What If NALS Didn't
Exist -- Would We Create It?
Patricia E. Infanti, PP, PLS, 2006-7
NALS Education Director
I am often asked by nonmembers and fellow coworkers what
is the benefit of belonging to NALS. While I count
off the benefits, they still want to know why I am a member
and why I’m so involved? Why bother at all? If
belonging doesn’t translate into more respect by HR and
colleagues, why join? If a firm provides training,
insurance coverage, and other benefits, what is the point? Most
often asked: If becoming certified doesn’t put more
money in my paycheck, what is the point of studying for
the NALS certification exams?
What this comes down to and what we need to ask ourselves is whether or not NALS
is relevant and needed? AND, if there wasn’t a NALS, would we be driven
to invent or create a professional association? To answer these questions,
let’s ponder what NALS is about and what it offers its members.
NALS, in a nutshell, was initially created by legal secretaries
to educate themselves about court and other filing procedures. Over the course of time, NALS
has continued its mission of education, but has added various formats and ways
in which members receive support and confirmation of their knowledge, skills,
and professionalism. Although NALS has always been an all-inclusive professional
association, it purposefully added student membership and a paralegal certification. NALS
also added various tangible benefits to assist members in their daily work. Currently,
NALS is all that plus a living, breathing entity that answers the needs of the
today’s legal professional.
Tangible Benefits. NALS is outstanding in the many tangible benefits offered
to its members. The Resource Center staff is responsive and knowledgeable
and always happy to assist in any way possible. NALS’ Affinity programs
provide a variety of services such as discounts available through Federal Express,
Premiere Conferencing, Avis and Hertz Car Rentals; discounted rates for all types
of insurance, your own personal travel agent at Journey House Travel; and a dedicated
Hotline for Notary questions through the National Notary Association. Impressive!
Professional Development. NALS is with you right from the start of your
career. Student membership provides opportunities for the workforce of
the future to grow into sought-after legal professionals. Education through
the NALS’ Basic Legal Course (coupled with the ability to sit for the ALS basic
certification exam) provides credentials for someone with little or no legal
experience, articles in @Law (specifically geared to students) supply information
on current trends and tips on entering the workforce, and a special student member
link and the career center on the NALS’ website gives students the support they
need as they launch their careers.
NALS follows you as you grow in your career, providing
educational opportunities on the national, regional, state,
and local levels, all at reasonable prices. (Think
it’s expensive going to a national NALS’ conference? Compare it to what
your attorney spends attending an American Bar Association meeting. In
addition, you may hear your attorney complain that it wasn’t worth his time or
money. You’ll NEVER hear that from someone who attends a NALS’ conference.)
Want a distinction that sets you apart? NALS provides three certification
examinations which do just that. Once you attain certification, proudly
displaying your certificate and including the certification initials after your
name in written communication will distinguish you as a dedicated and educated
professional.
Knowing that many members do not have the benefit of a
study group or have a course of study available to them,
NALS assists by providing the Online Study Group twice
yearly to help prepare those seeking certification. Also, the
Online Learning Center provides professional development and general education
-- all of which are FREE!
Once certified, it is necessary as well as impressive to
start racking up those CLE hours. Send HR copies of your CLE certificates and your personnel file
will become so full of positive reflections of you that it will surely impress
your supervisor come annual review time.
Keeping Current. NALS is your go-to place for assistance in keeping current
with legal trends and training. @Law, NALS’ award-winning publication;
E-Learn, NALS’ monthly topic update; E-News, NALS’ newsletter sent every two
weeks; and the bi-monthly Leading The Way, all provide timely information on
current topics and trends of interest to you both personally and professionally.
As a NALS’ member, everything you need to know about NALS
is at your fingertips through the user-friendly NALS website
(www.NALS.org). Stop by and browse
around. You will be AMAZED at the content and helpfulness of the NALS’
website. Access to previous editions of E-Learn, E-News, and Leading the
Way articles also are available.
The NALS’ Online Community is the equivalent of a NALS’
bulletin board. Have
a technical question? Need suggestions? Want to vent? This
is the venue for YOU! Available 24/7, the Online Community is up and running
whenever you are.
NALS is a member- and service-driven professional association. Members
who participate in the yearly surveys shape the direction of NALS’ future. Few
associations do that, preferring instead to tell members what the association
feels is important. NALS listens to the suggestions made by members and
shifts its focus to better target members’ needs.
The Best Benefits of All. I could gush on and on about the intangible virtues
of NALS for I am a beneficiary of them. So are YOU should you chose to
partake -- but let’s look at some of the significant ones.
Networking would top my list. The quick and easy ability to contact a fellow
NALS’ member in another state for various filing procedures and forms, or to
find out what is happening career-wise across the country, or to gain helpful
knowledge when moving to a new area (such as employment opportunities that only
an area NALS’ member might know) all prove time and time again that networking
is one of NALS’ most treasured assets.
Let’s not forget the support received from like-minded
individuals who share your ideas, goals, education aspirations,
and careers. Plus you will make
wonderful, long-lasting friendships with fellow NALS’ members throughout the
United States. Did you know that NALS’ members instantaneously came to
the aid of fellow NALS’ member in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina? Or
that NALS set up a central fund to assist members in the hurricane-ravaged locations
as well as established direct member-to-member contact to offer help and encouragement?
Admit it -- there would be a BIG hole in our professional
lives if there wasn’t a NALS. We would enviously watch our bosses and administrators go to educational
seminars and bar events and wonder, “Why isn’t there anything like that for me?”.
Well, there is -- it’s NALS . . . . the association for
legal professionals. NALS
is here for YOU and your career. NALS is and always will be relevant to
the legal services profession.
Yes, we would create NALS if it weren’t already available
to us. Enrich
yourself and participate in our rich, dynamic, diverse, and premiere professional
association -- it’s all here for YOU. Don’t miss out and spread the word!
Patricia E. Infanti, PP, PLS
2006-7 NALS Education Director
infanti@ballardspahr.com
