This slide presentation is part of a talk I gave in 2007 on managing a small law office for attorneys.

1. Small Office
Management for the
Legal Professional
November 14, 2007
Oklahoma City, OK
Shawn J. Roberts
sroberts@brownroberts.com

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. A. Law Office Organizational
Structure

7. 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

8. 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

9. Dealing with your law firm should be
marked with the following:
• Ease (relative)
• Pleasant
• Consistent
• Quality

10. 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

11. Optimizing Law Office Performance
 Know and recognize the role the staff plays in the firm’s
success
Value Add
Example
 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

12. Office Systems and Procedures
1.Tracking DEADLINES and dates

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 2. Form Database
It is about LEVERAGE.
Doing something once but continuing to get
value out of an infinite number of times

19. • 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.

20. 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.

22. Finding Practice Tools
What are we talking about?
 Sample Briefs, Motions, Complaints and
Settlements
 Forms and Contracts
 Jury Verdicts

23. 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

24. 3. Communications

25. Forms of Communication with the
Public
• Unified Presentation in all forms of contact with
the public:
– Face to Face
– Telephone
– Email
– Written Documents

26. Paying attention to details
Consider the Signature Block on Email

28. 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

29. 3. File Management
Requires
Commitment
&
Participation of whole office

30. 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

31. 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

32. Color-Coded Filing Scheme
Red Domestic Relations Bloody & Heated
Green Real Estate Money & Grass
Blue Probate & Wills Sadness & Blues
Yellow Litigation Caution
Pink Business Matters In the Pink
Peachy Best clients favorite color Peach
Warren Miller, Institute of Law Management & Economics, OBA 1979

33. Closing and Destroying Files

34. 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????

35. 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.

36. D. Systems Setup and
Management

37. 1. Digital Documents
How 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?

38. A paperless office???

39. What makes more sense is the “Paper LESS
Office™”
• 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

40. 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

41. Core Components
1. Scanner
2. Digital Document Software
3. System for tracking digital files

42. An example from our office
1. Xerox DocuMate 510
2. Adobe Acrobat Professional
3. Documents saved in file management
system built into Windows XP

43. Multiple files for different
file formats

44. Necessary Actions
• Create all documents as PDFs
The Lawyer’s Guide to Adobe Acrobat
• Scan all incoming documents as PDFs
David Masters
One more advantage: access documents
from any Internet-enabled computer

45. 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

46. 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.

47. 2. Office Software
The Mechanical engine
of the law office
Makes the machines
run
Can either promote
efficiency or create
endless opportunities
for struggle

48. Suites of Office Software
Microsoft Office
WordPerfect Office
OpenOffice.org
Google Docs & Spreadsheets

49. 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

50. You might have a computer
problem, if . . .

51. 3. Written Office Policies and
Procedures

52. 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

53. Essential Policies
Job descriptions
Structure of office
Supplies and equipment
Office docket control system
Communications
Billing

54. Law Office PPrroocceedduurreess MMaannuuaall ffoorr SSoollooss
aanndd SSmmaallll FFiirrmmss, Third Edition,
DDeemmttrriiooss DDiimmiittrriioouu, ABA Law Practice
Management Section.

55. E. Organizational Tips and Tricks
for Effective Office Administration

56. 1. The Management and “Control”
of Time
A. Implement the digital law office
Deliver documents digitally instead of with hard copy
A. 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

57. 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

58. 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

59. 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

60. 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)

61. 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

62. 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

63. A. Challenges to handling the
Workload

64. 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

65. 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

66.  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)

67. B. Avoiding systems that create burden

68. 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. . .

69. B. Timekeeping and Billing

70. 1. Timekeeping
• Different Methods/Same Results
Recorded with a pen and paper
Dictated
Inputted directly into billing program by a staff person
Inputted directly in the billing program by the attorney

71. Contemporaneous Timekeeping
Baby Steps
Expect Imperfection
Use reminders
Inspire yourself
Attitude

72. 2. Billing and Collecting
• Bring another person in the office into the
process

73. a. Review the billing
• Print, distribute, review
• Revise
The billing is a communication on behalf of the
law office

74. b. Deliver the bills to the Client
 On a consistent basis
Cumulative Effect Loss
 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

75. Collecting the Bill – pre-invoice
The First Meeting
Written Fee Agreement
Periodic Updates
Establishing what to charge

76. 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?

77. 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

78. D. Billing Systems for the Small Office
Software v. System

79. Things to consider
Understand the Firm
Try out the Application
Get information
What is being used locally?
Stick with major players
Get training

80. Budgeting and Account Management
QuickBooks or comparable program
• Basic Accounting Program
– Acts as checkbook
– Use additional features such as payroll
– Allows manipulation data
• Control of Overhead

81. C. Tips and Tricks for Efficient Time
and Financial Management
Avoid tracking minimal costs
Credit Cards (with oversight)
Track all time during the month

82. Making a Connection: The Art of
Communication Part II

83. A. Important of Building Strong
Client Relationships
1. Effective Representation
2. Trust
3. Satisfaction
4. Counselor
5. Repeat business
6. Referrals

84. B. Verbal Communication
• Setting a common objective
• Clearly identifying responsibilities
• Establishing schedules
• Stating expectations
– Define success!

85. 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

86. C. Practical Communication

87. Tips
• Signed written fee agreement
• Have someone proofread your documents
• Written Materials,
Communicate with the client about P. 100
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

88. 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