Committees
BUSINESS PARTNERING | ROBERT E. SANDER, CHAIR
WILES, BOYLE, BURKHOLDER & BRINGARDNER
The Columbus Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators serves nearly 70 members, a diverse group of managers and decision makers who represent most of the law firms in the greater Central Ohio area. Recognizing the importance of business partners to its membership, the Columbus Chapter, ALA designed a program that promotes the development of partnership opportunities between our firms and the businesses that service our industry and contribute to our success. The comprehensive sponsorship program developed by the Columbus Chapter gives business partners a unique opportunity to meet the people who make decisions in law firms. This program provides the networking opportunities at various social and Chapter-supported events throughout the year which enable business partners to form and develop relationships in the legal industry. It also enables business partners to create name recognition and brand awareness.
COMMUNITY SERVICE | SONJA KONDAS, CO-CHAIR
PECK, SHAFFER & WILLIAMS LLP
JANE OSSEGE, CO-CHAIR
HAHN, LOESER & PARKS LLP
The Community Service Committee was established as a means for the Chapter members to give back to one of its biggest supporters, the Greater Columbus community. This year the committee raised money for the Homeless Families Foundation, a family shelter providing shelter, support services, tutoring, and enrichment programs for homeless and at-risk families and school-age children; cooked and served dinner for residents of the YWCA Family Center, a facility offering safe, comfortable accommodations and child care for homeless families; participated in Lee National Denim Day to raise funds for cancer research; donated gift cards to the YWCA Family Center; participated in the Salvation Army’s Coats for Columbus campaign to help keep needy families warm in the winter; donated used cell phones to HopeLine, a program operated by Verizon Wireless to provide phones to victims of domestic violence; and collected holiday gifts for residents of Choices, one of the most comprehensive programs in the State of Ohio for victims and survivors of domestic violence.
DIVERSITY INITIATIVES | ELIZABETH K. WETHERBY, CHAIR
BRICKER & ECKLER LLP
Created in 2001, the Diversity Initiatives Committee established a plan complementing the Columbus Bar Association’s Diversity Initiative. The CBA’s Initiative was formed by a group representing the 20 largest firms in Columbus. These 20 firms all have members in the Columbus Chapter, so the creation of a Chapter Diversity Initiative was a natural step in achieving one of ALA’s goals: to “increase the sensitivity to cultural diversity in the association and in the legal management community.” The Committee oversees the Chapter’s Diversity Initiative, which includes conducting diversity awareness seminars and workshops, arranging for speakers, providing members with resource materials on workplace diversity and developing a plan to recruit minority administrators to the Chapter. The Diversity Committee now includes a Diversity Spotlight in the Chapter’s monthly newsletter.
GOLF OUTING | ROBERT E. SANDER, CO-CHAIR
WILES, BOYLE, BURKHOLDER & BRINGARDNER
LORI L. MUETZEL, CO-CHAIR
CARLILE PATCHEN & MURPHY LLP
The Golf Outing Committee organizes an annual event which brings members and business partners together in a relaxed atmosphere to increase networking opportunities (both with business partners and other ALA members) and to facilitate a more complete understanding of one another’s roles in better serving the legal community. Through the sale of mulligans, the Columbus Chapter made a monetary donation to the Homeless Families Foundation.
MEMBERSHIP/MENTORING | KAREN A. SCURLOCK, CO-CHAIR
ISAAC, BRANT, LEDMAN & TEETOR LLP
LAURA L. CARPENTER, CO-CHAIR
ROETZEL & ANDRESS
The Membership/Mentoring Committee’s goal is to make becoming a member of the Columbus Chapter as easy as possible. Veteran members welcome new members to the Chapter and encourage them to get involved in different Chapter events. The Committee is also available to answer questions from non-member administrators regarding the Columbus Chapter and ALA and to help potential members with the application process. Many potential members learn about the Chapter through the Membership/Mentoring Committee.
NEWSLETTER | CYNTHIA L. WESNEY, CHAIR
BAKER & HOSTETLER LLP
The Newsletter Committee is dedicated to being the primary source of information for members of the Chapter. The newsletter, Columbus Chapter News, is published monthly and includes many items of interest to members, such as announcements, meeting minutes and a recap of the speaker’s presentation at monthly meetings, details of upcoming Chapter and ALA events, educational articles, and the Chapter calendar. The newsletter is distributed to members either by mail or e-mail and all newsletters are available on the Chapter’s Web site.
PARTNERS’ EVENT | PAUL D. BOYD, CHAIR
TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP
The Partners’ Event Committee plans and organizes the annual luncheon for members and their managing partners, providing a program to enhance the Association of Legal Administrators and to allow partners of member firms and corporate legal departments to become better acquainted with the organization and its goals. Legal administrators who are not yet members are also invited to the luncheon to discover the many benefits of ALA and the Columbus Chapter.
PAST PRESIDENTS’ COUNCIL | PAUL D. BOYD, CHAIR
TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP
The Past President's Council is comprised of all current members who have served in the past as a chapter president, and all current board members. Its purpose is to provide leadership, knowledge and history to the chapter, and to spearhead special projects on behalf of the chapter. The Past Presidents' Council meets quarterly and has undertaken such projects as our vendor program and the chapter’s half-day seminar.
PUBLIC RELATIONS | CYNTHIA L. WESNEY, CHAIR
BAKER & HOSTETLER LLP
The Public Relations Committee exists to spread the word about the Columbus Chapter of ALA to the Greater Columbus Community. Past efforts include press releases announcing the election of Chapter officers, and articles about the endeavors of the Legal Career Development Committee and community service activities.
REGION 3 REPRESENTATIVE | RANDALL P. HEADLEY, CLM, CHAIR
BAILEY CAVALIERI LLC
The Region 3 Representative represents the Columbus Chapter at both regional and national meetings of the ALA and reports both to the region regarding Chapter activities and to the Chapter regarding regional activities. The Region 3 Representative often is the information link between the Columbus Chapter and ALA Headquarters.
SALARY SURVEY | JACK D. GREEN, CHAIR
SQUIRE SANDERS (US) LLP
The Columbus Chapter’s Salary Survey Committee works annually with an outside agency to distribute, compile and disseminate local support staff and benefits information to Columbus Chapter members who participate in the survey. The survey is also available for a small fee to members who choose not to participate and to those firms who do not have members in the Columbus Chapter but wish to see results of the survey. It is important to note that individual law firm information is kept confidential.
WEB SITE/ONLINE DIRECTORY | MARTY EISENBARTH, CHAIR
BRICKER & ECKLER LLP
The Columbus Chapter Web site (www.alacolumbus.org) was created as a communication tool and a means of gathering and disseminating information to current members. It was also created to reach out to potential members, as well as the Greater Columbus community, to give them an idea of what the ALA and the Columbus Chapter are all about. The Web site contains membership information, announcements, a job bank, links, business partner information, and details on Chapter and ALA events. Another feature of the Web site is the Members Only section, which includes, among other things, the membership directory. Finding out about the Chapter is just a click away.
Events
Full Calendar