President’s Message January 2010

Happy New Year!

I won’t tell you anything new when I say that this year will get off to an exciting start, particularly for those who work in member firms in Vancouver’s downtown core. The launch of the XXI Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games is a little more than a month away. The city continues to prepare to host the world’s best athletes, their families, friends and fans, as well as the thousands of people who will work to broadcast the events, keep everyone moving and keep everyone safe.

Almost daily, we witness the appearance of something new and exciting in preparation for the big event. RBC at the corner of Burrard and Georgia has a completely new skin and its adjoining tower is currently getting wrapped – both lauding the institution’s support of the Games. The Georgia Street Hotel has been wrapped in the Canadian flag for a couple months now, and the Bay store across from the hotel has its own promotional panels depicting winter Olympic sports we can expect to enjoy in Greater Vancouver, Richmond and Whistler. 2010 vehicles have become more prevalent as have video billboards, such as the one on the Burrard Street Bridge. And of course, those red mittens that sell out again and again protect us from the cold in a fashionable and celebratory way!

Legal managers have worked hard over the past several months—even the last year—to ensure that our firms will run as normally as possible while addressing the needs of our clients. We have attended roundtable sessions, workshops and association meetings to develop and share coping strategies to help one another maintain operations in the midst of this global event. Watch for the upcoming edition of TOPICS, which will feature a list of best practices that may help you and your firm.

2009/10 Review

We had a pretty successful 2009!

• We continue to provide upgrades and increased functionality to the website while we work with our website host to iron out some issues with the email system (e.g. bounce-backs).
• We created an Alumni “sub-section.”
• We introduced an annual Subsection Electoral Process to support subsections, provide greater structure, and produce more leadership options for individuals.
• We created a Survey Committee to co-ordinate annual surveys.
• We co-hosted another webinar with ALA and TLOMA in September: “Evolve to Solve - Build Your Business.”
• In October, our sponsorship of the Professional Legal Management Week (PLMW), a week-long program of international scope that supports all levels of legal managers, brought awareness to the profession, as well as the BCLMA. Our "Going for the Gold" article highlights impacts of the 2010 Games on law firms in B.C.
• The first in our three-part Leadership Series kicked off in October with guest speaker Joanne Ward discussing “Leadership & Balance.”
• We hosted an Administrators-Only event that featured Business Transformation Expert, Paul Gossen. His “Caught in the Crossfire” discussion attracted almost two dozen law firm administrators.
• We welcomed Justice Thomas Gove at the annual Managing Partners Dinner in November. J. Gove talked about the “Vancouver Downtown Community Court.”
• Our annual summer and winter social events continue to attract nearly one third of our Representatives and Affiliates. We enjoy these biannual opportunities to connect with our colleagues and deepen our relationships with one another as well as with our generous event sponsors, including: Arlyn Reid, Dye & Durham, HUB International, Mills Basic, Systems Auditing, and ZSA.

2010/11 Plans & Projections

• Our Annual General Meeting will take place at Fasken Martineau on Thursday, April 1 at noon. We invite all Representatives to Save The Date. We will review the accomplishments of the past year, and elect the 2010/2011 Board of Directors. We will send an official call for nominations with an Application Form in January.
• Watch for marketing-specific events to address the needs of our legal marketers while they continue to maximize their relationships within the organization.
• While the Olympics will kick-start the year, look forward to another exciting event towards the end of the year: the BCLMA 2010 Conference at the River Rock in Richmond. We continue to recruit for volunteers for the Conference Committee. An event of this caliber needs many minds and hands. We urge you to join the committee and make a valuable contribution to the event, the BCLMA and its enrolled individuals. The bigger the team, the less work it will be for us all, and the more fun we can all have! The Committee will meet twice a month from now until spring and then monthly until October. Send a note to membership@bclma.org to pledge your commitment to the Conference Committee. We will also welcome everyone’s ideas for speakers and topics. Help us deliver the value and benefit you deserve.

Thank you to everyone in the BCLMA who has made this a fun and exciting year. Special thanks to everyone who volunteers their valuable time to the smooth execution of BCLMA meetings, events and procedures: Board Members, Subsection Chairs, Survey Committee Members, and Website Committee Members. We couldn’t do this without you.

Here’s to 2010!

Stephanie Marsh
BCLMA President