221039659-Law-Office-Management.pdf
Content
Practice Management Advisors
Solo Practice Tips
As previously posted to Solosez by the
Practice Management Advisors
Committee of the ABA Law Practice
Management Section
PowerPoint Presentation created by James S. Walker
For the Small Law Firm Center
Association of the Bar of the City of New York
www.abcny.org
Client Relations
Confidentiality
Practice management advisors from bar
associations and law societies (in Canada)
make numerous visits to law practices to help
lawyers in the management of their practices.
One issue that frequently arises is the
confidentiality of client information. If you
are in an office sharing arrangement, you
should take overt steps to ensure that persons
not associated with your practice do not have
access to your files or other client
information. Client files must remain
confidential, and that confidentiality does not
extend to other lawyers or non-lawyers
sharing your suite. Lock your office door
when you’re out of the office. Remember to
do the same with the files on your secretary’s
workstation or in file cabinets in a public
area. Also, if you share a receptionist, be
sure to periodically remind him or her not to
discuss your business or your clients with
others sharing the suite.
Ways to Keep in Touch
Have you ever been unable to get to
your office in a snowstorm or other
emergency? How can you contact your
clients, opposing counsel or the court to
postpone important events? Keep a list
of all office and home phone numbers
of clients and opposing counsel. Bring
home an updated hard copy of the list-or e-mail it to yourself--every few
months. In case of an emergency, such
as sickness, injury, storm or damage to
your office--and it happens way more
than we think--you will have a way to
contact clients and other attorneys to
inform them of the situation. Be sure to
keep your client list in a confidential
and secure location.
Be Attentive
Develop your listening skills. Learn
how to encourage your clients to
talk and how not to interrupt. Learn
how to communicate attentiveness.
Use appropriate body language.
Learn how to be still. Don't play
with paper clips. Don't gaze out the
window. Don't allow interruptions.
The resulting benefits are
numerous, but most of all, your
clients will thank you.
It’s all in the Introduction.
Learn how to meet and greet people and
not turn them away by how you
Introduce yourself. If you immediately
say "I'm a labor lawyer," few people
will ever think to themselves that they
will need your services. At that
point you may have lost the opportunity to
market yourself for any other
purpose. Create a five second introduction
to repeat when meeting new
people (i.e. potential new clients). It should
be natural and informative,
such as "I am a problem-solver for small
businesses" or "I help families
plan for their financial future."
Fees
Remember that clients are often under
Considerable stress (from their legal problems) the
first time they visit a lawyer. Your explanation of
your fees and costs may be a model of clarity, but
it may not sink in. Give your explanation in
writing as well as verbally. If a lot of money is at
stake (in the eyes of the client), allow the client
time to think it over before committing to your
fees. Clients who "buy in" to a fee agreement are
more likely to abide by it. Then take the initiative
to periodically discuss the amount of fees
throughout your representation. If at any given
point the fee does not comport with the client's
expectations, resolve the situation as soon as
possible--don't let it fester until the attorney/client
relationship is irreparably damaged.
Give a little Reassurance.
Buyer's remorse is not limited to the
purchases of consumer electronics and
automobiles. Many clients also experience
second thoughts about the lawyer they just
hired. To reassure your new clients that they
have made the right choice, immediately
show a little extra client care: Send each new
client a brief thank you letter with a "gift."
The "gift" could be a recent copy of your firm
newsletter, a recent topical article you
authored, a business card that lists an
unpublished telephone number for the client
to reach you in an emergency, or a book
related to their legal issues that shows you
care about them as a client. (You get the
idea.) Then follow-up with a personal
telephone call several days later to let your
client know you have begun work on the
matter; let your client know it is a no-charge
call. This immediate special attention helps to
retain clients and build positive long-term
relationships.
A little thing can make a big difference.
If you send a thank you letter to clients at
the end of a matter (and you
should), include a client satisfaction
questionnaire. While a thank you
letter speaks volumes, adding a short
questionnaire can help cement client
loyalty. It can also help raise negative issues
the client did not raise in
person. Even if clients do not respond, they
will be glad you asked for
their input.
Involvement is Good!
Involve your clients in their legal
matters as soon as possible and as much
as possible. The lawyer-client
relationship that develops is much
better than those in which the client is
not involved. Ask your clients to draft
their own case histories, review
documents obtained in discovery, and
participate in the preparation of pre-trial
statements. As a result, clients obtain
some appreciation for the amount of
time and type of work involved in
preparing their cases, gain some control
over their own cases, understand the
effort and skill involved in being an
attorney, and gain a greater sense
of trust and appreciation for your
services.
Directions are essential.
Don't turn off clients before they ever reach your office!
Make sure your receptionist or secretary knows how to
direct clients to find your office. (Don't assume they can
give directions just because they come to work every
day!) In addition, create written directions that includes
major landmarks, number of miles from the airport,
courthouse, or nearest Interstate exit.
Your office should have a clearly readable map that should
be faxed to everyone making an appointment. Further, if
your office is located in an office park, are there signs that
direct them to your building? Are the signs placed where
people in a car can view them? If no, your map and
directions need to compensate for the landlord's poor
planning.Clients should also be informed ahead of time if
parking is provided, and whether there is a parking fee. It
is frustrating to rive several blocks to find a parking spot,
walk back to an office building and learn later that parking
is available in the same or an adjacent building for free!No
need to frustrate a potential“million-dollar”client, when
they just might drive off to find another lawyer's office!
It isn’t over yet.
Having a written file closing procedure to close a client's case will benefit both you and your clients. Here are
six steps you can mix and match to fit your practice:
Conduct a post mortem session. Give the client an opportunity to ask any and all final questions about
the outcome of their case. It will also give you a chance to review the file and tie up loose ends. Send
the final invoice. Sending the final invoice as soon as the last task in the case has been performed will
give a final accounting or status report to the client in an expeditious manner, and increase the likelihood
of collection - instead of waiting for the next billing cycle to come around. Make sure your billing
software can accommodate out of the normal billing cycle final billing without any flaws in the system.
Return the client’s property. Sending the client’s property back immediately after completion of a case
or giving the client a deadline to pick up their property from your office, will serve as an additional
reminder to the client - the case is over. Also, it will save you from having to store and safeguard any
materials that should rightfully be returned to the client as soon as you no longer need them. Prepare a
checklist of items returned to the client and have them acknowledge receipt by signing your form.Close
the file. Prepare a closing file checklist. Make sure the file is culled for any duplicate drafts of
documents, legal pads, etc. Separate the items to be returned to the client from what you may want or
need to keep. Assign the file a closed file identifier and incorporate it in your closed files system. You
will store fewer materials and use up less space in the process, by having a lean and orderly file.
Schedule the file for periodic review. Initially schedule the file for review in three months to make sure
all return receipt requested cards have been received, the final bill has been paid, and all lose ends have
been taken care of. Depending on the type of case, you that you will want to schedule the next review a
year or two later to see if the client’s circumstances have changed, and they would benefit from
additional legal counseling.Thank the client! Make it a habit to send either a card or a letter to the client
to thank him/her for choosing you as their legal representative - it will go a long way!
Hola! Bonjour! Hi!
Did you know that AT&T has a
translation service? If you need to
communicate with a non-English
speaking person you can call 1-800528-5888 which is AT&T’s Language
Line Translation Service and ask for the
Personal Interpreter Service. Their
translation services cover 140
languages and have a live operator to
perform the translations to and from
English. You can call the above number
and hear a sampling of the services
provided. It is available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.
It may help you communicate with your
non-English speaking clients when there
is no other interpreter to be found!
Tax Deductions
Know how your fees and/or costs can
be tax deductible to your clients. If
Tax deductions are possible; share this
information with your clients.
Encourage them to have their
accountant or tax preparer call you to
get information that might maximize
their deduction(s). Your clients will
appreciate this extra effort--especially if
you explain it at no charge!
Help them reach for the Stars.
Try to create opportunities
for your clients. If you
become aware of a
development in the law or
in business that may be of
interest to a client,
let them know about it and, if
possible, introduce them to
the key players.
The Phone Dilemma
Many lawyers at some point contemplate
whether or not they should give their home
phone numbers to clients in case of an
emergency. It's a simple question without an
easy answer. It depends upon the nature of the
practice, the location and your comfort level of
allowing clients to intrude into your personal
time. If you do decide to let clients know you are
available at home in the case of an emergency,
then it is critical that you and not the client
determine what constitutes an emergency. You
should put your guidelines in writing for
distribution to all clients (especially all new
clients) describing when it is and when it is NOT
appropriate to call you at home for an
emergency. Decide whether you want to charge
extra for this service, especially for clients who
use your home number as a convenience, rather
than for true emergencies. Disclose this extra
charge to clients in your fee agreement. In
addition, you may also want to consider having a
separate line at home for these client
emergencies.
Resources
Is this correct?
Have you noticed that as the years go by, you
forget the rules of proper grammar and
punctuation? (I personally have already
forgotten everything I learned in elementary
and high school.) Poor grammar in a letter or
other document can cast the wrong
impression. Well, help is on the way via the
World Wide Web. Try
www.millernash.com/msgrammar --a law
firm web site with help for us grammatically
challenged lawyers! Or bookmark
<http://webster.comment.edu/HP/pages/darlin
g/grammar.htm, loaded with lots of resources,
including "Ask Grammar," a way to ask a
college professor your most intimate
grammar questions for free! Another web site
with on-line assistance and a downloadable
computer program that goes beyond the
grammar functions in your word processor is
<http://englishplus.com/grammar.
Uncle Sam is Coming!
April 15 has come and gone, but
there’s always next year. The IRS
publishes the Tax Guide for Small
Business that contains information
about federal tax laws that apply to
small businesses. The publication
includes information on the major
forms of business organization,
accounting practices, the tax aspects
of assets, income, expenses, and
employer tax obligations. Contact the
IRS at 800/TAX-1040 or
www.irs.ustreas.gov/cgi/formorder.
Endless Possibilities
This week's tip involves an innocuous
little web site with great potential for
lawyers. The site, www.anybirthday.com,
allows you to find the birth date of over 135
million Americans. While the site
allows you to send birthday gifts, etc., it
can also come in handy to check or confirm
birth dates for law-related activities.
(Query: Would it be legal to look up the
birth date of a job applicant?) It doesn't
always find the person, but it does state that
Ross L. Kodner was born July 27, 1961;
Bruce Dorner was born November 3, 1949;
and Jennifer rose was born....well, you get
the point. Have fun!
Malpractice Insurance
If you do not have malpractice insurance or you
are reviewing your present coverage, there is a
new book available to help you make the right
choice. The ABA Standing Committee on
Lawyers' Professional Liability recently
published a very helpful workbook entitled
"Selecting Legal Malpractice Insurance." The
book provides easy-to-understand information
About malpractice insurance policies, a glossary
of terms, insurance policy checklists, a pull-out
comparison chart to help you choose a policy, and
a state-by-state listing of malpractice insurance
carriers. A real deal at $15.00 plus $3.95 shipping.
Available at
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/lplpubs.html
or by calling the ABA at 1-800-285-2221. There
is also an on-line version that is available for
free (also a real deal) at
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/pl/home.html
Call to make sure!
Here's a tip for personal injury attorneys and
anyone else who writes checks from a trust
account on behalf of clients:
Take a minute before writing each check to call
the payee to confirm the proper name and
address to send the check. This simple phone call
will help reduce the complaints from medical
providers and others claiming they were never
paid; you also won't have the hassle of
reissuing a new check and stopping payment on
the old check. And, since the check
goes immediately to the proper address, it will
help reduce the late-cashing of checks that can
put a glitch in your trust account reconciliation
process.
Internet Service
Looking for a new Internet service
provider in your area? Wonder who
offers DSL or 64Kb connectivity?
Wonder whether you're getting a
competitive price for your T1? Log
onto the internet ISP list, enter your
area code, and it will bring up all the
internet service providers that service
your area, along with information on
pricing, types of services, and with
direct links to the ISP for additional
information and ordering.
http://thelist.internet.com/areacode.html
Help is on the way!
A fairly new product for family
law practitioners called Kidmate.
Kidmate is the first computer program
to help parents, lawyers, mediators, and
the court negotiate a custodial parenting
plan. It contains a Timesharing
Organizer, Record-Keeper, and
Expense Keeper to help plan
custodial/visitation times, keep track of
disagreements, and track expenses. It
also helps calculate child support. Visit
http://www.kidmate.com/html/reviews.
html to learn more.
Patches and Updates
You should check the Internet site of all of the
software that you use in your office three or four
times a year for patches, plugs, service packs or
updates. Many software packages are released these
days with numerous bugs and problems. Patches and
service packs are generally free. You just have to
download and install them. You should take
advantage of the free improvements and fixes offered
by the software companies. You'll need to know the
version of your software to see if you need a patch.
You can find this out by clicking "Help" and then
"About." Write down the version number. Then go to
the software manufacturer's web site and see if there
are suggested improvements. If you don't want to do
this all by yourself, there are several on-line utilities
that will do this for you. Norton LiveUpdate Pro
http://www.nortonweb.com and McAffee Clinic
http://www.mcafee.com/centers/clinic/ will do this
for you for about $30 per year. Or try Updates.com
http://updates.zdnet.com/, a free service of the ZiffDavis on-line empire. If you've had your software for
quite a while, the odds are that there awesome free
improvements for it out there just waiting for you to
take advantage of them. Oh, and remember: Do a
back-up BEFORE you update! :-)
The Federal Government
The site is http://www.info.gov/, and it
is the premier gateway to find
information about the federal
government. Need to know the status
of a bill pending in the U.S. House of
Representatives? (202/225-1772) Need
to contact the Defense Nuclear
Facilities Safety Board? (1-800-7884016) Want to know if a toy that
injured your client has been recalled by
the Consumer Product Safety
Commission? It's just two clicks away.
Obscure or obvious, this site is THE
place to start surfing when you need
information about the federal
government. The site can also quickly
lead you to state and local
government information.
Service Agents
Ever wondered how to find out the service
agent for a foreign corporation?
Most of them can now be found at no
charge over the Internet. Maryland attorney
Terry Berger just decided to catalog all of
the various Addresses into one web page.
The result is both impressive and VERY
helpful.
http://www.geocities.com/resident_agent
_info/residentagent.html>
Lay down your heavy load.
Would you like to carry statutes and rules
to court without the weight and Hassle of
books? www.memoware.com has a large
repository of useful legal Documents, such
as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure,
California Civil Code, Florida felony
statutes, US Federal Sentencing
Guidelines, and the US Bankruptcy Code,
available free to download into your Palm
or other PDA. Most of these documents
can be read with common PDA document
readers, but just in case you don't have
one, memoware.com has a full list of
shareware and freeware document readers.
(http://www.memoware.com/mwhelpf.htm)
Oh, and they have documents on other
topics too.
Time Zones
Ever get a phone message from a
potential client or traveling client and
not recognize the area code? Do you
defer returning the phone call because
you are not sure if it is too late or too
early to call in that area code?
Thanks to a freeware utility called
Quick Info, you can immediately check
the location and time zone of the
unknown area code. And once you set
this utility to your time zone, it will
show you the current time for over
2000 cities around the world. The free
download is available at
http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/storie
s/info/0,,000GSA,.html
Computer Tips
It’s your Desktop.
The point of the Desktop in Windows 95 and 98 was to customize the Desktop for your particular uses, but few lawyers do.
Organizing your Desktop for the way YOU work will save you time and aggravation. Make the Windows Desktop YOUR
desktop. Here's a quick way to start.
1)Open a new folder on your Desktop and name it "Things that used to be on my Desktop."
2) Click on that folder to open it.
3) Drag the icons for everything that you do not use at least one a week into the "Things that used to be on my Desktop“
folder. Don't worry, you’ll know exactly where they are and can always move them back. Do Not Try to move the My
Computer icon and some others may refuse to be moved. Then minimize or close the "Things" folder.
4) Go to a blank place on the Desktop- Right Click - Select Arrange Icons and then Auto-arrange. Doesn't that look nicer?
5) Next click on My Computer, then the Hard Drive letter where your forms are, until you get down to the My Files folder,
My Documents Folder or wherever you keep your five or six most frequently used forms. Hold down the Control key and
use your mouse to drag copies of these icons out onto the Desktop. Then close the My Files (or whatever) folder.
6) Right click on each one of these icons you have just brought to the Desktop and use Rename to give them nice long
Descriptive names like "New Client Information Sheet," "Contingency Attorney Fee Contract," "Hourly Attorney Fee
Contract," "Conflicts Memo,“and "Probate Checklist."
7) Right click again on each of these icons and select Properties, Under Attributes- Click the Read Only box and then OK.
(This will force you to save the resulting file with a new name and ensure you don't accidentally overwrite your form.When
you do want to change your form document, you can use these steps to "un-check" the read only box.)
8) If any other icons for non word-processing functions also needed to be placed onto your desktop, just repeat steps 5 and
6 for them. Look for programs under Program Files.
9) Repeat step number 4 to make it look pretty.
10) Minimize or close all open windows. Right click on the My Computer icon and use Rename to change My Computer to
something more personal like "Betty's Computer" or "I am the Ruler of the Universe." Take a breather and admire your
much-improved Windows Desktop. Then contemplate what else should be added to or removed from your Desktop.
Windows Shortcuts
The MS Windows logo key on the lower left of your keyboard (often between Ctrl and Alt) can be
used as a shortcut to many Windows functions. Use the Windows key in conjunction with the
appropriate letter key to achieve the following results:
Windows-C opens control panel
Windows-E opens Windows Explorer
Windows-F starts Find files/folders
Windows-I displays mouse properties dialog box
Windows-K displays keyboard properties box
Windows-L logoff dialog box
Windows-M minimizes all open windows
Windows-Shift-M undoes minimize
Windows-R displays Run dialog box
Windows-F1 starts Help
The Mouse is your Friend.
If you are learning a new software
application or program and seem to be
stuck, try right-mouse clicking to view
additional options. You may find short
cuts to some very useful parts of the
application, plus find a quick way to do
some everyday things like cutting and
pasting. And best of all, if the rightmouse menu doesn't contain what you
need, you can easily click out of the
menu via a normal left-mouse click. So
regardless of what program you are
working in, stop now and Right-Mouse
Click! (Note for left-handed
individuals: You can configure your
mouse so that your right-mouse click is
really a left-mouse click under the
Buttons tab in Start/Settings/Control
Panel/Mouse.)
Documentation
When you make changes to software
or hardware on any individual computer or
your server(s), including installation of any
upgrades or patches, be sure to document
what you've done. This makes it much easier
to troubleshoot any difficulties later or to
recreate your system if it crashes. It's a great
idea to create a master log on the network
(make it read-only, with only authorized
people making changes) so everyone can
access the information. Be sure to print a
copy every time you make a change and keep
it in a notebook or file, since if your computer
crashes you don't want to also lose the
documentation on your tweaks to the system.
Filing Tips
Thank You
Create a "Thank You" file. In it should
go the letters from satisfied clients, the
replies from speaking engagements, the
Little League support letter-anything
that demonstrates that you are making a
positive difference in someone's life.
What gets measured gets done. Start
measuring the impact that you are
having on the world. After all, it’s a
wonderful life!
See it clearly.
Increase the font size
on your wills, trusts,
cover letters and
other form
documents often
read by elderly, or
soon to be elderly
clients. They will
appreciate this small
touch for many years
to come.
Color Coding
Many lawyers use the same ivory-colored
files for everything in their office: Client
files, research files, business files, financial
files, etc. When you need to locate a file, the
only way to differentiate between files is to
look at the writing on the tab of each file.
Even if you have a color-coded numbering
system along the edge of the file, it's still not
easy to find the one file you need among all
the files on your desk or in your office
So how can you quickly find the one file you
need among the many? Color code your
files. Use a different color file for each type
of file. Client files can be one color. Or you
can have a different color file for each
substantive area of your practice (family law,
T&E, etc.). The business files for your
practice can be another color, research files
can be another.
Think about how your practice works, and
which types of files would best be colorcoded. Don't try to do too many colors--three
to five works best. Each time you go
searching for a file look only at the files of
that color. You'll save time and aggravation
each time you need to find a file.
Copies for the Client
When you are engaged by a new client,
provide him or her with a sturdy file
folder bearing a label with your firm's
name, address, phone and fax numbers,
e-mail, etc. Place a signed copy of the
fee agreement in the file as the first
document.Further explain to the client
that you will be sending copies of
everything related to the case, both
documents you generate and those you
receive, and that the client should place
these documents in the file immediately
when received. Many clients don't have
an adequate at-home filing system; the
things you send, therefore, may end up
on the kitchen counter decorated with
applesauce or as someone's telephone
message slip. By the end of
representation (or at any point in
between), your client will have a
complete copy of their file.
Back It Up!
The information stored on your
office computers should be
periodically duplicated (backed up)
onto tapes or disks, and stored at an
off-site location. These
tapes/disks should not only
encompass client information, but
firm financial information. An
undamaged back-up tape of your
most recent billing cycle will keep
your cash flowing and save
immeasurable hours of lost time
and aggravation. (Remember to
periodically restore a sample file
from the tape/disk to make sure
your backup system is really
working.)
Destroying files
Many lawyers decide to retain a client's file after the case
is closed. It's a service to the client, protection against
possible future claims, and a client-retention device.
Nonetheless, the file remains the client's property in our
jurisdiction. In fact, if you do keep the file, you are
required to keep it for a minimum of five years. (See D.C.
Bar Legal Ethics Opinion 283.) So what happens with
this file after you have held it for proper time, then decide
the cost of storage is too great? Can you merely discard or
destroy the file? Because it is the client's property you
must first try to locate the client and return their property.
This can be time-consuming and often fruitless. So what's
a lawyer to do?
Put a provision in your fee agreement that allows you to
destroy or discard the file after a stated time period. State
that you will retain the file for them, unless they request it
sooner. State that if they do not request you to return the
file, that you will discard or destroy the file at the end of a
"blank" years--whatever you think is appropriate for your
practice and under your bar's rules. Finally, let them know
that signing the fee agreement gives you permission to
destroy or discard the file.
Office Tips
Networking
Host a social gathering. Invite friends, colleagues
and business acquaintances to periodic social
gatherings.
Call people in the news. When you read newspaper
or magazine articles of interest to your practice,
circle the names of the individuals who are quoted in
the articles. Call the ones who you would like to get
to know. Use their quote as an icebreaker. Then ask
a follow-up question to keep the conversation
moving. If things go well, add them to your contact
list.
Volunteer to be the secretary or scribe. When you
are newly active in an organization, it is sometimes
hard to get to know other members. When you
attend a function, volunteer to take notes of the
meeting or write an article about the event for the
organization's newsletter. You then have a good
reason to call the other members and introduce
yourself while preparing the minutes or article.
The Unwanted File
Is there a file in the office that you just can't stand to
look at? (It's often related to a client you really can't
stand.) Has it been languishing on the corner of your
desk or just out of sight on your credenza? Is a
deadline approaching or recently passed? You know
you’ve got to tackle it, but just can't seem to get
started? These unwanted files are a major cause of
grievance and malpractice complaints, and can cause
the premature end of a lawyer's career. And almost
every lawyer has one of these "dog" files. Sobering,
yes, but how does one deal with the "dog" file? Here
are several ways to get moving on it and extract
yourself from a potentially dangerous problem:
. If you are in a small firm, trade the file with a
colleague. Approach your partner or another
associate and offer to trade your "dog” file for hers.
At least this way you don't already have problems
with the client.
Open the file and start working on it immediately.
(And that means RIGHT NOW!) Sometimes our
own procrastination is the real problem. Just open the
file and start reading it, as ideas and tasks come to
mind, write them down. Work on the file for a
minimum of thirty minutes. If you can, work longer.
When you can't work anymore, schedule time on
your calendar to work on it again tomorrow. As you
re-familiarize yourself with the file, it will become
easier to work on.
Marketing Tips
1. Print law firm business cards for
each staff member, including their
name and title. Provide some
practice on how to give (and take)
business cards; encourage them to
give out the cards in appropriate
circumstances.
2. Send thank you letters to judges,
witnesses, and personnel from the
court room and clerk's office.
3. Every person you meet is a
potential client or potential
recommender of a client.
Ten, Nine, Eight…..
With all the papers and documents that are
piled up in our offices, it becomes
overwhelming and often times downright
discouraging to even think about dealing with
them. As a result, we let things get worse and
worse until we start misplacing important
documents and clients wonder about our
organization skills. One approach is to take it
in little pieces. Several times a week set a
short term goal of ten minutes to go through a
growing stack of papers that need to be filed
or trashed. That way, you can accomplish
something without feeling you need to get
everything done. When the ten minutes is
over, you may feel so good that you may
actually want to continue and finish much
more! Also try to take advantage of the extra
time when a meeting suddenly cancels; try to
use the extra time to go deeper into the stacks
of paper. If you cull through and throw out
the junk first, then go back to read and file
things, the job is easier.
Outside the box
Think outside the box when it comes to
your business card. Plain white
rectangular business cards are always
good to have, but why not create a card
that really expresses your personality?
I received the bright yellow business
card of a "lemon law" lawyer more than
a year ago. His card was easy to locate
recently when a friend of mine needed a
referral. Think of ways to change the
size, shape, color and content of your
business card to reflect your practice. It
may not be for everyone, but
"Outside-the-box" business cards mean
more business!
The Receptionist
The receptionist is the person who makes the
initial contact with almost everyone seeking
to do business with you. Yet often the
receptionist is the most underpaid,
unappreciated and under-trained person in the
office. The receptionist can make a big
difference in everything from losing a client
to the initiation of a bar complaint
proceeding. Compare the impact of the
following two responses to an angry client
who has not had a phone call returned. (1)
Yes, I gave him the message. There's nothing
else I can do about it. (2) Mr. Atty is usually
very good about returning his phone calls. He
has been in court all day. I'll try and make
sure someone gets back to you as soon as
possible.
Make sure that those answering the phone or
stationed in the reception area are continually
encouraged to be friendly problem solvers. If
you have turn-over at the receptionist
position, consider having some written
guidelines, including responses to difficult
situations.
Bills
Make your bills clear and informative,
with a format and layout that is easy
to read. Ask several clients, your
spouse or other non-lawyer to review
several samples of your bills—with
names and addresses redacted, of
course!
Is the wording free of jargon? Do they
understand what work was performed?
Can they understand how the amount of
the bill was calculated? If so, you
probably have a winning format that
your clients will respect and pay.
Postal Supplies
How many times do you have to send something to a client, opposing counsel, relative, or friend,
but have to make the trip to the post office to get the right box or envelope for Priority or Express
Mail? It seems that's just one more reason to procrastinate. And then when you go to the post
office you always have to find the correct box/envelope and labels, remember to bring the address,
stand in line to have it weighed, and pay for the postage
(and, is applicable, remember to write down the business expense!)
Now, have your postal supplies delivered free of charge
(not even any postage costs) to your office! Prepare the package in the comfort of your office!
Then drop off it off on your way home, or call the USPS to pick up your Express Mail for an
extra charge. Saves both time and frustration!
Go to http://www.usps.gov & then "SHOP" & then "ORDER POSTAL SUPPLIES."
Notification
An attorney/law firm would never move its
office without providing notice to clients,
vendors, courts, and the community-at-large.
In addition, the firm would ensure a
forwarding notice was in effect with the
postal service for at least six months, usually
for a full year.
Why is it that when an attorney/law firm
changes something as important as its email
address, it often provides no notification at
all?
If you change email addresses, take the time
to send an email notice to all those in your
address book. You can preserve
confidentiality of your mailing list by using
the "BCC" address line of the email. No one
will see the address of anyone else you’ve
addressed the email to. You should also keep
the old service up and running for at least
several months to know who to send second
and third reminders to. Include a notice with
firm newsletter mailings, billings, and in
small print on the bottom of a letter if your
letterhead includes your email address.
Personal Tips
Self Evaluation
At least once a year it's a good idea to block off sufficient time to evaluate our systems, equipment,
work performance (of attorneys and staff), our client relations, office morale and our physical
facilities and furnishings. Here are some other quick and easy self audit questions you can ask at any
time without advance planning or calendaring:
* If attitudes are contagious, is mine worth catching? If not, what can you do to change your attitude?
* If I had to exchange places with my staff, would I like working for someone like me? If not, how
can you improve your supervisory skills (e.g. a dose of thoughtfulness, by giving clearer instructions,
by organizing and prioritizing your time better, etc.)
* Do all of your staff members practice professional and courteous phone etiquette? If not, are you
proud of the impression about the firm they are giving to clients and others?
* Are you doing your part to hone your technology skills in order to fully benefit from the power of
your firm's software programs? If not, could you take at least one hour a week to focus on improving
your skills and learning more about the software packages used in your practice?
* Have you asked for your clients input regarding their satisfaction with services and treatment
received so far? If not and you have some disgruntled troops out there, are you ready to explain the
situation to the State Bar when a grievance is filed against you?
Take Care of Yourself
1. Exercise: Exercise is one of the most effective anti
stress, and anti-depression tools in behavioral medicine.
Try to build reasonable steps to a new lifestyle of
increased exercise. Do what you enjoy most: Aerobics,
short walk, take the stairs, sports etc.
2. Try relaxation exercises: Take a five-minute break
each afternoon and practice "Imagery"--a popular
relaxation technique. Imagery is sitting back and
remembering a favorite event such as a vacation or a round
of golf. Try to use all of your senses (the sound of the surf,
the smell of the salt air, the feel of the sun on your skin,
the colors of the setting sun) and take poetic license (a golf
game can be your favorite 18 holes played all together).
3. Practice good nutrition (and not because your mother
said so): Improved nutrition is a very important aspect of
behavioral medicine. Lighter meals and less excess weight
yield increased energy. Increasing fruits and vegetables
(even by one serving per day) is effective. Research
has shown that small achievable steps toward a lifestyle
change are more enduring and thus more effective than
large changes.
Time is money!
Ben Franklin said "Time is money." And
who should know that better than
lawyers?
Keep yourself on time using an atomic
clock. Not on your desk, on your desktop
PC! You can manually sync your watch
and PC to the exact time using
http://www.time.gov, a public service of
the US government. Or download a
freeware or shareware program that will
automatically update your PC to the exact
time in your time zone by linking to
atomic clocks in various parts of the
world. Check out
http://winfiles.cnet.com/apps/98/clock.htm
l for time synchronization programs (such
as the highly-rated Atomtime98) and
other timers for you and your PC.
Cut-off Dates
Take the time to find out the
monthly cut-off date for each
client's bill-paying cycle. Try to
time your bill to arrive before the
cut-off date each month, so that it
does not wait around for another
month's cycle. This may mean
doing your bills in several small
batches, but it is sure to improve
your cashflow!
Summer
Let’s talk about summer; are you taking
a vacation this year? Psychologists
agree vacations are a way to take a
break from a busy, stressful schedule.
But don't fall into two common traps:
Don't overplan your vacation.
Scheduling too many things can be
counterproductive to a relaxing
vacation. Avoid rushing to do
anything, and leave time to be
spontaneous. And just make time to do
nothing. If you feel you must bring
along work, laptop or cell phone, limit
the amount of time you spend using
them. Otherwise, you are cheating
yourself and your family out of a
meaningful, refreshing experience.
Time Management
When you get a new case/project/task do
something on it almost immediately no matter
how small - begin anywhere - just do
something. It can be something as simple as
making a file folder and putting a note in
it. Even if the deadline for the project is far
off, it is helpful to do something on it. You
can put the project away until you are ready
to continue working on it. You can work on
some small part of it on and off and when you
are ready to spend more time on it, you will
be "completing" the project and not "starting"
it. In addition you may want to put some
reminders to work on it in your electronic
tickler, such as Outlook. This really helps to
stay on top of projects and minimizes the
constant feeling of being overwhelmed by
projects whose deadlines are approaching.
A training lunch
As the immortal Yogi Berra said, "You got
To be careful if you don't know where
you're going, because you might not get
there. “ Two things should never stop in
your law firm-training and marketing. You
need a year-round, career-long commitment
to both marketing and training. Docket
training and marketing goals just like court
deadlines. Set goals for a set number of
luncheons each month with possible sources
Of new business. Every three months have
a "training lunch" where one staff member
Teaches a few new tricks to the rest of you.
Let someone develop macros or other
document automation and then show the
rest of you.
The Two Minute Rule
If you pick up a file, document, letter, or
phone message, and can get it
done in two minutes or less, do it
immediately! If it will take longer
than two minutes, quickly assign it a
high, medium or low priority, then
add it to your "to do" list. Now get it off
your desk and out of your
mind until it comes up on your "to do“
List again.
Try this for several days, and see if it
helps you get your work done!
Solo Practice Tips
As previously posted to Solosez by the
Practice Management Advisors
Committee of the ABA Law Practice
Management Section
PowerPoint Presentation created by James S. Walker
For the Small Law Firm Center
Association of the Bar of the City of New York
www.abcny.org
Client Relations
Confidentiality
Practice management advisors from bar
associations and law societies (in Canada)
make numerous visits to law practices to help
lawyers in the management of their practices.
One issue that frequently arises is the
confidentiality of client information. If you
are in an office sharing arrangement, you
should take overt steps to ensure that persons
not associated with your practice do not have
access to your files or other client
information. Client files must remain
confidential, and that confidentiality does not
extend to other lawyers or non-lawyers
sharing your suite. Lock your office door
when you’re out of the office. Remember to
do the same with the files on your secretary’s
workstation or in file cabinets in a public
area. Also, if you share a receptionist, be
sure to periodically remind him or her not to
discuss your business or your clients with
others sharing the suite.
Ways to Keep in Touch
Have you ever been unable to get to
your office in a snowstorm or other
emergency? How can you contact your
clients, opposing counsel or the court to
postpone important events? Keep a list
of all office and home phone numbers
of clients and opposing counsel. Bring
home an updated hard copy of the list-or e-mail it to yourself--every few
months. In case of an emergency, such
as sickness, injury, storm or damage to
your office--and it happens way more
than we think--you will have a way to
contact clients and other attorneys to
inform them of the situation. Be sure to
keep your client list in a confidential
and secure location.
Be Attentive
Develop your listening skills. Learn
how to encourage your clients to
talk and how not to interrupt. Learn
how to communicate attentiveness.
Use appropriate body language.
Learn how to be still. Don't play
with paper clips. Don't gaze out the
window. Don't allow interruptions.
The resulting benefits are
numerous, but most of all, your
clients will thank you.
It’s all in the Introduction.
Learn how to meet and greet people and
not turn them away by how you
Introduce yourself. If you immediately
say "I'm a labor lawyer," few people
will ever think to themselves that they
will need your services. At that
point you may have lost the opportunity to
market yourself for any other
purpose. Create a five second introduction
to repeat when meeting new
people (i.e. potential new clients). It should
be natural and informative,
such as "I am a problem-solver for small
businesses" or "I help families
plan for their financial future."
Fees
Remember that clients are often under
Considerable stress (from their legal problems) the
first time they visit a lawyer. Your explanation of
your fees and costs may be a model of clarity, but
it may not sink in. Give your explanation in
writing as well as verbally. If a lot of money is at
stake (in the eyes of the client), allow the client
time to think it over before committing to your
fees. Clients who "buy in" to a fee agreement are
more likely to abide by it. Then take the initiative
to periodically discuss the amount of fees
throughout your representation. If at any given
point the fee does not comport with the client's
expectations, resolve the situation as soon as
possible--don't let it fester until the attorney/client
relationship is irreparably damaged.
Give a little Reassurance.
Buyer's remorse is not limited to the
purchases of consumer electronics and
automobiles. Many clients also experience
second thoughts about the lawyer they just
hired. To reassure your new clients that they
have made the right choice, immediately
show a little extra client care: Send each new
client a brief thank you letter with a "gift."
The "gift" could be a recent copy of your firm
newsletter, a recent topical article you
authored, a business card that lists an
unpublished telephone number for the client
to reach you in an emergency, or a book
related to their legal issues that shows you
care about them as a client. (You get the
idea.) Then follow-up with a personal
telephone call several days later to let your
client know you have begun work on the
matter; let your client know it is a no-charge
call. This immediate special attention helps to
retain clients and build positive long-term
relationships.
A little thing can make a big difference.
If you send a thank you letter to clients at
the end of a matter (and you
should), include a client satisfaction
questionnaire. While a thank you
letter speaks volumes, adding a short
questionnaire can help cement client
loyalty. It can also help raise negative issues
the client did not raise in
person. Even if clients do not respond, they
will be glad you asked for
their input.
Involvement is Good!
Involve your clients in their legal
matters as soon as possible and as much
as possible. The lawyer-client
relationship that develops is much
better than those in which the client is
not involved. Ask your clients to draft
their own case histories, review
documents obtained in discovery, and
participate in the preparation of pre-trial
statements. As a result, clients obtain
some appreciation for the amount of
time and type of work involved in
preparing their cases, gain some control
over their own cases, understand the
effort and skill involved in being an
attorney, and gain a greater sense
of trust and appreciation for your
services.
Directions are essential.
Don't turn off clients before they ever reach your office!
Make sure your receptionist or secretary knows how to
direct clients to find your office. (Don't assume they can
give directions just because they come to work every
day!) In addition, create written directions that includes
major landmarks, number of miles from the airport,
courthouse, or nearest Interstate exit.
Your office should have a clearly readable map that should
be faxed to everyone making an appointment. Further, if
your office is located in an office park, are there signs that
direct them to your building? Are the signs placed where
people in a car can view them? If no, your map and
directions need to compensate for the landlord's poor
planning.Clients should also be informed ahead of time if
parking is provided, and whether there is a parking fee. It
is frustrating to rive several blocks to find a parking spot,
walk back to an office building and learn later that parking
is available in the same or an adjacent building for free!No
need to frustrate a potential“million-dollar”client, when
they just might drive off to find another lawyer's office!
It isn’t over yet.
Having a written file closing procedure to close a client's case will benefit both you and your clients. Here are
six steps you can mix and match to fit your practice:
Conduct a post mortem session. Give the client an opportunity to ask any and all final questions about
the outcome of their case. It will also give you a chance to review the file and tie up loose ends. Send
the final invoice. Sending the final invoice as soon as the last task in the case has been performed will
give a final accounting or status report to the client in an expeditious manner, and increase the likelihood
of collection - instead of waiting for the next billing cycle to come around. Make sure your billing
software can accommodate out of the normal billing cycle final billing without any flaws in the system.
Return the client’s property. Sending the client’s property back immediately after completion of a case
or giving the client a deadline to pick up their property from your office, will serve as an additional
reminder to the client - the case is over. Also, it will save you from having to store and safeguard any
materials that should rightfully be returned to the client as soon as you no longer need them. Prepare a
checklist of items returned to the client and have them acknowledge receipt by signing your form.Close
the file. Prepare a closing file checklist. Make sure the file is culled for any duplicate drafts of
documents, legal pads, etc. Separate the items to be returned to the client from what you may want or
need to keep. Assign the file a closed file identifier and incorporate it in your closed files system. You
will store fewer materials and use up less space in the process, by having a lean and orderly file.
Schedule the file for periodic review. Initially schedule the file for review in three months to make sure
all return receipt requested cards have been received, the final bill has been paid, and all lose ends have
been taken care of. Depending on the type of case, you that you will want to schedule the next review a
year or two later to see if the client’s circumstances have changed, and they would benefit from
additional legal counseling.Thank the client! Make it a habit to send either a card or a letter to the client
to thank him/her for choosing you as their legal representative - it will go a long way!
Hola! Bonjour! Hi!
Did you know that AT&T has a
translation service? If you need to
communicate with a non-English
speaking person you can call 1-800528-5888 which is AT&T’s Language
Line Translation Service and ask for the
Personal Interpreter Service. Their
translation services cover 140
languages and have a live operator to
perform the translations to and from
English. You can call the above number
and hear a sampling of the services
provided. It is available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.
It may help you communicate with your
non-English speaking clients when there
is no other interpreter to be found!
Tax Deductions
Know how your fees and/or costs can
be tax deductible to your clients. If
Tax deductions are possible; share this
information with your clients.
Encourage them to have their
accountant or tax preparer call you to
get information that might maximize
their deduction(s). Your clients will
appreciate this extra effort--especially if
you explain it at no charge!
Help them reach for the Stars.
Try to create opportunities
for your clients. If you
become aware of a
development in the law or
in business that may be of
interest to a client,
let them know about it and, if
possible, introduce them to
the key players.
The Phone Dilemma
Many lawyers at some point contemplate
whether or not they should give their home
phone numbers to clients in case of an
emergency. It's a simple question without an
easy answer. It depends upon the nature of the
practice, the location and your comfort level of
allowing clients to intrude into your personal
time. If you do decide to let clients know you are
available at home in the case of an emergency,
then it is critical that you and not the client
determine what constitutes an emergency. You
should put your guidelines in writing for
distribution to all clients (especially all new
clients) describing when it is and when it is NOT
appropriate to call you at home for an
emergency. Decide whether you want to charge
extra for this service, especially for clients who
use your home number as a convenience, rather
than for true emergencies. Disclose this extra
charge to clients in your fee agreement. In
addition, you may also want to consider having a
separate line at home for these client
emergencies.
Resources
Is this correct?
Have you noticed that as the years go by, you
forget the rules of proper grammar and
punctuation? (I personally have already
forgotten everything I learned in elementary
and high school.) Poor grammar in a letter or
other document can cast the wrong
impression. Well, help is on the way via the
World Wide Web. Try
www.millernash.com/msgrammar --a law
firm web site with help for us grammatically
challenged lawyers! Or bookmark
<http://webster.comment.edu/HP/pages/darlin
g/grammar.htm, loaded with lots of resources,
including "Ask Grammar," a way to ask a
college professor your most intimate
grammar questions for free! Another web site
with on-line assistance and a downloadable
computer program that goes beyond the
grammar functions in your word processor is
<http://englishplus.com/grammar.
Uncle Sam is Coming!
April 15 has come and gone, but
there’s always next year. The IRS
publishes the Tax Guide for Small
Business that contains information
about federal tax laws that apply to
small businesses. The publication
includes information on the major
forms of business organization,
accounting practices, the tax aspects
of assets, income, expenses, and
employer tax obligations. Contact the
IRS at 800/TAX-1040 or
www.irs.ustreas.gov/cgi/formorder.
Endless Possibilities
This week's tip involves an innocuous
little web site with great potential for
lawyers. The site, www.anybirthday.com,
allows you to find the birth date of over 135
million Americans. While the site
allows you to send birthday gifts, etc., it
can also come in handy to check or confirm
birth dates for law-related activities.
(Query: Would it be legal to look up the
birth date of a job applicant?) It doesn't
always find the person, but it does state that
Ross L. Kodner was born July 27, 1961;
Bruce Dorner was born November 3, 1949;
and Jennifer rose was born....well, you get
the point. Have fun!
Malpractice Insurance
If you do not have malpractice insurance or you
are reviewing your present coverage, there is a
new book available to help you make the right
choice. The ABA Standing Committee on
Lawyers' Professional Liability recently
published a very helpful workbook entitled
"Selecting Legal Malpractice Insurance." The
book provides easy-to-understand information
About malpractice insurance policies, a glossary
of terms, insurance policy checklists, a pull-out
comparison chart to help you choose a policy, and
a state-by-state listing of malpractice insurance
carriers. A real deal at $15.00 plus $3.95 shipping.
Available at
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/lplpubs.html
or by calling the ABA at 1-800-285-2221. There
is also an on-line version that is available for
free (also a real deal) at
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/pl/home.html
Call to make sure!
Here's a tip for personal injury attorneys and
anyone else who writes checks from a trust
account on behalf of clients:
Take a minute before writing each check to call
the payee to confirm the proper name and
address to send the check. This simple phone call
will help reduce the complaints from medical
providers and others claiming they were never
paid; you also won't have the hassle of
reissuing a new check and stopping payment on
the old check. And, since the check
goes immediately to the proper address, it will
help reduce the late-cashing of checks that can
put a glitch in your trust account reconciliation
process.
Internet Service
Looking for a new Internet service
provider in your area? Wonder who
offers DSL or 64Kb connectivity?
Wonder whether you're getting a
competitive price for your T1? Log
onto the internet ISP list, enter your
area code, and it will bring up all the
internet service providers that service
your area, along with information on
pricing, types of services, and with
direct links to the ISP for additional
information and ordering.
http://thelist.internet.com/areacode.html
Help is on the way!
A fairly new product for family
law practitioners called Kidmate.
Kidmate is the first computer program
to help parents, lawyers, mediators, and
the court negotiate a custodial parenting
plan. It contains a Timesharing
Organizer, Record-Keeper, and
Expense Keeper to help plan
custodial/visitation times, keep track of
disagreements, and track expenses. It
also helps calculate child support. Visit
http://www.kidmate.com/html/reviews.
html to learn more.
Patches and Updates
You should check the Internet site of all of the
software that you use in your office three or four
times a year for patches, plugs, service packs or
updates. Many software packages are released these
days with numerous bugs and problems. Patches and
service packs are generally free. You just have to
download and install them. You should take
advantage of the free improvements and fixes offered
by the software companies. You'll need to know the
version of your software to see if you need a patch.
You can find this out by clicking "Help" and then
"About." Write down the version number. Then go to
the software manufacturer's web site and see if there
are suggested improvements. If you don't want to do
this all by yourself, there are several on-line utilities
that will do this for you. Norton LiveUpdate Pro
http://www.nortonweb.com and McAffee Clinic
http://www.mcafee.com/centers/clinic/ will do this
for you for about $30 per year. Or try Updates.com
http://updates.zdnet.com/, a free service of the ZiffDavis on-line empire. If you've had your software for
quite a while, the odds are that there awesome free
improvements for it out there just waiting for you to
take advantage of them. Oh, and remember: Do a
back-up BEFORE you update! :-)
The Federal Government
The site is http://www.info.gov/, and it
is the premier gateway to find
information about the federal
government. Need to know the status
of a bill pending in the U.S. House of
Representatives? (202/225-1772) Need
to contact the Defense Nuclear
Facilities Safety Board? (1-800-7884016) Want to know if a toy that
injured your client has been recalled by
the Consumer Product Safety
Commission? It's just two clicks away.
Obscure or obvious, this site is THE
place to start surfing when you need
information about the federal
government. The site can also quickly
lead you to state and local
government information.
Service Agents
Ever wondered how to find out the service
agent for a foreign corporation?
Most of them can now be found at no
charge over the Internet. Maryland attorney
Terry Berger just decided to catalog all of
the various Addresses into one web page.
The result is both impressive and VERY
helpful.
http://www.geocities.com/resident_agent
_info/residentagent.html>
Lay down your heavy load.
Would you like to carry statutes and rules
to court without the weight and Hassle of
books? www.memoware.com has a large
repository of useful legal Documents, such
as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure,
California Civil Code, Florida felony
statutes, US Federal Sentencing
Guidelines, and the US Bankruptcy Code,
available free to download into your Palm
or other PDA. Most of these documents
can be read with common PDA document
readers, but just in case you don't have
one, memoware.com has a full list of
shareware and freeware document readers.
(http://www.memoware.com/mwhelpf.htm)
Oh, and they have documents on other
topics too.
Time Zones
Ever get a phone message from a
potential client or traveling client and
not recognize the area code? Do you
defer returning the phone call because
you are not sure if it is too late or too
early to call in that area code?
Thanks to a freeware utility called
Quick Info, you can immediately check
the location and time zone of the
unknown area code. And once you set
this utility to your time zone, it will
show you the current time for over
2000 cities around the world. The free
download is available at
http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/storie
s/info/0,,000GSA,.html
Computer Tips
It’s your Desktop.
The point of the Desktop in Windows 95 and 98 was to customize the Desktop for your particular uses, but few lawyers do.
Organizing your Desktop for the way YOU work will save you time and aggravation. Make the Windows Desktop YOUR
desktop. Here's a quick way to start.
1)Open a new folder on your Desktop and name it "Things that used to be on my Desktop."
2) Click on that folder to open it.
3) Drag the icons for everything that you do not use at least one a week into the "Things that used to be on my Desktop“
folder. Don't worry, you’ll know exactly where they are and can always move them back. Do Not Try to move the My
Computer icon and some others may refuse to be moved. Then minimize or close the "Things" folder.
4) Go to a blank place on the Desktop- Right Click - Select Arrange Icons and then Auto-arrange. Doesn't that look nicer?
5) Next click on My Computer, then the Hard Drive letter where your forms are, until you get down to the My Files folder,
My Documents Folder or wherever you keep your five or six most frequently used forms. Hold down the Control key and
use your mouse to drag copies of these icons out onto the Desktop. Then close the My Files (or whatever) folder.
6) Right click on each one of these icons you have just brought to the Desktop and use Rename to give them nice long
Descriptive names like "New Client Information Sheet," "Contingency Attorney Fee Contract," "Hourly Attorney Fee
Contract," "Conflicts Memo,“and "Probate Checklist."
7) Right click again on each of these icons and select Properties, Under Attributes- Click the Read Only box and then OK.
(This will force you to save the resulting file with a new name and ensure you don't accidentally overwrite your form.When
you do want to change your form document, you can use these steps to "un-check" the read only box.)
8) If any other icons for non word-processing functions also needed to be placed onto your desktop, just repeat steps 5 and
6 for them. Look for programs under Program Files.
9) Repeat step number 4 to make it look pretty.
10) Minimize or close all open windows. Right click on the My Computer icon and use Rename to change My Computer to
something more personal like "Betty's Computer" or "I am the Ruler of the Universe." Take a breather and admire your
much-improved Windows Desktop. Then contemplate what else should be added to or removed from your Desktop.
Windows Shortcuts
The MS Windows logo key on the lower left of your keyboard (often between Ctrl and Alt) can be
used as a shortcut to many Windows functions. Use the Windows key in conjunction with the
appropriate letter key to achieve the following results:
Windows-C opens control panel
Windows-E opens Windows Explorer
Windows-F starts Find files/folders
Windows-I displays mouse properties dialog box
Windows-K displays keyboard properties box
Windows-L logoff dialog box
Windows-M minimizes all open windows
Windows-Shift-M undoes minimize
Windows-R displays Run dialog box
Windows-F1 starts Help
The Mouse is your Friend.
If you are learning a new software
application or program and seem to be
stuck, try right-mouse clicking to view
additional options. You may find short
cuts to some very useful parts of the
application, plus find a quick way to do
some everyday things like cutting and
pasting. And best of all, if the rightmouse menu doesn't contain what you
need, you can easily click out of the
menu via a normal left-mouse click. So
regardless of what program you are
working in, stop now and Right-Mouse
Click! (Note for left-handed
individuals: You can configure your
mouse so that your right-mouse click is
really a left-mouse click under the
Buttons tab in Start/Settings/Control
Panel/Mouse.)
Documentation
When you make changes to software
or hardware on any individual computer or
your server(s), including installation of any
upgrades or patches, be sure to document
what you've done. This makes it much easier
to troubleshoot any difficulties later or to
recreate your system if it crashes. It's a great
idea to create a master log on the network
(make it read-only, with only authorized
people making changes) so everyone can
access the information. Be sure to print a
copy every time you make a change and keep
it in a notebook or file, since if your computer
crashes you don't want to also lose the
documentation on your tweaks to the system.
Filing Tips
Thank You
Create a "Thank You" file. In it should
go the letters from satisfied clients, the
replies from speaking engagements, the
Little League support letter-anything
that demonstrates that you are making a
positive difference in someone's life.
What gets measured gets done. Start
measuring the impact that you are
having on the world. After all, it’s a
wonderful life!
See it clearly.
Increase the font size
on your wills, trusts,
cover letters and
other form
documents often
read by elderly, or
soon to be elderly
clients. They will
appreciate this small
touch for many years
to come.
Color Coding
Many lawyers use the same ivory-colored
files for everything in their office: Client
files, research files, business files, financial
files, etc. When you need to locate a file, the
only way to differentiate between files is to
look at the writing on the tab of each file.
Even if you have a color-coded numbering
system along the edge of the file, it's still not
easy to find the one file you need among all
the files on your desk or in your office
So how can you quickly find the one file you
need among the many? Color code your
files. Use a different color file for each type
of file. Client files can be one color. Or you
can have a different color file for each
substantive area of your practice (family law,
T&E, etc.). The business files for your
practice can be another color, research files
can be another.
Think about how your practice works, and
which types of files would best be colorcoded. Don't try to do too many colors--three
to five works best. Each time you go
searching for a file look only at the files of
that color. You'll save time and aggravation
each time you need to find a file.
Copies for the Client
When you are engaged by a new client,
provide him or her with a sturdy file
folder bearing a label with your firm's
name, address, phone and fax numbers,
e-mail, etc. Place a signed copy of the
fee agreement in the file as the first
document.Further explain to the client
that you will be sending copies of
everything related to the case, both
documents you generate and those you
receive, and that the client should place
these documents in the file immediately
when received. Many clients don't have
an adequate at-home filing system; the
things you send, therefore, may end up
on the kitchen counter decorated with
applesauce or as someone's telephone
message slip. By the end of
representation (or at any point in
between), your client will have a
complete copy of their file.
Back It Up!
The information stored on your
office computers should be
periodically duplicated (backed up)
onto tapes or disks, and stored at an
off-site location. These
tapes/disks should not only
encompass client information, but
firm financial information. An
undamaged back-up tape of your
most recent billing cycle will keep
your cash flowing and save
immeasurable hours of lost time
and aggravation. (Remember to
periodically restore a sample file
from the tape/disk to make sure
your backup system is really
working.)
Destroying files
Many lawyers decide to retain a client's file after the case
is closed. It's a service to the client, protection against
possible future claims, and a client-retention device.
Nonetheless, the file remains the client's property in our
jurisdiction. In fact, if you do keep the file, you are
required to keep it for a minimum of five years. (See D.C.
Bar Legal Ethics Opinion 283.) So what happens with
this file after you have held it for proper time, then decide
the cost of storage is too great? Can you merely discard or
destroy the file? Because it is the client's property you
must first try to locate the client and return their property.
This can be time-consuming and often fruitless. So what's
a lawyer to do?
Put a provision in your fee agreement that allows you to
destroy or discard the file after a stated time period. State
that you will retain the file for them, unless they request it
sooner. State that if they do not request you to return the
file, that you will discard or destroy the file at the end of a
"blank" years--whatever you think is appropriate for your
practice and under your bar's rules. Finally, let them know
that signing the fee agreement gives you permission to
destroy or discard the file.
Office Tips
Networking
Host a social gathering. Invite friends, colleagues
and business acquaintances to periodic social
gatherings.
Call people in the news. When you read newspaper
or magazine articles of interest to your practice,
circle the names of the individuals who are quoted in
the articles. Call the ones who you would like to get
to know. Use their quote as an icebreaker. Then ask
a follow-up question to keep the conversation
moving. If things go well, add them to your contact
list.
Volunteer to be the secretary or scribe. When you
are newly active in an organization, it is sometimes
hard to get to know other members. When you
attend a function, volunteer to take notes of the
meeting or write an article about the event for the
organization's newsletter. You then have a good
reason to call the other members and introduce
yourself while preparing the minutes or article.
The Unwanted File
Is there a file in the office that you just can't stand to
look at? (It's often related to a client you really can't
stand.) Has it been languishing on the corner of your
desk or just out of sight on your credenza? Is a
deadline approaching or recently passed? You know
you’ve got to tackle it, but just can't seem to get
started? These unwanted files are a major cause of
grievance and malpractice complaints, and can cause
the premature end of a lawyer's career. And almost
every lawyer has one of these "dog" files. Sobering,
yes, but how does one deal with the "dog" file? Here
are several ways to get moving on it and extract
yourself from a potentially dangerous problem:
. If you are in a small firm, trade the file with a
colleague. Approach your partner or another
associate and offer to trade your "dog” file for hers.
At least this way you don't already have problems
with the client.
Open the file and start working on it immediately.
(And that means RIGHT NOW!) Sometimes our
own procrastination is the real problem. Just open the
file and start reading it, as ideas and tasks come to
mind, write them down. Work on the file for a
minimum of thirty minutes. If you can, work longer.
When you can't work anymore, schedule time on
your calendar to work on it again tomorrow. As you
re-familiarize yourself with the file, it will become
easier to work on.
Marketing Tips
1. Print law firm business cards for
each staff member, including their
name and title. Provide some
practice on how to give (and take)
business cards; encourage them to
give out the cards in appropriate
circumstances.
2. Send thank you letters to judges,
witnesses, and personnel from the
court room and clerk's office.
3. Every person you meet is a
potential client or potential
recommender of a client.
Ten, Nine, Eight…..
With all the papers and documents that are
piled up in our offices, it becomes
overwhelming and often times downright
discouraging to even think about dealing with
them. As a result, we let things get worse and
worse until we start misplacing important
documents and clients wonder about our
organization skills. One approach is to take it
in little pieces. Several times a week set a
short term goal of ten minutes to go through a
growing stack of papers that need to be filed
or trashed. That way, you can accomplish
something without feeling you need to get
everything done. When the ten minutes is
over, you may feel so good that you may
actually want to continue and finish much
more! Also try to take advantage of the extra
time when a meeting suddenly cancels; try to
use the extra time to go deeper into the stacks
of paper. If you cull through and throw out
the junk first, then go back to read and file
things, the job is easier.
Outside the box
Think outside the box when it comes to
your business card. Plain white
rectangular business cards are always
good to have, but why not create a card
that really expresses your personality?
I received the bright yellow business
card of a "lemon law" lawyer more than
a year ago. His card was easy to locate
recently when a friend of mine needed a
referral. Think of ways to change the
size, shape, color and content of your
business card to reflect your practice. It
may not be for everyone, but
"Outside-the-box" business cards mean
more business!
The Receptionist
The receptionist is the person who makes the
initial contact with almost everyone seeking
to do business with you. Yet often the
receptionist is the most underpaid,
unappreciated and under-trained person in the
office. The receptionist can make a big
difference in everything from losing a client
to the initiation of a bar complaint
proceeding. Compare the impact of the
following two responses to an angry client
who has not had a phone call returned. (1)
Yes, I gave him the message. There's nothing
else I can do about it. (2) Mr. Atty is usually
very good about returning his phone calls. He
has been in court all day. I'll try and make
sure someone gets back to you as soon as
possible.
Make sure that those answering the phone or
stationed in the reception area are continually
encouraged to be friendly problem solvers. If
you have turn-over at the receptionist
position, consider having some written
guidelines, including responses to difficult
situations.
Bills
Make your bills clear and informative,
with a format and layout that is easy
to read. Ask several clients, your
spouse or other non-lawyer to review
several samples of your bills—with
names and addresses redacted, of
course!
Is the wording free of jargon? Do they
understand what work was performed?
Can they understand how the amount of
the bill was calculated? If so, you
probably have a winning format that
your clients will respect and pay.
Postal Supplies
How many times do you have to send something to a client, opposing counsel, relative, or friend,
but have to make the trip to the post office to get the right box or envelope for Priority or Express
Mail? It seems that's just one more reason to procrastinate. And then when you go to the post
office you always have to find the correct box/envelope and labels, remember to bring the address,
stand in line to have it weighed, and pay for the postage
(and, is applicable, remember to write down the business expense!)
Now, have your postal supplies delivered free of charge
(not even any postage costs) to your office! Prepare the package in the comfort of your office!
Then drop off it off on your way home, or call the USPS to pick up your Express Mail for an
extra charge. Saves both time and frustration!
Go to http://www.usps.gov & then "SHOP" & then "ORDER POSTAL SUPPLIES."
Notification
An attorney/law firm would never move its
office without providing notice to clients,
vendors, courts, and the community-at-large.
In addition, the firm would ensure a
forwarding notice was in effect with the
postal service for at least six months, usually
for a full year.
Why is it that when an attorney/law firm
changes something as important as its email
address, it often provides no notification at
all?
If you change email addresses, take the time
to send an email notice to all those in your
address book. You can preserve
confidentiality of your mailing list by using
the "BCC" address line of the email. No one
will see the address of anyone else you’ve
addressed the email to. You should also keep
the old service up and running for at least
several months to know who to send second
and third reminders to. Include a notice with
firm newsletter mailings, billings, and in
small print on the bottom of a letter if your
letterhead includes your email address.
Personal Tips
Self Evaluation
At least once a year it's a good idea to block off sufficient time to evaluate our systems, equipment,
work performance (of attorneys and staff), our client relations, office morale and our physical
facilities and furnishings. Here are some other quick and easy self audit questions you can ask at any
time without advance planning or calendaring:
* If attitudes are contagious, is mine worth catching? If not, what can you do to change your attitude?
* If I had to exchange places with my staff, would I like working for someone like me? If not, how
can you improve your supervisory skills (e.g. a dose of thoughtfulness, by giving clearer instructions,
by organizing and prioritizing your time better, etc.)
* Do all of your staff members practice professional and courteous phone etiquette? If not, are you
proud of the impression about the firm they are giving to clients and others?
* Are you doing your part to hone your technology skills in order to fully benefit from the power of
your firm's software programs? If not, could you take at least one hour a week to focus on improving
your skills and learning more about the software packages used in your practice?
* Have you asked for your clients input regarding their satisfaction with services and treatment
received so far? If not and you have some disgruntled troops out there, are you ready to explain the
situation to the State Bar when a grievance is filed against you?
Take Care of Yourself
1. Exercise: Exercise is one of the most effective anti
stress, and anti-depression tools in behavioral medicine.
Try to build reasonable steps to a new lifestyle of
increased exercise. Do what you enjoy most: Aerobics,
short walk, take the stairs, sports etc.
2. Try relaxation exercises: Take a five-minute break
each afternoon and practice "Imagery"--a popular
relaxation technique. Imagery is sitting back and
remembering a favorite event such as a vacation or a round
of golf. Try to use all of your senses (the sound of the surf,
the smell of the salt air, the feel of the sun on your skin,
the colors of the setting sun) and take poetic license (a golf
game can be your favorite 18 holes played all together).
3. Practice good nutrition (and not because your mother
said so): Improved nutrition is a very important aspect of
behavioral medicine. Lighter meals and less excess weight
yield increased energy. Increasing fruits and vegetables
(even by one serving per day) is effective. Research
has shown that small achievable steps toward a lifestyle
change are more enduring and thus more effective than
large changes.
Time is money!
Ben Franklin said "Time is money." And
who should know that better than
lawyers?
Keep yourself on time using an atomic
clock. Not on your desk, on your desktop
PC! You can manually sync your watch
and PC to the exact time using
http://www.time.gov, a public service of
the US government. Or download a
freeware or shareware program that will
automatically update your PC to the exact
time in your time zone by linking to
atomic clocks in various parts of the
world. Check out
http://winfiles.cnet.com/apps/98/clock.htm
l for time synchronization programs (such
as the highly-rated Atomtime98) and
other timers for you and your PC.
Cut-off Dates
Take the time to find out the
monthly cut-off date for each
client's bill-paying cycle. Try to
time your bill to arrive before the
cut-off date each month, so that it
does not wait around for another
month's cycle. This may mean
doing your bills in several small
batches, but it is sure to improve
your cashflow!
Summer
Let’s talk about summer; are you taking
a vacation this year? Psychologists
agree vacations are a way to take a
break from a busy, stressful schedule.
But don't fall into two common traps:
Don't overplan your vacation.
Scheduling too many things can be
counterproductive to a relaxing
vacation. Avoid rushing to do
anything, and leave time to be
spontaneous. And just make time to do
nothing. If you feel you must bring
along work, laptop or cell phone, limit
the amount of time you spend using
them. Otherwise, you are cheating
yourself and your family out of a
meaningful, refreshing experience.
Time Management
When you get a new case/project/task do
something on it almost immediately no matter
how small - begin anywhere - just do
something. It can be something as simple as
making a file folder and putting a note in
it. Even if the deadline for the project is far
off, it is helpful to do something on it. You
can put the project away until you are ready
to continue working on it. You can work on
some small part of it on and off and when you
are ready to spend more time on it, you will
be "completing" the project and not "starting"
it. In addition you may want to put some
reminders to work on it in your electronic
tickler, such as Outlook. This really helps to
stay on top of projects and minimizes the
constant feeling of being overwhelmed by
projects whose deadlines are approaching.
A training lunch
As the immortal Yogi Berra said, "You got
To be careful if you don't know where
you're going, because you might not get
there. “ Two things should never stop in
your law firm-training and marketing. You
need a year-round, career-long commitment
to both marketing and training. Docket
training and marketing goals just like court
deadlines. Set goals for a set number of
luncheons each month with possible sources
Of new business. Every three months have
a "training lunch" where one staff member
Teaches a few new tricks to the rest of you.
Let someone develop macros or other
document automation and then show the
rest of you.
The Two Minute Rule
If you pick up a file, document, letter, or
phone message, and can get it
done in two minutes or less, do it
immediately! If it will take longer
than two minutes, quickly assign it a
high, medium or low priority, then
add it to your "to do" list. Now get it off
your desk and out of your
mind until it comes up on your "to do“
List again.
Try this for several days, and see if it
helps you get your work done!
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