Law Practice Management Final Problem Fall 2011 Group Members: Jennifer Emily Fiore Elizabeth Kerns Ryan Reed

Billing Get away from hourly billing and contingency fees in favor of fixed fee or value billing Have a nonrefundable retainer arrangement (get paid first) Investigate the feasibility of a time-billing accounting system that can track and bill time and manage firm accounting

Billing Include a clause in the attorney-client agreement that allows you to alter your fees after the first year billing Structure client contracts to pay bonuses Send all bills right after work is performed and send them for any work done, even that not billed. Bill a portion of the alphabet each week.

Operating Costs Reduce operating costs by having clients do some of the work, outsourcing to India, and hiring law students

Firm Website Design the website to be a helpful informative resource for clients. Set up a blog Use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media websites Register potentially helpful domain names Search engine optimization Newsletter

Website Consider paying for clicks Include your fees on the website Advertise different firm phone numbers for different practice areas, make it a little hard for clients to find contact information, so they are more likely to be informed and motivated Include free legal forms Model after WebMD

Website Gear the website toward helping people solve problems as opposed to promoting the firm Include video content Consider including content in Spanish, Creole, and other represented languages

Go Paperless Eliminate paper to reduce costs and increase organization. Use the scanner and a case/document management system. Look at storing/ backing up documents in the cloud. Pay for a commercial internet account for rapid response.

Go Paperless Use case management software to remind the firm when it no longer needs to store client files. Consider adding inexpensive desktop scanners to save time from walking down the hallway. Use office management software to assure that anyone in the firm who works on a case saves his/her work to the same area.

Scheduling Use firm management software and an exchange server to synchronize everyone’s calendars in an electronic format. Synchronize to Microsoft Outlook or other program that will remind attorneys of appointments and deadlines for each case they are working on. Use program that makes calendar accessible on phones (iPhones and Android) for use in Court.

Research If the firm can’t afford Westlaw and Lexis, consider using FastCase, Cornell, Google Scholar, and other low cost research tools. Consider sending a paralegal to local court houses or law school libraries. Consider eliminating their paper libraries.

Legal Assistants Consider setting up video conference via Skype to allow the legal assistant to work from home. View and evaluate legal assistant’s work via Office online. Consider outsourcing to India or other low wage markets.

Persuading the Firm At each step in the presentation of the plan, illustrate by means of projected data how these changes will not only save time and money for the firm, but will also increase its profitability and efficiency.

Prioritization Billing Practice management system (paperless document/case management and billing systems linked) Website Legal assistants Research