FEATURES
EVOLVE, EVOLVE, EVOLVE
by Rachael Loper, Nixon Peabody LLP, Washington, DC
AALL WRAPUP
EXPLORE: BEST PRACTICES IN THE SMALL LAW LIBRARY
reviewed by Louise A. Jensen, Drummond Woodsum,
Portland, ME
USING CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS (AKA
OUTTASKERS) TO TAME YOUR BUDGET
reviewed by Kathleen Kelly, Lockridge Grindal Nauen
P.L.L.P., Minneapolis, MN
PATENT INFORMATION VENDOR PANEL DISCUSSION
reviewed by Kimberly Martin, Goodwin|Proctor LLP,
Boston, MA
THE EVOLVING ROLE OF THE LAW LIBRARIAN IN
LITIGATION SUPPORT
reviewed by Kathleen M. Coon, Montgomery,
McCracken, Walker & Rhoads LLP, Philadelphia, PA
WHO MOVED MY PENCILS? MANAGING CHANGE IN
THE TECHNICAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
reviewed by Joan R. Englander, Bracewell & Giuliani
LLP, Houston ,TX
ENERGIZE YOUR PRESENTATIONS OR �MORE POWER
TO YOU�
reviewed by Lauri Flynn, Gunderson Dettmer, LLP,
Menlo Park, CA
AALL/WOLTERS KLUWER LAW & BUSINESS
GRANTS PROGRAM
SO NOW YOU�RE CONFLICTS?/SO NOW YOU�RE DOCKET?: THE EVOLVING LAW FIRM LIBRARY
MANAGER
reviewed by Patricia Barbone, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, New York, NY
THE EVOLVING ROLE OF THE SOLO LIBRARIAN: HOW DO YOU DO IT ALL WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
reviewed by Donna Fisher, Senniger Powers LLP, St.
Louis, MO
EDUCATING THE C-PEOPLE: ENGAGE YOUR
DECISION MAKERS AND HELP THEM EVOLVE
reviewed by Michel Lucero, Thomson Reuters, Los
Angeles, CA
NUTS AND BOLTS OF CI - DELIVERABLES
reviewed by Riva Laughlin, Haynes & Boone, LLP,
Houston, TX
PATENT SEARCHING DEMYSTIFIED
reviewed by Donna Fisher, Senniger Powers LLP, St.
Louis, MO
STRATEGIC PLANS THAT WORK: CREATING A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR A LAW LIBRARY
reviewed by Stefanie Frame, Foley & Lardner LLP, Los
Angeles, CA
PLL NEWS
FROM THE CHAIR
by Tina Dumas, Nixon Peabody LLP, San Francisco, CA
BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES, JULY 13, 2008
by Karen Silber, PLL Secretary, BNA, Rockville, MD
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING MINUTES, JULY 13,
2008
by Karen Silber, PLL Secretary, BNA, Rockville, MD
PLL RECORDS/CONFLICTS MANAGEMENT GROUP
BUSINESS MEETING, JULY 15, 2008
by Lee Nemchek, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P.,
Los Angeles, CA
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP BUSINESS
MEETING MINUTES, JULY 14, 2008
by Donna Fisher, Senniger Powers LLP, St. Louis, MO
PUBLISHING INITIATIVES CAUCUS BUSINESS
MEETING MINUTES, JULY 14, 2008
by Carol Bannen, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.,
Milwaukee, WI
TREASURER�S REPORT
by Susan Skyzinski, PLL Treasurer, Greeberg Traurig,
Orlando, FL
Tina Dumas, Nixon Peabody LLP, San Francisco, CA
As summer ends, I am recovering from a great
conference in Portland, OR, and preparing for fall associates.
Sound familiar? PLL was well represented at AALL this
year. We had a great Workshop on law firm librarian roles,
and the many hats we wear. We sponsored or co-sponsored
8 regular programs, on topics such as competitive
intelligence, copyright, patent searching, and strategic
planning. One of the programs aimed at solo librarians was
simultaneously webcast for those members who were not
able to make it to Portland. In addition to regular programs,
PLL sponsored at least six other programs that were well
received.
Now, we are looking ahead to the coming year. Program
proposals for the 2009 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC
were due on August 15th. If you submitted a proposal, thank
you! We hope that all of the PLL programs will be accepted,
but we have other options if they are not.
If proposals are not accepted into the regular AALL
programming, we may still be able to schedule them in SIS
allotted time slots. Or we may be able to develop them into
PLL NEWS
webinars that can be offered even sooner. If you
have ideas about possible webinars, feel free to contact
me or the Regional Education Chair, Sara Paul. You can
listen or view audio or video files of older presentations
at: http://www.aallnet.org/members/media.asp (requires
logging into the members only section of AALL).
AALL will be holding its first Leadership
Academy in October. The Leadership Academy is
designed for law librarians in the early stages of their
careers to enable them (you?) to get ahead in the
profession. PLL is pleased to announce that Research
Solutions is underwriting a travel grant for two PLL
members to attend the Leadership Academy. The grants
have been awarded to Cameron Gowan and Sarah
Mauldin.
Mark Your Calendar: Professional Legal
Management Week, October 6-10. More information is
available at: http://www.aallnet.org/press/e-newsletter-
200808.asp#14.
EVOLVE, EVOLVE, EVOLVE
by Rachael Loper, Nixon Peabody LLP, Washington, DC
�Energize, Explore, Evolve,� was the theme of the
American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) 2008
annual meeting in Portland, Oregon. I was privileged to
attend as a guest of AALL because of my role as the chair
of the Legal Marketing Association (LMA)�s strategic
alliance committee. It was an honor to be invited to
represent LMA and I hope to repay some of my debt of
gratitude to AALL by putting a few of the things I learned
at the conference down on paper for examination and
debate.
Aside from doing some informal networking in the
exhibit hall (and with far-flung librarians from my own
firm!) and looking for librarian/marketer panel ideas for
LMA, I mostly spent my time on the competitive
intelligence (CI) track, where marketers and librarians are
most likely to cross paths. A recent Law Firm Inc. poll
found that librarians say they spend 17 percent of their
time working with marketing. In the same poll, 63 percent
of librarians said that they are their firm�s main source for
marketing research and 55 percent are the firm�s main
source of CI. Based on the remarks from the podium and
in the audience, there are still gaps to be bridged between
the two disciplines. I hope this article is a step in that
direction.
Give the librarians credit.
During one panel there was some discussion around
marketing�s tendency to take full credit for ideas and
projects in which the library staff has had more than a
hand. I�m sure this has happened at most firms and I can
say with a dollop of guilt that I have thoughtlessly done
this myself. But part of the solution is easy�you don�t get
what you don�t ask for. At my first firm, the two head
librarians took me aside and expressed in friendly but not
uncertain terms that I would give them credit and cc them
when I delivered the results of a project on which we had
teamed. Prior to their direct and reasonable suggestion, it
did not occur to me that they needed to be marketed to
their internal audiences. It�s the right thing to do;
sometimes everyone needs a gentle reminder.
Form v. Function? Form and Function!
Another statement from the podium that struck me was
from Kitty Schweyer, manager of CI at White & Case in
New York. At the outset of her interesting talk on the
forms and uses of CI, she remarked somewhat mockingly
that, �marketing likes pretty color charts and graphs.� But
in her comments Kitty didn�t mention any of the research
showing that graphic display of information enhances the
swift apprehension of data. I would argue that a large part
of what CI involves is sifting through data and bringing the
useful nuggets to the surface in a way that is quick and
easy for the user to understand. Yes, marketing likes
charts and graphs� because they convey information
efficiently.
In law firms, librarians are usually told that they are not
permitted to do analysis, with a few exceptions. What is
different for many legal (as opposed to business) librarians
is that now they are being asked to draw some conclusions
that reduce risk in decision making. CI practitioners think
in terms of value-added results and are focused on
delivering analysis and not just information. What are the
implications for your firm, and what is likely to happen
next? What are the non-obvious trends in recent events?
No one�no lawyer, no marketer, and no business
person�wants to receive a �dossier� in the form of a 400-
page tabbed and bound doorstop that includes the complete
10K and the last three years� annual reports but lacks an
executive summary. What the receiver essentially hears
when this lands in his or her inbox is, �I don�t know what
all this means, you figure it out.� A customer service
focus demands more.
Are Librarians Currently Doing CI?
One fascinating story came from Paul Morton, a
librarian in the market research function at Southern
California Edison (SCE). The utility knew that the grocery
chain Tesco was planning a raft of new stores in southern
California, and they wanted to know exactly where in
order to prepare for the expected spike in power usage in
those locations. Tesco was not forthcoming about its development plans, and while the research team knew
of several real estate purchases, that was just a small
fraction of the 40 planned stores. Finally, the CI team
researched the state Alcoholic Beverage Control license
applications. Bingo! Southern California Edison then
knew exactly where the stores would open and the utility
planned power generation adjustments accordingly.
This was presented as a real life example of creative
research resulting in solid and directly relevant data. But
CI practitioners would argue that this is not an example of
CI. Mr. Morton and his team were wise to find a single
source of perfect information, but they were not required
to analyze or synthesize several sources of data and draw
conclusions from it. In some cases, yes, there is a silver
bullet that answers the business question flawlessly and
completely. But in many instances, experience and
analysis need to be brought to bear in a way that is not a
perfect science.
AALL has had a CI caucus in place for more than two
years now. Mark Gediman is the director of information
systems at Best, Best & Krieger in Riverside, California
and co-founder/co-leader of the caucus. Mark opened a
panel presentation by saying, �marketing thinks the library
can�t do this.� He cited a CI panel he attended at the LMA
annual meeting as evidence. Immediately following his
remarks, the first panelist listed and ranked the top six CI
data sources in the typical law library:
- Bloomberg
- Capital IQ
- Lexis Nexis AdVantage
- MergerMarket
- Thompson One Banker
- West
Beyond this useful but not terribly �outside the box� ranking, discussion was limited to the format and layout of
dossiers, �marketing the CI function�, and how CI should
be viewed as different and apart from traditional legal
librarian work product. So while I believe there are
exceptions (including at my own firm), I think this shows
that while law librarians have the ability to do CI�in fact
they are in many instances advantageously positioned to
do this work�in most cases they remain focused on the
data and shy away from any analysis. This is because as a
group they are not encouraged to develop the analytical
skills that are the core of CI.
Evolution.
A few thoughts on issues that AALL might consider
including at next year�s annual meeting:
- Understanding the strategic priorities of theclient and how these will affect buying
criteria
- Anticipating the new types of legal work that
may flow from these strategic priorities
- Discussion of the cultivation and use of
primary sources and how to find out what�s
going to happen before it appears on the front
page of the Wall Street Journal
guidance on how to set up an early-warning
system
- Examples of how to provide support for
competitive bids and Requests for Proposals
(RFP)
- Helping associates find a marketable niche
based on unique research or cases on which
they are working
As law firms, we are selling knowledge and expertise;
we need to be on the leading edge in many subjects and in
many industries. Working together, we can create a
different dynamic among CI, marketing, and sales that will
result in better informed and more successful firms.
EXPLORE: BEST PRACTICES IN THE SMALL LAW LIBRARY
reviewed by Louise A. Jensen, Drummond Woodsum, Portland, ME
Presented by the One-Person Law Library Group, Mary K.
Dzurinko, moderator
As a solo librarian, I can attest to the fact that most of
us crave the company of other librarians, and we value
every second we have with others who are in the same
boat, hoping we can answer the latest �what do or did you
do about�� question. This sentiment was readily apparent
among the librarians at this roundtable forum.
Several tables in the meeting room (and yes, they were
round) were labeled with topics pertinent to library
management such as: professional development, annual
reports, OPACs, budgets, etc. After a brief introduction
where �best� was briefly described as successful, easy,
profitable, and of the highest degree and �practice� was
defined as a performance standard where we seek to
perform to perfection (seeking is the operative word here),
we were asked to sit at a table with a topic that was of interest to us. Each group had thirty minutes to discuss
the topic. We had to come up with some best practices
for the topic, discuss how to find resources and support,
and talk about how to implement the best practices for
that topic. Each group designated a presenter who then
briefly summarized the findings to all of the participants
of the session.
My group was very eager to not only discuss our
topic, but anything else we could throw out. In fact, my
only criticism of this forum is that we really needed
more time to get to know each other a bit, to get focused
on the topic at hand, and then later, to either discuss
other issues or to expand on the topics already on the
table(s). The presentations were helpful, but again, we
needed more time as we are a group of librarians who
are hungry for the exchange of information. I hope
PLL-SIS will continue to support and encourage these
types of forums at future meetings.
PLL PROGRAM USING CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS (AKA OUTTASKERS) TO TAME YOUR BUDGET
reviewed by Kathleen Kelly, Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P., Minneapolis, MN
Using Consultants and Contractors (aka Outtaskers) to
Tame Your Budget, was held Monday, July 14, 2008 at 12
p.m. The speakers were Nina Platt of Nina Platt
Consulting Inc., Mary Dzurinko of MK Dzurinko
Associates, Kathie Sullivan of Sullivan Information
Management Services, and Joan Axelroth of Axelroth &
Associates.
Nina introduced the program with the "how" and
"when" of hiring a consultant/contractor. Regarding
"when," the recommendation is to be proactive and not
wait for management to make the decision. Be a leader
and keep control. The "how" ran through the entire
program.
Kathie Sullivan talked about the positions that are
most eligible for outsourcing; circulation staff, conflicts
staff, cataloger, and research librarian, to name a few.
Potential tasks for contractors are space planning, training
the trainer, knowledge management strategy, and my
personal favorite, weeding collections.
Mary Dzurinko focused on hiring a consultant � how
to find a consultant, develop a proposal, select the right
candidate, draft the contract, and manage and evaluate the
services. She said be specific in your RFP, get references,
be flexible, and most important, pay on time.
Joan Axelroth covered case studies including a staffing study and Kathie�s experiences as a special
project paralegal. She discussed peer support and
sporadic staffing needs.
The panel was followed by a Q&A. Questions
included, what to do about conflicts on research projects,
how to convince management of the need to outsource
certain tasks, and the most popular, what to charge.
Thankfully, the room was not set up in the
traditional classroom style, but the tables formed a
square. The panel sat at a corner with no platform or
podium and no PowerPoint. The mood was relaxed and
conversational, no speeches, just information sharing.
This also made it easier to eat the box lunches that were
served to attendees.
There was a certain amount of overlap of
information between the speakers, but the presentation
was well planned and each speaker was prepared. Their
experience showed as did their business acumen. The
handout was detailed and served as an outline of the
whole session and included gems like an interview
checklist.
Nina made it clear at the beginning that this would
not be a sales pitch or an attempt to take anyone�s job,
and they convinced me. They forgot to introduce
themselves until midway through the session.
PLL PROGRAM PATENT INFORMATION VENDOR PANEL DISCUSSION
reviewed by Kimberly Martin, Goodwin|Procter LLP, Boston, MA
The PLL-SIS and the Intellectual Property (IP)
committee co-sponsored a panel of five patent vendors on
Sunday evening at the AALL conference in Portland.
Those in attendance included: Mike Hudleson of Lexis
(Total Patent and Patent Optimizer); Ron Kaminecki of
Proquest (Dialog); Bill Chambers of Thomson
(Micropatent, Thomson Innovation, and Delphion); Teri
Dockter of Fitz Karlsruhe and STN; and Renaud Garat of
Questel. The moderator for the discussion was Paulette
Toth from Kirkland & Ellis. The IP group had five
questions that they felt were extremely important to the
law firm industry and all panel members were asked to
respond with how their company is addressing law firm
concerns.
The first question addressed the cost structure of
services provided to our industry and the need for more
variety in payment plans that would work for law firms,
such as pay-as-you-go instead of a typical yearly flat rate
contract. Each vendor felt that they understood the need
for a better payment plan structure for law firms and that
their companies have either a good plan in place or they
are working on improving their plans. Dialog and STN
have addressed the need for firms to bill back their
research to clients by having a pay as you go service which
works best for law firms. Thomson, Lexis, and Questel all
have put into place a cost recovery feature to help with the
bill back to clients while retaining yearly flat rate services.
In addition, Thomson also stated that they were working to
improve their systems within the new Innovations products
so that they can better serve the law firm industry.
The second question focused on the administrative
functions of the products including billing, reports,
tracking, and password creation and management. The
responses from each of the panelists varied. Thomson
Scientific, who manages the IP services Thomson
Innovation, Delphion, and Micropatent, is still working on
collaborating with West, a sister company, to use the same
type of client service interface that West uses for their
products. Bill Chambers (Thomson) mentioned that with
the restructuring of the company into Reuters Thomson,
there should be more integration of the systems. Questel
offers to send reports on users to their clients and they
offer either IDs for users or IP recognition. STN has
electronic usage reports and they can send a list of the user
IDs. Lexis stated that they have tools similar to their other
products.
The next question for the panelists dealt with training
and customer service enhancements. All of the vendors
said that they had many different training opportunities
available to end users including one-on-one sessions.
They all had customer support services. Lexis,
Thomson, and Dialog provide 24/7 coverage. STN
provides coverage for all but the time frame of 8 p.m. �
midnight EST � a bit of a disappointment as this can be
a busy usage time.
The fourth question for the group concerned end user
prior art searching for content other than patents. All of
the vendors except Questel have some access to
scientific literature for a user to search in conjunction
with their patent search. The amount of content varies
per service but is increasing in most cases.
Finally, the vendors were asked to address the future
and if there were any new technologies coming out soon
that would interest the IP user groups. Questel
mentioned that they were in a partnership with Intellexia
(www.intellexia.com) to offer a new product that would
graphically display patent families and citations as well
as offer analysis. STN is going to be offering the World
Patent Index database in Anavist, a patent relationship
database. The STN viewer will be able to deeply
analyze patent full text documents and will offer a
variety of web based tools to allow searchers to share the
results with attorneys. Thomson has created Innovation,
which is the best of their patent research products rolled
into one. Lexis will be offering more content and
Romance language patents translated in full text. In the
future, they are looking toward Asian patent translations.
At the time of this panel discussion, Dialog had just been
purchased by Proquest so there was nothing new to
mention.
Overall, the vendors� answers were not a surprise
and each had a good response to the issues presented.
All recognize that law firms are their own special
industry and our needs are different from their corporate
clients. Hopefully, what they take away from the
discussion is a better understanding of what law firms
are looking for in a product and what they need to work
on to address our issues. The presentation was good and
the IP group did a great job choosing questions that
really hit on the major points important to all law firms
with an IP practice.
PLL PROGRAM THE EVOLVING ROLE OF THE LAW LIBRARIAN IN LITIGATION SUPPORT
reviewed by Kathleen M. Coon, Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads LLP, Philadelphia, PA
At this 2008 AALL program, presenters Cindy Spohr,
Senior Director, Librarians Relations Group LexisNexis
and David Dilenschneider, Esq, Director of Litigation &
Business Information Solutions for LexisNexis explored
how private law librarians can increase their value to the
firm by involvement in litigation support.
The program speakers started out by asking the
attendees what size firms they worked in and what their
roles were in the firm. The audience ranged from solo
librarians to librarians from mega firms who were actively
involved in litigation support.
Ms. Spohr pointed out that traditionally law firm roles
were defined as either partner, associate, paralegal,
librarian, or support staff. Today there is much more role
specialization in law firms. Some of the new roles that
exist in firms today are research specialists, contract
attorneys, analysts, and investigators.
The evolving role of the library was shown by
mentioning that in the 1990s, the library was a �stand
alone� physical space only and provided information and
arranged for demos and training. Today it is a service
department. In the future, it may become a fully integrated
part of all practice areas.
Litigation support was defined by the speakers as all
the activities designed to prepare a lawyer to try a case.
The support examples mentioned were:
- Legal Document Management: internal, external,
and discovery �research�
- Litigation Case Management: controlling and
managing cases within the litigation process
- Trial graphics: Animation Diagram used by
lawyers to help explain complex technology
External client communication
- Document preparation (cite checking, table of
authorities, rule compliance, etc)
- Rule compliance including e-discovery rules
One of the speakers mentioned that a point person is
needed to collect information about all of the available
tools. Should the point person be a Librarian or someone
who reports to a Librarian? It was also stated that
departments silo themselves and the library should be the
liaison because the library staff works with everyone.
Although I didn�t agree with everything that was litigation support as an area I want to explore further.
Some initial questions posed for Librarians to address
with their litigation department are:
- Who handles e-filing?
- What litigation support tools are my firm
using?
- What works and what doesn�t?
- How do we measure success (ROI) on the tools
we purchase?
- Are we using the most efficient and cost
effective method to track dockets?
- How do you get people to �break work habits�
and try new tools?
- What are the pain points for my litigation
department?
I was interested in attending this program because of
the plethora of new products for litigators that are now
available on Lexis and Westlaw (as add-ons) or from
one of their related companies. Many of the vendors we
use are bundling new products or recent product
purchases onto existing ones. This makes it hard to keep
track of which one does what and who needs to be
notified about these changes.
I was recently invited to attend a demonstration of a
litigation tool that is being used by some attorneys at my
firm. I found the demo very interesting and was
surprised when the presenter mentioned a customer
incentive plan which would give us a credit on other
products purchased from this vendor if we exceeded a
certain amount of usage for this litigation product.
Whether we like it or not, we need to know what
products are available, which ones our firms are using,
what discounts are available, what our users like and
dislike about these products, how to coordinate product
demos, and how to evaluate whether or not a certain
product could be beneficial to our firm.
This program raised my awareness about the
importance of keeping informed about litigation support
tools and how my firm is using them.
PLL PROGRAM WHO MOVED MY PENCILS? MANAGING CHANGE IN THE TECHNICAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
reviewed by Joan R. Englander, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, Houston, TX
This program, presented on Tuesday, July 15, 2008,
was a result of Joni Cassidy's efforts on the part of PLLSIS's
Technical Services Group. Seattle-based Crisis
Counselor Renee Arcement was the guest speaker for this
interactive session on "Managing Change in the Technical
Services Department."
It was determined that with all the changes going on in
today's law firm libraries, our stress levels are up quite a
bit! The Technical Services (or whatever you call it now)
staff is being inundated with new developments. We have
to deal with changes ranging from the simplified K Library
of Congress catalog schedule to how we are going to make
our libraries adjust to complete changes in the hierarchy of
the library staff.
How do we handle change? It is not always expected.
It can make something different or replace it all together.
Change tends to move us and everything around us into a
new direction. It makes us ask ourselves, "Where are we
going? What are we doing? Where will we end up?"
Renee spoke about the eight lessons on change
developed by Michael Fullan in 1993.
Lesson 1. You can't mandate what matters (the more
complex the change, the less you can force it).
Lesson 2. Change is a journey, not a blueprint (change is
non-linear, loaded with uncertainty and excitement, and
sometimes perverse).
Lesson 3. Problems are our friends (problems are
inevitable and you can't learn without them).
Lesson 4. Vision and strategic planning come later
(premature visions and planning blind).
Lesson 5. Individualism and collectivism must have equal
power (there are no one-sided solutions to isolation and
group think).
Lesson 6. Neither centralization nor decentralization work
(both top-down and bottom-up strategies are necessary).
Lesson 7. Connection with the wider environment is
critical for success (the best organizations learn externally
as well as internally).
Lesson 8. Every person is a change agent (change is too
important to leave to experts; personal mind-set and
mastery is the ultimate protection).
Everyone should feel validated and like they are part of
the change process. These lessons reinforce the values of
change which should be continually woven through the
organization with which each of us is involved.
After Renee told us about change, she had us
experience it. The members of the group each participated
in one of four different exercises.
Exercise 1. Two teams of three persons were formed.
The two people holding the rope were facing each other
and the third person jumped. This was relatively easy
for those who are even slightly coordinated. Then the
change came! The two people holding the rope were
asked to turn around with their backs to each other and
change to their non-dominant hand. This was much
more difficult. Their mind and their bodies had to adjust
to the change in routine.
Exercise 2. This time there were two teams of two
persons each. One person was asked to tie a jump rope
in a bow around the other person's arm. Again this was
very easy for everyone old enough to tie their shoes.
However, the next part of this exercise involved tying
the rope one handed. This was as hard for the person
having the rope tied as it was for the one tying. Imagine
the frustration of sitting and watching the other person
struggling to work the rope into a bow and not being
able to help!
Exercise 3. This exercise was given to three groups of
two persons each. They had to toss small rubber balls to
each other. For some of us, it is hard enough to throw to
a target and not miss or to catch the ball as it is coming
towards us. Think about how much harder it was to try
throwing with your non-dominant hand as the
participants did in the second part of the exercise. The
third part of the exercise involved the participants
changing sides and throwing.
Exercise 4. The last exercise involved a relay race with
two teams of two trying to use a small plastic spoon to
scoop mints off a plate and get them as quickly as
possible into a bowl across the room. They had to do
this with their non-dominant hand and get it done within
three minutes. The team with the most mints in the bowl
would be the winners. In the middle of the game, the
time was changed to 2� minutes and then to two
minutes.
The purpose of these exercises was to show us how
we can deal with different types of change, how change
can cause stress, and what we can do to overcome the
stress. Some of the things mentioned were planning,
visualizing what the end result should be and how to
achieve it, and the need to work with your mind and
body to accomplish tasks in the midst of change.
We all handle change in different ways. Some find
relief in music or a bubble bath at the end of the day.
Others take it out on our family members or pets. The
idea is to work through the stress of change in a positive
way.
Stress is a chemical reaction that can even affect our
short term memory. We need to remember that stress is the way our mind and body reacts to the challenges and
threats caused by stress. We need stress to survive. Also,
all stress is not bad. It brings out our creativity and
adrenaline to get the job done when needed. The bad
stress is when ordinary stress becomes distress, too much
stress. That is when we lose control of the situation and
we get ourselves into situations which make our lives
harder.
The signs and symptoms of stress are tension, worry,
and frustration. We are sad and withdrawn. Our work
performance suffers because of the depression. We
become disillusioned and angry and this results in extreme
behavior such as acting out.
The best ways to manage stress are to avoid drugs
including tobacco, decrease negative self-talk, eliminate
excessive caffeine intake, exercise and eat regularly, build
our network of friends, learn to feel good about doing a
competent job instead of expecting perfection from
ourselves, learn relaxation skills, and learn practical coping
skills.
For others, we can watch and listen to them to make
sure they are not overloading themselves. We can avoid
comments that minimize their problems. They will not think the problems are unimportant! We can offer
reassurance, help, and support and be a model for
effective coping skills. We can encourage others to use
their decision making skills and to create their own
solutions to their problems.
Problem solving, managing emotions, and tolerating
stress are all essential coping tools. They help to change
the situation or get rid of the problem. These skills can
help us identify and handle our thoughts and feelings
caused by the problem. They can also help us by
creating distracting or self-soothing behaviors that help
us to tolerate the situation.
A strong resistance to change is deeply rooted to our
conditioning or historically reinforced feelings. These
need to be broken into small pieces that can be resolved.
Be mindful of your strengths and weaknesses and
express your desire to be a change agent.
This program was extremely helpful as have been the
other programs presented in San Antonio and New
Orleans for AALL by Renee Arcement. She gets to the
problems we face as librarians and as human beings,
puts a face on them, and shows us how to work through
them.
PLL PROGRAM ENERGIZE YOUR PRESENTATIONS OR �MORE POWER TO
YOU�
reviewed by Lauri Flynn, Gunderson Dettmer, LLP, Menlo Park, CA
The program should have been titled �Pitfalls When
Doing a Presentation.� This was one of the 30 minute
sessions and it was very funny, but not quite what I had
hoped. Cindy Carlson introduced Mark Schwatz, a
Westlaw trainer from the New York area. Some people
knew him and knew he was a good presenter. He stood
up, dropped his notes, told a bad joke, mumbled something
about the program contents, started the slide show with the
wrong slides, turned his back to the audience, etc. In short,
he did everything wrong. After we figured out he was
doing this on purpose, we had a good laugh each time he
made a mistake. The program then turned to talking about what he had done wrong and conversely, what one needs
to do to engage the audience. The main message was
that presenting is an adventure and interaction with the
audience is most important. Marie Wallace�s Guide(s)
on the Side, in issues of www.llrx.com, were mentioned
as a valuable resource. I agree and have consulted them
before giving presentations. There was a good handout
of best practices when giving a speech. I think a good
follow-up program would be the next step, i.e. how to
not only connect with your audience but how to �wow�
them, demonstrating techniques that make a presentation
stand out.
AALL/WOLTERS KLUWER LAW & BUSINESS GRANTS PROGRAM
The AALL Research & Publications Committee is
accepting applications through Monday, November 3,
2008, for research grants from the AALL/Wolters Kluwer
Law & Business Grants Program, totaling up to $5,000.
The committee will award one or more grants to library
professionals who wish to conduct research that supports
the research/scholarly agenda of the profession of
librarianship. The grants program funds small or large
research projects that create, disseminate, or otherwise use
legal and law-related information as its focus. Projects may
range from the historical (indexes, legislative histories,
bibliographies, biographies, or directories) to the
theoretical (trends in cataloging, publishing, or new service
models in libraries) to the practical (implementation
models for collection, personnel, or infrastructure
management).
The AALL Research Agenda offers suggestions for
possible research projects that cover a wide segment of
professional interest, including the profession of law
librarianship, law library patrons, law library services,
legal research and bibliography, legal information
resources, and law library facilities. However, projects are
not limited to those described in the agenda, and the
committee will consider all applications and research
projects. To review AALL�s Research
Agenda, please visit
www.aallnet.org/committee/research/agenda.asp.
The AALL/Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Grant
Program was first established in 1996 with a generous
contribution of $50,000. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business
considers its contribution as an investment in research that
will provide a prospective look at the role of librarians,
researchers, and legal information providers and will yield
results to which publishers can respond. The goal is to
sponsor research that will have a practical impact on the
law library profession and inspire products and changes in
the marketplace.
To apply for the grants, all applicants must provide resumes and statements of their qualifications for
carrying out their projects. The applications must
demonstrate experience with research projects and an
understanding of the dissemination and use of legal and
law-related information. Priority will be given to
individual AALL members or AALL members working
in partnership with other information professionals. The
grant application and complete guidelines are available
at:
www.aallnet.org/about/wklb_grant_application.asp.
The submission deadline for applications is Monday,
November 3, 2008. Grants will be awarded and
announced in January 2009. Allocation of the research
grants will be at the sole discretion of the AALL
Research & Publications Committee.
For more information about the grants, please
contact Annmarie Zell, chair of the AALL Research &
Publications Committee, at annmarie.zell@nyu.edu.
The members of the AALL Research & Publications
Committee are:
Annmarie Zell, Chair, NYU Law School Library
Pamela Melton, Vice Chair, University of South
Carolina, Coleman Karesh Law Library
Daniel Campbell, U.S. Court of International Trade
Library
Jacqueline Cantwell, Brooklyn Supreme Court Library
Annemarie Donovan, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Debora Person, University of Wyoming, George W.
Hopper Law Library
Adeen Postar, American University, Washington
College of Law, Pence Law Library
Margaret Schilt, University of Chicago D�Angelo Law
Library
Paula Seeger, University of Minnesota Law Library
Maryruth Storer, Orange County Public Law Library
Sharon Wang, Osgoode Law School Library, York
University
W-4: SO NOW YOU�RE CONFLICTS?/SO NOW YOU�RE DOCKET?:
THE EVOLVING LAW FIRM LIBRARY MANAGER
reviewed by Patricia Barbone, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, New York, NY
For some, if not all, it�s no surprise that the role of law
librarians, in what is commonly referred to as �BigLaw,�
has been evolving. Frequently librarians are partnering
with other departments, and often have advisory roles. Increasingly, we are being asked to run an entire
department in addition to the library. Conflicts, Dockets,
and Records are some of the departments most frequently
being managed by the Library Director. This growing
trend provided the genesis for the PLL workshop �So Now
You�re Conflicts, So Now You�re Docket" held at this
year�s annual meeting of the American Association of Law
Librarians in Portland, Oregon.
This workshop was the brainchild of co-coordinators
Sarah Mauldin and Lee Nemchek. The intended audience
of the program was librarians who are currently
responsible for or believed they might soon become
responsible for either the Conflicts or Docketing functions
at their firms. The audience included many librarians who
already had responsibility for those departments. Also
attending were docketing specialists who were not
librarians. I attended as a library department manager who
works closely with both the Dockets and Conflicts
departments. Like others, I am always trying to learn as
much as possible about how other departments in my firm
operate so I can better serve their needs. The program ran
from noon to five, with the first half devoted to Conflicts
and the second half to Dockets.
Gitelle Seer, an experienced library director from
Dewey LeBoeuf LLP, covered the Conflicts segment of
the workshop. Elaine Screechfield, Manager of Dockets
for Morrison & Foerster LLP, presented the information on
Dockets. Both speakers recognized that the management
of either a conflicts or dockets department may be thrust
upon the librarian, but it may also be something a librarian
actively seeks to further their career opportunities in the
firm.
Seer spoke candidly about how she got involved in
managing the conflicts process at her firm when it was
known as Dewey Ballantine. While she no longer
manages conflicts in her current position at Dewey
LeBouef, she has many years of conflicts experience to
share. Initially, her relationship with the Conflicts
department began when she was asked to advise on the
selection of a conflict research tool; after a time in an
advisory capacity, the Firm asked her to manage the
process.
Seer stated that while the conflicts process had many
ties with traditional library work, there were still many
new things to learn. Librarians leading the conflicts
process need to have a greater understanding of the
business intake and client assignment process. They need
to understand the application of engagement and waiver letters. They need to familiarize themselves with ethics
and conflicts rules at both the national and local levels.
They need to understand these processes and rules in
order to make practical decisions. There are a lot of
unwritten rules and codes of behaviors in every law
firm. Some firms don�t take cases in certain industries.
For example, a firm that does patent work for the
pharmaceutical industry and also has a general corporate
litigation practice may choose not to sue pharmaceutical
companies even if it is a matter unrelated to drug
patents. Even defining what is a client and what is a
former client is not always straightforward when
determining conflicts. No one wants to turn down work,
but no one wants to open the firm to problems down the
road. As Seer stated, �A lot is riding on us getting it
right.�
Finally, Seer assured the audience that the qualities
that make good librarians are also the qualities that make
good conflicts or business intake analysts. These
positions all require strong searching skills plus the
ability to identify, analyze, and resolve problems.
Seer�s overall impression of her time managing the
Conflicts process was positive, and she encouraged other
librarians to view it as a career opportunity.
Elaine Screechfield continued the workshop with a
discussion on Dockets. Screechfield has spent her entire
career at Morrsion & Foerster LLP, advancing from
paralegal to Manager of Dockets. Screechfield was very
knowledgeable about many important issues relevant to
Docket Managers. She discussed the application of
various court rules in various jurisdictions for filing
court papers, and told the audience that it was often
necessary for docket clerks to read and understand court
rules to decide when a filing needs to be made. She
spoke with familiarity about current software for
calendaring, electronic docketing, and e-filing. She
understood the complexities and vagaries of organizing
workflow in large multi-office environments, and also
discussed training as it relates to both docket clerks and
other non-lawyer staff.
Between Screechfield�s comments and the questions
and comments of the audience, it was apparent that firms
handle the docketing function in many different ways.
Some firms organize it by the office, some calendar
regionally, and some do it firm-wide. Some firms allow
secretaries and paralegals to update docket information,
and some leave that to docket clerks only. Docket
departments may also track rule changes, e-file, or
maintain a database of state bar admissions. According
to Screechfield, different practice areas dictate different
docketing procedures; for example, an intellectual property (IP) practice requires more docket support.
It was interesting to learn that the calendaring process,
and the necessity for dual or sometimes triple calendaring
is driven, not by any court rule, but by the malpractice
insurance carriers. There are no attorney rules that
mandate a particular method of calendaring, but if a court
deadline is missed, sanctions could be imposed. Each
attorney is responsible for his or her own calendar.
Like Seer, Screechfield believes a lot of the qualities
that make good librarians make good docket clerks. She
emphasized attention to detail, problem solving, the ability
to read and apply rules, and research skills as necessary
qualities. Also necessary is the ability to communicate with attorneys and work well under pressure.
Screechfield provided an interesting and informed look
at some of the most important processes and issues
involved in managing a Dockets Department.
This workshop provided a detailed overview of two
law firm departments which frequently intersect with the
library. The program clearly fulfilled its objective in
educating and enabling private law librarians to better
understand the conflicts and dockets process, and to help
librarians evolve into potential advisors, collaborators,
or managers.
E-3: THE EVOLVING ROLE OF THE SOLO LIBRARIAN: HOW TO DO
IT ALL WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
reviewed by Donna Fisher, Senniger Powers LLP, St. Louis, MO
Solo librarians face the particular challenge of being
asked to �do it all.� This program, presented by Lauri
Flynn of Gunderson Dettmer, LLP, and Julia Hughes of
Barley Snyder, LLC, described ways to successfully
handle the myriad duties of a solo.
Prior to the session, the presenters sent a survey for
solo librarians and received 185 responses. This gave
them a basis for the content of their presentation.
Ms. Hughes explained that she is one of only two law
librarians within 1� hours of her work location. She
discussed ways to fill the void created by the lack of
coworkers. Professional reading is very important. She
regularly reads Spectrum, ABA�s Law Practice Today,
Law Library Journal, Perspectives, and the Special
Libraries Association�s Information Outlook in print, and
reviews several online sites, including LLRX, beSpacific,
The Virtual Chase (sadly, a service that is being
discontinued), listservs, and chapter newsletters. She
encouraged the use of RSS feeds as a quick way to receive
and review news.
Time is at a premium for all law librarians and solos
are no exception. It is challenging to juggle research,
clerical duties, managerial, and marketing tasks with little or no library staff to provide assistance or backup. Good
organizational skills are crucial. One way to �work
smart� is to break up each task into smaller portions that
can be delegated or done in smaller chunks of time.
Make sure you receive reasonable deadlines. Set
realistic expectations for yourself. Learn to prioritize
your workload. As much as possible, prepare in advance
for your absences.
Solos need to be proactive in creating networking
opportunities, such as joining the One Person Library
listserv.
Ms. Flynn discussed the benefits of being a solo
librarian. One of the biggest benefits, according to the
pre-program survey, is the independence and autonomy
enjoyed by solos. She stated that solos first and
foremost need to become experts at time management
and have a passion for their jobs.
This program was well attended and well presented.
The suggestions offered were very beneficial for solos
and would also be helpful to non-solos.
The program was innovative in that it was also
presented as a live Webinar.
A-3: EDUCATING THE C-PEOPLE: ENGAGE YOUR DECISION
MAKERS AND HELP THEM EVOLVE
reviewed by Michele Lucero, Thomson Reuters, Los Angeles, CA
Coordinator and Speaker: Monice M. Kaczorowski, Neal,
Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
Moderator: Gayle Lynn-Nelson, LexisNexis
Speaker: Cheryl Niemeier, Bose McKinney & Evans LLP
Speaker: Deborah S. Panella, Cravath, Swaine & Moore
LLP
Speaker: Holly Pinto, Holland & Hart LLP
This program focused on tips, techniques, and
suggestions to understand, educate, communicate, and
negotiate with the C folks in your firm. It is important for
librarians to prove their worth in their organization by
leveraging their assets and expertise. Several questions
were proposed to the panel of experts. Each gave their
own insight as to what they have done to address the
question in their firm. The C levels are anyone within
your organization with a C level title (i.e., CEO, CFO,
COO, and CMO). Below are a summary of responses to
the questions proposed to the panel.
If you are not currently a C-person, how can you become
one and have the courage, control, and expertise to be in a
peer-to-peer relationship with other C-people in your
organization?
Monice recommended starting small and identifying
the correct C person that you need to speak with based on
what you are trying to achieve. If you are interested in
cost recovery, you would probably want to speak with the
CFO. You want to align with the C level that holds the
power. Secondly, Monice suggested educating the C
persons. We need to communicate to them and be
proactive. We need to understand their role and how it can
impact your library.
What C person in your organization has been successful
and how can you emulate what they have done?
Debbie said that all C persons have something to offer.
For example, the CIO at Cravath has high energy, is a
good speaker, motivational, a good listener, and holds to
his promises. The CMO has helped figure out how to
share and is concerned with the firm going forward. Monice mentioned that the CFO at her prior firm
reassessed billables and cost recovery. He made Monice
part of the process with the billing, revenues, cost of new
associates, and real estate space. Most important, Monice
learned that if she could justify staff, she could get
additional personnel. Cheryl mentioned that her COO was
a supporter; the glue that holds the firm together. In
summary, the success has been through extraordinary
leaders seeing the big picture and moving quickly with
decisions. Having trust, respect, and communicating with
employees has led to victory.
Have you considered the C person�s perspective? How
does a C person think?
Holly considered that this must be a difficult
position. The C person probably doesn�t think much
about the library; rather it is important to speak the C
person�s language (cost benefit analysis and economical
impact). It is beneficial to know where they are coming
from in order to know how to proceed if you need
something for the library. Monice suggested looking at
the big picture. Look at what are they reading, set up
alerts, and have your elevator conversations ready. The
C people are intrigued when you show interest in them.
This is also another way to market the library.
What or who are the biggest obstacles or roadblocks you
have faced in being successful? If you have conquered
them, how have you done it?
For Cheryl, the biggest obstacle has been additional
staff for the library. They have been successful thus far
with four interns, but not yet with adding a full time
additional staff person. You have to be unafraid to ask
for what you need, communicate clearly with the C
person, take risks, and be creative in obtaining what you
need. Debbie mentioned her biggest roadblocks have
been getting past the stereotype of the librarian and the
burden of daily responsibilities. Librarians need to look
at life from the C level�s perspective and anticipate their
questions. We need to make a commitment to go
beyond the day-to-day activities and have a strategy in
place.
Who has helped you along the way, inside and outside
your organization? Who has served as a mentor? What
outside organizations, memberships, education courses
have helped you?
For Holly, she was promoted without managerial
experience. She sought out internal colleagues who
proved invaluable when it came to working on the
budget. She also developed relationships with external
colleagues that helped with her growth as a professional
librarian. Professional associations and activities such
as AALL, West Advisory Board, and AMPLL provide
for networking and participation with other colleagues.
Cheryl said that other firm librarians and those she met
through local library associations helped her. Debbie
also suggested joining and becoming active with other
organizations such as ILTA. In summary, it is important
to network and get involved at all association levels, be a
mentor for others, and take advantage of vendor
activities. We need to get out of our comfort zones and
participate with other associations as well.
What mistakes have you made along the way and how have
you corrected them?
Debbie pointed out that librarians often undervalue
themselves and their services. Sometimes we underbill our
time and we do not fight for correct billing rates. We should
all keep a private journal of our successes and not promise
too much. We need to also manage our time and priorities.
What are the topics you should discuss with the C People in
your organization?
Cheryl recommended staying on top of what the C people
are reading. Place your name on the routing list, read it first,
then route it. This way you will stay informed and be able to
discuss these topics with the C people. We need to be
proactive and bring problems as potential solutions to the C
level. Holly suggested alerting the C people early, so there
aren�t any surprises. For example, alert them of price
increases and cost recovery concerns. Attend vendor events
where C people often attend and visit your regional offices
for exposure. In summary, you want to speak their language
and do your research to learn what the C people want.
Is the C Level in your organization where you want to be?
Now that you are there, what price do you pay? Will there
be increased stress, increased hours, increased demands and
expectations?
The C level is not a decision to be taken lightly. Monice
suggests thinking about if this is a career direction you want to take. It will involve more responsibilities and you
will still need to run the library. It is a whole different
ballgame and you will be expected to work longer hours.
It is a position that will influence your current lifestyle.
How have you shown your successes to the C people in
your organization and why is it important?
Cheryl said don't be afraid to speak up. While
downsizing their library, she donated books to a new
magnet school and was featured in the newspaper for
this great offer. The firm was notified and she was
given recognition across the firm. Often the librarians
that are silent are the ones that really get what they want.
Holly said it is important to inform the C people of your
successes because otherwise they may not know what an
asset you are to the success of the firm.
In summary, this program was extremely useful
because it offered real-life suggestions on how to
develop a relationship with the C people to help the
library and firm succeed together. Educating the C
people involves helping both yourself and them evolve.
Sometimes we are afraid to ask for what we need, do not
market ourselves and the library enough, or simply don�t
have the time to interact with the C level. It is critical to
develop relationships with the C people because they
make the decisions for your firm and influence your
library.
I-3: NUTS AND BOLTS OF CI � DELIVERABLES
reviewed by Riva Laughlin, Haynes & Boone, LLP, Houston, TX
Frank Lee, Paul Morton, J.O. Wallace, Jr., and Cindy
Shamel discussed what to do with CI information once
you�ve gathered it. A little of this information was repeated
from the earlier CI program, but it was worth hearing twice.
From Cindy Shamel (Shamel Information Services)
- Deliver answers � Don�t just provide a data
dump.
- Organize the information � MS Word can
create a TOC. Use article titles as subheadings.
- Summarize � No one wants to read
everything. Create a summary sheet with
the high points listed.
- Visualize � Use charts, tables, and graphs
where possible.
- Standardize � Brand everything that
comes from the library.
From Paul Morton (Southern California Edison)
- Business decisions are based on
information gathered and analyzed � not
on instinct.
- Know who the ultimate customer is.
- Ask how, when, and why the report is
needed.
From J. O. Wallace, Jr. and Frank Lee (Latham &
Watkins)
- Create a template/checklist for each
request.
- Include information on other work done
by the firm and who knows whom.
- Include a conflicts report.
H-5:
PATENT SEARCHING DEMYSTIFIED
reviewed by Donna Fisher, Senniger Powers LLP, St. Louis, MO
�Patent Searching Demystified� was a ninety minute
session presented by five experts in intellectual property
research. Kathy Skinner, Morrison & Foerster LLP,
moderated the session. Presenters were: Kim Martin,
Goodwin & Proctor LLP, Rebecca Olson, Alston & Bird
LLP, Eric Montes, Townsend & Townsend & Crew LLP,
Richard Matula, Kenyon & Kenyon LLP, and Jeff Bois,
Fish & Richardson PC.
Five topics were discussed at length: patent family and
legal status, foreign patents and abstracts, assignment
searching, searching for litigation relating to a specific
patent, and prior art searching.
Kim Martin discussed patent family research. She
described types of search requests and methods and
defined the term �patent family� and related terms. She
discussed Derwent, Dialog, World Patent Index (WPI),
and INPADOC as being among the important patent
searching resources.
Rebecca Olson discussed how to search foreign
patents. Ordering patents that are originally in a foreign
language can be a difficult task. She discussed options for
translation of foreign patents and other issues unique to
foreign patents.
Eric Montes discussed patent assignment searching.
Patent assignment searching revolves around the two questions �To whom is patent X assigned?� and �What
patents are assigned to company X?� Sources, methods,
and the difficulties involved in answering these
questions were explained.
Richard Matula spoke on the topic of searching for
patent litigation. He explained that there are three basic
sources and two different methodologies for identifying
U.S. District Courts patent litigations when you know
the patent number. All three must be used and
additional research can be needed for your research to be
considered comprehensive.
Jeff Bois presented the last section, on prior art
searching. He first explained, in an amusing but
instructive way, the definition of prior art and how it
pertains to patents. He discussed types of searches,
sources for prior art, free and web based subscription
databases for prior art searches, issues encountered when
searching for prior art, and the search process.
All of the speakers at this program were clearly very
expert searchers who had spent a lot of time preparing
this session. The presentation was accompanied by
copious and useful handouts, which are posted on the IP
Group�s website at
http://www.aallnet.org/sis/pllsis/Groups/ip.asp.
C-2: STRATEGIC PLANS THAT WORK: CREATING A STRATEGIC
PLAN FOR A LAW LIBRARY
reviewed by Stefanie Frame, Foley & Lardner LLP, Los Angeles, CA
Presented by:
Julia Hughes, Barley Snyder LLC
Mindy Maddrey, formerly of Sonnenschein Nath &
Rosenthal, now a part-time consultant
This session targeted attendees wanting to learn how
to formulate a strategic plan. Five areas were covered: the
value of a strategic plan, steps in creating a strategic plan,
elements of a classic plan, challenges in structuring a plan,
and follow-up steps. Mindy Maddrey�s presentation was
recorded because at the last minute she was unable to
attend the conference. Despite this, there was very little
disruption to the flow of the presentation, as both speakers
took turns presenting the material.
A strategic plan is valuable because it facilitates
communication among library administration, firm
management, and library staff. Current status and future
potential can be defined and demonstrated using business
language. The plan affirms current values for library staff
by identifying and analyzing success stories and presenting
future potential. Therefore, a plan provides a roadmap to
go forward �with intent, rather than by accident.�
Conducting an external and internal audit is the first
step. The external audit focuses on the community (or
patron base): demographics, types of practice, culture,
geography, the organization's overall strategic plan, your
own impressions about your community, and how the
library is perceived by the community. The internal audit consists of defining the library�s role and purpose within
the firm, the firm�s organizational structure, library
personnel, physical environment, technical environment,
core competencies, and projects.
The six elements of a classic plan were defined, and
strategies provided for creating each part. A classic plan
contains an executive summary, a mission statement, a
vision statement, a statement about organizational issues
and strategies, objectives/goals/actions, and a timeline.
The three major challenges to creating a strategic
plan are time investment, political capital, and the
possibility of revealing problems in functioning.
Possible solutions for each challenge were presented.
For example, one solution is to involve staff in the
process, thereby sharing the time burden. Presenting the
plan in person in order to explain any problems in
functioning will help with that challenge.
Lastly, there are follow-up, or post-plan, steps.
Once the plan is completed, it must be approved by
management. This can result in revision and
resubmission. Once the plan is approved, there are
status reports and further revisions as things may
change.
Ms. Hughes and Ms. Maddrey created a wiki for
this presentation, which can be found at
http://c2strategicplans.pbwiki.com. The wiki contains
presentation slides and other materials.
BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES
by Karen Silber, PLL Secretary, BNA, Rockville, MD
The meeting was called to order at 7:35 a.m. by Chair
Lucy Curci-Gonzalez. A motion to approve the 2007
minutes with no changes was made and approved. A move
to �destroy� the electronic election ballots was approved.
Lucy thanked LexisNexis for breakfast and West for
lunch. Lucy then thanked Thompson Scientific & Questel
Orbit, BNA, and Softlink for their contributions to other
events and also Wolters-Kluwer & Quidlibet Research,
Inc. for funding the travel grants.
Two PLL-SIS VIPs were introduced, Rachel Loper and
Kevin McMurdo.
The Travel Grant recipients, Hope Porter, Louise
Jensen, Byron Hill, Leann Genovese, and Sara Paul, were
asked to stand and be recognized. Lucy acknowledged and
thanked the work of the Travel Grants Committee.
The new PLL-SIS Board members were introduced:
Linda Will � VP/Chair Elect (absent), Karen Silber �
Secretary, Jennifer Stephens � Board member. The
outgoing Board Members were recognized and received
gifts: Christine Graesser, Lynn Conner Merring, Alanna
Dalton White, and Byron Hill.
The Mentees and Mentors were introduced: Natalie
Davis and Victoria Kahn and Maureen Rossi and Elaine
Knecht.
Certificates of Merit were made for the contributions of
each volunteer and available on the table upon exiting the
Business Meeting.
Groups, Committees, and Representatives� Reports:
Treasurer�s Report: Susan Skyzinski presented the
Treasurer�s Report dated April 1, 2007 through March 31,
2008. Ending Balance, as of March 31, 2008, is
$57,215.07. This figure does not include expenses for the
Portland meeting.
Technical Services Report: Joni Cassidy reported on the
Local Systems Meetings. The 2008 Annual Meeting will
offer seven new local systems Law Users Roundtables
aimed at PLL-SIS members. Joni also reported on the
upcoming program �Managing Change in the Technical
Services Department�/�Who Moved My Pencils?� to be
held Tuesday, July 15. Joni mentioned that there were two
articles published in the 'Smaller Law Libraries' column of
TSLL this year. Technical Services needs a new
Chairperson.
Records and Conflicts: Lee Nemchek gave the report from
August 2007 � July 2008. Lee reported that she is
continuing the duties of speaking engagements, conference
preparation, and current awareness. Lee reported that the
Workshop held on Saturday was a success and that they
had a full room. Lee will continue outreach efforts to the L.A. Chapter of the Association of Legal
Administrators. She is presenting a Poster Session on
strategic planning for records management programs at
ARMA, Oct. 20-23, 2008. Other work includes
administering the listserv. The Records & Conflicts
Annual Business Meeting is Tuesday, July 15th.
One-Person Library: Janice Leichter reported on the two
presentations scheduled at AALL. The OPL would like
to see more programs offered at AALL. Julia Hughes is
taking over as chair of the One-Person Library.
Intellectual Property: Fran Sheehan, Chair, Paulette
Toth, Co-Chair. IP had a busy year. They reported on
the goals which are to address the needs of the diverse
members by continuing social networking events,
expand content on the PLL website, contribute to
Perspectives, and to offer programs at AALL � they
have two this year. The Business Meeting is on
Monday. They thanked the vendors - Questel Orbit for
sponsoring the business meeting and Thomson Reuters
for sponsoring the Patent Information Vendor Panel
reception. Fran reported that they have seen an
incredible growth over the past three years which is why
they continue to build programs and resources. The
2008-09 Chair is Paulette Toth and the Co-Chair is
Kathy Skinner.
Competitive Intelligence: Mark Gediman is the Chair,
Jan Rivers and Greg Lambert are the Co-Chairs. Mark
reported that there are 356 on the listserv. CI has two
programs at AALL this year. Jan Rivers is the Legal
Market Association liaison. Mark reported that the CI
members presented in various activities. The CI
Business Meeting is Tuesday morning.
Independents: Nina Platt reported on the
accomplishments of the group including the creation of
the listserv. Nina would like input on the Consultant
Directory. The Independents have a program scheduled
for Monday at noon.
Corporate: Johanna Bizub reported that the Corporate
Group is busy trying to get more active and increase
membership. They have a round table today to share
best practices. They are hoping to get a program for the
2009 AALL Meeting to be held in D.C. Lucy
interjected and reminded members to ask the PLL Board
for assistance with the programs.
Bylaws: Johanna Bizub reported that the Bylaws have
not had a change in a number of years and so the committee will do a review this year. If anyone would like
to join the committee, please contact Johanna Bizub.
Strategic Directions: Martha Goldman reported that there
is a change in the current format of the strategic plans to
adapt more to the AALL objectives. They want to keep
the same core purpose and adopt the new goals:
leadership, education, and advocacy.
Public Relations: Holly Riccio reported on the PR projects
including the revision of the brochure which focuses on
recruiting new members. New promo items are available
at the PLL booth in the Exhibit area including pens and
hand sanitizers.
CONELL: Sara Paul reported that not many firm librarians
attended CONELL. She will send out e-mails to people
who stopped by.
Nominations: Joan Axelroth thanked the committee for
their work on the nominations for two elections. The first
was to fill the vice-chair and the other was the general
election. Joan will redraft the description of the
nominations committee. Lynn Merring encouraged
members to vote and stressed the importance and ease of
voting.
Newsletter: Sarah Mauldin reported that PLL Perspectives
had four great issues and encouraged people to write for
Perspectives. Sarah is working on getting out the
newsletter in a timely fashion. She reported on two new
columns � the advice column and the book reviews
column. The Newsletter meeting is immediately after
today�s breakfast.
Grants: Anna Cole gave the report, prepared by Jane
Baugh, who could not attend. Anna thanked the vendors -
Wolters Kluwer, Jones McClure, and Quidlibet Research
for the travel grant funding. Anna would like to extend the
grants to the Leadership Academy. There were thirteen
applicants for five slots.
Mentor: Stephanie Fox is the chair and was not present to
give the report. Lucy Curci-Gonzalez encouraged mentors for those new PLL members.
Educational, Regional: Lucy Curci-Gonzalez reported
that the committee received two grants for webinars on
cost recovery with an attendance of 200 each. She
would like to put forward more proposals including one
for budgeting and is looking for more suggestions. Sara
Paul is the incoming chair.
Education: Jennifer Berman reported that of the 19
proposals submitted by the Education Committee, 7
proposals for programs and one workshop proposal were
accepted by the Annual Meeting Program Committee.
Of the proposals that were not accepted, the Committee
chose 6 for PLL to sponsor as unofficial. Their meeting
is Monday at 7:00 a.m.
Webpage Revision: Byron Hill thanked the committee
members for work on the website. He invited PLL
members to review the proposed website design, paper
copies on each table, and suggest changes. Byron may
be reached by e-mail at bhill@bowditch.com, or by
direct telephone at 508-926-3331.
SLA/ALA/LMS Representatives
AALL provides funding for its representatives to attend
SLA/ALA/LMS meetings.
After the committee reports, we had a moment of silence
In Memoriam.
New Business
Lucy Curci-Gonzalez thanked PLL and passed the baton
to incoming Chair Tina Dumas.
Announcements
Jennifer Berman has signs for nonofficial PLL
programs. PLL thanked Lucy for the past year�s work.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:47 a.m.
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING MINUTES
July 13, 2008
by Karen Silber, PLL Secretary, BNA, Rockville, MD
PLL Chair Tina Dumas called the meeting to order at 5:35
p.m.
Old Business and reports:
Bylaws � The committee had two members with
overlapping years. It actually ended up with three
members.
Web Committee � Byron Hill will stay on the webmaster
committee.
Treasurer�s Report � Susan Skyzinski reported that it takes
AALL a long time to release financial data to the
committees. Paula Davidson, the new AALL Controller,
said the figures as of June 30, 2008 will be released soon.
AALL is aware of the financial deficiencies and is on the
third controller in three years. Trying to make
programming decisions by August is difficult when the
true financial picture of the section is unknown.
Strategic Directions � Martha Goldman is working to bring
PLL strategic direction in line with AALL directions. The
SD group adopted some AALL items and tweaked others
to fit the private community. Tina Dumas asked for the
older version for history. Martha still has versions of the
document for comparison. Tina said the document looks
great and as a working document, there is no need to
approve. The new SD document will be posted on the
PLL website. Please send comments to
mgoldman@jonesday.com.
March Board Meeting minutes � The minutes were
unavailable for approval. There will be a conference call
in September for the new board � date to be determined.
Ad hoc committee to submit advertising proposal � Tina
Dumas, Lucy Curci-Gonzalez, and Chris Graesser. There
was criticism of the salary survey as it was not seen as a
real survey. We should advertise the AALL salary survey
to the �C� people. In January/February, PLL submitted a
proposal to the AALL Board to advertise the salary survey.
The AALL Board liked the idea but bounced it back as it
was not inclusive of all SISs. We need additional plan for
advertising the salary survey. An example is the ALA or
SLA�s advertisement in the Wall Street Journal �Your
Information Partner� as seen in June 2008. Lucy needs
help crafting the re-draft and asked the Board if we should
pursue. Board said yes. Lucy, Chris, and Catherine
Lemann are supportive of this. Web and PR Committees
will help. Need the re-draft for the AALL Executive
Board October meeting.
PLL Listserv � Tina will send welcome message to
current board members. Those lists or listserves that do
not have much activity or have not been used in several
years, e.g. Knowledge Management Group and multilocation
libraries, may be deleted. We are waiting to
hear from Charles Reese at AALL to upgrade software.
Joint project with Academic SIS � Lucy reported that
there is a common interest in teaching first year students.
Michelle Wu needs a statement from PLL stating that
law firm librarians are not happy with associates� current
research training.
Collection Development Standards � Merle Slyhoff
would like to collect Collection Development Policies
from all types of libraries. There is a commonality of
interest as academics look to private law firm librarians
because �we�re in the trenches�.
Lexis project � Lucy reported that $15,000 donated by
Lexis for the publications project is not spent. Cindy
Spohr is open to using the money for a survey cobranded
by Lexis and PLL but administered by an
outsourced company. Cindy is also open to other
suggestions. The Executive Board needs to have a
conference call and bring Cindy in to flush this out.
Liaisons � Board members serve as liaisons to keep
committees and groups up to date. Tina will get a list
and draft assignments to board members. If you want a
particular committee, let Tina know.
Travel Grant for Leadership Academy � Thirty-five
people will meet for a day and a half in Chicago in
October. Lucy supports the idea to give one grant. The
registration amount is $150 and does not cover airfare.
The amount needed is the registration fee for one person
plus airfare. Discussion ensued on where to get the
money; it was decided to get from a PLL account. It
was suggested not to announce the amount, rather that it
is a grant to cover travel expenses. Being a recipient of
this grant requires the person to mentor for a year. The
travel grant passed as proposed.
CONELL Grant � A separate grant is needed to cover
the $100 CONELL fee and extra hotel days. Passed.
Nominations Committee
Joan Axelroth
Greg Lambert
Cheryl Niemeier
Motion to approve nominations committee passed.
Longevity Awards � Discussion ensued on how to
determine length of membership in PLL. Awards are
given to individuals for so many years membership in
AALL and a SIS. Tina will inquire into the qualifications.
Status of Independents � This group of thirty or forty
people want to move to a Caucus status. This would
separate them from PLL which means they would deal
with their own finances. They have not approached us
regarding this. Nina Platt will decide how to proceed. The
Caucus is free whereas the SIS is $15. PLL has 1500
members.
Corporate Group � The Corporate Group is facing the same issue as the Independents, but it does not have as
many members.
Tech Services � Technical Services is not developing
and they may fade. PLL supports this group. There is
an AALL Technical Services Group but they do not
cater to smaller law firms that may use smaller
databases. The PLL-SIS Technical Services Group is
the voice of smaller law firm tech services people.
Future Webinars
Regional Educational Committee � is now PLL-CPE
(Continuing Professional Education).
The Education Committee is now PLL-AMPC.
Meeting adjourned 6:42 p.m.
PLL RECORDS/CONFLICTS MANAGEMENT GROUP BUSINESS MEETING
July 15, 2008
by Lee Nemchek, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., Los Angeles, CA
Meeting Agenda:
Introductions/Attendance List
Annual Report 2007/2008
2008 AALL Workshop (W4) Report
Upcoming Programming of Interest
Program Planning for 2009 Conferences
Networking/DiscDiscussion Items
Adjournment
Chair, Lee R. Nemchek, Oaktree Capital Management,
L.P.
Bob Oaks, Latham & Watkins
Sarah Mauldin, Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams &
Martin
Tracy Brost, Nossaman Guthner Knox & Elliott
Lynn Merring, Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth
Carol Bannen, Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren
Pat Strebeck, Baker Botts
The annual Business Meeting of PLL�s
Records/Conflicts Management Group was called to order
at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 15 in Room C126 of the
Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon.
Those in attendance introduced themselves and an
attendance list was circulated.
A handout providing the meeting agenda, a list of our group�s sponsored programs at past AALL conferences
(seven programs in the past eleven years), and the
2007/2008 Annual Report was distributed to those in
attendance.
The group discussed the success of this year�s halfday
workshop (W4) entitled �So Now You�re Conflicts
/So Now You�re Docket�: The Evolving Law Firm
Library Manager. The assigned room was completely
full and our two subject-matter expert speakers did an
outstanding job.
Conferences upcoming during the remainder of 2008
were noted, specifically the International Legal
Technology Association (Texas, August 2008) and
ARMA International (Las Vegas, October 2008).
The discussion turned to program planning for
AALL 2009. Those in attendance have the benefit of
being able to participate in the topic selection process,
and, after a lively discussion, we came up with a topic
that we feel will be highly relevant for law librarians in
all work environments, but especially for those who
manage complex processes such as conflicts of interest
and new business intake: �Business Process Mapping:
An Alternative Approach to Workflow Management.�
Lee Nemchek volunteered to write up the program
proposal on behalf of the group.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 a.m.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES
July 14, 2008
by Donna M. Fisher, Senniger Powers LLP, St. Louis, MO
The meeting was called to order by Chair Fran
Sheehan.
Fran introduced the Questel hosts and thanked them for
the luncheon.
Fran then introduced and thanked the three hosts of the
social networking events in the last year. She reviewed the
purposes of the networking events and said anyone
wishing to host one should contact the IP chair.
Fran asked for feedback on the previous evening's
patent vendor panel. The panel was well attended and the
response was positive.
Fran introduced the persons who would be presenting
session H-5, Patent Searching Demystified. Kathy
Skinner, moderator of the program, explained its purpose;
to have a discussion from five IP experts from IP firms.
Paulette Toth mentioned the handouts are on the IP
Group's web page.
Fran said the IP website has been regularly updated
with useful guides to IP practice. The IP Group has
regularly contributed articles to Perspectives, PLL's
quarterly newsletter, and will continue to do so.
Fran asked for a show of hands of new members. She
suggested new members join the IP listserv if they have
not done so.
Fran asked if anyone had any general questions about IP. Discussion followed about standard IP treatises that
are necessary in IP practice, with suggestions from
several persons. Someone asked how to get all the
patents owned by a company. The answer given is that
there isn't one good way to do that, but the Patent
Searching Demystified session would give suggestions.
Fran asked if there were any major vendor issues.
Several persons expressed concerns about what will
happen with Dialog now that it has been bought by
Proquest. After some discussion, the consensus was to
take a wait-and-see approach, and in addition Paulette
will follow up with Proquest to get more information on
the Dialog acquisition, and how it will affect the IP
group. She will report her findings to the group.
Paulette said she is awaiting approval from USPTO
to have a speaker from USPTO at the 2009 conference.
She asked for ideas for other program proposals.
Proposals must be submitted to PLL by August 7.
Fran asked for suggestions for Perspectives articles.
She mentioned the IP mentor program. She introduced
Paulette Toth as the new Chair and Kathy Skinner as
Co-chair.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna M. Fisher, IP Group Member
PUBLISHING INITIATIVES CAUCUS BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES
July 14, 2008
by Carol Bannen, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., Milwaukee, WI
In attendance: Carol Bannen, Bonnie Shucha, Gail
Warren, James Donovan, LaJean Humphries, Raizel
Liebler, Michelle Pearse, Kimberli Morris, Joel Fishman,
Charles Dyer and Mark Gediman.
Lyn Warmath was unable to join us due to a family
emergency.
Our meeting was held on Monday July 14 at 7 a.m.
LaJean Humphries was introduced as the incoming cochair.
Many thanks to Bonnie Shucha for co-chairing the
past two years. Many thanks also to Terri Lawrence for
taking care of our website for at least two years. Michelle
Pearse volunteered to take over the care and maintenance
of the website, listserv, and publications bibliography.
Terri and Bonnie will work with her on the details. Many
thanks also to Michelle for volunteering. We also thanked
James Donovan for updating the Publication Resources for
the Law Librarians section of the website. We did not
officially ask him but hope he will continue with this.
We reviewed the accomplishments of the past year and
passed around the article in the Bar Leader that talks about
our efforts to connect local law librarians and bar groups.
We have materials at a table in the exhibit hall.
We talked about having a presence at CONELL. We
haven't been able to get there but Gail Warren volunteered
to attend and promote PIC at next year's meeting in
Washington DC. Carol Bannen will supply handouts for
it.
We discussed liaisons to the various groups. LaJean
will be our liaison with the PR Committee of AALL. Lyn
Warmath is the liaison to the Association of Legal
Administrators. Lucy Curci-Gonzalez is currently working
with the Legal Marketing Association and had a speaker
from there at the PLL lunch.
We also talked about cooperating with the Call for
Papers Committee (chaired this year by Jim Heller) for a
workshop on writing. Jim is committed to organizing
something along these lines for next AALL, and this
seems a natural partnering for the PIC committee. He is
aware of this possibility, and has been told that someone
from PIC will contact him.
We brainstormed and decided we need to publicize
the publication list to let people know what is being
published and also to get contributors. This should
emphasize the RSS feed and also tell people to
repurpose articles. VALL will soon be publishing an
entire new issue of the Virginia Lawyer we could
highlight. Some places to contact with the information
would include the president of AALL for the "From the
Desktop" column, the Council of Newsletter Editors and
the Chapter Presidents Council. It was also suggested
we contact the State, Court and County Group and Chair
of the Council of SIS Chairs. Another suggestion was to
figure out how to reach out to the ABA's various
standing committees. Others groups we may want to
advertise to include the paralegal association, related
docketing associations, litigation support groups, and
ILTA.
This idea of repurposing led to a discussion of who
owns the copyright of an article. This seemed to strike a
chord with the group and a program proposal grew out
of it. LaJean Humphries volunteered to write up a
program proposal "Own Your Writing: Protecting Your
Copyright in Works You Author". It is proposed as a
60-minute session that discusses how to retain your
rights when negotiating publication of your work. We
will look to have a copyright lawyer, editor from AALL,
librarian with expertise in copyright, and an
author/librarian. Publication to SSRN seems to be a hot
topic among the academics and this could be discussed.
TREASURER�S REPORT
by Susan Skyzinski, PLL Treasurer, Greenberg Traurig, Orlando, FL
Treasurer�s Report for 2008 Annual Meeting in Portland, OR
|
April 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008
|
| Beginning Balance (04/01/2007) |
|
$42,587.77 |
Revenues
Revenues 2007-2008 |
|
|
Contributions
Dues
Registrations
|
$ 12,000.00
$ 11,235.00
$ 2,720.00
|
|
| Total Revenues |
|
$25,955.00 |
| Beginning Balance Plus Total Revenue |
|
$68,542.77 |
Expenses
Expenses 2007-2008 |
|
|
Food & Beverage
Awards
Misc. Expense (incl. Ann Mtg AV)
Postage/Freight
Souvenirs/Giveaways
Transportation
|
$ 6,979.12
$ 261.60
$ 1,603.04
$ 32.12
$ 708.94
$ 1,742.88 |
|
| Total Expenses |
|
$11,327.70 |
| Excess Revenue over Expenses |
|
$14,627.30 |
| Ending Balance (03/31/2008) |
|
$57,215.07 |