|
Pages and articles on this site
provide general information on the subject for attorneys and legal assistants.
Pages and articles on this site do not provide legal advice on any specific
legal matter or factual situation.
|
 Monthly Law Office Management Tips:
manage your office work;
manage your time;
manage your cases.
By Leonard Bucklin
The following management tips for lawyers (changed
irregularly) give you better time
management, better management of your office and of your litigation cases and
case load, and make you happier.
Work
quicker, happier, better, smarter.
 2012
brings major changes in federal diversity and federal question jurisdiction
statute, in removal possibilities, and in venue.
Change your lawfirm culture and discover the upward change in your level of productivity and professional
success.
A lot of social science and business science research on
"what makes an organization successful in its field" has been done in the last
20 years. The concepts that have developed in the research, and the conclusions
based on the research findings, have a core of common statements and
conclusions. There is solid information from social science and business science
available to you if you want to improve the performance of your law firm, if
only to improve your own performance, income and reputation in the client or
professional community.
If you are a busy lawyer reading the two page white paper we've put together
for you, you do not want a ton of research; you want simply to know the
basic and proved conclusions that apply to you. Therefore, as shortly as I can:
First, I’ll give you the basic concepts of the cultures of business
entities, that apply to law firms. Please understand, from the
prospective of social science, or of business science: the term
"organization" includes not only a entire law firm, of whatever size.
The term "organization" also includes one lawyer with one secretary who
work together as a team in any size law firm. That one lawyer and
secretary team are, for social science purposes, also an "organization,"
albeit a subpart of a larger organization.)
Second,
I’ll give you the strategies for you to manage, and improve, your law
firm by improving the "lawfirm culture."
RYON - for your mail and email.
 Delegation is a science, not an art. There are a number of articles and books
on the subject of delegating work to others. Teach yourself one such method of delegation, called RYON.
RYON can clear your in-box! RYON can be quickly learned. RYON is a quick method of delegating, to free
some time for you to work more on the items that demand your legal judgment and
skill. Chances are that RYON will save you a half-hour, or more, a day (that’s
100 hours a year)!
All you need to delegate work by RYON ... :
How to Be Productive: Stop Working
By Margaret Heffernan
For the last 100 years, every productivity study in every industry has
come to the same conclusion: after about 40 hours in a week, the quality of your
work starts to degrade. You make mistakes. That’s why
working....
Best Short Management Book
Ken Blanchard, PhD, is internationally renowned for his situational
leadership model developed with Paul Hersey and his “One Minute Manager” series
co-authored with Spencer Johnson. Blanchard teaches at a university, but writes
in popular, easy to read and understand style. Blanchard's “One Minute”
series of books are popular because they are they are simple to use
and his methods work!.
If you are a lawyer, and have time for reading only one short
management book,
Blanchard's One Minute Manager is for you.
The principals apply to a one-attorney office as well as to an attorney in a
hundred-attorney office. It's only a few dollars, and you owe it to
yourself to read the 100 pages of some sound advice on managing people to
leverage the time you have.
|
|
Actively use good legal forms.
Best practice. Legal forms are for every case you handle! Handling any type of legal matter with efficiency requires
using a checklist or form to get started. You avoid mistakes of
omission. You save time. You save effort. If you or your legal assistant
has done something once and it is likely to have to be done again "this year,"
-- then make (or buy) a checklist. Don't reinvent the wheel. Give yourself a
gift of time!
Law firm retreats add value ($$$) to your time.
We (Bucklin.Organization) manage and lead law firm retreats for law
firms under 20 lawyers. Of course we say we
do it best. Contact us and talk about what we can do for you.
However, for those who don't believe that that adding outside professional
help adds value to your planning, there
is another group we recommend. For going it alone, planning and
executing your own firm retreat -- the website at
LawFirmRetreats is a source of tips you might want to look at.
In litigation, use checklists.
 Best
practice. If you have not had loads of experience in something you are
doing in the lawsuit, then find an applicable legal form written or edited by a
top trial lawyer. (e.g., drafting a subpoena to an adverse expert witness,
asking the questions at trial that will have your client testify about damages resulting
from the wrongful death of their son, or, cross-examining the plaintiff's
doctor at a deposition) . Save time, save effort, and save yourself from mistakes of omission.
Equally important, in effect you get a mentor and experienced guide to what your
are doing.
 LawyerTrialForms™ maintains the catalog listing of Bucklin's
litigation systems and forms for
office management, depositions, settlement, and trials. A trial notebook, a settlement system, deposition
checklists, trial forms, and other litigation orientated publications are
intended to bring efficiency to lawyers' work. More than that: they
all bring you a packaged advisor and senior partner coach to lawyers. These
deposition, discovery, litigation, and trial forms
are available at
LawyerTrialForms™
The Archive of Past Tips for
Lawyers starts here
We do not reply to persons seeking an attorney, and this
website is not a solicitation for work as an attorney. If you need legal advice,
seek an attorney in your state.
|
