FFICE MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES - Cengage …

1 SUMMARY OF KEY CONCEPTSS ection 1. The Successful Law OfficeA successful law office : serves its clients effectively and efficiently; upholds ethical standards and brings creditto the legal profession; and, provides professional satisfaction and areasonable economic reward for its owners,managers, and attorneys and paralegals work in law firmsthat represent a variety of outside clients. In addi-tion to meeting the three criteria above, a law firmusually seeks professional prestige in the legal com-munity. A stellar av rating by professional peersin the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directoryis a prizedachievement.

2 A socially responsible firm will divertsome portion of its profits into pro bonolegal serv-ices for the community and the less a corporate law office , there is only oneclient the corporation. Corporate legal depart-ments must justify their existence, so the quality oftheir services is equally important in that environ-ment. Often, the in-house counsel is able to mini-mize outside legal costs by providing legal adviceat less cost, but also by managing the use of out-side firms and carefully reviewing their to a corporation, the law office in mostpublic agencies has a single client.

3 It, too, will con-centrate upon the three essential traits of a suc-cessful practice. However, because it is supportedby tax dollars and is established to serve the pub-lic well-being, it should not confine its efforts tothe narrow parochial interests of the agency. Somepublic agencies are, in effect, public law firms: of-fices of the attorney general, county counsel, cityattorney, district attorney, public defender, etc. Aunique office is that of the public defender. Unlikeother government attorneys, they have a singleclient and duty to vigorously represent the de-fendant in a criminal of the setting, a successful lawpractice almost always rests upon the followingkey factors: dedicated and qualified professionals; effective law office organization; sound attorney-client relationships.

4 And, efficient law office , hard-working individuals who performtheir tasks in a professional manner are the most im-portant single factor in the successful law that reason, it is vital that they be treated withrespect and that they have the support they need toperform well. A reputation for high professionalstandards and enlightened MANAGEMENT will, byLAWOFFICEMANAGEMENTANDPROCEDURES11 CHAPTER word-of-mouth, draw outstanding candidates forlaw firm speaking, paralegals are at-will em-ployees of the firm or corporation.

5 That meansthat they may be dismissed at any time withoutcause or explanation. Also, they are free to leave atany time. Unless state law requires otherwise, anat-will employment relationship may be termi-nated by either party without any advance are four circumstances when employmentwill not be at-will: when a statute prohibits some form ofdiscriminatory dismissal; when public policy does not permit arbitrarydismissal; when the employee and the employer haveagreed upon an indefinite period ofemployment, with termination to be forcause only.

6 Or, when the employee and the employer haveagreed upon a fixed period of employment,with termination to be for cause state and federal statutes forbid employersfrom discharging employees for discriminatoryreasons ( , race, gender, disability, etc.). Thesestatutes modify the at-will employment. Even with-out a statutory protection, the state s common lawpublic policy might not permit an employer to dis-charge an employee for some reasons ( , awhistleblower who reports his employer s illegalconduct).

7 The employer might establish an implied con-tract that modifies the at-will relationship. This canhappen when the employer establishes a fixed pe-riod of probationary employment, during whichthe employee may be let go without explanation. Byimplication, satisfactory completion of the proba-tion period means that the employee is no longer aprobationary employee. The same effect can resultif the employer publishes a personnel policy whichprovides that employees will be dismissed for spec-ified causes ( , dishonesty, unsatisfactory per-formance, excessive absenteeism, etc.)

8 Many employers are advised by their attor-neys to publish a comprehensive personnel man-ual, which governs the working conditions, bene-fits, and employment relationship. This is advisedso that their personnel actions cannot be chal-lenged as arbitrary. A consequential effect, how-ever, is to create an implied employment contractthat can limit their personnel law firm should carry professional liabil-ity insurance, also known as an errors and omis-sions policy. These policies usually cover all em-ployees of the firm, including paralegals.

9 The basicpurpose of such policies is to protect the attorneyfrom claims of legal malpractice, but they mightcover other claims that arise in the course of prac-ticing ability of a law office to provide the high-est quality of professional services, and its abilityto function within a budget, are both impacted bythe way that the office is organized and corporate and government law offices mustoperate within a budget. In the past, small lawfirms tended to be legal general stores for indi-viduals and small businesses.

10 In recent years, how-ever, they have tended to specialize in one or twoareas of practitioners are thought of as individualattorneys who practice alone in a small office , sup-ported perhaps by two or three employees. Manysole practitioners, however, share a suite of officeswith other attorneys, so that a single receptionist,law library, and word processor can serve them share these overhead costs, but not their prac-tices or profits. In this arrangement, a legal assistantmight be employed by the attorney-landlord, butperform work on a contract basis for the other at-torneys, as attorney can be a sole proprietor of hispractice without being a sole practitioner.