Elections will be conducted for the Executive Committee officer positions of President Elect, Treasurer, and Secretary. There will also be elections for three (3) Director positions.

As an ACLEA member in good standing, you may nominate yourself for a Director position by notifying the Executive Director of your intent to run. To be eligible, your membership dues must be current at the time of nomination. Terms are two years and will begin July 25, 2023 following the Annual Business Meeting which will be held in Minneapolis, MN.

Please send your notice of intent to run, a brief biography, and photo for inclusion on the ballot to the ACLEA office no later than midnight CDT, (UTC-5) Wednesday, June 7, 2023.

Submit Intent to Run

It is the sole responsibility of the member filing a self-nomination to assure its receipt.

Amy Ihrke, State Bar of Arizona, State and Provincial Bars SIG

At our State and Provincial Bar SIG luncheon at ACLEA’s mid-year meeting in New Orleans, the hot topic of discussion was telework and what offices were doing regarding remote work. The majority of our luncheon attendees had a hybrid solution in place, mostly either two or three days required in the office for all employees.

As we talked about at the luncheon, telework can provide many benefits to both employers and employees:

• Increased flexibility and improved work-life balance: Allows employees to work from a location of their choice with more control over their schedule, allowing them to more effectively balance work and personal responsibilities and reduce stress.
• Reduced commuting: Reduces traffic congestion and air pollution and saves employees time and money.
• Increased productivity: Helps employees focus on their work without the distractions of the office environment. In addition, it can reduce the number of interruptions from colleagues, meetings, and other work-related activities.
• Cost savings: Reduces costs for both employers and employees. Employers can save on office space, utilities, and other overhead costs, while employees can save on transportation, meals, and other work-related expenses.

With all of these benefits, why are many of our organizations and multinational companies like Starbucks, Amazon, and Disney starting to call employees back to the office? Telework also has some potential drawbacks:

• Lack of social interaction: It can be isolating, which can be particularly challenging for individuals who thrive on social connections and interactions.
• Difficult to collaborate: Telework may make it more challenging for employees to communicate effectively with colleagues, particularly for complex projects that require face-to-face interaction.
• Blurred boundaries between work and personal life: Makes it more difficult for employees to separate their work and personal lives, leading to longer working hours and higher levels of stress.
• Increased risk of burnout: Those blurred boundaries between work and personal life can increase the risk of burnout and stress-related health problems.
• Deterioration of organizational culture: As Andy Jassy noted in his letter to Amazon employees, “It’s easier to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture when we’re in the office together most of the time and surrounded by our colleagues. … When you’re in-person, people tend to be more engaged, observant, and attuned to what’s happening in the meetings and the cultural clues being communicated.”
• Dependence on technology: Telework relies heavily on technology, which can lead to technical problems, data breaches, and security issues.

Whether fully remote work is good or bad depends on the specific circumstances and individual preferences. In some cases, telework may be a great option for employees and employers. For example, employees who have long commutes, childcare responsibilities, or health issues may benefit from telework. Employers may benefit from reduced office space and overhead costs, increased productivity, and improved employee morale.

In other cases, however, telework may not be the best option. For example, some jobs require in--person interaction with colleagues or customers, and some employees may struggle with the lack of social interaction and the challenges of collaborating remotely.

Navigating this new post-pandemic work arena requires flexibility and open communication within our organizations in order to balance the benefits and drawbacks of telework.

Heather J Gore Liddell & Christopher Marohn

As the legal landscape continues to evolve, continuing legal education (CLE) organizations face new challenges in providing effective leadership to drive business growth. In today's competitive environment, CLE organizations must be agile and innovative in their approach to building business. In this blog post, we will explore strategies, resources, and common problems associated with providing leadership in CLE organizations, with a focus on building business in new ways.

One key strategy for CLE organizations to build business in new ways is to prioritize market research and customer insights. Understanding the needs and preferences of your target audience is essential in developing relevant and appealing CLE programs and services. This can be achieved through various methods such as surveys, focus groups, and data analysis. Traditional methods such as phone calls or conducting in-person, face-to-face 1:1 conversations with the potential market are also quite effective. Further, when conducting market research, many junior or transitional lawyers may not know the skills and competencies they need. Connecting with a few more senior subject matter experts will ensure all “need to know” topics are also covered in your market research. While this may be a time-consuming exercise, by collecting and analyzing data on market trends, customer feedback, and competitors' offerings, CLE organizations can identify opportunities for growth and tailor offerings to meet the evolving needs of their customers. TIP: Ensure your chosen format is accessible to those you are questioning, and that the questions are written in a clear, non-leading manner. You should also clearly communicate the time commitment participation in the survey, focus group, etc., will require.

Another important strategy is to embrace technology and innovation. Technology has transformed the way we live and work, and CLE organizations need to adapt to the digital age to remain competitive. Investing in cutting-edge learning management systems (LMS), online platforms, and other technological solutions can enable CLE organizations to deliver high-quality and convenient learning experiences to customers. This may include offering online courses, webinars, virtual conferences, and other digital offerings that provide flexibility and accessibility to busy legal professionals. Additionally, can technology, collaborative platforms, or AI be used by your team to help streamline and create efficiencies in their day-to-day work tasks? ChatGPT4 has a host of new features that could contribute—successfully—to work product. For instance, could this help write marketing copy? Provide analysis of data or the competitive landscape? For these reasons, and more, any CLE organization should not only research these as topic ideas for their programs, but for internal training as well.

In addition to technology, CLE organizations should also explore strategic partnerships and collaborations as a way to expand their business. Partnering with other organizations, such as bar associations, law firms, or legal vendors, can provide access to new markets, expertise, and resources. Collaborating with other stakeholders in the legal industry can lead to mutually beneficial relationships that may drive business growth and innovation.

Resources play a critical role in the success of CLE organizations. Ensuring that the organization has the necessary financial, human, and technological resources to execute its business strategies is essential. This may involve securing funding from sponsors or donors, recruiting and retaining top talent, and investing in infrastructure and technology to support the organization's operations. Adequate resources are key to supporting the execution of strategic initiatives and driving business growth. Over the last few years, the competitive job market and virtual on-boarding has been a challenge for many organizations, including CLE providers. While this may not be the case long-term, these are issues that will confront all senior leaders for at least the next one to three years. While it may be daunting and unclear what the right path is, leaders can only make the best decisions possible with the information they have (or best predictions based on such information). The key to success is to check in on your plan and strategies to ensure you have time to pivot and revise before it is too late. It is also important to have a succession plan in place and clearly documented processes to ensure your organization is protected, should any key staff leave.

However, there are also common problems that CLE organizations may face in providing effective leadership for business growth. One challenge is navigating the complex and changing regulatory environment. CLE organizations must stay updated on changes in accreditation requirements, compliance standards, and other regulations that impact their operations. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements can result in penalties, loss of accreditation, and reputational damage.

Another challenge is addressing the diverse needs and expectations of a multi-generational workforce. CLE organizations may have employees and customers from different generations, each with their own unique preferences and expectations for learning and professional development. Effective leadership requires understanding and accommodating these differences, such as offering a mix of traditional and digital learning formats, providing opportunities for mentorship and coaching, and fostering a positive and inclusive work culture that embraces diversity.

In conclusion, providing leadership in CLE organizations is complex and requires a strategic and innovative approach to building business in new ways, including frequent touchpoints on whether or not your strategy is “winning.” Strategies such as prioritizing market research, embracing technology and innovation, exploring strategic partnerships, and ensuring adequate resources are essential for driving business growth. However, CLE organizations must also navigate challenges such as regulatory compliance and addressing the diverse needs of a multi-generational workforce. By leveraging these strategies and resources while addressing common problems, CLE organizations can position themselves for success in today's dynamic legal landscape.

Shaun Salmon, VP of MCLE and Professional Development at Quimbee
Amanda Korosi, Programming SIG Co-chair

We’ve all seen it. At the grocery store, in traffic, in our workplace. Even if you’ve been living under a rock (or in pandemic-induced self-isolation), you’ve seen it on social media, recorded on an iPhone 12 secreted away beneath an airline blanket. What are we talking about here? Rudeness. Unabashed impoliteness. The general erosion of societal norms and everything you once thought was a given in terms of human behavior.

A lack of civil behavior does seem to be widespread, but as it turns out, workplace incivility is pretty bad in and of itself. “Workplace incivility has doubled over the past two decades and has an average annual impact on companies of $14,000 per employee due to loss of production and work time,” states a 2016 study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. A fair question is certainly “What in the world is happening right now?”. In light of the statistics on workplace incivility, better questions are “How does this affect our profession?” and “What can we do about it?”.

While experts believe that the stress and discord of the Covid-19 pandemic caused a jump in incivility, it’s been on our radar in America for over a decade. In 2011, Dr. Jim Taylor wrote an article on the rise of narcissism in America for The Huffington Post. On civility and lack thereof, he writes:

Civility is about something far more important than how people comport themselves with others. Rather, civility is an expression of a fundamental understanding and respect for the laws, rules, and norms (written and implicit) that guide its citizens in understanding what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. For a society to function, people must be willing to accept those strictures. Though still in the distance, the loss of civility is a step toward anarchy, where anything goes; you can say or do anything, regardless of the consequences.

“Regardless of the consequences” should send a chill down the spine of attorneys everywhere. At the end of the day, consequences are foundational to law. And if lawyers are not exhibiting good behavior—or facing the consequences for bad behavior—how is anyone to take the law and the legal profession seriously?

This appears to be the crux of the concern in a lot of ways. In fact, in the New York Supreme Court case Hindlin v. Prescription Songs LLC, the court stated that “at depositions, as in court, lawyers are expected to ‘advise their clients and witnesses of the proper conduct expected of them’” and “must model civility for their clients.” (citing 4C N.Y. PRAC., COMMERCIAL LITIGATION IN NEW YORK STATE COURTS § 86:16.) The court went on, “a lack of civility, good manners and common courtesy taint the image of the legal profession and, consequently, the legal system, which was created and designed to resolve differences and disputes in a civil manner.”

Rules of civility in legal practice have existed for quite some time, but they are continuously being updated to deal with the issues surfacing these days. The state of New York issued new updates in January of 2020, stating in the preamble, “As lawyers, judges, court employees and officers of the court, and as attorneys generally, we are all essential participants in the judicial process. That process cannot work effectively to serve the public unless we first treat each other with courtesy, respect and civility.” In 2022, a circuit court judge in Illinois issued a standing order on civility.

We have a lot of work to do, as a profession and, if we are being honest, as people. Where does CLE come into all of this? Some jurisdictions have already adopted a dedicated credit requirement to professionalism and/or civility, an explicit statement that this is necessary for attorneys to make a part of their continuing education:

• Georgia
• Florida
• Louisiana
• Utah

Additionally, a special committee in Florida has proposed an increase to the professionalism requirement from one to three hours. In 2021, the California Civility Task Force proposed requiring one hour of civility training MCLE credit.

This area is ripe for creating a new space within legal education and there is, perhaps, no better time than now to call for the legal community to focus on this issue specifically. This is particularly true in light of the unprecedented hits the legal industry has taken over the last decade and a half, including a massive recession, rapidly and ever-changing technology in the workplace (and how that impacts attorneys’ duties to clients), a larger-than-ever aging population remaining in the workforce, and a global pandemic. It is no wonder incivility is increasingly common in the practice of law, but we can and should employ the myriad of ways we can collectively take action to reinforce civil behavior. Combatting incivility might start with us:

• regulators can require it;
• continuing legal education providers can offer it;
• law firms and legal workplaces can include it in their internal development trainings;
• experienced attorneys can make it part of their mentoring programs; and
• professionals can model it.

A common theme at recent ACLEA meetings is that there is a substantial gap to be filled in new lawyer training in order to adequately prepare new and upcoming lawyers. In addition to writing briefs and attending happy hours, we should instill the aspirational ideals of being a lawyer. Perhaps then we can not only combat incivility but stop it before it starts.

As I received the gavel from Kristin Huotari, our amazing immediate past president, this past Tuesday at the ACLEA Annual Meeting, I was honored to have the time to share a few thoughts on what’s ahead this next year for me as president and ACLEA as an organization. Thanks to the many who were able to join us in person, but I want to share these thoughts with the entire membership as well.

Recently, someone I had just met asked me if I traveled a lot. My response began with, “Well I used to travel all the time but then, dot, dot, dot, and now I’m traveling again, but it’s not like before.” It dawned on me that nearly every conversation with a new person included a pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic narrative.

The post pandemic story always described how I and my life was different. And when I listened to others, I heard the same thing. “I used to be this, then the pandemic, now I’m this.” That’s true for ACLEA too. The lesson? The opportunity?

All the things that used to define us are now up for grabs. We are no longer burdened by the past—legacy work, relationships, processes, products, or notions of the future state. The old “ACLEA” is dead—the new “ACLEA” is ours for the making.

But I do want to first thank and acknowledge the ACLEA leaders, particularly the past presidents, with whom I’ve had the honor and pleasure of working for nearly 20 years and who helped me get to this place in ACLEA where I have the honor of being your president for the next year. Those presidents as I started volunteering as a speaker at conferences and webinars and joining some of the committees and task forces that work for ACLEA’s benefit, then as a leader as I chaired different SIGs and Committees, and finally through my many years on the ACLEA Executive Committee and as an officer:

• Alix Wong, Diane Morrison, Jeanne Heaton, Una Doyle, Karen Lee, Lucas Boling, Jennifer Flynn, Vince O’Brien, and most recently and importantly, Kristin Huotari.

Kristin, too, recognized that with so much change happening around us in the world, ACLEA needed to shift and adjust. We needed to refocus and ensure that our number one priority was engaging our members to guarantee that they saw the value of membership in a meaningful way. Under her leadership, we have moved the needle tremendously and will continue to work on the projects and the priorities we determined will best support the association and you, its members.

We can continue to create, with intention, the organization we want to be. But I can’t lead this organization like I would have done in pre-pandemic times because that organization and the people and members that worked for it no longer exist.

Throughout the pandemic, we had the opportunity to see a different side of our colleagues, peers, and other ACLEA members. On every video call we saw their lives through a tiny window – the spouse, dogs, kids, paintings, unmade beds—or maybe that was just me? We saw behind the corporate and social media curtain.

Our own lives as leaders, just as chaotic, got put on the backburner while we tried to protect our staffs’ jobs and make work a positive eye of calm in the pandemic hurricane of their lives.

ACLEA’s attention, particularly this past year with Kristin as president, has been on engaging our members, and while that will continue to be the north star to which the work we do points, I want to be sure that not only are we are looking at ensuring that you find value in your membership with ACLEA, MY main goal and focus this year will be to create a sense of belonging and connectedness for each and every one of you.

After more than two years of organizational disruption, physical separation, global health and environmental crises, a renewed call for racial justice, and divisive political rhetoric, what people want most is to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Like food and shelter, belonging is a basic human need. It represents a connection with people or place. For many of us, myself especially, our connection to our work, our colleagues, and ACLEA has been a haven from chaos; a place—and a community—to belong to.

Belonging puts a focus on how members feel.

As individuals, we are craving to be part of a wider community. Some want to lead, some want to be led, but we all thrive in an environment where there is a sense of belonging, in a place where we can share our knowledge and form positive, lasting relationships.

We belong when we are:

1. seen for our unique contributions;
2. connected to our colleagues;
3. supported in our daily work and career development; and
4. proud of our organization’s values and purpose.

This starts with making clear to the entire organization—and repeating the message often—that belonging is an essential value. And the more I talk about belonging, the more aware you, our members, will be that I’m committed to helping you feel it.

One of the most important approaches to building a sense of belonging is taking note of members’ contributions and achievements. When members have knowledge of the outcomes they help to produce, they become more aware of their successes and failures, improving their ownership and future quality of their work, and connecting with the beneficiaries of their work, increasing their sense of meaningfulness as well.

Throughout the year, I plan to regularly share success stories of individuals and of the organization. I plan to increase opportunities for connection, both formal and informal, so that members may provide feedback and learn from and teach and support and recognize the contributions of one another. I will work with the Executive Committee to act on feedback where possible and inform the membership of outcomes.

Key to increasing a sense of belonging and connectedness with our members will be me being relentless. Momentum takes time and energy, and involvement requires passion. You may have heard this several times recently, but I was once described as “aggressively friendly”—and while I’m fairly certain the speaker did not mean this as a compliment, I chose to see it so. I will keep pushing and getting better. Over time I believe these efforts will pay off.

Organizational involvement often starts small, and as a member recognizes personal value from the organization, they begin to make more of a personal investment back into it. Some of you will grow to become volunteers and board members. Some never will, but many of you will at least renew every year, and occasionally take a small step to help grow and strengthen the organization.

Every member has a role. It takes engagement and connection and a sense of belonging to help you to identify and play that role. And my role this year is to be “aggressively inclusive” and assist you in finding that connection within ACLEA.