Practical Law Office Management,
3rd Edition, Thomson Delmar Learning
Chapter 2
Legal Administration and
Technology
©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
2
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Functions of Legal
Administration
Technology
Mgmt
Practice
Mgmt
Leadership
Office
Services
Mgmt
Facilities
Mgmt
Controlling
Legal
Administration
Human
Resources
Mgmt
Organization
Policies &
Systems
Marketing
Mgmt
3
Financial
Mgmt
Planning
©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 –
•
–
4
Total Quality Management
©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 subspecialty of the area?
5
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Practice Management –
Defining the Firm’s Practice
• 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)?
6
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Functions of Management
•
•
•
•
7
Leadership
Controlling
Financial Management
Marketing Management
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Functions of Management Human Resources Management
•
•
•
•
8
Hiring
Performance Evaluations
Compensation and Benefits
Training and Development
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Functions of Management Human Resources Management
•
Personnel Law
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
9
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
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Functions of Management
- Planning
•
Planning
• Mission Statement
• Strategic Planning
10
©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)
11
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Functions of Management
- Facilities Management
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
12
Property Acquisition
Moves/Construction/Remodeling
Parking
Cleaning/Maintenance/Grounds
Common Areas
Environmental (Lighting, Heating/Air)
Security/Workplace Violence
Safety
Disaster Recovery Planning
©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
13
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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 printer
Virus protection software
Computerized
telecommunication equipment
Networked or stand-alone color printer
Digital projector
Computerized security systems
Multifunction printer (printer, fax,
scanner, copier)
Digital camera
Web design/development
software
Local network servers, cards, wireless, etc.
Digital video camera
Web site management
Wide area network servers
Portable printer
Digital printers
Laptop computers
Firewall
Scanner
Mobile phones
Central storage devices
Document sharing software
Web design/development software
Tape backup
or alternative
Portable hard drives
14
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Functions of Management: Technology -
Application Software
Word processing
Document assembly
Graphic/illustration programs
Spreadsheet
Document management
Project management
Database
Electronic discovery
Citation checking
Presentation
Knowledge management
Conflict checking
E-mail
PDF creation
Transcript/deposition
management
Internet browser
Scanning/optical character recognition
Contact management
Docket control/calendar
Speech recognition
Internet
Litigation support
Trial presentation
Intranet
Time and billing
Legal specific programs
Extranet
Accounting
Westlaw/LexisNexis/other
online service
Instant messaging
Case management
15
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Legal Assistant Daily Use
of Hardware
Internet
Wireless Phone
Scanner
CD-ROM
Laptop Computer
Handheld Computer
(PDA)
95.1%
27.4%
20.8%
14.3%
12.8%
11.6%
Source: 2005 Legal Assistant Today Technology Survey
16
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Legal Assistant Daily Use
of Software
17
E-mail
97.8%
Word Processing
92.7%
Calendar/Docket
60.6%
Time and Billing
47.2%
Document Management
42.7%
Case Management
31.6%
Document Assembly
27.8%
PDF Creation
26.9%
Accounting
24.5%
Scanning/OCR
22.9%
Litigation Support
15.5%
Client Relationship Mgmt
15.0%
Knowledge Mgmt
14.4%
Practice Management
9.2%
Electronic Discovery
8.6%
Trial Presentation
2.9%
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Source: 2005 Legal Assistant Today
Technology Survey
Software
•
E-mail
–
Problems/Errors
– Confidentiality
•
•
•
•
•
18
Word Processing
Spreadsheet
Database
Presentation
Docket Control/Calendaring/Case Mgmt
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Software
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
19
Time and Billing
Document Management
Document Assembly
Litigation Support
Electronic Discovery
Legal-Specific Software
Trial Software
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Telecommunications
•
•
•
•
•
20
Law Office Web Site
Internet Access
Intranet
Extranet
Legal Blogs
©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.