if (that's the case); as for — condition taken from context
京都に行くなら、朝いちばんの新幹線が楽だよ。
kyouto ni iku nara, asa ichiban no shinkansen ga raku da yo.
If you're going to Kyoto, the first shinkansen of the morning is the easy way. casual
部長なら、さっき出かけましたよ。
buchou nara, sakki dekakemashita yo.
If it's the manager you're after, he went out a little while ago. neutral
Variants
のならnonaracolloquial
の grounds the condition in something evident or just said — 行くのなら; slightly more insistent. The truly colloquial clip is んなら.
ならばnarabaformal
stiff, written — contracts, regulations, academic prose.
なら
ならnaraN4neutral