Practical Law Office Management

Instructor’s Manual to Accompany PRACTICAL LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT 2ND EDITION Brent Roper Australia Canada Mexico Singapore Spain United Kingdom United States WEST LEGAL STUDIES Instructor’s Manual to Accompany Practical Law Office Management, 2E by Brent D. Roper COPYRIGHT © 2002 Delmar West Legal Studies is an ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by imprint of Delmar, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechani- license. cal, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web dis- tribution or information storage and retrieval systems— Printed in the United States without written permission of the publisher. 12345XXX0504030201 For permission to use material from this text or product, For more information contact Delmar, contact us by 3 Columbia Circle, PO Box 15015, Tel (800) 730-2214 Albany, NY 12212-5015. Fax (800) 730-2215 www.thomsonrights.com Or find us on the World Wide Web at www.thomsonlearning.com or Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data www.westlegalstudies.com ISBN 0-7668-2855-7 Catalog Card Number: 2001026285 NOTICE TO THE READER Publisher does not warrant or guarantee any of the products described herein or perform any independent analysis in con- nection with any of the product information contained herein. Publisher does not assume, and expressly disclaims, any obligation to obtain and include information other than that provided to it by the manufacturer. The reader is notified that this text is an educational tool, not a practice book. Since the law is in constant change, no rule or statement of law in this book should be relied upon for any service to any client. The reader should always refer to standard legal sources for the current rule or law. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of the appropriate professional should be sought. The Publisher makes no representation or warranties of any kind, including but not limited to, the warranties of fitness for particular purpose or merchantability, nor are any such representations implied with respect to the material set forth herein, and the publisher takes no responsibility with respect to such material. The publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or part, from the readers’ use of, or reliance upon, this material. CONTENTS PREFACE . v SAMPLE SYLLABUS . vi CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION TO LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT . 1 CHAPTER 2ETHICS AND MALPRACTICE. 10 CHAPTER 3STAFF MANUALS, QUALITY, MARKETING, AND PLANNING . 18 CHAPTER 4 CLIENTS AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS . 25 CHAPTER 5TIMEKEEPING AND BILLING . 31 CHAPTER 6CLIENT TRUST FUNDS AND LAW OFFICE ACCOUNTING. 40 CHAPTER 7 CALENDARING, DOCKET CONTROL, AND CASE MANAGEMENT . 46 CHAPTER 8HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT . 51 CHAPTER 9FILE AND LAW LIBRARY MANAGEMENT . 58 CHAPTER 10 LAW OFFICE EQUIPMENT, TECHNOLOGY, SPACE MANAGEMENT, SECURITY, AND LEASES . 63 PROJECTS . 67 TEST BANK . 75 TRANSPARENCY MASTERS. 111 iii iv Contents TM 1 FIGURE 1–1 THE LEGAL TEAM . 113 TM 2 FIGURE 1–2 DEFINITIONS OF A LEGAL ASSISTANT/PARALEGAL . 114 TM 3 FIGURE 1–4 DAILY FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF LEGAL ASSISTANTS . 115 TM 4 FIGURE 1–5 LEGAL ASSISTANT SPECIALTY AREAS OF PRACTICE . 116 TM 5 FIGURE 1–6 LEGAL ASSISTANT EMPLOYMENT . 117 TM 6 FIGURE 1–9 NUMBER OF ATTORNEYS BY PRACTICE . 118 TM 7 FIGURE 1–11 ORGANIZATIONAL CHARTS . 119 TM 8 FIGURE 1–13 LAW FIRM MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES . 120 TM 9 FIGURE 2–3 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ASSISTANTS, INC. CODE OF ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY . 122 TM 10 FIGURE 2–4 NFPA MODULE CODE OF ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY. 123 TM 11 FIGURE 2–17 MALPRACTICE CLAIMS BY TYPE OF ALLEGED ERROR, 1990–1995. 124 TM 12 FIGURE 4–3 FOSTERING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH CLIENTS. 125 TM 13 FIGURE 4–6 HOW PROFESSIONALS SPEND THEIR TIME. 127 TM 14 FIGURE 4–7 COMMUNICATION DIAGRAM . 128 TM 15 FIGURE 5–3 CONTINGENCY FEE EXAMPLE. 129 TM 16 FIGURE 5–5 COMPARISON LEGAL FEES TO PREPARE A WILL . 130 TM 17 FIGURE 6–2 TRUST ACCOUNT LEDGERS . 131 TM 18 FIGURE 6–4 LAW FIRM BUDGET—MASTER BUDGET . 132 TM 19 FIGURE 7–2 COMMON DOCKET CONTROL ENTRIES. 134 TM 20 FIGURE 7–3 CALENDAR FOR CALCULATING CALENDAR DAYS AND WORKDAYS EXAMPLE. 135 TM 21 FIGURE 7–14 CASE MANAGEMENT FOR COLLECTION CASES . 136 TM 22 FIGURE 8–12 WHO ARE EXEMPT EMPLOYEES?. 137 TM 23 FIGURE 8–13 PARTIAL LIST OF FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT RELATED LAWS . 138 PREFACE This manual provides the instructor with useful information to use in the classroom and to assist with test preparation. This is not an armchair style text. Theoretical information is kept to an absolute minimum. The text is practical in nature and focuses on the law office management skills legal assistants need to succeed in a legal organization. The text covers a broad range of subjects but includes a heavy emphasis on ethics, quality, clients, customer services, communications, and timekeeping/billing. Practical suggestions and insights are contained throughout the book. The second edition has some significant changes including the following: • Internet sites for each chapter have been added. • The ethics of law office management has been greatly increased throughout the text. Nearly every chapter now includes an ethical-related case as well. • References to the American Bar Association’s Ethics 2000 Commission are included. • Expanded coverage regarding clients and communication are contained in Chapter 4. •A“Suggested Reading” list is included for each chapter. • Coverage of technology issues such as the Internet, e-mail, and others has been added. • Updated law office software has been included. Appendix A contains an article “Successful Strategies for the New Legal Assistant.” It is excellent for students who have never worked in a law office. It contains experiential knowledge and advice that new legal assistants will find helpful. Because the article may not be applicable to more advanced students, it is not included as a formal chapter in the text, but it is still a good resource. Appendix B to the main text contains a listing of law office related associations. The text includes two computer tutorials (and software). Educational versions of Timeslips for Windows and Abacus Law (a docket control/case management program) are available for instructors adopting the text. The tutorials simulate the law office of Wallace and Sanders. The tutorials, like the text, have a practical orientation. I believe it is in the best interest of the student to include as many projects, exercises, field trips, and special speakers as possible for this class. I have devoted a section of this Instructor’s Manual to projects. For example, there is an excellent detailed project on trust accounts that requires the student to complete a trust check register and a trust client register, and then to reconcile the trust account at the end of the project. I have included a Lecture Outline in each chapter. The outlines are fairly detailed so instructors can lecture right from the outline or use it to quickly refresh their memory the night before a class. If you have suggestions on how to improve the text, need something special developed, need additional help or information, or just have a question, please feel free to give me a call. Best Wishes, Brent D. Roper [email protected] (e-mail) v SAMPLE SYLLABUS A sample syllabus for a 15-week semester and a 10-week quarter are included. Instructors teach law office management in many different ways. Each chapter stands on its own and does not require or rely on the chap- ters before it. So, an instructor is free to skip around and present the course in the order he or she feels is best. COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will cover the fundamentals of law office management. It is designed to familiarize the legal assistant with the practical inner workings of a law office including understanding law office procedures. Law office management goes beyond mere efficiency and productivity and includes being sensitive to ethical concerns and providing quality legal services to clients in an affordable manner. COURSE OBJECTIVES 1. Introduce the student to the behind the scenes workings and management of a law office. 2. Prepare the student on what a legal assistant is expected to accomplish administratively once on the job. 3. Review the types of law offices, staff positions, and possible office structures in different types of law offices. 4. Educate the student on common ethical and malpractice problems for attorneys and legal assistants and how to avoid or handle the concerns/problems. 5. Explain the importance of timekeeping, billing, and client trust funds in a law office. 6. Introduce the concept of total quality management and the importance of providing quality legal services to clients. 7. Explain the importance of docket control/case management and its relationship to malpractice, ethics, and providing quality services to clients. 8. Introduce the student to law library management, file management, law office equipment, and space management/leases. 9. Introduce and explain the fundamental aspects of management. 10. Explain law office marketing concepts and techniques. FIFTEEN-WEEK SEMESTER SYLLABUS Week Topic 1 Chapter 1—Introduction to Law Office Management 2 Chapter 2—Ethics and Malpractice 3Wrap up Ethics and Malpractice 4 Chapter 3—Staff Manuals, Quality, Marketing, and Planning 5 Chapter 4—Clients and Communication Skills 6 Chapter 5—Timekeeping and Billing 7 Hands-on Exercises—Timeslips for Windows Wrap up Timekeeping and Billing 8 Chapter 6—Client Trust Funds and Law Office Accounting vi Preface vii 9 Chapter 7—Calendaring, Docket Control, and Case Management 10 Hands-on Exercises - Abacus Law Docket Control 11 Chapter 8—Human Resource Management 12 Chapter 9—File and Law Library Management 13 Chapter 10—Law Office Equipment, Technology, Space Management, Security and Leases 14 Project 15 Project Appendix A—Successful Strategies for the New Legal Assistant TEN-WEEK QUARTER SYLLABUS This text can be covered in 10 weeks.

Load more