Legal Administration and Technology ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Chapter 2 Practical Law Office Management, 3 rd Edition, Thomson Delmar Learning

2 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Practice Management v. Administrative Management Practice Management – What type of cases should we specialize in? – What legal services should we provide? Administrative Management – Financial management – Human resources management

3 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Functions of Legal Administration Legal Administration Practice Mgmt LeadershipControlling Financial Mgmt Human Resources Mgmt PlanningMarketing Mgmt Organization Policies & Systems Facilities Mgmt Office Services Mgmt Technology Mgmt

4 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Practice Management Defining the Firm’s Practice Defining the Firm’s Services Defining the Firm’s Systems Quality Legal Services – – Total Quality Management

5 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Practice Management – Defining the Firm’s Practice Who are our primary clients (businesses, individuals, governments)? What market segments will we service? What legal services will we provide? What resources will be needed to provide those services? What services do our clients need or want? To meet those needs, what services will we need to add or to delete to be successful? What type of cases do we want to take? What is the long-term projection for those cases? Can they sustain the law practice? What legal areas will we specialize in? Should we focus on a sub- specialty of the area?

6 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. How many practice areas will we have? And, how many areas can we perform successfully in with the resources we have? Who will champion each practice area and lead its development? Should we specialize or focus on providing services to a specific industry? What geographic area will we serve? How will we attract clients? How will we assure that the clients receive quality services? How will we retain clients (what will be our basis for competition to differentiate our services from the next firm)? Practice Management – Defining the Firm’s Practice

7 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Functions of Management Leadership Controlling Financial Management Marketing Management

8 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Functions of Management - Human Resources Management Hiring Performance Evaluations Compensation and Benefits Training and Development

9 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Personnel Law – Employment-At-Will – Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 – Fair Labor Standards Act – Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 – Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 – Equal Pay Act of 1993 Functions of Management - Human Resources Management

10 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Functions of Management - Planning Planning Mission Statement Strategic Planning

11 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Functions of Management - Organization, Policies, and Systems Organization Policy – Procedures Systems – Law Office Staff Manuals – Computer Systems (see Technology)

12 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Functions of Management - Facilities Management Property Acquisition Moves/Construction/Remodeling Parking Cleaning/Maintenance/Grounds Common Areas Environmental (Lighting, Heating/Air) Security/Workplace Violence Safety Disaster Recovery Planning

13 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Functions of Management - Office Services Mail Room Copy Machines File/Records Management Telecommunications – Telephones – Voice Mail – Fax Machines – Video Conferencing

14 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Functions of Management – Technology: Hardware & Tech Support Software Desktop or laptop computer, monitor, speakers, storage devices, and mouse for every staff member Operating system software on every computer, laptop, and handheld PDAs (personal digital assistants – handheld computers) Networked or stand-alone printerVirus protection softwareComputerized telecommunication equipment Networked or stand-alone color printerDigital projectorComputerized security systems Multifunction printer (printer, fax, scanner, copier) Digital cameraWeb design/development software Local network servers, cards, wireless, etc.Digital video cameraWeb site management Wide area network serversPortable printerDigital printers Laptop computersFirewallScanner Mobile phonesCentral storage devicesDocument sharing software Web design/development softwareTape backup or alternative Portable hard drives

15 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Functions of Management: Technology - Application Software Word processingDocument assemblyGraphic/illustration programs SpreadsheetDocument managementProject management DatabaseElectronic discoveryCitation checking PresentationKnowledge managementConflict checking PDF creationTranscript/deposition management Internet browserScanning/optical character recognitionContact management Docket control/calendarSpeech recognitionInternet Litigation supportTrial presentationIntranet Time and billingLegal specific programsExtranet AccountingWestlaw/LexisNexis/other online service Instant messaging Case management

16 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Legal Assistant Daily Use of Hardware Internet95.1% Wireless Phone27.4% Scanner20.8% CD-ROM14.3% Laptop Computer12.8% Handheld Computer (PDA) 11.6% Source: 2005 Legal Assistant Today Technology Survey

17 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Legal Assistant Daily Use of Software Source: 2005 Legal Assistant Today Technology Survey 97.8% Word Processing92.7% Calendar/Docket60.6% Time and Billing47.2% Document Management42.7% Case Management31.6% Document Assembly27.8% PDF Creation26.9% Accounting24.5% Scanning/OCR22.9% Litigation Support15.5% Client Relationship Mgmt15.0% Knowledge Mgmt14.4% Practice Management9.2% Electronic Discovery8.6% Trial Presentation2.9%

18 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Software – Problems/Errors – Confidentiality Word Processing Spreadsheet Database Presentation Docket Control/Calendaring/Case Mgmt

19 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Software Time and Billing Document Management Document Assembly Litigation Support Electronic Discovery Legal-Specific Software Trial Software

20 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Telecommunications Law Office Web Site Internet Access Intranet Extranet Legal Blogs