This HR provides progress report on taking a law firm ...bclma.org/wp-content/uploads/BCLMA-Topics-2011-1Winter.pdf · ly paperless. This is on the agenda for the coming year. There

By Paula Kiess, McCullough O’Connor Irwin LLP

It has been almost two years now sinceMcCullough O’Connor Irwin LLP(MOI) has taken on the paperless-office

challenge. To undertake this, we purchasedWorldox – a type of document-manage-

ment software specifically writ-ten for the environment of a

law firm. This cost-effective sys-

tem is designed for small–to mid-size law firms; itdoes not require muchcustom programming, soit’s also much less expen-sive than some alterna-tives. The training mod-

ules on the publisher’s website are easy tofollow, so you do not need to pay a consul-tant to train your staff to use the software.

MOI chose to upgrade our existing doc-ument-management system for a number of

reasons. That’s mainly because our previoussystem did not have an email-integrationprocess, nor a robust search function.

It’s imperative if you want to keep

WINTER 2011–2010 ! BC Legal Management Association ! www.BCLMA.org ! Member Services: [email protected]

Topics in Topics – Winter 2011-10• McCullough O’Conner Irwin’s progress report

on two years of aiming for paperless . . . . . .1• Preparing paralegals for success . . . . . . . . . .1• You Be The Judge, by Paula Butler:

New scenario: The case of the payroll leak . . .6Answers to: The Case of PR’s secret drunk . .6

• Photo Feature: 2010 Annual Conference packed for speakers, sponsors and trade booths . .8• What our Conference volunteers said . . .13

• BCLMA’s Volunteer Hero Awards –Giallonardo celebrated for her HR sub-section leadership . . . . . . . . .16

• How to get the message – and give it – with effective writing on the job . . . . . . . . .18

• Making the Moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19• Photo Feature: Weyerhaeuser’s Giardini on

how to keep female lawyers in the firm . . . .20• How to give up authority to gain a great and

confident team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21• Survey of Topics articles coming up shortly . . .22• BCLMA Surveys

Annual Schedule for 2011 . . . . . . . . . . .22• Photo Feature: Winter Social Event – Kirk,

Chapman and Giallonardo honoured . . . . .23• BCLMA’s Executive & Section contact info . . .27

PayrollNightmare

This HRManager has

just beenhanded the

worst day of hercareer. What

would you do?

See Page 6

TWO YEARS OF BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES

McCullough O’Connor Irwinprovides progress report ontaking a law firm paperless

Absolutely the best part of my job isseeing paralegal professionals im-

prove their career prospects. As a former lawyer who practised in

Chicago, I have some idea of the de-mands of this profession, and I am alwaysso impressed by the professionalism, mo-tivation, and sheer grit of the paralegalsthat come through the Vancouver Com-

munity College’s (VCC) Paralegal pro-gram.

The paralegals’ hard work and abilityto manage so many professional, personaland family demands makes them an ex-citing and enjoyable group with which towork.

Designed for those already in the field,the VCC Paralegal program is the most

demanding legal-skills pro-gram we provide.

How can I use an educa-tional model to improve thecareers and opportunities ofparalegals and legal-supportstaff professionals? How dowe insure their success in their careers,

Preparing paralegals " to Page 5

A newsletter to help our Members, Representatives, Affiliates and partners stay current with the business of law ! Winter 2011-2010

B C L e g a l M a n a g e m e n t A s s o c i a t i o n

VANCOUVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE HARD AT WORK ON NEXT GROUP OF GRADUATES

Preparing paralegals for success is VCC’s annual job challengeBy Christine Williams, Program Co-ordinator, Paralegal Certificate & Diploma Program

Going paperless " to Page 2

Christine Williams

Paula Kiess

mailto:[email protected]?Subject=Your article in the Winter 2011/10 issue of the BCLMA's Topics&Body=


http://www.bclma.org



http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/p/paralegal.asp

your entire filing system in an easy-to-usedigital format. One of the most importantcomponents of such a major undertakingis to ensure buy-in from the top down.Our managing partner felt enthusiasticabout us taking the leap, and as quickly aspossible. We set a date, and that was it.We had no phased-in approach.

We’ve encountered a few challengesalong the way. It has been a bit of a strug-gle to ensure that all emails get profiledproperly, particularly the documents at-tached to those emails. It has also beenchallenging to have everyone in the firmfollow specific naming conventions so thatdocuments can be found easily.

Another issue that arose: emails sentfrom a mobile device (e.g. Blackberry) donot automatically ask to be profiled whenthey are sent, so lawyers have to remem-ber to go back to their desktops so theycan profile all emails that were sent fromtheir mobile device.

It has also been an ongoing learningprocess to ensure that lawyers advisetheir assistants which documents are thefinal execution copies so that the correctdocument is easy to locate when theclosing DVD is being prepared on com-pletion of a transaction. It is imperativethat the documents are named correctly

so that it will beeasy to distin-

guish between different versions of draftsand final copies of documents.

On the upside, we now enjoy somepositive outcomes. We phased inwidescreen monitors so that two docu-ments can be opened at once and pro-cessed side by side. Printing a paper copywas not as necessary, although some doc-uments are still printed because it is notas efficient or convenient to read longerdocuments on a screen. All hard copiesof documents are scanned to the systemby each legal assistant. Any documentsthat get printed from the system for re-view are stamped-scanned so that a per-son can simply throw out the paper copywhen they are done with it.

This system has saved everyone timeas they are able to access entire files onthe system without having to track downphysical files. It has also saved time forlegal assistants because they don’t haveto manually file paper or search for files.

There are many things to keep in mindwhen you decide to venture down thisroad, such as a proper back-up of yoursystem, lots of server space and fast scan-ners. Accessing old data may also becomean issue as software is upgraded over time.Fortunately, there is a lot of informationon the Internet to help with the process.

Most documents are now sent byemail so they have to be in electronic

WINTER 2011–2010 ! BC Legal Management Association ! www.BCLMA.org

WINTER 2011–2010

Editor: Stephanie MarshManaging Editor, Designer: Peter Morgan

This issue, the newsletter archives and a Topics index are all available

in PDF format at: http://www.BCLMA.org

Editorial © 2011 BCLMA, CANADA

Published by: MORGAN:NewslettersMorgan-News.com

BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

President: John Hawke

WHO WE ARE

The BCLMA, founded in 1972, is a non-profit organiza-tion with 108 Representatives and more than 220 Affili-ates across B.C. It is the BCLMA ‘s goal to provide edu-cational and networking opportunities, to enhance skillsas legal administrators and managers, and to provideprofessional and personal benefits to its registrants.

MEMBER SERVICES:

G Opportunities to network with other law firm ad-ministrators and managers are provided by events suchas our annual Spring and Winter socials, or our monthlysubsection meetings.We host an annual Managing Part-ners Event, and a large conference every other year.

G The Job Bank on our website outlines informationon potential employment opportunities.

G The Discussion Board on our website enables Rep-resentatives and Affiliates to quickly get questions an-swered and obtain advice from others who may havefaced similar situations. The best way to get involved isto become a part of the BCLMA.

NEWSLETTER SERVICES:

Topics is a public newsletter. We will be pleased to addyou to our mailing list for it. Please contact the EditorialCommittee Chair, or any member of the Editorial Com-mittee listed on the back page, for comments on any ofthese articles or to offer suggestions for articles in futureissues, or for adjustments to the circulation list. Com-ments are always welcome.

REPRODUCTION RIGHTS:

Topics is copyrighted, however we encourage you to cir-culate or copy this material unmodified for your owninternal or private use. You may freely quote any articleor portion of article, but it must be accompanied by attribution. Quoting any article or portion of articlewithout attribution is prohibited.

The newsletter, its contents or its material may not besold, intact or modified, nor included in any package orproduct offered for sale.

BC Legal Management AssociationBC Legal Management Association

2TopicsGR

AHAM

MOR

GAN

© 2

011

THE FIRM Going paperless " to Page 4

Going paperless " from Page 1

“steve, the main problem i’ve encountered since we wentpaperless is all the MEMOS i get about changes to how

we profile files, emails and transaction dvd’s¡¡


http://www.lexisnexis.ca/timematters

format anyway. Our fax machines arerarely used any more, and couriercharges are also on the decline.

I haven’t run the numbers yet but I feelcertain that the cost of supplies — such as let-terhead, envelopes and paper — are down.

All of our closing books are now pre-pared on a DVD rather than creat-

ing binders, unless aclient

specifically requests a hard copy. It isalso easier for the clients to find docu-ments they need as they are all containedon a single DVD with a Table of Con-tents that contains a hyperlink to each document.

Over time, it will become more effi-cient to access historical information

for clients. We will also save the costof not having to retrieve files from boxstorage. MOI moved to a new locationjust over a year ago and our filingroom is now about the size of a singleoffice. During the design phase of ourmove, we had to convince our design-er that we did not need more filingspace. No more physical files get sentto storage.

The firm’s clients appreciate that wecan access information from their filesimmediately rather than having to go andgrab a file. They also appreciate that wehave become more cost-effective as a result.

The next challenge will be to set up ouraccounting department so it becomes total-ly paperless. This is on the agenda for thecoming year.

There are so many advantages tohaving all of the file information in digi-tal format. Take the challenge! Plan,implement and get your firm on theroad to a paperless office. You will beglad you did.


4TopicsGoing paperless " from Page 2

http://www.rjohnsoncorp.com

and for the lawyers they work with? Let’sanswer these questions now.

Paralegals need to learn how to getalong with their supervising lawyers, andhow to communicate clearly and effec-tively. Our students are taught by prac-ticing lawyers and senior paralegals, andthey are expected to interact with instruc-tors and the Program Co-ordinator asthey would with supervising lawyers.

They function independently, provideprofessional and effective communica-tion, and submit assignments suitable forpreparation in a law office. Every class—indeed, every interaction—acts as train-ing ground for what you and I know isthe difficult and demanding legal profes-sion.

To succeed, paralegals require consis-tent and reliable file-management skills.Our primary goal is to provide skills theywill use on the job the very next day. Weguide them so that they learn the answersto questions like:

##What are the procedures? ##Where can I access the paperwork? ##How can I draft a clear, effective letter

of engagement, maintain professional-ism and confidentiality, or process theforms for this case?

## Where can I find the governing legisla-tion, if I need to make a quick reference?

All of our graduates master these skills,and litigation graduates are certified forICBC billing.

Continual learning upgrades aremandatory to stay competitive in thisprofession. At VCC, paralegal profession-als can register for a course or two to up-grade their professional skills, or chooseto work towards a Certificate in litigation,corporate, real estate conveyancing, fam-ily or estate law. (Anyone who masters allfour earns a Paralegal Diploma.)

Personal schedules are already de-manding, so the College provides coursesin the evening or online to facilitatelearning outside the office.

Industry and legal changes requireadaptability and speedy response times.The VCC paralegal program is flexibleenough to launch bankruptcy-procedurescourses when the economy is down, ad-vanced corporate-securities instructionwhen the economy turns up, and updatedlitigation courses with changes in therules of civil litigation.

Our upcoming Criminal Law Proce-dures course is designed and taught by aJustice Department lawyer, and the Secu-


5

Preparing paralegals " to Page 16

Preparing paralegals " from Page 1

Topics

PARALEGALS REQUIRECONSISTENT, RELIABLE

FILE-MANAGEMENTSKILLS. OUR PRIMARYGOAL IS TO PROVIDE

SKILLS THEY WILL USE ONTHE JOB THE NEXT DAY.

http://www.sai.ca

The case of PR’s secret drunk

Manmon, Smith is a large downtown firm that has a num-ber of sizeable corporate clients.

As a result of thesocial functions thatoccur regularly forclients on the firm’spremises, the largeboardroom has twolocked cabinets thatare filled with liquorfor these types ofevents.

You, as Manmon,Smith’s Director ofAdministration, areapproached by a staffmember who tellsyou she believes thatbottles are regularly stolen from the cabinet. After an investiga-tion, it becomes clear that the thief is Maria Sanchez, the firm’sCommunications Director.

When you call Maria into your office to discuss the matter,she breaks down and admits that she has been stealing the alco-hol because she is an alcoholic. She has been trying to hide heraddiction from her husband, as well as from her colleagues inthe office. She told you that she steals the alcohol so that shespends no family money at liquor stores.

What do you do?

RESPONSE FROM BCLMA MEMBERS: I would fire Maria. Whileshe has an addiction, she is stealing which is clearly behaviour that allemployees know can get you fired.


6TopicsOUR NEW SCENARIO – TELL US WHAT YOU’D DO IN:

THE CASE OF THE PAYROLL LEAK

A spreadsheet that lists the direct-deposit payrollamounts of various people working

in the firm of King, Curbner arrivesin the email accounts of a dozenstaff members onemorning, and thenbegins quietly circu-lating throughoutthe remainingsalaried staff of thefirm.

Thankfully, thenames of the indi-viduals are not inthe spreadsheet; justtheir positions arelisted, but they’resorted by gender.

You’re the Man-ager of Human Re-sources, and as youlook at the figures,you’re shocked torealize the amountsare accurate. You know there’s trouble a-foot.

And when sorted this way, it’s obvious to anybody who seesit that one gender is not being paid the same as the other,though they have similar job responsibilities.

What do you do?

HOW TO BE OUR JUDGETO RESPOND: WWW.BCLMA.ORG

This feature of Topics, compiled by Vancouver lawyer Paula Butler, is designed to get you thinking and sharing your expertise

about workplace scenarios that might happen – or have happened –to you.

Read the case above, aimed at challenging your managementability. Then, click here to arrive at the Topics Scenario responseform and describe how you would answer the question at the end:

http://www.bclma.org/resources/newsletters/topics/response.cfm

Submissions are 100% anonymous. Neither thesender’s name nor the firm’s name will be re-vealed to the editors – only your response.

Next edition, we’ll print a selection of your anonymous responses,Paula’s commentary and perspective – and then provide you with anew scenario to intrigue and challenge you.

$$

PR’s Secret Drunk " to Page 7

By Paula Butler, Lawyer

Below is the case we posed to you last issue,followed by a response from within theBCLMA. On the right is a new scenario foryou to judge, followed by instructions on how

to let us know what you would do in that situation,with answers next issue. Bonus! A respondent will berandomly chosen to receive a $25 gift certificate toLondon Drugs. Note that your response remains100% anonymous unless you attach your E-BusinessSignature with your text. Even if you identify yourselfto us to be entered into the draw, your participation will remain anonymous toour readers. We won’t publish your name, neither as a respondent nor as a win-ner. Paula Butler is a sole practitioner who specializes in labour and employ-ment law from her office in West Vancouver.

YOU BE THE JUDGE

!"#$

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Paula Butler


http://www.bclma.org

Hi, this is Paula. It is a difficult situa-tion when you have an employee whohas an addiction or other human rights-protected illness, and who engages inbehaviour that would normally result inthe termination of her employment.

Employers have traditionally arguedthat the behaviour — stealing, in thiscase — is separate from the addictionand should be cause for terminating em-ployment. In other words, not all alco-holics are compelled to steal from theiremployer, so therefore the stealing is notpart of the disease, and may be treatedas a separate issue.

Employees — and unions when theemployee works in a unionized workplace— have traditionally argued that stealingis part of the disease, so the employercan’t fire the employee because it wouldbe a human-rights violation. There arecase law and arbitration awards on bothsides of this issue.

At the moment, you may be able tofire Maria and be successful if she files ahuman-rights complaint. However, giv-en that this is the first time that this hasoccurred, it may be a better option toaccommodate Ms. Sanchez’s addictionby giving her time off to deal with heraddiction, help fund treatment options,etc. and then bring her back to workwith conditions.

These conditions could include re-quirements for attending counsellingand similar meetings regarding her ad-diction; monthly reports to you fromher addiction counsellor; and no steal-ing; to name a few.

This approach allows the employeeto get better. The consequence ofbreaching these conditions would betermination for just cause.

If the employee does not complywith the conditions, the employer is in abetter position if the employee laterchallenges the dismissal.

As these are complex issues, it is agood idea to get legal advice when deal-ing with them.

A reminder of our request for you to commenton our latest HR challenge, on page 6: “The Caseof the payroll leak.”


7PR’s Secret Drunk " from Page 6

Topics

http://www.i-worx.ca

http://www.dyedurhambc.com

By the BCLMA Board of Directors

The BCLMA 2010 Conference trulyexceeded our expectations. Averag-ing less than 50 delegates at the pri-

or two conferences in Whistler, our 2010Conference at the River Rock Casino inRichmond welcomed almost twice thatmany, with 16 additional delegates, in-cluding Managing Partners, attendingthe Opening Session on Day One.

We owe this Conference’s success tokeeping it local, choosing a first-rate and

multi-purpose venue that consistentlydraws talent and tourists from acrossNorth America, our own ability to attractlocal and cross-border speakers who eachhad undeniable knowledge and credibili-ty, plus a superbly organized and high-functioning Conference committee.

That group co-ordinated speakers,vendors and volunteers, as well as the


8

2010 Annual Conference " to Page 9

‘WE’RE ON A ROLL’ A SPECIAL BCLMA EDUCATIONAL EVENT

2010 Annual Conference Oct 29, 30 packed forspeakers, for sponsors and for trade booths

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More Conference pix on Page 9

mailto:[email protected]?Subject=The Board's article in the Winter 2011/10 issue of the BCLMA's Topics&Body=

myriad of logistics, tasks and minute de-tails required for the successful executionof a value-added Conference.

On the following pages, session lead-ers provide summaries of each assembly,and volunteers have shared somethoughts about their experience con-tributing to the big event.

By the way, Blane Prescott, our Con-

ference’s excellent keynote speaker,joined the firm Brownstein Hyatt FarberSchreck as CEO, effective last December13. He’s working out of the firm’s Denveroffice.

Thank you to each and every one ofyou who attended and contributed to the2010 Conference. We appreciate yourparticipation, and we couldn’t have doneit without you.

Finally, block off October 25 – 27,

2012, so you can join us again at RiverRock for the BCLMA 2012 Conference.

CONFERENCE CHAIR SAYS MANYFACTORS MADE CONFERENCEENJOYABLE FOR ATTENDEES

By Gary Carter, Paine Edmonds LLP

Our BCLMA 2010 Educational Confer-ence was a resounding success, to say

the least. That’s clear from the many con-gratulatory emails I received since theConference, and from the number of ex-cellent ratings and positive commentsmade by our delegates to the Conferencein our follow-up survey.

The success we enjoyed this year is at-tributable to a number of key factors.Our Conference Committee devotedmany hours to planning the two-dayagenda, developing relevant and interest-ing topics for our presenters and work-shops, sourcing and retaining highly-qualified speakers and panellists, finding


9Topics

2010 Annual Conference " to Page 11

2010 Annual Conference " from Page 8


mailto:[email protected]?Subject=Your ad in the Winter 2011/10 issue of the BCLMA's Topics&Body=



10TopicsGood times at the 2010 Annual Conference...

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the ideal venue and, perhaps most impor-tantly, securing the funding from our sup-porters and sponsors, without which wecould not have hosted the symposium.

Here’s a closer look at each session:

GENERAL SESSION 1: CURRENT TRENDS IN THE LEGALPROFESSION AND SUCCESSIONPLANNING FOR MANAGEMENT

Day One’s keynote speaker, BlanePrescott, the Senior Vice President of Hilde-brandt Baker Robbins at the time, lived upto his reputation as a world-class presenter.His material was interesting, informativeand based on his years of experience work-ing with law firms around the world.

Blane is an exceptionally gifted speak-er. He captivates and holds his audience’sattention using an intricate balance offactual material and commentary, inter-woven with humour and charm. Blane’sinteresting and high-energy presentationset the tone for our Conference.

GENERAL SESSION 2: RIGHT PERSON, RIGHTPLACE, RIGHT TIME - TALENT MANAGEMENTPLANNING FOR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

By Lisa Dawson, Owen Wiggs LLP Day Two’s General Session attracted

more delegates than I personally expect-ed. The high turn-out was a positivestatement for the decision to have a ses-sion that morning. Doris Bentley, Man-aging Director of Centrepoint CareerDevelopment, gave a thorough presenta-tion on succession planning as well as tal-ent management as it relates to staffingthe firm. The take-aways she providedwere plentiful and handy: whitepapersand strategies to use right away. High-lights included:% The talent life cycle, and understand-

ing where each employee is within thiscycle in order to best manage that per-son’s talent and growth

% How to have a conversation thatcounts with the employee; where tobegin, what to say and what to do withthe information acquired

% Identifying critical roles vs. core rolesin talent management, which helps toknow where to begin to focus.


11

2010 Conference " to Page 13

2010 Conference " from Page 9

Topics

http://www.arcprint.com

http://www.annabeaudry.com


http://www.centrepointcareer.com/human-resources-consultants-doris.htm



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WORKSHOP A: SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS

By Kathy Barry, Farris Vaughn Will &

Murphy LLP and Tara Cain, Clark Wilson LLP

The Social Media workshop receivedmany positive reviews.

Our first speaker, Susan Van Dyke,President of Van Dyke Marketing &Communications, explained social me-dia, who uses it, and the power and influ-ence that social media has in the worldtoday.

To demonstrate her points, sheshowed a clip on You Tube entitled SocialMedia Revolution 2 (Refresh)<http://youtu.be/lFZ0z5Fm-Ng>

The four-minute clip featured an arse-nal of attention-grabbing statistics as thesong Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slimplayed through the video.# “If Facebook were a country it would

be the third largest.” (First largest: In-dia; second largest: China.)

# “Facebook added 200 million users inless than a year.”

# “Social Media isn’t a fad. It is a fun-damental shift in the way we communicate.”Afterwards, Susan talked about how to

participate in social media, rememberingthree golden rules:$ Be relevant,% Be timely, and & Be helpful.

This led to her final thoughts on repu-tation management: Listen to what is be-ing said about your firm. Be informed.Traditional media is becoming eclipsed bycitizen journalism by way of social media.We are all publishers, and you can chooseto follow or be followed on a blog, Twit-ter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Forums, etc.

The next speaker, Nicole Byers, aPartner at Clark Wilson LLP, spokeabout the importance of implementingsocial-media policies and guidelines inthe workplace.

Social media invites more opportunityto breach privacy and defame your orga-nization’s reputation and branding. Clearpolicies benefit the firm and staff by en-suring proper understanding and adher-ence to the rules. Establish warnings forpolicy violations and review them period-

ically as the nature of social mediachanges along with the needs of yourfirm.

Nicole explained how to draft a social-networking policy tailored to your firm’sneeds.

You need to determine if you want toencourage social networking or managethe risks associated with the lawyer- andstaff-use of social networking.

During the break, Tara Cain, the

Document & Software Support Specialistat Clark Wilson LLP, led a live “tweet-ing” session so participants could see howTwitter works. This was a nice compli-ment to the workshop.

Overall, it was a great presentation,with a nice balance of learning aboutwhat social media is and how to use it ef-fectively without compromising yourfirm’s goals and objectives.



Topics

2010 Conference " to Page 16

WHAT OUR CONFERENCE VOLUNTEERS SAID

Volunteering for the BCLMA Conference has been a fantastic way for me to get toknow my peers, learn from my mentors, and give back to the organization that hasplayed a huge role in my career to date.

Kimberly MacMillan, Simpson Thomas & Associates

Volunteering on the BCLMA 2010 Conference Committee connected me to manynew friends in the legal industry, and I learned a lot about what it takes to put on afantastic Conference. I am very much looking forward to volunteering again!

Tara Cain, Clark Wilson

I totally enjoyed being a volunteer, and I enjoyed the Conference!Lorraine Burchynsky, Boughton Law Corp.

What I liked best about being a volunteer was being given the opportunity to trulymake a difference in the convention process. We had more than one meeting, andyou all took from our input in order to build the framework of the convention.

Lisa Dawson, Owen Wiggs Green & Mutula LLP

Volunteering to be this year’s Conference Chair was my way of giving back to theBCLMA — an organization whose members have provided me with information, sup-port and guidance for more than 20 years.

Gary Carter, Paine Edmonds LLP

Organizing one of the workshops for the BCLMA 2010 Conference was hard workand at times challenging, but the rewards have paid off immensely: My LinkedInconnections have increased by 50% in the past year, I developed my conference-planning and public-speaking skills and, most importantly, I had the pleasure ofworking with great people in the organization as well as with our esteemed speakers.I look forward to another opportunity to contribute to the 2012 Conference.

Kathy Barry, Farris Vaughn Will & Murphy LLP

It was a great opportunity to liaise with current and future colleagues I will workwith throughout my law-firm career.

Lisa Dick, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

I really liked being part of the committee (and being a subsection Co-Chair, too,for that matter!) as it has really made me feel part of the legal-administration commu-nity. I met a lot of wonderful people at the Conference, and enjoyed the speakers andthe workshop!

Ruth-Ann Spencer, Bull Housser & Tupper LLP




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WORKSHOP B: GRACE UNDER PRESSURE:HOW TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELYAND CONFIDENTLY IN LAW OFFICES

By Kimberly MacMillan,

Simpson Thomas & Associates

Karen Bressler, lawyer and certifiedcoach with R. Johnson, led workshop par-ticipants through a number of exercises thatforced us to look at the assumptions that af-fect our ability to communicate and the im-portance of listening for understanding.

Many of us were forced out of ourcomfort zone with the exercises, but theyeffectively taught us the difference be-tween debating and communicating.

She also emphasized the need to presentyourself as a complete person with confi-dence in your ideas and perspective and tohave a clear intention of what you want theoutcome of the conversation to be. Withconfidence, comes grace under pressure.

WORKSHOP C: DO YOU GET I.T.?

By George Lo, Alexander Holburn LLP

The IT workshop looked at the cur-rent and future trends in computer tech-nology. A panel consisting of local, expe-rienced and knowledgeable experts –third-party consultants as well as BCLMAmembers – shared their insights on a va-riety of topics.

Other than an unusual fascinationwith “flying toasters,” the workshop fo-cused on new developments with cloudcomputing and the new generation ofMicrosoft products.

The panellists debated the merits ofthese new technologies, amongst others,and the audience did not hesitate to joinin on the debate.

Overall, it was agreed that the impactof these changes would be dramatic. At-tendees definitely came away with somenew ideas to help them in their daily ITstruggles and challenges.

Interested in becoming a BCLMA volunteer?Contact any member of the Board of Directors orany Subsection Co-Chair to find out how you cancontribute and grow. Contact information is onthe back page of this issue.



Topics

THE HONOUR ROLL OF THE VOLUNTEER HEROES OF THE BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

Tina Giallonardo, Director, Human Resources Miller Thomson LLP, Vancouver

BCLMA/VALA MEMBERSHIP I joined the association in 1982, when I joined Miller Thomson (formerly Swinton& Company)

CONTRIBUTIONS INCLUDE:

I have been the HR Subsection Chair for 20 years. The primary function of thisrole is to organize the meeting agenda every year. Each year, I made it my goalto listen to the needs of our members, and help keep the HR professionals inlaw firms progressive in human-resources issues.

WHY CONTRIBUTE? My motivation has been my passion for people, and giving back to the Mem-bers and the Association.

OVER THE YEARS, I HAVE ENJOYED:

Seeing the progress the HR Subsection made with the talent of its members,plus mentoring and sharing information, and seeing its growth and success.

THE BCLMA TODAY: I most enjoy the relationship between all of the Members, and the willingnessto make the legal community a better workplace.

LOOKING AHEAD:As long as I am working, I will continue to contribute. I am looking to retire inthe next five years to spend more time with my grandchildren and to travelwith my husband.

BCLMA’S VOLUNTEER HERO AWARDS

Giallonardo celebrated for guiding theBCLMA’s HR subsection for 20 years

The BCLMA, and VALA before it, hasalways had the good fortune ofgreat volunteers coming forward to

dedicate precious time and energy to thesuccess of the Association.

Our Volunteer Heroes feature highlights

the hard work and dedication of our vol-unteers. If you’ve got the spirit, contact anymember of the Board of Directors or yoursubsection co-Chairs to discover moreabout volunteer opportunities with theBCLMA. We’d love to work with you!

rities series is designed and approved bya lawyer who concentrates in this area.Our students learn civil litigation rules,corporate law procedures, conveyancingand family/estate file-management fromlawyers and senior paralegals who followthe changes every day.

For the lawyers with whom theywork, a skilled and capable paralegal isworth their weight in gold. Being part ofthis ongoing process is exciting and Iconsider myself lucky to be a part of it.

I watch, with interest, the BC LawSociety’s ongoing discussions regardingparalegal certification. And as always, Iwelcome your industry suggestions andfeedback. Best wishes in your life-longlearning.

Christine Williams earned her Juris Doctorand Master’s degree in Social Work at LoyolaUniversity, Chicago. She moved to BC in 1999,and has been Program Co-ordinator for theVCC Paralegal Program since 2005. She canbe reached at [email protected]

Preparing paralegals " from Page 5



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IA3ZvCkRkQ


By Stephanie Marsh, KPMG

Communication is a two-waystreet. From one direction

comes the message, and fromthe other comes the under-standing of it. In order for thatinteraction to be effective, bothparties must commit. The partyreceiving the message must be-come engaged in the process,whether by reading, watchingor listening intently. The mes-sage that gets sent must be clear, conciseand properly presented to be understood.

We get involved in communication ex-changes countless times a day. We readnews and headlines, emails, workplacepolicies, advertisements, product specifica-tions, instructions and manuals. Likewise,we compose email and text messages,write proposals and ad copy, meetingagendas and minutes, industry nomina-tions, blogs, letters and how-to guides.

Written messages are used as a meansto convince, persuade or motivate, as wellas inform. Print communication must beeffective so that readers will comprehendmessages well and – ideally – quickly.

As managers in professional services, wewrite messages to induce action in our

readers. We write ads, newsletters, bulletinsand proposals to demonstrate our ex-

pertise to our external clients, and ul-timately convince them to buy ser-vices from us. We also writeproposals to convince internalclients (i.e. partners) to upgradeequipment or software, changepremises or augment lawyer-staffratios. We write employee policiesto establish a fair and compliantworkplace. We write reference

guides to instruct staff about online filingsystems, and the firm’s new voicemail sys-tem, among many other subjects. In eachcase, our writing must inform and per-suade. So, how can you do it effectively?

RECORD YOUR THOUGHTSHave you ever sat down to compose

something and struggled with how to be-gin? Don’t worry about getting every sen-tence right the first time. Start by jottingdown all of your thoughts, even if theycome to you in random order. If youhave time, put the list away and comeback to it. Take that time.

You’ll likely recall or generate otherrelated thoughts to expand or enhanceyour list.

ORGANIZE YOUR ARGUMENTOnce you have all of your main points

recorded, rank them, starting with themost important and whittling your waydown to the least important. Press releas-es get written this way. Leading with thegusto gets your audience interested in thewho, what, where, when and why.

IMMEDIATELY CUT TO THE CHASEIf you want to leave the main message

until the end, consider a career in mys-tery-novel writing. You will lose your au-dience if you force them to guess yourmain message. Instead, start by lettingreaders know precisely what to expectfrom your communiqué. They will feelintrigued and read on.

SO WHAT? Don’t waste anyone’s time (yours or

your readers’) with an overload of back-ground information, trivia or unrelateddata. Ask yourself if your reader will findimportant and relevant the text you’vewritten or included. Will they care?

For instance, if you’re pitching towork for a not-for-profit organization inthe healthcare sector, do you think theycare that your firm ranked #1 in M&Alast year?

Beware of statistics and rankings thatmight appear unnecessarily boastful oronly serve as padding. Keep your audiencecaptivated by sharing information that isimportant to them and their business.

USE HEADINGSHave you ever opened an email and

found the entire body of the screen com-pletely populated? No hard returns, noparagraphs, just one big blah-blah-blah.Did you feel exhausted before readingthe first sentence?

Make your communiqué aestheticallypleasing by using headings to break upthe text of different points in your text.Headings also make it easier for the read-er when they need to refer back to themessage; they can easily scroll or flip tothe section they need. This is especiallyhelpful when you create a list of instruc-tions or reference guide.

When writing proposals, don’t let yourExecutive Summary look like the cover

WRITE RIGHT, RIGHT?

Effective writing is the message

Stephanie Marsh


18Topics

Write right, right? " to Page 19

WILL YOUR TARGET CLIENT—A NOT-FOR-PROFIT

ORGANIZATION IN THEHEALTHCARE SECTOR—

REALLY CARE THAT YOURFIRM RANKED #1 IN M&ALAST YEAR? MAKE SURETHE STATS YOU PROVIDE

MATTER TO YOUR READER



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letter. Use headings to inject breaths offresh air. Your reader will pause to takein what they’ve just read, and will pre-pare themselves for the next point obvi-ously on the horizon.

Headings jump off the page, particular-ly when created with a different font type,size or colour (or all of the above), and willcause your readers to remember your coremessage—or key messages—much quick-er than a page full of plain text. Adequateline spacing before and after your head-ings generate some white space and pro-vide a welcome visual pause.

As veteran graphic artist Jacci Bearputs it, “White space can be used to set amood, convey a specific image. If youwant a design to say ‘wealth, upscale,prestigious or elegant’ then use lots ofwhite space. If you want a more down-to-earth, ordinary-folks appeal, bring itdown a notch or two. If you want to lookcheap, mass-produced or amateurish,then fill the page to overflowing.”

RE-USE, RECYCLEIf you can recall a message that really

resonated with your clients or members ofyour firm, and motivated them to act inthe desired fashion, then emulate the style.

Understanding the culture of yourclients, their type of business, their industry,or your own firm enables you to speak theirlanguage, with a much greater chance thatyour message will get understood.

GRAMMAR-RAMAThere are numerous rules, tips and

tricks that will help make your writingmore effective. Here are just a few tokeep in mind for now:% Take ‘action’: Don’t say what you are

(We are proud to support...), say whatyou do (We feel proud to support...). Itmakes your writing much more emo-tional and persuasive.

% Less is more: Resist the urge todemonstrate your entire vocabularyeach time you need to communicate.Instead of, “We would like to thankyou…” just say, “Thank you…” Theresult? Five words became two. Twen-ty-six characters became nine. Youraudience will spend less time reading

and make a decision faster. Anothergreat by-product of lower word-counts? You spend less time writing,and less money on ink and paper.Other examples of trimming words for

more concise messaging: % We are able to... We can...% Below, you will find a list of

clients to which we have provid-ed excellent services...We have listed satisfied clients below:...

% We believe we are the right firmto deliver what you need.We will meet your needs.

DRAFTYShare your draft before you finalize

and distribute. Make sure your audiencewill receive the message you intend. Forinstance, when you say ‘bi-weekly,’ doyou mean twice a week or twice a month?

This notoriously-ambiguous termcould cause a storm of confusion for yourreaders’ calendars, particularly if they aremembers of a project team working with-in a tight deadline. A fresh set of eyes to

review and critique your draft will alwayshelp ensure your message gets under-stood the way you need it understood.(By the bye: Bi-weekly means every otherweek; semi-weekly means twice a week.)

WRITING IS A TEACHABLE PROCESSEffective writing is an ongoing pro-

cess. Depending on the types of writtencommunication you must employ, con-sider courses or workshops offered by themany reputable continuing educationprograms across the Lower Mainland.UBC, SFU and BCIT, for instance, offerinstruction in business writing and editingall year round.

Effective communication takes practice.Don’t expect overnight success. Keep theserecommendations in mind every time youput pen to paper, or fingertips to keyboard,and you will be all-write!

Stephanie Marsh, Proposal Manager atKPMG, says she writes and edits a wide range ofdocuments “a-l-l d-a-y l-o-n-g.” Contact her [email protected]


19TopicsWrite right, right? " from Page 18

MAKING THE MOVES…

WELCOME, NEW & RETURNING AFFILIATES!

Sarah Sutherland, Knowledge Management, has replaced Anne Ikeda atMcMillan (formerly Lang Michener. Sarah has also become BCLMA’s new

KM Subsection co-Chair!) Christina Tribe, Harper Grey, has also joined theKM subsection... John Pater, formerly of Alexander Holburn has joined DavisLLP as Director of Technology, while George Lo left Harper Grey to replaceJohn at Alexander Holburn as IT Manager. More new IT members: KentChen, McQuarrie Hunter LLP, Jonathan Jorge, Edwards Kenny & Bray andJonathan Steele, Harper Grey... Look at Finance grow! Christa Warner, for-merly of Richards Buell Sutton (RBS) has joined Harper Grey, while NancyRead replaced Christa at RBS. Andrea Lee joined Davis LLP, Yvette Whit-son joined Edwards Kenny & Bray, Sheena Schoepp joined Borden LaderGervais and Tracy Zimmerman joined McQuarrie Hunter. Marketing: LynnFoley, Bull Housser & Tupper LLP and Tiffany Shen, Alexander Holburn.

ON THE MOVE!

Rosemary Wedemeyer, formerly of Mackenzie Fujisawa joined EdwardsKenny & Bray as that firm’s new Administrator, while Donna Kitagawa,

formerly of Heenan Blaikie replaced Rosemary at MacKenzie Fujisawa as Ad-ministrator. A special welcome to a New Administrator and New Firm: Bron-wen Fraser represents Benson Law LLP in Kelowna; and to Karen Gerhardtof Weir Foulds LLP in Toronto: TLOMA’s new Vice President.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/concise.htm

The BCLMA’s Annual Managing Part-ners event took place on November 4at the Hyatt Regency. Special Guest

Anne Giardini of Weyerhaeuser made herpresentation, entitled The Insecure Overachiever– Recognizing and Keeping Women in the LegalProfession, to almost 70 Managing Partners,Administrators, Human Resources Man-agers, and Directors of Professional Devel-opment Programs. Through out the pro-gram, Giardini shared important statisticsabout the high rate at which females enterand leave the law profession, as well asstrategies to help law firms make workinglife more encouraging and appealing forwomen in our firms.


BCLMA’S ANNUAL MANAGING PARTNERS LUNCH

Weyerhaeuser’s Giardini outlines ways in which law firms canhelp keep talented female lawyers from ‘taking the off-ramp’

20Topics

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By Beau Mersereau, Director ofApplications, Development &Support | Fish & Richardson, P.C.

DELEGATION: Should I or shouldn’tI?

You should. Delegation is good for you, your team

and your organization. For the purposesof this article, we’ll define delegation asgiving decision-making authority to youremployees.

That authority is crucial, becausewithout it, you are not delegating, butsimply assigning tasks.

Delegating that decision-making au-thority is essential because it creates free-dom for you and a sense of empower-ment for the team.

CREATING A CONTRACT OF TRUSTWhen you delegate, you create

an implicit contract, one thatis built on mutual trust.Your job as a leaderis to build a team thatyou trust. If you feel thatyou can’t delegate to your team,you’ve failed in your role as a leader.

For example, I knew of a partner atanother firm who built a team with notrust. This partner would ask the associ-ates to draft all correspondence, afterwhich point she would review the corre-spondence and then send out the e-mailmessages as her own. The associates werenot allowed any contact with the clients.Several of the associates on the teamwere five- and six-year attorneys, butthey struggled every day. The partnerhad to review every piece of correspon-dence related to her cases. Eventually,the associates all left the firm, mainly be-cause the partner trusted no one. Thoughthis partner is still practicing law and do-ing well financially, I suspect she is notvery happy because she didn’t build ateam to support her.

WHEN YOU FAIL TO DELEGATEWhen you don’t delegate, you put

yourself in a tough situation. You are re-

sponsible for everything, which is unwiseand unhealthy.

With the recent economic challenges,we’re all doing less with more. If you arenot delegating decision-making authority,you are not using resources you would besmart to use. Relax, try it, and you mightbe surprised by how well it goes. Just re-member to set appropriate guidelines andparameters, and everything will be fine.

WHEN YOUR STAFF FAILS TO ACHIEVESometimes, no matter what you do, a

team member just can’t seem to getit together. Provide directfeedback often.

Try to learnwhat moti-vates

them.Some of myteam respond topraise, others respondto mitigating exposure forthe firm, still others procrasti-nate and then step up at the last sec-ond.

Once you’ve learned what motivatessomeone, use that power judiciously. Ifthey are still failing, do the right thingand let them go. Sometimes it just doesn’twork out.

When you empower someone for thefirst time, and they fail, that is okay. I’vespent a lot of time at my current firmbuilding several teams.

When a new process is identified, Idelegate that process to an individual or ateam, and whoever is responsible owns it.

I’ll provide input, but ultimately the au-thority has been delegated. I will admitthat there are times when I overrule, butwhen I do, it is for a good reason.

As time goes on, this happens less fre-quently. When you delegate, accept fail-ure, and make sure you turn that failureinto a learning experience for yourselfand the team.

Over time, you’ll learn who excels atwhat. Push the limits! There are times

when I set unrealisticdeadlines, or what Ithink are unrealisticdeadlines. Almost al-ways, the team stepsup to the challenge.Listen to your teamoften.

DELEGATIONENCOURAGESCREATIVITY

My supervisormanages me with ahands-off approach.I appreciate this. It isone of the many rea-sons I’ve worked formy current firm fornine years. Her ap-proach allows me tofind creative solu-tions to the issues athand.

In the end, whenyour employees worktheir way through achallenge, make sure

you give them credit. Sing their praises in-side your firm, and be prepared to havestrong, happy, hard-working team. So re-member, when in doubt, delegate! It is apowerful management tool you shouldnot be afraid to use often.

Beau Mersereau’s email: [email protected] .This article was first published in the September2010 issue of Peer to Peer, the quarterly maga-zine of ILTA, and is reprinted here with permis-sion. For more information about ILTA, visitwww.iltanet.org.


FEARLESS DELEGATION

How to give up authority to gain a great and confident team

Topics 21

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The Topics Editorial Committee willbegin surveying the BCLMA’s mem-

bership, and others who receive the quar-terly newsletter, about its usefulness andeffectiveness. The survey will start withthe edition you’re now reading.

“We are interested in a number of as-pects of Topics,” says the newsletter’s Edi-tor, Stephanie Marsh, who is one of threepeople who constructed the survey, alongwith Topics Editorial Committee ChairBob Waterman and the newsletter’s con-sulting Managing Editor Peter Morgan.

“We already know it’s a strong, popu-lar and unifying voice for the BCLMA be-cause of its readership and influence,”Marsh says, “but we’d also like to measurethe usefulness of the articles to help ourmembership work better and smarter.”

An invitation to the survey, whichshould take less than five minutes for a per-son to complete online, will be distributedto a quarter of the readership two weeks af-ter the newsletter is published. That waythe entire readership is consulted abouteditions of the newsletter over the course ofa year, but no individual recipient will beasked to take part more than once a year.

“We’re sensitive to the time con-straints on our readership,” says Morgan.“That also means that it will take sometime, probably a couple of years, for thesurvey to build up a consistent statisticalbase, but we don’t have a problem withthe slow-and-steady approach. We knowthat many people read it on their com-puters, so they can take advantage of itshyperlinked connections to additional ed-itorial and advertising support materialthat’s on the ‘Net. We know that specificarticles or the newsletter itself are circu-lated to friends and colleagues. And weknow that many also print it out on theirdesktops to read during coffee breaks, atlunch or on public transit, or to keep forreference in their files. However theyread it or obtain it or use it, it’s what theydo with the information in it that wedon’t yet know much about. The surveywill help us with that.”

Waterman, the Committee’s Chairnotes, “We talk with our members, with

BCLMA sponsors and with each other onthe Committee as we develop each issue,so we all think long and hard about howto keep Topics timely, friendly and use-ful. We also know our readers are busy;their time is limited. So, we feel that eachissue of the newsletter must be of value,pleasure and interest to them; somethingthey want to read. That is the basis of ev-erything we discuss, and we’ll use the sur-vey to help us with that.”

Waterman also says the EditorialCommittee has no intention of using theresponse to the survey questions as meth-ods of ‘judging’ the abilities of the authorsof the newsletters articles, many of whomare experts in their fields. “First, we won’tshare the actual data with the authors atall, and we won’t ask questions about howgood the writing is, for example. We’ve

designed the questions such that the re-sponses to a particular article will help usfocus our editorial choices in the futurewhen we talk to authors about what inter-ests our readers. We want to see if weneed to raise that bar, and right now it’ssomething we don’t know,” he adds.

Some articles are written for entertain-ment, to offset the heaviness of the extensivefactual material in other articles, and read-ers will be asked to comment on the useful-ness of those in the same way.

“That’s one of the interesting aspects of areadership survey,” says Morgan. “Peopleinstinctively adjust their interpretation of‘useful’ to adapt to what an article is writtento accomplish. Entertainment is a very use-ful quality!”

More than 350 people directly con-nected to the BCLMA receive each editionof the newsletter, in addition to about100 advertisers, BCLMA sponsors, otherexternal supporters and collegial or like-minded groups.

QUICK QUESTIONS FOR A GROUP OF OUR READERS

Survey of Topics articles coming up shortly


22Topics

BCLMA 2011 SURVEYS BCLMA 2011 SURVEYS –– Annual ScheduleAnnual Schedule

SS urveys provide valuable data to law office manager's businessplans. To provide maximum value, we need everybody to

participate. Surveys get distributed throughout the year so youwill never provide input for more than one survey at any onetime. They also get distributed at a time that should work for themajority of participants. If you feel that any of these dates arenot in the best interest for participants, or you have othercomments please send Bob Waterman, Chair of the BCLMA

Survey Committee, your feedback to: <[email protected]>.

SURVEYSURVEY DistributionDate

Receive Response by

Estimated Publication Date

SurveyLeader

Law FirmEconomics April 1st May 2nd June 1st Sandy

Delayen

Staff Ratio May 2nd May 13th May 31st Wayne Scott

Support StaffSalary and

Hourly RatesSeptember 1st October 3rd November 1st Raf

Sansalone

AssociateSalary November 1st November 14th November 30th Bob

Waterman

Bob Waterman

The BCLMA hosted its Annual WinterSocial on December 2 at the Termi-nal City Club, and a record 133

Representatives, Affiliates and Vendors at-tended this popular and classy event.

The evening was generously spon-sored by Dye & Durham, Systems Audit-

ing and TOS/Hub International, whoeach provided financial support to hostthe event, as well as draw prizes.

John Hawke, BCLMA President andMaster of Ceremonies, welcomed theguests and made special presentations onbehalf of the Association.

The BCLMA honoured Bonnie Kirk(Lawson Lundell) and Colleen Chapman(Brawn Karras & Sanderson) for theirmany years of distinctive service to theBCLMA. Both Bonnie and Colleen haveheld memberships with BCLMA, and its


23BCLMA’S CLASSY WINTER SOCIAL

Kirk, Chapman and Giallonardo honoured by a record turnout of BCLMA Representatives, Affiliates and Vendors at Winter event

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Winter Social classy " to Page 24

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predecessor, VALA, for at least twodecades. Both acted as Chairs of the Fi-nance and Small Firms Subsections respec-tively for numerous years. Both have madeother extraordinary contributions also.

For example, Bonnie was a member ofthe TOPICS Editorial Board for four yearsand continues to provide finance-relatedarticles to the newsletter. Colleen has co-ordinated the Small Firms AdministratorsSalary Survey for the last five years, andrecently contributed an article to TOPICS.

John presented each with a dazzlingflower bouquet in recognition of their com-mitment and service to the association.

Tina Giallonardo (Miller Thompson)also received an exclusive honour at theevent. Longtime colleague, Ann Johnston(Bull Housser & Tupper), made an enter-taining and special presentation aboutTina’s remarkable contributions to VALAand BCLMA.

Tina joined the legal profession almost30 years ago, after a successful 12-yearcareer at the BC Teacher’s Federationand two other HR roles in the privatesector. Her experience made her an ex-cellent attribute when she joined Swinton& Company, and VALA.

Over those three decades, Tina honedher expertise, shared her knowledge andher successful personnel strategies to helpdirect and develop the Human Resourcessubsection with her professionalism, in-tegrity and class. Tina even led the sub-section for more than 20 of those years.

On behalf of the BCLMA, Tina also re-ceived a flower bouquet, as well as per-sonal gift from the HR subsection at theirfirst meeting of 2011.

As always, the BCLMA, Official EventSponsors and Vendor Guests enjoyedpresenting lucky attendees with gifts:% Canuck hockey tickets to a game

against the Edmonton Oilers and a$50 voucher to spend at the gamewere presented by Barry Riback ofSystems Auditing to LorraineBurchynsky of Boughton Law Corporation


24Topics

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Winter Social classy " from Page 23



% A gift certificate to Spa Utopia waspresented by Victor Montagliani ofTOS / HUB International to CarinaUmali of Smith IP

% A gift basket from Holt Renfrew waspresented by Connie Fenyo of Dye &Durham to BCLMA Alumnus MarieFinstad, formerly of McQuarrie Hunter

% Goodie bags were presented by Eliza-beth Borrill and JoAnne Todgham ofZSA to Alicia Bond of Bull Housser &Tupper; and to Carol Hastie of Mc-Carthy Tetrault

% A Joey’s gift certificate was presentedby the BCLMA to Christa Warner ofHarper Grey LLP

% A gift certificate to the Hudson BayCompany from the BCLMA was award-

ed to Penny Harvie, BCLMA Alumnus% LCBO gift cards from the BCLMA were

awarded to Bibi Bysterveld of FaskenMartineau DuMoulin and to AndreaRussell of Borden Ladner Gervais

% A Ticketmaster gift certificate fromthe BCLMA was awarded to NazlinRahemtulla of Gowlings


25TopicsWinter Social classy " from Page 24

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% A Pacific Centre gift cardfrom the BCLMA was won byHannah Won of BoughtonLaw Corp.

% A Future Shop gift cardFrom the BCLMA was award-ed to Roy “I always win!”Boal of Blakes.


26Topics

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Winter Social " from Page 25


BOARD OF DIRECTORSJohn Hawke, President

McMillan LLPD: [email protected]

Cindy Hildebrandt, SecretaryRichards Buell Sutton LLPD: [email protected]

Gary Carter, DirectorPaine Edmonds LLPP: [email protected]

Ernie Gauvreau, DirectorGowling Lafleur Henderson LLPD: [email protected]

Paula Kiess, DirectorMcCullough O’Connor Irwin LLPD: [email protected]

Paul Sandhu, DirectorWhitelaw Twining Law CorporationD: [email protected]

Angela Zarowny, TreasurerAngela M. Zarowny, BA, CGA,

Accounting ServicesD: [email protected]

ADMINISTRATIONJane Kennedy, BCLMA Administrator & Membership ServicesPO Box 75562, RPO Edgemont VillageNorth Vancouver, V7R 4X1

P: 604.988.1221F: [email protected]

BCLMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS & SUB-SECTION CHAIRS

Facilities & Service ManagementLorraine Burchynsky, Co-Chair

Boughton Law CorporationD: [email protected]

Alicia Bond, Co-ChairBull Housser & Tupper LLPD: [email protected]

FinanceSheila Tham, Co-Chair

Watson Goepel Maledy LLPD: [email protected]

Pelar Davidson, Co-ChairOyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLPD: [email protected]

Human ResourcesKerri Antifaev, Co-Chair

Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLPD: [email protected]

Sonia Kenward, Co-ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLPD: [email protected]

Knowledge ManagementKathy Barry, Co-Chair

Farris Vaughan Wills & Murphy LLPD: [email protected]

Sarah Sutherland, Co-ChairMcMillan LLPD: [email protected]

Small FirmsKimberly MacMillan, Co-Chair

Simpson Thomas & AssociatesD: [email protected]

Lisa Dawson, Co-ChairOyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLPD: [email protected]

TechnologyGeorge Lo, Chair

Alexander Holburn Beaudin Lang LLPD: [email protected]

TrainersShe’li Mullin, Co-Chair

Camp Fiorante MatthewsD: [email protected]

Tara Cain, Co-ChairClark Wilson LLPP: [email protected]

TOPICS EDITORIAL COMMITTEEBob Waterman, Chair

Richards Buell Sutton LLPD: [email protected]

Lorraine Burchynsky, Topics AdvertisingBoughton Law CorporationD: [email protected]

Paula Butler, Barrister & SolicitorP: [email protected]

Mike [email protected]

Stephanie MarshP: [email protected]

Peter MorganMorgan:NewslettersP: [email protected]

SUB-SECTION CHAIRS

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Documents

This HR provides progress report on taking a law firm ...bclma.org/wp-content/uploads/BCLMA-Topics-2011-1Winter.pdf · ly paperless. This is on the agenda for the coming year. There