Thomas Grella to Receive ABA Award for Law Practice Management Excellence

CHICAGO, June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thomas C. Grella, managing partner of McGuire, Wood & Bissette in Asheville, N.C., today was named recipient of the Samuel S. Smith Award by the American Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section. The award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated excellence in law practice management. He will receive the award at a reception Aug. 3 during the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Grella, a former LPM section chair, serves on the LPM Executive Committee in his role as a member of the ABA House of Delegates and on the Editorial Board of Law Practice Magazine. He is a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and the National Institute for Teaching Ethics and Professionalism.  He is co-author of The Lawyers Guide to Strategic Planning. At McGuire Wood, Grella is chair of the firm's Management Committee.

"I cannot think of a more deserving honoree than Tom Grella. He epitomizes everything this award was created to recognize," said Thomas Mighell, chair of the ABA Law Practice Management Section. "Tom stands out as a leader in LPM, the ABA and his law firm. His commitment to the improved growth and education of law practice management is steadfast, as demonstrated through his continued participation and leadership in LPM section activities."

The Samuel S. Smith Award, named in honor of the late Samuel S. Smith, a founding member and early chair of the section, who later became ABA Treasurer, was established in 1999 to mark the section's 25th Anniversary. It is the highest honor bestowed by LPM, recognizing an individual who has demonstrated outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of law practice management.

The ABA Law Practice Management Section is a professional membership organization providing resources for lawyers and other legal professionals in the core areas of the business of practicing law -- marketing, management, technology and finance.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

SOURCE American Bar Association