by Jean P. O'Grady, DLA Piper, Washington,  DC 

See You in San Antonio

One of the things I love most about our profession is the power of networking. Our annual meeting and the PLL Summit, PLL lunch provide wonderful opportunities for catching up with old friends and making new ones. Librarians are generous with their wisdom and willingness to mentor. In fact I can't ever remember a colleague failing to respond to a request for advice or assistance on a gnarly, complex or sensitive issue. There have been countless times throughout my career when I sought the wisdom of my colleauges to help me with research strageties, insights into new products, space planning, management issues,  policy or staffing issues.

If you are a newer librarian or new to law firms and are attending AALL, please take advantage of the networking opportunities it presents. I remember being at my first AALL conference and being intimidated by the "leaders and speakers" who seemed to know everyone.

1. Even if you are too shy to take the mike and ask a question, go introduce you self to the speaker. Exchange business cards and ask if you can contact them.

2. Attend the PLL lunch. We are not having a speaker this year so there will be more time for networking.

3. The exhibit area is a great place to network. I love hearing another librarian's questions about a new product during a demo. We should show our appreciation for the vendors who are investing in booths and sponsoring events by spending some serious time learning about the new products they have to offer, and giving them your insights into what your firm needs.

4. The Hospitality Suite. Fastcase will once again host a hospitality suite where librarians can drop in for a morning coffee or a night cap. It is open Saturday 7:00 P.M. until 12:00 midnight

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday 7:00 A.M.  until 12:00 midnight Suite 2250 in the Grand Hyatt, adjacent to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

5. The parties. The vendors  both and small host a variety of informal social opportunities which are dual purpose opportunities for fun and serious networking.

Looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible in San Antonio.

Could Your Lawyers Pass a General Counsel's Research Skills Audit?  

Attend Casey Flaherty's Program at the PLL Summit and Find Out

 Casey Flaherty, the GC of Kia Motors, made headlines last year by developing a basic technology audit which he administers to outside law firms.   His talk at AALL in Seattle was quite provocative and well attended, and we are very happy to report that he'll be with us again at this year's AALL Summit.  Taking a page from Casey's technology audit and AALL's Principles and Standards for Legal Research Competencies , this session will invite attendees to collaborate on drafting a practice-focused research audit.

The goal of this program is to create a topical research audit which attendees can take back to their organizations and which can be made available on the PLL and Tech Audit website at Suffolk Law School.  This audit will provide a new tool to help law firms, associates and other organizations determine whether they are working efficiently and effectively in a world that is evolving towards AFAs, project management and legal process outsourcing.

In advance of the program each attendee will be invited to select legal topics of importance to them and/or their organization. They will join other professionals in determining the most important skills, resources and techniques which define a competent researcher in that practice area. Teams of attendees will draft questions to test the competencies for each topic. The tests developed in this session will be posted on the PLL website and will be made available to Casey Flaherty's tech audit initiative.

Join us and be part of the solution!

Librarians and Law Firm Pricing: Learn the Stakes  

Law firms are under significant pressure to change the way they price and deliver their services. Rate discounts are pretty much played out, so firms are turning toward alternative delivery options focused on reducing the cost of their services.  In Librarians and Law Firm Pricing: Learn the Stakes, AALL and the Legal Marketing Association are partnering up to present on the pricing process in law firms.  This engaging program will be held on Sunday, July 13 at 4:00 pm in HBGCC-Room 217BC.  The presenters are not only well known in their industry, but are also followed by many PLL members for their thought provoking posts on Three Geeks and a Blog.  Toby Brown, Chief Practice Officer for Akin Gump, and Greg Lambert, Director of Library & Research Services at Jackson Walker LLP  will take a high-level look at the state of legal pricing, and then dive into various ways librarians play a pivotal role and provide high value to the process. This is a program that you won't want to miss.