Patricia L. Groff, CLM, is director of administration for Butz Dunn & DeSantis, a 13-attorney civil litigation firm in San Diego. Groff has been with the firm for more than 12 years. Prior to joining Butz Dunn & DeSantis, she was with the law firm of Sullivan, Hill, Lewin, Rez & Engel for 10 years.

A legal administrator for 18 years, Groff is currently serving as the immediate past president of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA), a 10,000-member international organization providing legal management information and knowledge to all members of the legal management team. She served on ALA’s board of directors as an at-large director from 2004-2006 and as a Region 6 officer from 2000-2001. Groff served on the 2006 and 2002 Association Nominating Committees, the 2003 Annual Conference Committee and as chair of the 2004 Annual Conference Committee. She received ALA’s Outstanding Association Volunteer Award in 2004 and acquired her Certified Legal Manager (CLM) designation in 2002.

Groff currently serves as the ALA’s San Diego Chapter community relations chair, spearheading an effort to bring San Diego legal professionals together to support children in need. Over the years, she has served on a variety of board and committee positions for the San Diego Chapter, including two terms as president, vendor relations chair, nominating committee chair, legal resource fair chair, membership chair and education chair. She has spoken on a number of topics, including crisis communication management, rewarding and motivating staff, effective executive management teams and others. She received the San Diego Chapter Outstanding Administrator Award in 2000.

Groff has been an instructor at UCSD Extension, teaching legal ethics and risk management, and is a member of the UCSD Extension Paralegal Advisory Board. She is also a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). Groff is also an honorary and distinguished member of the board of directors for The Burton Foundation, a nonprofit cultural and academic organization devoted to further promoting the stature of the legal profession.

In 2007, Groff participated as a professional delegate in an ALA Study Mission to China.   Also in 2007, she traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she spoke at ALA’s annual legal management conference, Fenalaw, and worked with the legal management association (CEAE) in Sao Paulo to assist in its effort to promote the legal management profession.  Groff will travel to Sao Paulo again this month to further develop the relationship between ALA and CEAE, and to speak at the Fenalaw legal management conference on the “10 Worst Pitfalls Encountered When Managing Legal Offices.” While in Brazil, Groff will also be a guest speaker at  FGV University on legal management-related topics.

Groff is married to Bruce, has two beautiful 30-something daughters and became a grandmother to Juliet, who has stolen her heart, in May. Groff is an amateur glass artist, creating stained glass windows, doors and decorative panels, and fused glass plates, sculptures and jewelry.