Who are you?  Who is your organization?  What is your role in the organization?
As Director of the Alabama State Bar's Practice Management Assistance Program, it's my job to gather resources for our lawyers on practice management best practices and products. I don't have to know it all, but I must know where to find it.
 
Where does your organization fit in the legal industry? 
We're a unified bar. With that role come admission and discipline.  But even though our membership is assured, our goal is to be the first, best support for our lawyers.  Our goals include ensuring the highest standards of professional conduct, ethics and professionalism; advance improvements in the administration of justice; serve member needs; and advance the principles of inclusiveness.
 
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the legal industry now and in the upcoming year?
Dealing with the current economic situation, and finding ways to re-make law firm processes and procedures to better serve client needs while still providing reasonable returns for the lawyers.
 
How can law firms work with you?
I'm available to Alabama lawyers for telephone, email, and on-site consulting.

How can the legal vendor community work with you?
I'm always interested in knowing what's happening in the legal vendor community, including hearing both about what's new and why and how it will benefit our members. Surveys and whitepapers that help illuminate the constant changes in the legal marketplace, and give clues to where the legal profession may be headed, are always useful and welcome.  As is information about how we can partner with legal vendors to better serve our members.

How can you help legal technology vendors be more successful?
Lawyers are so busy practicing law that they often run away from the information they need the most to make their practices more successful. My program helps legal vendors, and our lawyers too, by being a trusted source of accurate and impartial information on products and services available for the legal market.

What associations are you active in?
The American Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section, and an informal group of practice management advisors from other states. I'm looking forward to my membership in the College of Law Practice Management.  And, of course, my own home bar association, the Alabama State Bar.
 
What online resource (website, blog, etc.) is most useful to you (i.e., you use it every day)?
The PMA Pipe, which is a feed of the aggregated blog posts of my fellow PMAs around the country, keeps me informed and inspired daily. And I couldn't do without the insights of Sharon Nelson at Ride the Lightening and the great information you and your team at InsideLegal provide.
 
What have been your top “moments” in legal technology?
My top "moment" in legal technology would have to be the end of 60 Sites in 60 Minutes at ABA TECHSHOW 2009, when I knew the event had been a successful one for both the lawyers, other legal professionals and vendors in attendance.  My greatest "ah ha" moment with legal technology was when I cranked up Dragon Naturally Speaking for the first time, and the words began to flow onto the page!  

Laura Calloway
Director, Practice Management Assistance Program
Alabama State Bar
(334) 517-2240
pmap@alabar.org
www.alabar.org