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MIE National Conference for Legal Services Administrators

 Registration is closed for this event

 

MIE National Conference for Legal Services Administrators

"Blues, Soul, Rock 'n Roll"

November 2 and 3, 2017


The MIE National Conference for Legal Services Administrators is for you!

√  If you work in a legal assistance program serving low-income clients, and

√  If your duties include some of the broad range of administrative functions: fiscal, grant writing, contract and regulatory compliance, benefits administration, human resources, training, technology and general office management.

 


Opening Plenary: Bias and Cultural Competence in the Age of Political Incorrectness with Harrison D. McIver III, Executive Director and CEO, Memphis Area Legal Services, and Professor Demetria D. Frank, University of Memphis Law
Harrison D. McIver III, Executive Director and CEO, Memphis Area Legal Services, will welcome all to the conference, and introduce Professor Demetria D. Frank, University of Memphis Law.
Professor Frank’s presentation will examine the risks of bias associations and challenge attendees to evaluate their own biases.   This talk will also encourage attendees to explore strategies and organizational goals that aim to produce culturally competent and equitable decision-making.  

Click Here to view the agenda for the conference.

Strategic Planning – What Does That Look Like in Times of Uncertainty?
These times call for a different approach to strategic planning. This session will explore strategic planning outside the realm of SWOT analysis and short and long term goals. We will look at ways to move forward and really accomplish goals in a strategic fashion.

Legal Aid Data Analysis and Visualization
Legal aid organizations can use a variety of data to better understand and address the legal needs of their client communities and to better tell their stories. This session will help your program proactively and strategically use a combination of internal and external data to improve client services and present that data in a meaningful, visually appealing way. The session will also profile new data resources published on the LSC website, including grantee-level demographic data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and a wide range of data (case services, finances, staffing, etc.) from all LSC grantees throughout the country.

Deciding When to Outsource: A Case Study
Following the hiring of a new Executive Director and among other substantial changes, one legal aid organization analyzed all existing administrative functions, some outsourced and some managed in-house. By the end, some outsourced functions were brought in-house and some in-house functions were outsourced. This workshop will walk through the decision making process as well as provide general guidance and best-practices when considering whether certain administrative functions are good candidates for outsourcing.

Diversity in Hiring – Don’t Sing the Blues, Pick Up the Guitar and Play Your Best Tune!
Hiring is an ever evolving process. Have you ever looked at your applicant pool and asked “Why do we not have more diverse candidates?” If so, this is the session for you! This question is important is important because legal services advocates serve marginalized communities of color, and our staff should reasonably reflect the client communities we serve. A more diverse workforce strengthens the mission, brand and work of an organization. But don’t sing the blues—this is not impossible! In this session you will hear about how best to beat the blues by talking practically about effective hiring tools, how to form your own diversity in hiring initiatives, and how to support those initiatives long term. If you are looking to achieve a more diverse applicant pool and workforce, come to this session to get tips for how your program can fine tune its approach, attitude and culture around hiring.

Retention – Has Legal Services Lost Its Soul or Do We Need to Find a New Way to Rock and Roll?
This session is a follow up to a 2016 MIE Administrators Conference session where we asked the question “why won’t they stay?” We will look at the work legal aid organizations have done to answer that question, retain staff and evolve additional resolutions.

Managing the Office Manager – Tell Me Again Why This Is Important?
Office managers are there to support your work so you can do your work. But often times we don’t really supervise them. We assume they are “getting it done.” But when personnel issues hit a critical note, or the office has a maintenance crisis, we look to the office manager for guidance, information and proper protocol. That is why it is crucial to manage and supervise office managers. Office managers should be active listeners, team players and organizational leaders. In this session you will learn some practical tips on the how, why and what of managing the office manager.

LSC's Regulations 1630 and 1631 "Walk the Line"
This session will harmonize about LSC's newly released fiscal regulations, to be effective December 31, 2017. This remake has been through several years' of collaborative development. Will it prove to be a modest rearrangement or an inspired "toe tapping" hit?

Retirement Plans in Legal Services "Golden Oldies"
Defined Contribution 403(b) and 401(K) plans have become the hit retirement vehiclesof our time. The DJ's of this session will spin their plan and  "shake, rattle and roll" about features, employee participation, benefits, challenges, audits and compliance.

Case Management and Statistical Reporting- “Tell It Like It Is”
Case file management in a legal aid setting has at least two major, interrelated, components. The first, and by far the most important, is creating an environment and requirement of excellence in advocacy. This includes training, mentoring, observing, and guiding the members of your organization in building and utilizing their skills as advocates. The second is to design and administer a system for efficiently tracking all cases, quickly identifying those that need your attention, and effectively intervening to maximize client outcomes. The high volume and other challenges inherent in a legal aid office add a degree of difficulty; but even that can be managed and overcome.
Statistical reporting, which relies upon the ability to collect, synthesize and translate complex data sets, is also essential to effective storytelling and fundraising.  Legal aid organizations are keenly aware of the legal needs of clients and how best to meet those needs.  However, the ability to track and measure data regarding the number and types of requests and the successful legal interventions you are able to achieve facilitates accurate reporting of case statistics, client demographics, and other information, as required by LSC and other funders.  This same data serves as the foundation for transforming statistics into compelling stories that can further organizational objectives, create opportunities for developing community partnerships, and attract new supporters.
You’ll want to “Tell It Like It Is” to the world; but before you do, write and capture those compelling stories in the real world.  We’ll examine the many tools at your disposal to accomplish this.

We Have to Talk: A Candid Approach to Difficult Conversations
There are certain conversations all leaders dread: the ones where they must deliver bad news, discuss a sensitive subject, or talk about a case, project, or meeting that has gone south.  This round table discussion, led by an HR Director from a large legal services program, will provide a framework for successfully approaching difficult conversations using compelling concepts and tools.  Participants in the session will break into small groups to discuss best practices while facilitating difficult conversations, promoting a culture within the organization that embraces team agreements when communicating with each other, and effective methods to secure better outcomes.

Self-Care Is Not Selfish, You Cannot Serve from an Empty Vessel!
Burnout is an occupational hazard of legal services.   This roundtable discussion led by an HR Director from a large legal service program will provide a framework for thinking about how we identify, anticipate and prevent burnout.  This session will have participants break into groups to discuss ideas that help lead to positive self-care, how to leverage internal resources for purposes of promoting a culture of self-care in your organization and we will discuss ways to re-energize your passion for the life transforming work you do.

End of the Line –Preserving the Knowledge of Key Staff Members
Your legal aid organization will see the departures of key staff members in executive leadership, finance, resource development, operations and legal advocacy in the not-so-distant future. If your administrative role includes training, knowledge management and hiring responsibilities, come to this session to share your thoughts and best practices toward protecting organizational capacity when key staff members depart.  Learn from legal aid colleagues who have planned and managed transitions and developed staff leadership for the future.

Turn and Face the Strange Ch-ch-changes.  Managing Change
In the immortal words of David Bowie, Time may change me, but I can’t trace time.  We don’t actually know what Bowie meant with those lyrics, but we do know a thing or two about managing change.  And as Sheryl Crow reminds us, A change, A change would do you good.  Although, it doesn’t always feel like that, does it?  
Whether you are trying to make a big change, to the culture of your program for example, or a smaller change like fixing a system or procedure in your operations, change can be difficult.  We’ll look at some tools that can help you think through and manage changes in your organization.
We’ll share some examples from programs that have made changes recently, and give you a chance to think through your own challenges and start to plan your approach.  And we’ll touch on how to deal with staff members who won’t give up their resistance to change.  You’ll leave better prepared to thoughtfully manage the changes that are in store for your organization.

Social Media and the Law – “The Employee Said What on Facebook?!” -- How to Navigate the Drafting and Implementation of a Social Media Policy
Social media has taken over the world. For those of us in Admin/HR, this is a head spinner.  Often times we learn about a problematic post or “like” or tweet after the fact, and implications to our funding, reputation, and external partners come into play faster than we can spin it.  We have started to consider what policies we can and should have to regulate employees and social media—how do we monitor social media posts, can we monitor them, how do we balance the right to free speech and individuals’ privacy with protecting the reputation – and funding- of our organizations?  If these questions keep you up at night then you want to attend this session and learn about how to approach the drafting and implementation of a social media policy, both for LSC and non-LSC funded programs as well as unionized programs.  

Allocation of Indirect Costs and Derivative Income
Come to this session to understand the various methods for allocating indirect costs and derivative income.  This session will focus on the applicability of derivative income and how to allocate indirect costs in a meaningful way across your program areas.

Knowing and Respecting Rights of Employees – Even if “The Thrill is Gone
Employment law challenges can arise without a moment’s notice; but you need to be ready. What can you, should you, say and do? Through realistic fact patterns and examples, this session will help prepare you for those situations when not only an employee’s rights; but also your organization’s resources are on the line. Topics will include ADA, FMLA, Title VII, harassment, wage issues, and proper investigations. Your attendance and active participation will be welcome.

 

Registration:
MIE subscribers $465
Non-subscribers $565

Please Register and Reserve Your Room by October 11, 2017.

Hotel: 
The Westin Memphis Beale Street
170 Lt. George W. Lee Ave.
​Memphis, TN 38103
1-901-334-5900

1-800-325-3589
Guest rooms $175/night plus tax
Since the booking deadline for rooms in the MIE block has passed, and the block is full, our recommendations for rooms are to check out online booking sites to see if there is a nonrefundable, nonchangeable room at the Westin hotel; and to try the nearby Doubletree at 901 528-1800 which has had some rooms at similar rates to the Westin - there is not a block.

 

When
November 2nd, 2017 8:30 AM to November 3rd, 2017 5:00 PM
Location
170 Lt. George W. Lee Ave.
Memphis, TN 38103
United States
Contact
Phone: 901-334-5900
Event Fee(s)
MIE subscriber registration $465.00
Non-subscriber registration $565.00