I N E S S PA R T N E R S

T H E V A L U E O F B U S I N E S S PA R T N E R R E L AT I O N S H I P S One of the most valuable benefits of OC-ALA mem-

bership is the opportunity to establish relationships with experts in the various areas of goods and services required for the operation and management of to-day's successful law firms and law-related organiza-tions. Within the OC-ALA chapter and the greater ALA organization such experts are referred to as Business Partners. OC-ALA members and Business Partners form business relationships over time. During that time both sides of the relationship get to know the other with respect to the particular needs of individual law firms or law-related organizations and the particu-lar resources of Business Partners.

The value of Business Partner relationships is dis-played in the high level of service and commitment offered by Business Partners to OC-ALA members and their firms. An example of such service and commit-ment is the time involved for an insurance-specialty Business Partner to educate an OC-ALA member on the various intricacies involved in evaluating Lawyers Professional Liability (LPL) insurance policies. With such education an OC-ALA member can understand the often minute differences between policies offered by competing carriers and can then make well-informed decisions on behalf of their firms. Another example of the value of Business Partner relationships is when it comes time to obtain or renew a real estate lease. Having a relationship with a broker that is famil-iar with a particular firm can save time by allowing a targeted approach based on the broker's knowledge of the firm. An established relationship with a Business Partner allows OC-ALA members the opportunity of having "someone to call" when a need is urgent or otherwise requires special attention. Business Partner relationships established and maintained over time offer tremendous extra value to OC-ALA members.

Below are specific examples of Business Partner rela-tionship value delivered to various OC-ALA members:

• A Business Partner picked up furniture at one member's office and moved it to a second mem-ber's office. Simultaneously, the Business Partner picked up furniture from a third member's office and delivered it to the second member's office, all

without skipping a beat or missing a deadline. It would be difficult to imagine a non-Business Part-ner handling such a project so seamlessly and so cost-efficiently.

• The same Business Partner saved the day for a different OC-ALA member by giving the member an opportunity to look at unwanted furniture at another firm after sending photos and descrip-tions of the furniture to her (it turned out to be exactly what her firm wanted) and then picking up and delivering the replacement furniture to her, and taking the unwanted furniture to the dump, at no cost.

• A Business Partner called an OC-ALA member to say "Hi" and catch up. The member had just been informed that a new partner would be arriv-ing at her firm and would need a new secretary to be hired. The member asked the search firm for a secretary with a particular skill set. Coincidentally, the search firm had just interviewed a candidate with the needed skill set. Interviews were set and a placement was made. If the Business Partner had-n't called or if the member hadn't taken the call the member would have spent a lot more time try-ing to find the right candidate.

• An OC-ALA member was called on by her firm to set up a new office in another state, from scratch with little advance notice. The member called on the Business Partners affiliated with the ALA chapter of her new office and succeeded in setting up the new office practically overnight thanks to the assistance offered via the estab-lished relationships with the local ALA chapter Business Partners.

• These are only a few examples of the re-sources available to OC-ALA members from OC-ALA Business Partners. Opportunities to get to know Business Partners and listen to how they can help, immediately or in the future, are opportuni-ties to establish relationships that could be life-savers down the road.

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K A Y L E N S T E E L E Ghitterman, Ghitterman & Feld

Main responsibilities at firm: As Firm Administrator, I am responsible for the firm's Human Resources, supervising all non-exempt staff, marketing, coordinating events for staff and sponsorship (more than 10 per year), maintaining office culture and morale, vision and planning, opening new offices, office policies and procedures, vendor relations, and managing facilities, maintenance, supplies, technology, and staffing for all four offices. Number of Years as Legal Administrator: 1 year

Legal Experience (prior and current): Ghitterman, Ghitterman & Feld is my first experience in the legal field.

What do you like best about being a Legal Administrator? While there are many rewarding aspects, the most meaningful to me would be getting to make and shape decisions that benefit our employees and clients. We've all worked for a company before whose decisions felt like they don't care about either, and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to not only start out working for a top notch firm, but also to play a role in trying to make things even better, one small decision at a time.

What do you like least about being a Legal Administrator? Never being able to finish all I set out to.

What is the hardest situation you have had to deal with? Our firm has two outstanding managing partners, each with significant strengths in different areas that complement each other well. Because of these differences which overall round out the firm's needs and create a vital balance, it also means they often start from very different perspectives. One of the significant challenges of my role is to help us move from the starting point to an agreeable conclusion that best benefits the firm. While that is not always easy, and it one time resulted in me having to create over 100 iterations of a new signature block before there was agreement, I believe it results in even better decisions.

What is the strangest or funniest thing you’ve had to do as an administrator? I got a call in the middle of the day from our Bakersfield office that a bat was flying around inside and they couldn't work. When animal control showed up, they searched high and low, with no bat to be found. As soon as he left, the ladies in the office found the bat relaxing on the couch.

How did you get into the legal field? My grandfather was the founder of GG&F back in 1956, and my uncle is now

one of the managing partners. I am honored to get to contribute to the family business.

Greatest challenge as an Administrator: Administration is not like suburbia: there seem to be few cookie-cutter situations. Daily situations that arise all seem to have their own nuances that make them a little different from the last, and thus require new decisions and discretion on applying the laws and policies. It can be a challenge to maintain fairness, consistency, and efficiency when the facts and circumstances are ever changing.

Details about your family: Last year I moved from Florida out to California to marry my wonderful husband and become a step-mom to an amazing 8-year-old girl.

Person you most admire and why: The women in my church. They are gentle, respectful, faithful, good listeners, and have only kind things to say about everyone.

Hobbies: Bible studies; sports like volleyball, swimming, and rollerblading; reading with my step-daughter.

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A D M I N I S T R AT O R S P O T L I G H T

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Why do you need both a Disaster Recovery Plan and a Business Continuity Plan?

By: Ashli Lopp, Marketing Manager, WAMS, Inc.

It’s not uncommon for companies to think that disaster recovery and business continuity plans are one and the same. Learn why both plans are needed.

Tornados, hurricanes, fires, floods, and other natural disasters can destroy a business. Digital disasters like ransomware attacks can be just as deadly.

Most businesses realize that they need to plan for disasters in case one strikes. Disaster recovery and business continuity plans are tools to make that happen. However, it’s not uncommon for companies to think that disaster recovery and business continuity plans are one and the same. While both are designed to help businesses deal with disasters, they are separate documents. To be fully prepared for disasters, businesses need to have both a disaster recovery plan and a business continuity plan.

and perspective offers, tapping into this rich wealth of resources to leverage superior business performance.

The Difference between Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

To understand what needs to go into the two types of plans, you first need to understand the differ-ence between disaster recovery and business continuity. To do so, imagine that you are a lemonade shop owner. You loved having a lemonade stand when you were a child, so you made your passion your business. You’ve come a long way from setting up your stand next to a big maple tree so cus-tomers could enjoy their beverages in the shade. Nowadays, your customers enjoy their lemonade in a cozy shop that offers free Wi-Fi service and other hi-tech amenities.

Then, disaster strikes. The big maple tree is now in your shop and has added a new skylight to it. You also have a new waterfall feature, thanks to the water gushing out of a damaged pipe in the ceiling.

To stay in business, you will need to recover from the damage caused by the disaster (disaster recov-er) while continuing to provide customers with lemonade (business continuity). Disaster recovery and business continuity plans provide roadmaps for doing so.

The Disaster Recovery Plan

Disaster recovery plans discuss how to get crucial infrastructures and systems running again after various types of catastrophes. Restoring the IT infrastructure is a large part of disaster recovery in most businesses. However, there might be other types of infrastructures and systems that need to be discussed as well, depending on the nature of a business. For example, if a company’s manufacturing process relies heavily on water, the plumbing infrastructure should be addressed. Besides identifying who should do what after a calamity occurs, the disaster recovery plan should also identify what has to be done to prepare for disasters. For instance, it should mandate that data and systems be regularly backed up and the backups be stored in several locations (including offsite ones).

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The Business Continuity Plan

Business continuity plans discuss how to restore business operations in the event of a disaster. A business impact analysis can help prioritize which business operations to restore first. Business continuity plans also need to indicate the recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) for the business operations. The RTO is the maximum tolerable length of time an operation can be down after a catastrophe, whereas RPO is the maximum acceptable amount of data loss (e.g., transactions) after a disaster, as measured in terms of time. In a perfect world, the RTO and RPO would be 0 (i.e., no downtime and no data loss). However, in reality, that is not feasible. Realistic objectives need to be set in the business continuity plan, as the disaster recovery plan needs to detail how the objectives will be met. Understandable Assumptions In some businesses, recovering the IT infrastructure is crucial for restoring most of their business operations. That is why some people assume that:

• Disaster recovery plans only cover IT infrastructures

• Disaster recovery plans and business continuity plans are one and the same

However, these two documents serve different purposes. As a result, companies should develop both disaster recovery and business continuity plans. If you need assistance with developing and implementing them, let us know.

Ashli Lopp, WAMS, Inc. Marketing Manager / email: alopp@wamsinc.com

Why do you need both a Disaster Recovery Plan and a Business Continuity Plan? (continued)

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2 0 1 9 CO M P E N S AT I O N & B E N E F I T S S U R V E Y

http://alanet.org/compsurvey

The Compensation and Benefits Survey is the most comprehensive report that ALA puts together annually. With data from nearly 1,000 law firms across the country, compensation data is reported for more than 60 different positions in the final re-ports. With more than 400 pages of information, this report is an essential tool for determining compensation and benefits for your firm’s staff. Using the survey will allow you to learn about the following:

• Differences in compensation between geographic regions and major metro-politan areas

• Types of benefits becoming increasingly popular

• Compensation for associate attorneys as they progress in experience

• Standard billable hours goals for associates and paralegals And more!

Data is broken down using a variety of metrics including region, state, metro area, years of experience, education, and more.

__________________________________________________________________________________

O R D E R T H E 2 0 1 9 R E P O R T

Order the Final Report:

Member participant: $329

Member nonparticipant: $439

Nonmember participant: $609

Nonmember nonparticipant: $829

Order the Bundle (Includes Large Firm Key Staff Compensation Survey):

Member participant: $549

Member nonparticipant:$659

Nonmember participant:$769

Nonmember nonparticipant:$989

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B U S I N E S S PA R T N E R S P O T L I G H T

From Court Filing to Depositions to Investigations, we have you covered.

Founded in 2007 by industry experts, Nationwide

Legal has been focused on helping attorneys and

their teams with a wide variety of tasks, including

court filing, depositions, complex investigations,

research, and e-discovery.

Nationwide Legal has been helping litigation

support professionals file documents, serve papers,

and manage litigation support with ease for over a

decade. We’ve made a name for ourselves as the

company that will do everything possible to meet

the complex needs of our law firm customers. We

are now investing in technologies which will make

it easier and more cost-effective to manage a law

office. Our team looks forward to supporting your

needs.

We maintain fully staffed operational divisions

which specialize in numerous areas including, but

not limited to: service of process, court filings,

eFiling, ediscovery, ground courier and messenger

services, document retrieval, photocopy services,

digital document solutions, subpoena preparation

and service, deposition officer services, investigation

services, out-of-state and international services,

as well as collection and unlawful detainer services.

Our fully computerized system is able to provide our

clients with real-time status reports.

Nationwide Legal also understands a company is only

as good as its people. Our staff and management are

unparalleled in the industry for their work ethic and

professional expertise. Our team is led by

well-respected and experienced managers

possessing numerous years of service in the business.

They have trained their staff to work as they do.

Nationwide Legal is equipped to handle the toughest

of assignments with integrity and accuracy.

Most importantly, we believe and invest heavily in

developing relationships with our clients. We realize

they rely on us to keep them updated with

ever-changing court rules, as well as to ensure that

their jobs are done right the first time. We pride

ourselves on providing unique and pragmatic insights

and solutions to any challenges they may encounter.

As a member of the California Association of Legal

Support Professionals (CALSPro) as well as the

National Association of Professional Process Servers

(NAPPS), we have access to a formidable and reliable

professional network of associates that can file, serve,

and deliver anywhere in the United States.

We are growing rapidly as we help law firms around

the US with their litigation support needs.

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4 0 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y C E L E B R AT I O N

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B U S I N E S S PA R T N E R S P O T L I G H T

Lisa Baker, Studio Owner

“Authentic, visually engaging content or your website and social media keeps you current in today’s marketing strategies.”

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Registration Fees

All 2020 ALA Annual Conference & Expo registration prices are in US dollars. Prices

listed below are per person.

Full Conference

Can’t attend the full conference? Click here to find out about one- and two-day registration packag-es or contact us at 1-888-593-7243 or customerservice@ALAannualconf.org.

Registration Package Early Bird Offer Until February

4, 2020

Regular Rates February 5 to April 20, 2020

Late & On-Site Bookings

After April 20,

ALA Member Register now $1,299 $1,499 $1,699

Managing Partner at a Law Firm

Register now Qualify for a special discount, click here for details

Member of a Strategic Alliance Partner

Register now Qualify for a special discount, click here for details

Nonmember Register now $1,699 $1,899 $2,099

OC-ALA Waves · Fall 2019 21

Welcome TO THE

I N D U S T R Y ’S P R E M I E R A N N U A L E V E N T

On behalf of the 2020 Annual Conference Planning Committee, I invite you to join us in Salt Lake City May 3-6, 2020 to participate in the most significant annual event for legal management professionals.

Set against a backdrop of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake City is a vibrant, welcoming city that offers something for everyone. Whether you’re a foodie, like to bar hop, love to shop, wish to soak up some history, or want to take advantage of the great outdoors with its easy access to hiking trails and close proximity to Utah’s Mighty Five national parks, SLC will not disappoint!

Beyond an enticing location, our focus is on delivering a first-class program of content, education and networking. As the premier professional association connecting leaders and managers within the legal industry, the ALA Annual Conference & Expo provides extensive professional development, collaborative peer communities, strategic operational solutions, and business partner connections.

Join us in Salt City to experience:

• Enhanced content: Take advantage of a comprehensive program of relevant, elevated educa-tional sessions with new, innovative, and talented speakers.

• Cutting-edge products: Business partners will showcase their products and services in the Ex-hibit Hall where you will find solutions and support to help you navigate the demanding, competi-tive and challenging legal landscape.

• Opportunities for lasting connections: Make invaluable connections through networking and cement relationships that will carry forward long after the conference is over.

While networking opportunities will kick off on Sunday with our Welcome Reception, the full range of education will start first thing Monday with our 2020 Keynote Speaker: Catherine Sanderson, Professor of Life Sciences at Amherst College, speaking on The Science of Happi-ness. As professionals in the demanding and stressful legal environment, we rarely take time for self-care. Through personal anecdotes, scientific evidence, audience interaction, and a compel-ling thesis, Dr. Sanderson will delve into cutting-edge research from the field of positive psycholo-gy on the factors that do (and do not) predict happiness, and provide us with practical, and easy, ways to increase our psychological well-being.

Make plans now to join us in Salt Lake City. Our committee looks forward to seeing you there!

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N E W M E M B E R W E L CO M E OC-ALA is proud to welcome and to acknowledge its newest members.

We’re honored to have you as part of the Chapter and look forward to working with you.

Carrie Balthis

Front Office Administrator

Farzad & Ochoa Family Law Attorneys, LLP

1851 E First St, Ste 460

Santa Ana, CA 92705

P: (714) 937-1193

E: Carolyn.balthis@farzadlaw.com

Ron Chang

Director of Finance

Brundo Law, APC

2424 SE Bristol Street Ste. 300

Newport Beach, CA 92660

P: (949) 942-6575

E: ron@brundolaw.com

Paul Manhart

Director of Operations

Boutwell Fay LLP

1401 Dove Street, Suite 540

Newport Beach, CA 92660

P: (949) 660-0481

E: paulmanhart@boutwellfay.com

Merry Neitlich

Managing Partner

EM Consulting

66 Tidewind,

Irvine, CA 92603

P: (949) 260-0936

E: merry@emconsults.org

Kaylen Steele

Firm Administrator

Ghitterman, Ghitterman & Feld

418 East Canon Perdido Street

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

P: (805) 770-1390

E: kaylen@ghitterman.com

Rocio Rodriguez

Assistant Legal Administrator

West, Borges and Rosas LLP

1301 Dove Street Ste 700

Newport Beach, CA 92660

P: (949) 208-8020

E: rrodriguez@wbrllp.com

Kelsey Weber

Office Administrator

O’Melveny and Myers LLP

610 Newport Center Drive Ste 1700

Newport Beach, CA 92660

P: (949) 823-7111

E: kweber@omm.com

»

OC-ALA Waves · Fall 2019 23

EMAIL UPDATES

Tammy Franklin

tamblynfranklin@gmail.com

Janelle McPoland

msjrpm@aol.com

»

M E M B E R U P D AT E

Bonita Danser

Retired

BKDanser@outlook.com

Peggy Alexander

Firm Name Change

Parrett & Elsberry

Naomi Fang

New Email

Mrs.Fanger4@gmail.com

Ann Thompson

New Firm Name

Farzad & Ochoa Family Law Attorneys, LLP

OC-ALA Waves · Fall 2019 24

Joshua Madera

Director of Customer Success

ENTERACLOUD

5857 Owens Avenue

Carlsbad, CA 92008

joshua@enteracloud.com

Direct: 619.816.7031

www.enteracloud.com

»

B U S I N E S S PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Scott Svehlak

Director of Customer Success

KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

1900 S. State College Blvd. Ste 600

Anaheim, CA 92806

svehlak@allcovered.com

Direct: 949.973.1317

https://kmbs.konicaminolta.us/

OC-ALA Waves · Fall 2019 25

Why Diversity and Inclusion?

What Is Diversity and Inclusion? Diversity and inclusion are about recognizing, respecting and valuing differences based on gender, race, skin color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, physical ability, and sexual orientation. This also encompasses an infinite range of individual characteristics and experiences, such as communication style, career path, political views, educational background, geographic location, income level, military experience, marital status, parental status and other variables that influence personal perspectives.

This kaleidoscope of life, work and cultural experiences — our individual uniqueness — causes each of us to view situations, opportunities and challenges through a different lens, resulting in different ways of thinking and making choices. Organizations that will be successful in the future demonstrate a high degree of competence in their ability to harness the benefits this diversity of vision, thought and perspective offers, tapping into this rich wealth of resources to leverage superior business performance.

Homogeneity may adversely affect behavior. In addition to understanding the business case for diversity, we should also be looking at the case against homogeneity. Evan Apfelbaum, the W. Maurice Young Career Devel-opment Professor of Management and an Assistant Professor of Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management, says, “Emerging research suggests that homo-geneity can lead individuals to underestimate the actual complexity of group tasks be-cause they assume that others’ behavior is more predictable than it actually is.” See more at mitsloanexperts.mit.edu/diversity-in-the-workplace.

Why Diversity? Fast Facts:

• Clients are requiring firms to meet outside-counsel guidelines and holding them accountable for meeting specific diversity and inclusion goals.2

• Among companies with more than $10 billion in annual revenues, 56 percent strongly agreed that diversity helps drive innovation.3

• Diversity is an area in which law firms have traditionally not competed well.4

• Diversity jolts us into cognitive action in ways that homogeneity simply does not.5

• When teams had one or more members who represented a target end user, the entire team was as much as 158% more likely to understand that target end user and innovate accordingly.6

• The importance and value of a more diverse and inclusive legal profession goes well beyond dollars and cents. A diverse and inclusive legal profession is fundamental to social justice.7 Source: McKinsey analysis; see resource #1

• Diversity is associated with increased sales revenue, more customers, greater market share and greater relative profits.8

• There are five generations in the workforce today – unprecedented in history – and profitable processes demand the ability to effectively manage cross-generationally.9

OC-ALA Waves · Fall 2019 26

• Inclusion is more than a program; it should be woven throughout every aspect of an organization’s philosophy.

• The best way for firms to support women and diverse attorneys is to have a leadership structure that features attorneys like them. When diverse lawyers look up, they want to see successful women, black, Latino, Asian and LGBT leaders. They want to know that there’s an opportunity for them, too, to reach that level.4

• An inclusive platform for diverse attorneys to succeed — supported and funded by the firm — may identify and propel a new generation of leaders that reflects demographically what law firm management should be.4

• In most law firms, professional development and diversity and inclusion are separate initiatives. Instead of having committees for both, invite a group of lawyers and professionals from both areas to join an advisory group to share perspective and thoughts, and then ask participants to set a living example for others. While subtle, the minor change can be a powerful way to shift the focus to behavioral outcomes. 10

ALA is the undisputed leader serving legal management professionals, focusing on delivering cutting-edge management and leadership events, resources and services for its members and the global legal community. ALA offers powerful opportunities for knowledge, resources and networking that link productivity with profitability.

Led by its Committee on Diversity and Inclu-sion, ALA is committed to this initiative within the organization, its membership and the legal profession as a whole — including but not limited to differences of race, ethnicity, national origin, culture, skin color, personality, geography, gender, gen-der identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, political or religious affiliation, socioeconomic status, or military experience.

A full library of free, dynamic resources can be found on this website. The Diversity & Inclusion Scorecard for Law Office Administrators provides best practices and examples and offers a tool to measure your current efforts. Use the scorecard to earn the “We Participate” seal for your website, along with recognition validating your organization’s achievement. Download and print this brochure, Why Diversity and Inclusion?, or contact the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion at diversity@alanet.org to request printed copies. Join the diversity and inclusion conversation in its so-cial media discussions.

Beyond Diversity: Inclusion = Success

OC-ALA Waves · Fall 2019 27

Resources 1. “Why Diversity Matters.” mckinsey.com/businessfunctions/organization/our-insights/why-diversitymatters

2. “IILP Review 2017: The State of Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession,” The Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession, pp. 52-55. theiilp.com/ resources/Pictures/IILP_2016_Final_LowRes.pdf

3. “Fostering Innovation Through a Diverse Workforce.” forbes.com/forbesinsights/innovation_diversity

4. “Embrace Diversity as a Business Imperative,” New York Law Journal. cadwalader.com/uploads/news/3f0392fc8e18c872f42465a70f8a6bd4.pdf

5. “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter.” scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/

6. “The Evidence Is Growing — There Really Is a Business Case for Diversity.” ft.com/content/4f4b3c8e-d521-11e3-9187-00144feabdc0

7. “The Business Case for Diversity: Reality or Wishful Thinking?”, The Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession and the Association of Legal Administrators. theiilp.com/CaseforDiversity

8. “Does Diversity Pay?”, American Sociological Review, American Sociological Association. asanet.org/sites/default/files/savvy/images/journals/docs/pdf/asr/Apr09ASRFeature.pdf

9. “Five Generations of Employees in Today’s Workforce,” The Center for Generational Kinetics. genhq.com/five-generations-of-employees-in-todaysworkforce/

10. “Motivating Lawyers to Move from Activity to Impact: The Intersection of Professional De-velopment and Diversity,” Law Practice Today. americanbar.org/content/newsletter/publications/law_practice_today_home/lpt-archives/may13/motivating-lawyers-to-move-from-activity-to-impact.html

OC-ALA Waves · Fall 2019 28

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

Anne Leche 1 YEAR Wendy Rice-Isaacs 7 YEARS

Trudy Levindofske 12 YEARS Sharon Tamani 24 YEARS

Steven Morris, CLM, SPHR 24 YEARS Lisa Waligorski, CLM 4 YEARS

Stacy Morrison, CLM, SHRM SCP 8 YEARS Patricia Yeckel, EA 35 YEARS

Shannon Barker 13 YEARS Mary Lou-Czerner 31 YEARS

Melissa Delaney 1 YEAR Joanne Mahaffey 6 YEARS

Renee Duran 8 YEARS Shaila Schaible 2 YEARS

Kelly Hess 4 YEARS Michael Shuff 6 YEARS

Karen Kubani 11 YEARS Kathleen Whalen, CPA 21 YEARS

Oldrich Kolar 15 YEARS Christine Wilbur 4 YEARS

»

Elma Alvarez 1 YEAR Margaret Lovig 40 YEARS

Rich Boden 40 YEARS John Kim 2 YEARS

Sue Bradford 19 YEARS Janelle McPoland 13 YEARS

Sherri Clifton, CLM 24 YEARS Janet Proudfoot, CLM 15 YEARS

Janel Ozar, SPHR, PHRca 17 YEARS Brian Robbins, CLM 27 YEARS

Judy Gonzalez, SHRM-CP 2 YEARS Katherine Uy 8 YEARS

Melissa Hawkins 12 YEARS W. James Van Dusen, CLM 32 YEARS

Marilyn Hodges 40 YEARS Bruce Whisnant 10 YEARS