Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are beginning the summer season — the time for many professional organizations to hold their annual educational conferences.  This reminds me of how such organizations have been a vital part of my professional life, keeping me up to date on court administration, in touch with my colleagues, and so much more.  In fact, one of the first Vantage Point blog posts I wrote [Tips for Staying Fresh (or, Don’t Get Left Behind)!] was in part on this topic and is worth re-posting.  Here, from 2018, is an edited part of that post about networking and professional organizations:[i]

A huge challenge is to stay current and engaged in your work every day, year after year.  It can be relatively easy to become complacent about how you are doing, but that’s really dangerous in a world that is constantly changing as never before (e.g., artificial intelligence!).  How does one achieve the highest levels in this environment and not get left behind?   There are a lot of things one can do, and networking is absolutely key.  I cannot emphasize enough the value of regularly networking with other court professionals.  Immerse yourself in their ideas, knowledge, and points of view and you will greatly expand your horizons and enhance your work performance and opportunities.  How can you do this?  Foremost, join and be an active member of professional associations – there is no doubt in my mind that my career was greatly enhanced by doing this.  Associations provide a unique, rich platform to share knowledge with a wide variety of peers.  Such associations can be local, regional, national, or international.  Join committees that interest you and show initiative as a regular contributor – even join a board of directors.  Attend association education conferences as part of your professional development.  In sum, join and be an active member that gets the most out of membership. 

In my career I found that the most worthwhile court administration associations were the National Association for Court Management (NACM, https://nacmnet.org/), the International Association for Court Administration (IACA, http://www.iaca.ws/), the National Conference of Bankruptcy Clerks (NCBC, http://www.ncbcweb.com/home/), the Federal Court Clerks Association (http://www.fcca.ws/), and back in my state court days, the Oregon Association for Court Administration (https://www.oaca.org/).  If you are not a member of professional associations such as these, take a look and join one soon!  Then, make sure to be an active member that participates and gets the most out of the opportunity.  Do not underestimate the power of being part of a supportive group of peers in a profession that can be very isolating.

I hope to see you at an upcoming educational conference or a virtual committee meeting!

[i] Tips for Staying Fresh (or, Don’t Get Left Behind!) — part one – Court Leader

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Published by Norman Meyer

After 38 years as a trial court administrator in the state and federal courts in the U.S., Norman continues to write, teach, and otherwise participate in judicial administration activities world-wide. In particular, he is active in the International Association for Court Administration (IACA) as a past Regional Vice President and Advisory Board member, in the National Association for Court Management (NACM) as a Past President (having received NACM's Award of Merit), and as an Associate of the Justice Speakers Institute. Norman has extensive experience working on international Rule of Law projects, particularly in the Russian Federation, Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Albania. Norman is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of New Mexico (Political Science and Russian Studies), and he received the Master of Science in Judicial Administration from the University of Denver College of Law.

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