1. Time Management For Lawyers Indianapolis Bar Association Applied Professionalism Course John R. Maley jmaley@btlaw.com Barnes & Thornburg, LLP

2. Our Agenda The Importance Of Time Management Managing Phones Managing Email Managing Meetings Managing Paper Managing Your Day, Week, Month, & Year

3. Why Talk About Time Management ? For Most, The Biggest Challenge In Practice Is Time Management Poor Time Management Leads To: Missed Deadlines Poor Work Product Unhappy or No Clients Undue Stress Discipline or Even Disbarment To Be A Good Attorney, You Must Be Strong In Time Management Law School Does Not/Cannot Fully Prepare You For the Time Management Challenges Of The Practice

4. Think Of The Most Productive People You Know Are They Really Smarter? Do They Work Harder Than You, Or Just More Efficiently? Or Are They Just Better Organized, Better Time Managers, And Maximizers Of Proven Technologies?

5. What Do I Have To Offer? Lessons From Managing Technology At My Firm Lessons From Years Of Bar Leadership Lessons From National Litigation Experience And...

6. Lessons From Home

7. My Goals Today Get You Thinking About This Topic, Today, Tomorrow, Forever Implement A Few Of My Tips Next Week Implement A Few More More Next Month NOTE: Some of my tips might not be feasible in your firm or agency – use good judgment

8. The Client Culture & Practice Expectations The Increasing Pace And Volume Of Communication Clients, Staff, Courts Most Expect Amazon.Com Turnaround And The “Expected” Time Period of Accessibility Is No Longer 9-5 Not Yet 24/7, But Probably 7am – 10pm

9. So How To Keep Up? Maximize The Basic Technology – Phones Enhance (While Simplifying) Your Use Of Email Embrace Other Technology Tools Still Try To Maintain The “Personal Touch”

10. The Basics - Phones Many Have No Real Plan For Handling Incoming Phone Traffic Tip # 1: Devise A Plan That Works For You Who Will Answer – a person or vmail? How many rings until vmail or transfers to another person? How Do You Get Your Messages? What Message Is On Your Vmail?

11. More On Phones Tip # 2: Consider Driving Callers Away From Phone Calls & Towards Email Phones Are Inherently Inefficient For Most Communication Non-Electronic Vmails Are Slow To Retrieve, Hard To Manipulate

12. How To Do This Tip # 3: Have Staff Drive Callers To Email Or Have Staff Take A Message & Email It To You Have Your Email Address On Your Vmail Message As The First Option The Benefits? - Easier To Reply Or Delegate, Plus Better Record Of What Occurred

13. Have You Checked Your Vmail Message Lately Tip # 4: Create A New Vmail Message Every Day, Or At Least Weekly Why? Sets Client & Opposing Counsel Expectations Informs Them How To Proceed Without Your Result: Less Frustration For All

14. Tip # 5: Enhancing Phone Use Use A Headset (This Allows Note-Taking, Multi-Tasking) Don’t Use Speakerphones Know When Phone Is More Efficient Than Email or Meetings

15. Conference Calls Can You Instantly Set Up Your Own Conference Call? Use Services Such As www.1800conference.com or www.soundpathconferencing.com www.1800conference.com www.soundpathconferencing.com

16. What About Cell Phones? Tip # 6 Who Gets The Number? Use A Good Noise-Quieting Bluetooth or Headset Have Cell Vmail & Direct Them To Page Or Email Warning: Once Someone Has Your Cell #, They Will Use It

17. What About Email? If Managed Properly, A Great Tool If Mismanaged, Disaster Lurks Tip # 7: Manage Email Before It Manages You

18. Email – The Monster The Problem Ever-Increasing Volume Clients Courts Counsel Staff “anyone have free Super Bowl tix”? Useless replies, surreplies, sur-surreplies Imagine 20 years ago managing 50-500 incoming letters or memos daily with response expected same or next day on most! Greater need to find and manage what you’ve received

19. How To Do This? Tip # 8: Think Of Your Email As Your File Room Create Multiple e-Folders For Clients & Matters And Then Subfolders

20. More On E-Folders Have A High Priority Folder Have A Phone Message Folder And Sub-Divide Further Where Appropriate

21. Creating Rules To Maximize Your Email Experience Tip # 9 Folders Are Important, But Without Rules You’re Left Still With One InBox & Manual Moving Of Email You Can Make Rules By Subject Line Text, Sender, Recipient, Etc.

22. Tip # 10: The Importance Of A Good Subject Line Never Leave Subject Line Blank Use Your “Rule” Terms, Plus More Detail Use AN for Action Necessary Use NAN or FYI When No Action Necessary Indicate When Action Is Due IN THE SUBJECT LINE E.g, AN John Sum Jgmt Brief Due 11.1 Remember Someday You’ll Be Hunting For This Email Or Its Attachment

23. Tip # 11 - Warning! You must train your team to follow these protocols! This includes Office Staff You can also train your clients

24. Tip # 12: A Few Simple Email Tips Use The High Priority Option When It Is, In Fact, A High Priority Reading Pane will save hundreds of clicks daily, thousands weekly, hundreds of thousands annually, millions each decade And will save minutes daily, hours monthly, weeks yearly, months through your career

25. What About Auto Replies? Tip # 13: Use Auto Replies Sparingly If At All – Only When Truly Off Line For Days Don’t Need As Often If You With Email On Your Hip Or Laptop

26. Cutting Email Volume Tip # 14: Major Challenge Is Limiting Volume!! How To Do This? Direct team to send you less Get off lists that you no longer want Use effective filtering Block known abusers yourself

27. What Other Technology? Tip # 15: Scan Incoming Paper Mail – Allows For Quicker, Easier Communication Can Forward To Team, Clients

28. Tip # 16: Naming Protocols Attachments Need Names Too E.g., 10.16.12 Jones v. Smith as-filed sum jgmt brief

29. Tip # 17: Avoiding Paper Avoid Paper Stop Generating Paper Don’t Paper File Things You Have Electronically (subject to your firm’s policies) And Convert Paper To Electronic Medium When Keeping Something Never Touch Paper More Than 1x, Certainly Not More Than 2x

30. Tip # 18: More On Paper Paper Is The Evil Of Time Management & Productivity – Laptops & PDAs Are The Solution Never Take A Paper Note Again – NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALWAYS Have A Laptop (or iPad) For Notes

31. Avoiding Paper Tip 19 - Meetings Take Organized, Brief Notes In Meetings – But Use TASK As Your Keyword Immediately After Meeting, Calendar Dates & Tasks, & Email Notes & Tasks To Whomever Needs Them

32. Tip # 20: Limiting Meetings Meetings, Like Paper, Are A Time Management Black Hole Avoid Or Limit Meetings When Possible Ensure Start & Stop Time and Agenda Get Meetings Started On Time, and End Them On Time Ensure Reminders Go Out 5 Days & 1 Day Prior

33. Tip # 21: Planning Plan Your Day Your Week Your Month Your Year Schedule Vacations, Doctors’ Appointments, Kids Programs, etc. Well In Advance Try To Protect Mondays and Fridays

34. Tip # 22 - Scheduling Utilize Breakfast, Lunch, or End Of Day When Possible for Meetings

35. Tip 23: Read /Study Time Management Periodically E.g. The Time Trap, by Alec Mackenzie

36. Tip 24: Time Management Myths Good Time Management Does Not Mean Working Longer Hours Or Working Harder It Means Working: Smarter More Efficiently With Clear Planning, Processes, & Systems

37. Tip # 25: Service Is Everything (Almost) Accurate, high-quality work product should be a given for all of you (whether in practice, for Bar matters, non-profit work, etc.) Once that’s the case, service is what distinguishes you Good Time Management Is Critical To Good Client Service

38. Closing Thoughts & Questions