Lawyers chasing the goal of running a paperless office are finding that both practical and ethical concerns can cause bumps in the road. Are there some documents that must remain in their original – i.e., paper – form? How many ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management Technology

The first and most important step in promoting efficiency is to know your practice areas well. A close second is to aggressively provide training for everyone in your office. Successful firms understand that they must invest in their people, their ...

Tagged with: Elder Law Law Office Management

“This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” You may recall that famous advertising slogan from the 1980s. One could use a similar phrase when describing today’s legal marketplace. Changes in billing methods, improvements in technology, a turbulent economy and the globalization ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management

Keeping control of clients who become difficult to manage and making sure you filter out the not-so-good clients in the first place are essential to maintaining a successful law practice and holding on to your sanity. This can be especially ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management

In the wake of a proposed settlement between credit card-issuers Visa and MasterCard and merchants that would allow vendors to pass along “swipe fees” to their customers, lawyers who accept “plastic” are grappling with the issue of whether such up-charges ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management Legal Ethics Opinion

Employers are increasingly allowing their employees to use their own laptops, tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices for work purposes – and that is creating a plethora of potential legal issues. Employment defense lawyers say that every business should have ...

Tagged with: Employment Law Office Management Technology

The Internet has created a revolution in the way lawyers and clients interact, but the “virtual” lawyer must not lose sight of the “actual” client. The most familiar form of the online revolution’s impact on small and solo law firms ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management Technology

The old school model for staffing in a small law firm was often one secretary or legal assistant per lawyer, perhaps with some additional help from a receptionist or billing clerk. Under this model, the firm’s core delivery of legal ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management

If you have lots of ideas for your law firm but they remain in the realm of the abstract year after year, here are some 10-minute exercises that can help you set specific goals and turn them into reality. First, ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management

Few things are more unpleasant than firing someone. But if a member of the team is not up to the task or firm finances force a difficult decision, sometimes no other option exists. If you must let someone go, here ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management