New York City Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators

Membership

Membership Criteria

REGULAR MEMBERS:

Regular membership in the association is limited to legal administrators, regardless of the title by which that individual is recognized within his or her organization, engaged in the management of a legal organization as defined below.

Those legal administrators eligible for regular membership: (a) must exercise management responsibilities on a full-time basis or, if not full-time, must devote 75% or more of their working time to performing the management responsibilities of the position; (b) must manage others or manage an important function which renders high-level technical services to the organization; (c) must occupy a position which involves the exercise of independent judgment without close daily supervision; and (d) must be employed, in a position which is or is eligible to be classified as exempt, by a single legal organization such as a private law firm, legal service clinic, corporate legal department, university legal department, governmental legal agency, court system, charitable legal agency, or some other organization engaged primarily in the practice of law. Eligible persons may perform all relevant management duties personally or, in the case of the delegation of such duties to subordinate staff or the contracting of any such duties to third parties, must retain responsibility for those duties.

In general, persons eligible for regular membership in the association must be either (i) the principal administrator in the organization, (ii) the administrator/manager of a branch office of the organization, or (iii) someone who reports directly to the principal administrator or branch administrator and has responsibility for one or more of the following functions:

(01) General management, including management of activities such as strategic and tactical planning, business development, risk management, quality control, organizational development, firm planning processes and other general management functions beyond mere attendance at management meetings.

(02) Financial management, including management of activities such as planning, forecasting, budgeting, variance analysis, financial reporting, general ledger accounting, rate determination, billing and collections, cash flow control, banking relationships, investment, tax planning, tax reporting, tax accounting, payroll, ERISA accounting, and other financial management functions beyond mere record keeping.

(03) Human resource management, including management of activities such as the following for the legal, paralegal and support staff: recruiting, selection, training and development, performance evaluation, salary administration, employee relations, counseling, disciplining, discharging, benefits administration, workers' compensation, personnel data systems, job design, resource allocation, and other human resource management functions beyond mere record keeping.

(04) Systems management, including management of activities such as systems analysis, operational audits, cost/benefit analysis, computer systems design, programming and systems development, information services, records management, library management, office automation, document construction systems, information storage and retrieval, telecommunications, litigation support, legal practice systems and other systems management functions beyond mere procedures manuals and computer program documentation.

(05) Facilities management, including management of activities such as space planning and design, purchasing, inventory control, reprographics, records management, reception/switchboard services, telecommunications, mail, messenger, and other facilities management functions beyond mere purchase order processing.

(06-07) Practice management, including management of one or more of the following activities: lawyer recruiting, lawyer training and development, legal assistant supervision, practice development, marketing, public relations, and other practice management functions beyond mere record keeping and press release writing.

Unemployed legal administrators who are not serving as consultants or vendors and who have met the criteria for regular membership are eligible to continue as regular members until expiration of a 180-day period measured from the date on which they are no longer employed as legal administrators. After the expiration of the 180-day period, unemployed legal administrators are eligible to continue as associate members and to renew as associate members for up to one additional year provided such legal administrators are not serving as consultants or vendors and are actively seeking employment as a legal administrator.

Regular members have all the rights and privileges of membership, including the right to hold any international elective or appointive office.

INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATE MEMBERS:

International affiliate membership is available to legal administrators who (a) are engaged in the management of legal organizations outside of the United States and Canada, and (b) are members in good standing of an organization of legal administrators which has a current and formal affiliation relationship with ALA. Benefits accruing to international affiliate members of ALA shall be determined from time to time by the board and may vary from country to country. An international affiliate member who meets the eligibility criteria and requirements for regular membership may apply for such regular membership. International affiliate members may not hold international elective or appointive office in the association.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS:

Associate membership is available for those individuals who are interested in legal administration, who do not meet the criteria for regular or international affiliate membership, and who are either (a) practicing lawyers with the principal management responsibility in their legal organization (such as the managing partner or the chair of a law firm executive committee), (b) individuals who devote 100% of their working time, and are engaged in an ongoing employment-type relationship which involves providing continuing management services of the types described in (1) (01)-(05) to no more than three legal organizations; (e) retired legal administrators who are not otherwise employed; (d) unemployed legal administrators as defined in (1); (e) full-time teachers of business, management or law-related disciplines at institutions of higher learning, as well as deans with administrative and management responsibilities at such institutions; (f) full-time students in business, management or law-related studies at institutions of higher learning; or (g) bar association executives. Associate Members may not hold international elective or appointive office in the association. Other policies governing the participation of associate members in the association, as well as the benefits accruing to associate members, shall be determined from time to time by the board.

INELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS:

Membership in the association is not open to consultants or vendors who are engaged by legal organizations.