Computerized systems can be a boon to a well organized law office,
but the gestation period from concept to reality can determine
the success of the transition. The same can be said for the transition
from an archaic or outdated computerized system to a modern and
powerful system. Proper preparation of your office systems and
personnel for conversion to a computerized system or to an updated
and modern system will result in a smoother and more rewarding
transition.
Although most all law offices now have at least some type of computerized
word processing system, and the larger law firms have utilized
fully computerized systems for many years, the implementation
by smaller and medium-size law offices of computerized systems
for other than word processing is now underway. Many of the small
and medium-size firms are aware of the many advantages of full-system
computerization, but do not know how to select those systems or
how to implement them. In addition, many of the large firms desire
to update their systems to take advantage of the new technologies,
but many do not have an organized plan for the conversion.
It is not the purpose of this article to advise how to select
a system. It is to give some do’s and don’ts on planning for the
conversion. Just as a completely painless childbirth is not a
reasonable expectation, so the acquisition of a computer system,
or the conversion to a new one, will not be totally painless.
We have set out herein some ways to minimize the discomfort. We
have not in this article described use of the Internet, which
is rapidly becoming a major research and communication tool. (There
are many available publications which easily walk you through
use of the Internet.)
The Importance of Planning for the New Arrival
Just as any new arrival in the home causes a disruption of the
schedule or way of life, so the arrival of a new computer system
in a law office also causes problems. The disruption is measured
in the time required for the transition to the new systems, the
money expended for extra office help, installation of additional
wiring, and the frustration of suddenly finding that procedures
have changed, that work may not be getting out as rapidly as possible,
and that office staff is concentrating so heavily on the new system
that they don’t have time to get their regular work done. Let
us consider each of these.
Proper planning before the arrival can materially reduce the time
lost after arrival. A haphazard conversion can result in missed
deadlines, work not getting out on time, and a breakdown in the
flow of work to the lawyers or to the clients. If you get your
computer and discover that your wiring is not adequate, you will
have to install the requisite circuits immediately, which will
be more expensive than having this work planned in advance. Couple
these with a general lack of organization and inability to get
the work out on time during the conversion process and you have
frustration sufficient to trigger aggression.
The Planning Process
Your first decision involves what you initially will put on your
computer system. Make a checklist of every system presently used
in your office, such as your filing system, financial records,
tickler, document retrieval, timekeeping, billing, case control,
and mailing lists for newsletters. Decide which of these systems
you want to incorporate in your computerized system by checking
each one you believe can be feasibly converted or updated.
After you have made your checklist, set up a schedule. To decide
the order you want to put the various systems on the computer,
or to convert to a new computer setup, you must determine which
systems or sub-systems are prerequisites for other systems. For
example, you cannot do time and billing without having a complete
client list with data, which will enable both you and the computer
to identify the clients and matters. If you have a large number
of clients, several days may be required to input this basic data.
Your schedule should take into account the priorities of input
of the various items, and that is the way we will discuss them
here.
Filing system. Your filing system must be compatible with the
computer software you are acquiring. If your existing file numbering
system cannot be accommodated on the computer, you will need to
change it. This is a good opportunity to review your system to
make sure it is up to date and incorporates the latest technology.
An excellent filing system designed specifically for law offices
is explained in detail in the monograph published by the American
Bar Association’s Section on Legal Economics (now Section on Law
Practice Management), “Simplified Accounting Systems and Concepts
for Lawyers,” which was written by Kline D. Strong, J.D., Ph.D.,
C.P.A. Dr. Strong’s suggested filing system has been incorporated
into the client and matter system used by some of the major commercial
software available. Basically, it uses a file number for each
client and a decimal number for each matter for that particular
client. This is a tremendous time saver with a computer, because
you do not have to reinput all of the data in order to open a
new matter for an existing client. When you have decided to computerize
or modernize, you should immediately renumber your files to get
them ready for the conversion so you will be using and getting
used to the new file system before you attempt to convert to the
new system.
To be continued in future issues … the steps required to begin
organization of your files, as well as preparing financial records,
docket and training personnel on your computer. n
Although you may not feel this way (all of the time) about the
wonderful and complex human beings with whom you work … those
wonderful and complex human beings are a law firm’s most valuable
asset. Regardless of whether they are your partners, associates,
paralegals, administrative staff or secretarial staff, they all
play an important part in the success of your practice and in
creating the culture of your firm. Successfully managing this
most valuable asset is one of the biggest challenges of managing
your practice.
One of the difficult aspects of “people management” is finding
and holding on to qualified candidates for the firm’s support
staff positions. Support staff for purposes of this article refers
to legal secretaries, paralegals and other non-attorney employees.
Smaller firms, especially, struggle to maintain longevity in their
support staff positions. Increasing competition within the local
legal community as well as increasing salaries and attractive
benefits packages offered by larger firms in nearby metropolitan
areas may entice your employees to “look around.”
A firm’s success in hiring and keeping quality employees can be
attributed to several factors, some of which are: *A well managed
hiring and orientation process; *The firm’s working environment
and culture; and, *The professional relationship between the employee
and those with whom he or she works directly — which ideally will
be characterized by mutual respect for the contribution each makes
to the firm.
The hiring and orientation process sets the tone for the employee’s
tenure with the firm and might prove to make or break the success
of the new employee. Here are some suggestions for ensuring that
this first aspect of the management of your staff is successful.
The Hiring and Orientation Process
The Search
The first step in the hiring process is the development of a job
description. Without a job description, neither you nor the candidates
have a clue as to what they will be doing. Second, advertise the
position via word of mouth to various local associations, such
as the Association of Legal Secretaries, the local or state Paralegals
Association, the Association of Legal Administrators, your local
or county bar, attorney-friends, staff, clients, friends and family.
You may also want to consider advertising in the local paper,
but be prepared for an avalanche of résumés from candidates who
may not have the qualifications you specifically requested in
your ad. Temporary and permanent placement agencies often have
good candidates, but the placement fee can be prohibitive. However,
most agencies now offer a “try-before-you-hire” service that allows
you and the candidates to work together on a short term basis
to see if there is a good fit.
The Interview
Evaluate the résumés that have been submitted to you, paying particular
attention to four areas: *Work experience: Do the candidates have
legal experience? Do they have specific experience in the desired
practice area? If they have no legal experience or experience
in the specific practice area, does their experience relate (at
all) to what they will be doing in your position? Has their prior
work experience required similar skills or been in a similar environment
as the position in your firm? *Duration of employment: Do the
candidates’ résumés indicate longevity in employment history or
have they “skipped around” from job to job or firm to firm? *Education:
What level of education was completed? Is it adequate for the
position? Obtain, if available, the candidates’ G.P.A. *Presentation
of the résumé: Review the résumés for their professional presentation,
typographical errors and format. Does the quality of the work
product of their résumé meet the work product standard of your
firm and/or of the attorney for whom the candidates will work?
Beware of the candidates “overselling” themselves via their résumé.
Could they possibly be as good as their résumé suggests?
Considering the résumés submitted, select five or six of the strongest
candidates and contact them for an “initial” interview. It is
helpful to schedule the interviews as close together as possible
so that you have a fresh memory of the candidates at the end of
the process. Interview each candidate for about 30 minutes to
obtain initial impressions and information that will allow you
to either eliminate the candidates or select them for a second
interview.
Prepare for the interview by developing a list of questions that
will provide you the information you need to evaluate the candidates.
Such questions might cover the candidates’ background (e.g., where
they are from and what schools they attended). Many times a candidate’s
background may include something in common with your own. Sharing
common experiences at the outset of the interview will serve to
put both the candidates and you at ease for the remainder of the
interview. Secondly, ask the candidates to describe the work experiences
they have had. (I realize you have it on their résumé, but ask
them to describe it. You will learn a great deal more about their
actual experience.) Ask them what they liked most and least about
each position. This question often tells you something about how
well each person will work with the attorneys to whom they will
be assigned. It may reveal issues relative to availability for
overtime work and how well they are likely to get along with other
support staff. The third set of questions should address their
reason for looking for another position and the type of position
and work environment they seek. The more you encourage them to
talk, the more you will find out about them and the better conclusion
you can draw as to whether they will be a good fit for the position
and the firm.
Next, ask the candidates to discuss in detail the tasks they have
actually performed in their prior positions. This type of questioning
provides insight into the depth of the candidates’ experience
in performing certain tasks. For example: a paralegal’s résumé
may indicate that he or she has experience preparing documents
for corporate formation. Upon examination in the interview, you
may find that “forming corporations” in his or her prior firm
meant pulling up forms from the corporate forms bank and filling
in the blanks with information provided by the attorney. The documents
were then taken to the Secretary of State’s office by messenger
and filed. In your firm “forming corporations” may require that
the paralegal obtain from the client the information needed to
prepare corporate formation documents (requiring good interpersonal
and communication skills), prepare a first draft of the documents
using appropriate language (requiring an understanding of the
meaning of the language and how and where it is to be used) and
properly filing the documents with the Secretary of State.
Finally, it is wise to test secretarial candidates for their typing,
transcription and spelling skills. It is wise to always test a
candidate’s skill level prior to hiring him or her. Even when
using a placement agency, request that the agency test the candidates,
using your test, prior to submitting résumés for consideration.
The spelling test should be made up of business words and legal
words or phrases. Testing should also involve revising short documents
that have been “marked up” to see how well formatting and editing
marks are understood. Dictate a letter on a tape and let the candidates
transcribe it. The test does not have to be “timed.” However,
keep up with how quickly each candidate completes all of the tasks.
This will give you an indication of their speed and ability to
work under pressure.
Before the interview ends, you must “sell” the firm. Remember,
the candidates are interviewing you, too! Discuss firm history,
size, culture, practice areas, and personality. Describe the position
in terms of skills needed and tasks to be performed. Describe
(and be candid) the attorneys for whom the candidates will work.
Honesty is the best policy here. What the candidates do not find
out about their attorney in the interview process, will be found
out in the first weeks and months of employment. If there are
any surprises, the new employee may leave and you’ll be back to
the interview process again. Benefits can also be discussed at
this stage.
Upon completion of all initial interviews, select candidates to
return for a second interview with you and with those with whom
the candidates will work directly. You should narrow the field
to no more than three. During this interview process, the attorneys
for whom the candidates will work should meet with the candidates
and follow the same interview format as the initial interviews.
The appropriate person should then ask the candidates what their
compensation expectations are and review again the benefits package
the firm offers. The candidates’ interest in the position should
also be determined before the second interview is completed.
When second interviews are completed, discuss with the appropriate
attorneys the qualifications and salary expectations of each candidate.
Make a decision as to whom the offer will be given and the compensation
to be offered. Consider the market in which you are competing
for employees in setting the salary offer. Make it as competitive
as possible. If you cannot match the market or do better than
market, be prepared to sell the candidate on the other benefits
of working for your firm; (e.g., firm culture, personality, opportunities
to advance into another position, etc.)
Call references to verify work history, attendance history, salary
information and re-hire status. Once it is determined that all
references check out, offer the position to the candidate of choice.
Upon the candidate’s acceptance of the position, provide a letter
outlining the terms of the employment including start date, annual
compensation, benefits and eligibility for vacation and sick time
during the first year of employment. n
The mobile attorney is frequently faced with the need to access
his or her email while traveling. Now, thanks to web-based POP3
email retrieval services, the attorney’s Internet email inbox
can be accessed from any web browser, anywhere, anytime. Armed
with only his or her email address, password and web access, the
road warrior can retrieve his or her email or can send outgoing
email messages bearing the office email address. Sites such as
www.mailstart.com require no prior registration and allow use
of the site as a portal for free and unlimited access to one’s
Internet email inbox. A few caveats are in order: (1) only Internet
email messages can be retrieved with this system; you won’t be
able to retrieve intra-office mail sent via Microsoft Mail, GroupWise
or similar internal mail clients. If you need to receive a message
or a file from someone in the office, have them send it to your
Internet email address. (2) The user will be able to retrieve
only messages that are still on the POP3 server, that is, if the
user’s desktop mail client back at the office, such as Outlook,
is running, it will be retrieving messages every few minutes,
and once retrieved, those messages probably won’t be available
for retrieval from outside. Solution: close your mail program
before leaving the office or change your mail settings to “leave
messages on server” while you’re gone. (3) A more powerful site,
such as www.webbox.com, will be required to retrieve and manage
email attachments. (4) And finally, investigate the privacy policies
of the web-based mail retrieval service before retrieving or transmitting
any confidential client communications.
A nice companion to browser-based Internet mail retrieval for
the traveling attorney is a web-based fax service, such as www.efax.com.
By registering at such a site, the user will receive a free fax
number (generally not in his or her area code) to which faxes
can be sent from the client or the home office. When registering,
the user provides the service with his or her email address and
downloads and installs a small viewer program. Incoming faxes
are delivered by the service to the user’s POP3 server, and, you
guessed it…, can be accessed on the road by using www.webbox.com
or a similar portal that supports attachments. The fax message
can be retrieved, opened, viewed on the screen or printed out
to look just like a fax on your fax machine back at the office.
The big advantage of this system over using a fax program, such
as Microsoft Fax or Winfax, on a laptop to receive the incoming
fax is that the message can be received at any time, regardless
of whether your laptop is plugged into a phone jack. With this
system, if you’re not connected when the fax is sent, it will
be delivered to your POP3 server and just sit in your email inbox
until you retrieve it. Again, review fax site privacy policies
before handling confidential communications.
Happy traveling!
© Copyright 2000 Tennessee Bar Association