The Wichita Area Chapter strives to make meaningful contributions to the local legal community and to the wider community of our city and state, as well as to the International Association of Legal Administrations on a regional and national level.
Legal Community The Chapter has partnered with the Wichita Bar Association (WBA) for many years. Members currently assist with administrative or organizational needs by serving on the following WBA committees: Bar-o-Meter, Law in Education, Service to the Bar, Summer Intern Program, and Technology. In addition, our organization sells the advertising slots in the Bar-o-Meter on behalf of the WBA.
As part of that partnership, Jackie Barnes of Hutton & Hutton and June Huie of Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, L.L.C. participated in the February 27, 2004 WBA Continuing Legal Education presentation titled Law Office Management. This presentation discussed current issues with regard to risk management, document retention, disaster recovery, employment issues within law firms along with an ethics presentation relating to complaints filed with the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator should we fail to meet standards discussed in the previous presentations.
Jackie and June presented "Two Issues That Can Make or Break Your Firm: Document Retention and Disaster Recovery" Specifically, Jackie presented "Document Retention" using her own firm as a case study describing the conversion of huge amounts of paper into manageable electronic records. June addressed "Disaster Management, Recovery and Business Continuity Planning" and discussed both preparation for and recovery from significant business interruptions.
Our City 
Each October, the Chapter plans a service project to benefit the community of Wichita. This is carried out in connection with ALA's Community Challenge Weekend. In past years, it has
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mobilized the legal community to collect business clothing for young women in the Dream catchers program;
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conducted a food drive within the legal community for the Kansas Food Bank;
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sorted coats at the Salvation Army warehouse;
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assisted with the Salvation Army's holiday Angel Tree program;
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hosted a party at the Wichita Children's Home and did grounds maintenance;
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beautified the entrance garden area at the YWCA's women's shelter; and
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worked on a house with Habitat of Humanity.
The Wichita Area Chapter broke new ground this year by volunteering as a group at a home under construction by Habitat for Humanity. When they arrived on site, the yard still looked like the vacant lot it had been. Chapter members and friends went to work and spent the morning trimming trees and shrubbery, raking, hauling debris, etc. By the time they left several hours later, a huge dumpster had been filled to overflowing. Several members of the chapter also assisted the Salvation Army with a special project, folding and labeling bags for their holiday Angel Tree program. This is a project the chapter has done for the last several years. Community Challenge 2005.
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The Wichita Area Chapter of ALA celebrated the first-ever Professional Legal Management Week (PLMW), October 3-7, 2005 designated by its national association, the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA), the professional society for law firm administrators and corporate and government legal department managers.
A letter of congratulations and invitation was extended the the legal community in honor of that week. If you missed this letter, please read the attached.
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The International Organization
Chapter members take advantage of regional and national conferences which are held annually and offer a wide variety of educational opportunities and exposure to vendors who serve the legal environment. The Chapter offers scholarships and support to members who can attend. Additionally, members serve in volunteer positions, as Regional Officers and on nominating and conference committees. These activities add an extra dimension of growth opportunities.
Annual Conference and Exposition
The Association of Legal Administrators' 2005 International Conference was held in beautiful San Francisco, California from April 18th through April 21st, 2005. Six of our members boarded planes and flew off into the western skies to renew old friendships, make new ones and to learn, learn, learn. Sessions covered all aspects of the management and operations as they apply to the legal environment.
Plan now to attend next year's annual conference in Montreal Canada - May 1st through the 4th, 2006. The experience of an annual conference is unforgettable.
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