legal administration and technology ©2007 thomson delmar learning. all rights reserved. chapter 2...

Legal Administration and Technology

©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Chapter 2

Practical Law Office Management, 3rd Edition, Thomson Delmar Learning

2 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.©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


Functions of Legal Administration

Practice Mgmt

Practice Mgmt

LeadershipLeadership

ControllingControlling

Financial Mgmt

Financial Mgmt

HumanResources

Mgmt

HumanResources

Mgmt

PlanningPlanningMarketingMgmt

MarketingMgmt

OrganizationPolicies &Systems

OrganizationPolicies &Systems

FacilitiesMgmt

FacilitiesMgmt

OfficeServicesMgmt

OfficeServicesMgmt

TechnologyMgmt

TechnologyMgmt

Legal Administration

Legal Administration


Practice Management

• Defining the Firm’s Practice• Defining the Firm’s Services• Defining the Firm’s Systems• Quality Legal Services –

– Total Quality Management


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?


• 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


Functions of Management

• Leadership• Controlling• Financial Management• Marketing Management


Functions of Management - Human Resources Management

• Hiring• Performance Evaluations• Compensation and Benefits• Training and Development


• 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


Functions of Management - Planning

• Planning• Mission Statement• Strategic Planning


Functions of Management - Organization, Policies, and Systems

• Organization• Policy

– Procedures

• Systems– Law Office Staff Manuals– Computer Systems (see Technology)


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


Functions of Management - Office Services

• Mail Room• Copy Machines• File/Records Management• Telecommunications

– Telephones– Voice Mail– Fax Machines– Video Conferencing


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 backupor alternative

Portable hard drives


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/otheronline service

Instant messaging

Case management


Legal Assistant Daily Use of Hardware

Internet 95.1%

Wireless Phone 27.4%

Scanner 20.8%

CD-ROM 14.3%

Laptop Computer 12.8%

Handheld Computer (PDA)

11.6%

Source: 2005 Source: 2005 Legal Assistant TodayLegal Assistant Today Technology Survey Technology Survey


Legal Assistant Daily Use of Software

Source: 2005 Source: 2005 Legal Assistant TodayLegal Assistant Today Technology SurveyTechnology Survey

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%


Software

• E-mail– Problems/Errors– Confidentiality

• Word Processing• Spreadsheet• Database• Presentation• Docket Control/Calendaring/Case Mgmt


Software

• Time and Billing• Document Management• Document Assembly• Litigation Support• Electronic Discovery• Legal-Specific Software• Trial Software


Telecommunications

• Law Office Web Site• Internet Access• Intranet• Extranet• Legal Blogs

legal administration and technology ©2007 thomson delmar learning. all rights reserved. chapter 2...

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