Certified Legal Manager (CLM)SM*
Certification Program
*CLM is a service mark of the Association of Legal Administrators.
Benefits of Certification
Regardless of the stage in your career, certification
adds a valuable dimension to your professional
development.
ALA's Certified Legal Manager
(CLM)SM program provides the opportunity to
demonstrate you have mastered the knowledge,
skills, and abilities to operate at a high level of
expertise in the field of legal management.
Benefits of Certification
REAL WORLD RELEVANCE
Increases on the job knowledge and preparedness in all areas of
management.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Factors into employer decisions about compensation, and
advancement. Plus CLMs can get significant professional liability
insurance discounts for their firm through Hanover Insurance Group
and Swiss Re.
PERSONAL SATISFACTION/VALIDATION
Enhances confidence, peer respect/recognition
What is certification?
Certification is defined as a credentialing
process by which a profession grants
recognition to an individual who meets
predetermined qualifications specified by that
profession.
What is the CLM Program?
The voluntary CLM certification program allows
a qualified legal administrator to demonstrate,
through an examination process, a mastery of
core areas of knowledge identified as essential
to the effective performance of a principal
administrator.
Why certification?
ALA’s voluntary CLM program was developed in
order to provide legal administrators an
opportunity to demonstrate a command of the
core areas of knowledge identified as essential
to the effective performance of a principal
administrator.
Why certification?
CLMs are recognized as administrators who
have:
– met the work experience requirement
– displayed a commitment to continuing
education
– passed a comprehensive examination
What does competency mean?
ALA has conducted several Competency-Based
Education, Job and Needs Analyses. Through these
extensive research projects, ALA investigated the job of
a legal administrator and identified the body of
knowledge needed to perform the job successfully.
ALA’s most current analysis was conducted in 2012.
The resulting 65 competencies are available at
www.alanet.org/about/analysis.aspx
Exam Content
• When the committee writes exam items, we use
as a frame of reference what a principal
administrator, upon visiting a 30-50 attorney firm
and reading the firm’s particular practices and
procedures, would need to know to be able to
offer advice in the many knowledge areas
relevant to legal administration.
What must I do to become
certified?
To become certified, you must:
– meet the eligibility requirements
– pay the related fees
– pass the certification examination
What are the eligibility
requirements?
Interested participants need to meet the criteria
in four areas:
– experience
– employment
– education
– ethics
Experience
Principal administrators need to meet all
educational requirements and have three years
of experience as an exempt-level principal
administrator or a branch office manager of a
law firm or law office.
Experience
Functional specialists need to meet all
educational requirements and have five years of
experience, three of which must be in a
supervisory position.
Examples:
• Human Resources Manager
• Marketing Manager
• Accounting Manager
• Records Manager
• IT Director
Employment
You must, as of the date of application or within
the immediately preceding 24 months, be
employed full time by a:
– private law firm
– legal clinic
– governmental agency
– corporate legal department
– court system
Education
All candidates must have completed at least two
hours of course work in each of five required
management categories within 24 months prior
to application.
1. Writing Skills
2. Communication Skills
3. Self-management
4. Information Technology
5. Organizational Development
Education
Course work may include:
– college or university classes
– workshops
– seminars
– conference programs offered by ALA, lawrelated associations and other professional
associations
Ethics
Participants will be required to affirm in writing
that they endorse the Association of Legal
Administrators Code of Professional
Responsibility.
http://www.alanet.org/about/ethics.pdf
How do I maintain my CLM
designation?
Certificants are required to apply for
recertification every three years. You do this by
providing evidence of having completed a total
of 36 hours of continuing professional education
in designated categories.
How much does it cost to
become certified?
• Examination fee for ALA members is $505.
• Examination fee for nonmembers is $625.
• Annual Maintenance Fee is $45, due June 1st except in
the year you recertify.
• Application fee for Recertification is $160.
• All applications and fees can now be submitted online.
What happens if I don’t pass
the examination?
If you do not pass the examination, you will be
allowed to retake it. You may retake the
examination two times within a four-year period
from the date of your initial exam.
Can individuals who do not take
or do not pass the exam still be
ALA members?
Absolutely. The certification examination is
voluntary and is not required to be an ALA
member.
When are the examination
dates?
Dates and Locations:
May 7, 2014
(Application Deadline – February 24, 2014)
November 10, 2014
(Application Deadline – September 8, 2014)
Exam are conducted online at one of Pearson VUE’s many secure
testing locations.
Exam is no longer offered at conferences
What if I am interested in taking
the examination?
Download the Information and Application Packet from ALA’s
Web site at www.alanet.org/clm or contact ALA Headquarters.
The packet includes:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
general program information
eligibility requirements
exam contents
a suggested reading list
sample test questions
an application and deadline dates
test dates, locations and fees
What to expect when taking the
Exam
• PearsonVUE Test Center
• Online computer exam vs paper based
• You cannot take anything into the exam
center
• A list of certification exam testing centers
may be found at
http://www.alanet.org/clm/locations.pdf
Studying for the ExamWhere to begin?
• What’s my background and education?
• What area of the exam am I most comfortable
and where am I weak?
• Focus on one’s own weak areas of knowledge.
• Seek outside resources (seminars, speakers,
peers and ALA resources)
CLMSM Examination Blueprint
Proportion of Exam (100-questions)
1. Financial Management
31%
A. General Accounting
14%
B. Financial Information and Analysis
17%
2. Human Resource Management
A. Employee Selection and Promotion
B. Performance Management and Compensation
C. Organizational Development
33%
9%
19%
5%
3. Legal Industry/Business Management
A. Legal Industry
B. Business Management
19%
8%
11%
4. Operations Management
17%
A.
Technology
5%
B.
Operations
12%
CLM Book Bundles
• To help you enhance your preparation for the Certified Legal
Manager exam, ALA created two book bundles containing CLM
recommended resources for test applicants.
Book Bundle A: Law Firm Accounting and Financial Management,
Fifth Edition and Human Resource Management, 13th Edition.
Book Bundle B: Four additional CLM recommended texts on
selected topics within the Legal Industry/Business Management and
Financial Management.
To order, visit Book Bundles at www.alanet.org/bookstore.
Study Guide
• Why isn’t there an ALA Study Guide like SHRM?
• SHRM utilizes an outside organization for the
study guides and coursework.
• ALA is currently working with the University of
Denver to develop online courses and
educational materials for legal managers
(coursework). This will be a broad coursework
and educational option and not a “study guide”.
How to form study groups?
• To help you prepare and study for the exam, some
chapters have begun forming study groups. To find a
study group near you, see
http://www.alanet.org/clm/StudyGroup.pdf
“CLMSM in a Flash”
• “CLM SM in a Flash” is a deck of more than 500 flash cards
specifically designed to help you prepare for the Certified Legal
Manager (CLM) SM exam. Developed to provide answers to various
terms associated with the legal management profession, the flash
cards cover the areas of: Office Operations Management, Legal
Industry, Human Resource Management, and Financial
Management. Each flash card includes a “term,” definition, and
corresponding resource.
Only $60.00 when you order with one of the CLM Book Bundles. To
order, visit Book Bundles at www.alanet.org/bookstore.
Exam Preparation - Some
Potential Resources
Financial Management
• Quinn, J.P., Bailey, J.A., Gaulin, David E. &
Kolodziejczak,S., Law Firm Accounting and
Financial Management. Law Journal Press, New
York, New York (including current annual
supplement), www.lawjournalpress.com
• Iezzi, John., Results-Oriented Financial
Management: A Step-by-Step Guide to Law Firm
Profitability
31
Exam Preparation - Some
Potential Resources - cont'd
Human Resources
• Mathis, Robert L., & Jackson, John H., Human Resource
Management. Thomson South-Western.
• Brown, Donald., An Experiential Approach to Organizational
Development
• Cheung-Judge, Mee-Yan, and Holbeche, Linda., Organization
Development: A Practitioner's Guide for OD and HR
• Current federal laws and government publications such as:
• American With Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
• Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
32
Exam Preparation - Some
Potential Resources - cont'd
Human Resources - cont'd
•
•
•
•
•
Fair Labor Standards ACT (FLSA)
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Health insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA)
The Health Information Technology for Economic andClinical
Health Act (HITECH)
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1991
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Form I-9 (latest
version), OMB No. 1115-0136
33
Exam Preparation - Some
Potential Resources - cont'd
Legal Industry/Business Management
• Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct. American Bar
Association.
• Davis, A.E. Risk Management: Survival Tools for Law Firms,
second edition. American Bar Association.
• Andersen, Paul, Think Ahead: How to Prepare a Law Firm
Strategic Plan. Association of Legal Administrators,
Lincolnshire, Illinois.
• Cunningham, George C., and Montana, John, The Lawyer’s
Guide to Records Management and Retention
• Law Practice Management Section, American Bar Association.
34
Exam Preparation - Some
Potential Resources - cont'd
Operations Management
• International Legal Technology Association (ILTA)
• Law Technology News
• Standard Method of Measuring Floor Area in Office Buildings.
Building Owners and Managers Association.
• General Conditions of the Contract for Construction, American
Institute of Architects.
• Web-based resources related to computer technology
35
Exam Preparation - Some
Potential Resources - cont'd
General Resources
• irs.gov
• Consultants at Altman Weil, How to Manage Your Law Office.
LexisNexis Matthew Bender.
• Fundamentals of Project Management. AMACOM Div American
Mgmt Assn
• Managing the Professional Services Firm. David H. Maister
• True Professionalism. David H. Maister
• ALA Management Encyclopedia
• Compensation Management in a Knowledge-Based World.
Prentice Hall
36
Start your journey to becoming a
CLM
• Evaluate areas you need to study
• Obtain resources and develop a study plan
• Apply for the exam and establish milestones for
preparation
• Remember that the journey of learning will help
you improve your skills and confidence. Even if
you are not a principal administrator, it will help
you manage your firm or department.
Questions?
Contact ALA Headquarters at
847.267.1252
Susan Powers, Associate Manager Certification
or visit www.alanet.org/clm