Small Office Management for the Legal Professional

November 14, 2007

Oklahoma City, OK

Shawn J. Robertssroberts@brownroberts.com

What is a small law firm?

A 2002 survey conducted by the OBA revealed the following:

31% of respondents work as solo practitioners

43% of respondents work in law firms of 10 or fewer attorneys

http://www.okbar.org/public/about/survey02.htm

Disarray

a mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior; "a

confusion of impressions" untidiness (especially of clothing and appearance)

disorder: bring disorder to

Chaos

• a state of extreme confusion and disorder

• the formless and disordered state of matter before the creation of the cosmos

• (Greek mythology) the most ancient of gods; the personification of the infinity of space preceding creation of the universe

• (physics) a dynamical system that is extremely sensitive to its initial conditions

What is the problem with loosely organized chaos?

--high likelihood of costly mistakes

--toxic work environment for some or all of people in the office

--spending more non-billable time than necessary to accomplish tasks

A. Law Office Organizational Structure

1. Decision-making Levels

→Create order out of chaos with clear and consistent decision-making process

→Identify the different areas in which decisions need to be made

→ Determine which decisions should be made by which people in the firm

Purchasing basic office supplies vs. Purchasing a new conference table

Management Principle: Profession vs. Business

• Over 6,000 lawyers in Oklahoma County

• Many legal services are viewed as commodities

• Adopt customer service principles from other businesses

• Analyze cost/benefit of a client

Dealing with your law firm should be marked with the following:

• Ease (relative)

• Pleasant

• Consistent

• Quality

2. Staffing the Office

Organizing the TEAM Refers to people who work at the firm and

people that provide critical services to the firm on a regular basis – IT, banker, copier,

Finding Staff

Optimizing Law Office Performance

Know and recognize the role the staff plays in the firm’s success

Recognize contributions to the bottom-line other than billable hours

Staff is first level of contact with customers will person make positive first impression capable of handling intake information

Focus on skills not titles

Value Add Example

Office Systems and Procedures

1.Tracking DEADLINES and dates

Perform on the things you can control

There are many things that are out of the control of the attorney. However, being reliable and responsible is ALWAYS within the control of the law office. A fundamental element of being reliable is meeting deadlines.

Why are deadlines such a big deal in law offices?

Because often the consequences of missing one are severe and not easily remedied

Avoiding malpractice

Elements of the System

Immediate & automatic calendaring of relevant events

Double checking of entries & notifications

Sufficient time for preparation and performance

Reminders to avoid missing deadlines

Regular follow-up

Things to consider in designing system

A. Who is required to perform the tasks

B. What activity needs to be performed

C. Where the activity will take place

Litigation Docket Control

System should include:

Statute of limitations Due dates for pleadings Due dates for motions Due dates for briefs and other documents Due dates for responses to discovery Scheduling of depositions Scheduling of trial or hearing dates Notices of appeal

2. Form Database

It is about LEVERAGE.

Doing something once but continuing to get value out of an infinite number of times

• contracts drafted and/or reviewed, • Petitions, Summons, Answers, • Interrogatories, Requests for Production of Documents, • motions for summary judgment, • orders, • legal memoranda,• legal briefs,• letters on topics such as collection, probate pleadings, • divorce pleadings, • tax documents, • wills, trusts and powers of attorneys.

Necessary Elements

• A central storage place;

• Easy access for anyone wishes to use it;

• An index or sorting mechanism that allows quick

location and retrieval of documents; and

• A commitment by the law office to build and

maintain the database.

Finding Practice Tools

What are we talking about?

Sample Briefs, Motions, Complaints and Settlements

Forms and Contracts

Jury Verdicts

Places to Look

• Google it• OSCN it• For appellate briefs you

can . . .– Supreme Court at Findlaw

– www.appellate.net

– Selected Federal

– and– state courts

7th & 8th Circuits

Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina North Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin

3. Communications

Forms of Communication with the Public

• Unified Presentation in all forms of contact with the public:

– Face to Face

– Telephone

– Email

– Written Documents

Paying attention to details

Consider the Signature Block on Email

What does this signature tell the recipient?

• Precisely who the message is from

• All contact information to contact the sender

• Unified message for all recipients

• All the information necessary to create a basic contact

3. File Management

Requires

Commitment

&

Participation of whole office

Components of File Management System

• Preparing files

• Opening files

• Logging the contents of files

• Putting documents in files

• Getting files out

• Putting files away

• Closing Files

• Destroying documents in files

A documented file management system tells everyone in the office:

• What to do when a new matter is

opened

• Where to find the key documents in

a matter

• Where to find a file

• Where to return a file to Sample Policy, p. 28 of written material

Color-Coded Filing Scheme

Red Domestic Relations Bloody & Heated

Green Real Estate Money & Grass

Blue Probate & Wills Sadness & Blues

Yellow Litigation Caution

Business Matters In the PinkPink

Peach Best clients favorite colorPeachy

Warren Miller, Institute of Law Management & Economics, OBA 1979

Closing and Destroying Files

Items to consider when closing a file:

• Are there any originals to return to the client?

• The Index or system that will be used to track the closed files

• Where are the closed files going to be stored?– Ease of access– Digital????

Destroying Files

• The Oklahoma RPC allow attorneys to destroy files

• RPC is not specific on how long files must be maintained or how they should be destroyed

• Consider the OBA Journal Article by Jim Calloway on the topic

Closing Files, Destroying Files and Making Money, Oklahoma Bar Journal, August 4,

2007, Vol. 78, No. 21, pages 1979-1981.

D. Systems Setup and Management

1. Digital DocumentsHow many people have a PAPERLESS law office?

What are some of the ways that your offices uses digital documents?

How many people have e-filed?

A paperless office???

What makes more sense is the “Paper LESSOffice™”

• Process focuses on turning physical paper into electronic paper, while the paper itself gets filed away and may not need to be accessed until file destruction or closure

• Store docs as Searchable PDFs• Connect them to Client/Matter files via

document management functions• Instant access to the “digital paper” from

anywhere, anytime• Stop wasting time chasing paper files

Ways that DIGITAL can impact the law office

• frees up storage space– especially for closed files

• frees up time that would be spent searching for and retrieving documents

• saves paper, reduces clutter

• review, track and label documents more efficiently

Core Components

1. Scanner

2. Digital Document Software

3. System for tracking digital files

An example from our office

1. Xerox DocuMate 510

2. Adobe Acrobat Professional

3. Documents saved in file management system built into Windows XP

Multiple files for different file formats

Necessary Actions

• Create all documents as PDFs

• Scan all incoming documents as PDFs

One more advantage: access documents from any Internet-enabled computer

The Lawyer’s Guide to Adobe AcrobatDavid Masters

Practical Uses

Transfer large quantities of documents, quickly, without making copies

Deliver a document to someone for immediate review, regardless of where the person is located: The handheld device view

Richard Keyt: Simple Inexpensive Way to Create the Paperless Law Office

1. I bought two Xerox Documate 262 scanners (one for each of us) for about $900 each. It's about the size of a shoe box and sits next to our flat panel computer monitors.

2. Each of us has Adobe Acrobat. I have the Pro version (approximately $400) and my wife has the standard version (approximately $250).

3. We networked our two computers using a peer to peer network. All data files are saved on my computer. I make regular backups onto DVDs and hard drives and store the back up media in a safe deposit box at my bank.

4. We use Time Matters for many things, including document management. It is $350 for the first Pro user and $200 for each additional user. I've used Time Matters since 1998.

2. Office Software

The Mechanical engine of the law office

Makes the machines run

Can either promote efficiency or create endless opportunities for struggle

Suites of Office Software

Microsoft Office

WordPerfect Office

OpenOffice.org

Google Docs & Spreadsheets

Control the office software do not allow it control and limit you. This means:

• Get software that people can use

• Get help if you don’t know how to use it

• Make the software do what you want to do with it

• Use the features and functions of the software

you have

You might have a computer problem, if . . .

3. Written Office Policies and Procedures

Why written office policies?

• Increasing the chances a tasks can be

performed correctly and consistently

• Alleviating the need for the person who created

the policy to explain it each time

• Increasing efficiency by eliminating the number

of questions that must be asked about each task

Essential Policies

Job descriptions

Structure of office

Supplies and equipment

Office docket control system

Communications

Billing

Law Office Procedures Manual for Solos Law Office Procedures Manual for Solos and Small Firmsand Small Firms, Third Edition,

Demtrios DimitriouDemtrios Dimitriou, ABA Law Practice Management Section.

E. Organizational Tips and Tricks for Effective Office Administration

1. The Management and “Control” of Time

A. Implement the digital law officeDeliver documents digitally instead of with hard copy

B. Self-study. Consider spending one week recording every minute of your office time, including trips to the restroom and personal phone calls and drop-in visitors.

C. Analyze office staff to ensure that right people are in right positions performing the right functions

D. Affirmatively address client deadlines and demands

2. Return phone calls and message

• Be reliable and consistent

• Return messages by end of the day they

are left

• Directly impacts firm image and reputation

3. Managing People

• Listen to podcasts on management– http://davidmaister.com/podcasts/

• Consider an HR consultant to address issues that suck the life out of the office– Low morale– Frequent staff turnover

4. Maintain a Contact Database

• Organize a contact database

• Allow everyone in the office to access

• Enter every contact you have in it – then you will not have to enter it again or search for the information

OBA Tips

1. Don’t let the staff get caught between dueling lawyers

2. Be Flexible

3. Staff training is a good

4. Do something nice and unexpected

5. Be careful with criticism

6. Everyone loves a bonus

Motivating Law Firm Staff, Jim Calloway, Oklahoma Bar Journal, Published 77 OBJ 3115 (Nov. 4,2006)

Web Resources

• Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog• http://jimcalloway.typepad.com/

• Blawg Directory: Law Practice• http://www.abajournal.com/blawgs/law+practice

• ABA Law Practice Management Section• http://www.abanet.org/lpm/home.shtml

The Balancing Act: Time and Financial Management

• Challenges to handling the Workload

• Avoiding systems that create burden

• Timekeeping and Billing

• Tips and Tricks for Efficient Time and Financial Management

A. Challenges to handling the Workload

The workload can seem overwhelming when:

Deadlines mount with no plan for meeting them

Focus is on the volume of work rather than the steps needed to complete the work

Clients are not informed of progress on project leading to client pressure for completion usually on an unreasonable basis

Planning to handle the work load

• Establishing reasonable completion schedules for major and minor projects– List the players and each players role

– List each component part that must be completed to complete the project

– Get agreement from the team on completion dates on each phase

» Sharing the completion schedule with clients

Gather necessary information from client; Analyze information and determine precisely which documents

will be drafted (one to two days, performed by attorney); Communication with client for follow up questions and gathering

of additional documentation (telephone conference with client by attorney)

Initial drafts of documents (performed by legal assistant usually one to two days)

Review of initial drafts by attorney (one to two days) Send initial drafts of documents to client for review and comment Conference with client to answer questions, discuss comments

and make revisions to the documents (within 10 days of time drafts go out to clients)

Finalize documents, including making all necessary documents and preparation of transfer documents (one to two days after client conference, combination of attorney and legal assistant)

Document signing ceremony (usually within one week of finalization of documents)

File necessary transfer documents with government and/or third parties (usually within one week of document signing ceremony, performed by legal assistant)

B. Avoiding systems that create burden

An office system might simply increase burden if:

• No one in the office can explain why the system is used

• The system is used simply because it “has always been done that way” or “everyone else does it like that”

• Execution of the system invariably leads to frustration, anxiety, confusion etc. . .

B. Timekeeping and Billing

1. Timekeeping

• Different Methods/Same ResultsRecorded with a pen and paper

Dictated

Inputted directly into billing program by a staff person

Inputted directly in the billing program by the attorney

Contemporaneous Timekeeping

Baby Steps

Expect Imperfection

Use reminders

Inspire yourself

Attitude

2. Billing and Collecting

• Bring another person in the office into the process

a. Review the billing

• Print, distribute, review

• Revise

The billing is a communication on behalf of the law office

b. Deliver the bills to the Client

On a consistent basis At least once a month Regularity keeps the office on track Communicates organization, reliability and

responsibility to client

In the manner most convenient to the client

Cumulative Effect Loss

Collecting the Bill – pre-invoice

The First Meeting

Written Fee Agreement

Periodic Updates

Establishing what to charge

Collecting the Bill – post-invoice

When will the law office first contact a client who has not paid a bill?

How far behind do clients have to be on their bills for the firm to withdraw from representation or cease work on the matter?

What type of contact will be used and when will it occur?

How long does a client have before the law office (if part of the policy) send a matter to a collection agency?

Time Action Description

Within 30 days Track and record billing Track and enter time into billing program time entries on a daily basis; keep client up to date on fees; prepare prebills for review on thirtieth day of billing cycle

Day 30 Review prebills and finalize billing, mail out (bills are due upon receipt)

Circulate prebills within the firm, review and make revisions, print out final bills and place in mail to client on first business day after final day of billing cycle

Day 61 Reminder telephone call Office manager or collection supervisor calls billing contact at client’s office to remind them that payment has not been received

Day 71 Reminder Letter Simple letter from office manager or collections supervisor enclosing copy of invoice and reminding that payment needs to be made promptly

Day 86 Problem Call Office manager or collections supervisor calls client to determine if there is problem with payment of the bill

Day 101 Collection Letter Office manager or collection supervisor sends letter requesting (demanding) payment on bill that is now at least 70 days overdue and giving 10 days to make payment

Day 117 Final Call Office manager or collections supervisor makes telephone call to client to alert them that if payment is not made the matter will be turned over to outside collections

D. Billing Systems for the Small Office

Software v. System

Things to consider

Understand the Firm

Try out the Application

Get information

What is being used locally?

Stick with major players

Get training

Budgeting and Account Management

• Basic Accounting Program– Acts as checkbook– Use additional features such as payroll– Allows manipulation data

• Control of Overhead

QuickBooks or comparable program

C. Tips and Tricks for Efficient Time and Financial Management

Avoid tracking minimal costs

Credit Cards (with oversight)

Track all time during the month

Making a Connection: The Art of Communication Part II

A. Important of Building Strong Client Relationships

1. Effective Representation

2. Trust

3. Satisfaction

4. Counselor

5. Repeat business

6. Referrals

B. Verbal Communication

• Setting a common objective

• Clearly identifying responsibilities

• Establishing schedules

• Stating expectations

– Define success!

Active Listening

• Stop talking and listen• Remove distractions

– ELIMINATE CELL PHONES

• Make the speaker comfortable• Give auditory and visual clues• Empathize• Be patient• Ask questions• Repeat – seek confirmation

C. Practical Communication

Tips

• Signed written fee agreement

• Have someone proofread your documents

• Communicate with the client about the case on a regular basis, in a form that the client desires– No substitute for face to face contact

• Understand e-mail – its limitations and benefits

Written Materials,P. 100

Building Rapport with Clients

Put new clients at ease

Find common interests and make small

talk

Continue to develop your relationship

Follow up with client relationships

Be consistent and frequent