certified legal manager program overview

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

RETURN ON INVESTMENT Factors into employer decisions about compensation, and advancement.

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 will conduct another analysis in 2012.

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, such as human resource or marketing managers, need to meet all educational requirements and have five years of experience, three of which must be in a supervisory position.

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 120 minutes of course work in each of five required management categories within 24 months prior to application.

Education

Course work may include: – college or university classes – workshops – seminars – conference programs offered by ALA, law-

related 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.

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?

• Application processing fee is $55.

• Examination fee for ALA members is $350.

• Examination fee for nonmembers is $425.

• Annual Maintenance Fee is $40, due June 1 except in

the year you recertify.

• Application fee for Recertification is $155.

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:

October 11, 2012 – Anaheim, CA (in conjunction with the ALA Regions 5 & 6 Conference); Dallas, TX; Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Chicago, IL, Philadelphia, PA

(Application Deadline – August 24, 2012)

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

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 $69.95. To order, visit www.alanet.org/bookstore.

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 www.alanet.org/bookstore.

Questions?

Contact ALA Headquarters at

847.267.1252 or visit www.alanet.org/clm