Sigma Gamma Legal Secretary

I'm in a quandry as to whether or not I should belong to an association of legal secretaries.  Or any secretarial association for that matter.

I never pledged a sorority, I don't belong to any women's groups (i.e. Junior League) and I am not even in a bowling league.  I do belong to a book club.  

This leads me to the question of the day.  Are secretarial organizations still relevant?  To answer that, I suppose I would need to know the advantages of belonging to such clubs.

I do like meeting new people and "networking," so to speak.  But I tend to do that by building on personal relationships with people I've worked with, that I meet on BART, in restaurants or through vendors.

I do like the idea of getting together to compare notes about the latest technology and which firms are hiring, firing, downsizing, growing and how the legal climate is doing, in general.

But, like any group, I've always found a hard time coming into an established group and feeling like I'm part of the family.

I must say that the San Francisco Legal Professionals Association under its new leadership, has really started to do some fun things that peak my interest.  However, whenever I ask a co-worker if they'd like to attend an event with me, the answer is always, "No, thanks.  I don't like those kinds of groups."

I think one huge problem is that at the end of the day, we're so wiped out from our work-day that all we want to do is make our trek back home and get ready for the next work-day.

Another issue that I see is that there's a "generational gap."  Some of the more seasoned secretaries (I use that term to avoid putting myself in the category of "older") are comfortable with their positions and titles, while younger women and men in the field prefer to think of themselves as "assistants" and are afraid of being "type-cast," if you will by saying they belong to a secretaries association.

Even though most of the groups now call themselves "Legal Professionals," beneath the layer, they are, in fact, support staff.  

I'm proud of my profession and the work that I do.  My challenge for this year is to "step out of my comfort zone," and find a group of like-minded, similarly employed individuals with which to share camaraderie and war stories.

Wish me luck.