Applications for the Class of 2009 are DUE May 2, 2008.
Class Members Will be Announced on May 23, 2008.

 
Don't miss your own opportunity to enhance your leadership skills. Take advantage of the talent around you, and share your own talent with those seeking to improve their leadership skills.
-Vicki Kunz, ACP, former NALA President

Every NALA member has a powerful influence on the direction and success of our Association.
-Tita A. Brewster, ACP
NALA President

Training today
for NALA's leaders of tomorrow . . . NALA has been fortunate over the past 30+ years to have volunteer leaders who made the indispensable relationship between leadership and learning intrinsic to the success of the Association.

This focus on leadership and learning is at the heart of LEAP, a new training program coordinated by NALA’s Professional Development Committee. LEAP is designed to explore the various facets of leadership and prepare volunteers for the challenges of national leadership roles with NALA.

Concepts and Objectives

How can I help but support an association when its members, board members and officers have always supported me? -Tina K. ACP

LEAP for prospective leaders is based on the common-sense notion that it is better to acquaint volunteers with the concepts and challenges of NALA leadership before they are elected to national positions rather than to rely on “orientation” sessions after elected leaders take office. Early leadership training and support will reinforce the strength and progress of the Association as new leaders assume their roles prepared to take charge right away.

LEAP offers participants the opportunity to develop leadership skills beyond what they may have acquired through local association or community experience. Members will benefit from an insider’s view of the structure and programs of NALA while gaining first-hand experience working with volunteers to find ways to get things done.

Specific LEAP objectives include cultivating an understanding of the following:

• Responsibilities and roles of the Board of Directors and the professional staff.
• The committee structure of NALA.
• The responsibilities and roles of the NALA Certifying Boards.
• Products and services of NALA.
• Ethical considerations which may confront board members;  recognize and assess situations where ethical guidelines must be followed.
• How the structure of NALA, the boards, members and volunteer leaders work together to further the mission of NALA,

and . . . participation in LEAP will enhance the leadership skills of individual members.

Members of NALA’s Board of Directors will be heavily involved as discussion leaders and mentors. Specific expertise outside the Board will be sought as needed. Individual participants benefit from the excellent leadership training provided by this program, and NALA will gain new perspectives, insights, and leaders to stimulate its future plans.

LEAP members and discussion leaders will work together during a 12 month program and meet via web-based lectures, group discussion, and research.

Hard work notwithstanding, the fulfillment I have felt from my participation cannot be overstated. An important benefit is that I have become more confident in my work.  -Margaret C. , ACP

Participants & Schedule

The 2008-09 class of LEAP will be comprised of 12-15 paralegals who will be formed into three smaller groups, each with its own leader—a role to be rotated throughout the year. To be selected for a LEAP class,  members submit an application form to the Professional Development Committee. Click here to view the form.

There will be monthly web-based sessions and telephone conferences from August through April. Instruction will feature lectures, reading and work assignments, and participation—including role playing.

May and June 2009 will be dedicated to projects chosen by participants to demonstrate their grasp of LEAP objectives. The projects will form the basis of group presentations to the NALA members during their meeting in July 2009.  Participants will be encouraged to be as creative as they like in selecting subjects related to NALA, its programs, and service to members. Topics might range from scrutiny of NALA’s election process, to the study of factors in its national governance model, to career enhancement strategies for paralegals.

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I am looking forward to future volunteer opportunities to contribute to the organization that has done so much for the nation's paralegals, and to see how much further my horizons can be stretched and challenged.-Annette B.ACP

Cost

There is no enrollment fee for volunteering for the LEAP program. However, participants will have a substantial time commitment and some incidental costs associated with attending the requisite convention meetings. NALA will reimburse participants for one nights lodging during the convention at the end of the one-year program, during which LEAP group presentations are made to the NALA Board of Directors.
 

How to Apply

To qualify, LEAP participants must meet each of the following criteria:

• active NALA member
• hold a current CLA/CP credential
• experience volunteering in local or state paralegal associations and/or community non-profit organizations

Attendance at the 2008 and 2009 NALA conventions will be required.

Active membership and the CLA/CP credential are required of those seeking to serve on the NALA Board of Directors and other boards of NALA.  The NALA Professional Development Committee has determined if more applications are received than desired class size, other criteria will be used to select the LEAP class members such as geographic location and areas of interest. The PDC will endeavor to ensure that the class makeup is representative of the membership of NALA which includes members of diverse interests and diverse geographic representation.

Why Participate

Networking may be the most undervalued benefit of membership in NALA.  It is more than just meeting new people and getting together with old friends. It involves the energy that surges through working with others toward a common goal. It includes the growth of leadership skills that comes from watching and working with NALA leaders. It includes the opportunity to promote the paralegal profession, and it includes true friends you can depend upon in a crisis. -Rhonda D., ACP

LEAP was designed by the NALA Professional Development Committee and adopted by the NALA Board of Directors in recognition of converging needs of NALA and of individual members. 

First and foremost, NALA is a membership association.  NALA members are the driving force behind NALA programs and members rely more and more on NALA for their CLE and professional development needs. A dedicated and visionary leadership is required for NALA to become the association that members desire and envision.

At the same time, paralegals today find themselves in leadership positions and in situations in which sound leadership skills are needed for career advancement - either in the corporate world or in the world of private law firms.  LEAP focuses on working with others, studying and discussing current leadership trends and publications such as John Maxwell's The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, and provides members with the experience of public speaking and presentations.

Join the LEAP program today!

Leadership Enhancement and Preparation
for NALA's Leaders of Tomorrow