Archive for the ‘Legal’ Category

Law Office Relocation, Part III

Friday, June 5th, 2009

 

The move day went smoothly because the project checklist had been kept in focus during the entire project.  When you categorize the project and move lists and add the responsible party’s name to the item needed it helps each part of a relocation run smoothly. 

 

 

As each item was accomplished, the list was updated to reflect any new items needed, as well as things that came up at the last minute.  The goal was to plan ahead so that there were few last minute details to add.  Goal accomplished. The move was completed on time and in good order.  The telephones were turned on, the computers worked and the copiers were running well before the end of move day.

 

The only item remaining is to hang art, and that will be done soon. 

 

It has been said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  We agree!  Enjoy these before and after photos of the new office space. 

 

 

TIP: Phone numbers and e-mail addresses kept in one central place during any project or move make communication with responsible parties easy and concise.

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"Before" Office Entrance

"Before" Office Entrance

 

"After" Entrance

"After" Office Entrance

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"Before" Reception Area

"Before" Reception Area

"After" Reception Area

"After" Reception Area

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"Before" Conference Room

"Before" Conference Room

"After" Conference Room

"After" Conference Room

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"Before" Storage Space

"Before" Storage Space

"After" Storage Space

"After" Storage Space

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Law Office Relocation, Part II

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

The new law office demolition has begun.  Opening the space has made a positive difference in the new office work flow, allowing for easy access to work areas, good storage, added filing, as well as space for client meetings.  One of the most important things with the new layout is the reduction of business machine noise, which will be a positive result of the move. 

 

 

Decisions have been made regarding which person will occupy which space.  The next decisions to be made are where the existing furniture should be placed and whether or not any new furniture will be purchased.  The furniture representative has come by to measure spaces and has placed the furniture on the new office layout for approval.  Seeing where the existing pieces will fit they realized they would not need to order more at this time. 

 

 

With the furniture layout drawings in hand, the next meeting is scheduled with the VOIP service representative and the electrician to determine outlet placement.  When that is done, the additional walls will be constructed and the outlets put in place. 

 

 

Tip: One of the most important things to remember is that the predominant hand a person uses plays a crucial role in where their phone and computer keyboard are placed.  A person’s productivity is dramatically affected by this one decision.  Take time to get it right. 

 

 

Next week we will look at the final construction stages before the move.

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Demolition Entrance

Demolition Entrance

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Demolition Entrance 2

Demolition Entrance 2

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Demolition Storage Room

Demolition Storage Room

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Demolition Office

Demolition Office

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Law Office Relocation, Part I

Friday, May 1st, 2009

Recently, I received a call to help a small law firm move its offices. They were not moving far from their current location, but as I’ve learned over the years, the distance a firm is moving is not the most important thing. The same things have to be done to insure a “less stress” relocation process whether moving next door or across town.

 

With the new office space drawings in hand, we met with the contractor, the office furniture representative, the computer company, the VOIP providers and others. Planning wall removal, furniture placement and outlet spacing are some of the first things to be done. This is to ensure that when the movers arrive with the furniture, the pieces not only fit where needed, but they also have phone and electrical outlets available in the correct locations.

 

Making selections such as flooring, paint colors and window treatments are next on the list. The selections for this law firm were made based on current furnishings as well as personal preferences. If you haven’t managed this type of commercial move before, this is a great time to get someone to help who is good with colors and textures. Sometimes that helpful person is an ASID Interior Decorator and, sometimes, it’s the guy at the paint store!

 

Here’s a tip - if you need to match paint color and can’t remember the number from the old paint can, take off a light switch cover and remove a small paint sample. Most good paint stores will be able to match from that sample.

 

Now that the initial plans have been made we will begin the demolition phase of the job soon. I will keep you posted as the project progresses.

 

See the pictures below of the new office space … taken after meeting with the contractor but before renovations.

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"Before" Office Entrance

"Before" Office Entrance

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"Before" Reception Area

"Before" Reception Area

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"Before" Conference Room

"Before" Conference Room

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"Before" Storage Space

"Before" Storage Space

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Legal Advice, Part II

Friday, April 24th, 2009

In a recent posting, I told you about the “30 something” tax attorney who was dealing with unrealistic expectations form his clients.  They wanted everything done “yesterday” even though they didn’t tell him about it until today! He had some good advice for everyone using the services of not just attorneys, but all service providers, and I want to paraphrase some of those suggestions and share them with you. 

 

One of the first things he suggested was to think through questions you may have regarding your situation.  To the best of your ability consider everything that may have an effect on your question.  This takes time.  Don’t do this as you dial the number or compose the e-mail, but rather set aside time to thoughtfully think through your situation. 

 

Write down the questions and the possible answers that you come up with.  Sometimes by going through this exercise you may discover other options to consider, which will help you improve communication with the service provider.  If there are others involved, such as family members, then be sure to have all necessary information readily available like full names, SS #s and dates of birth.  If your question is related to your business have necessary information available.  

 

When you have prepared and are ready to make the call or send the e-mail, realize that the recipient may have a very full schedule and may not be able to respond to you immediately.  Allow for a reasonable amount of time to pass before following up on your service request.  Sometimes the office assistants will be able to help you with your question or will be able to tell you when to expect a return call or message reply.

 

Most importantly, do not procrastinate!  No matter the type of service provider, there is little that can be done in a timely manner if you wait until the last minute to make the call, or send the message.  If at all possible, plan ahead.  When you don’t, your stress is increased, the service provider’s stress level increases, late fees increase, and your bill is increased when things are postponed until the last minute.  If you will initiate service when there is time to consider options carefully, you will almost always be more satisfied with the outcome.

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Legal Advice Part I

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

Recently, in a meeting with a successful “30-something” tax attorney, I was discussing with him the things he wanted to change or improve in his practice.  I asked him what was the most frustrating thing about his practice in which he quickly replied, “some of my clients”.

I asked him if he was ready to leave the practice and open the upscale restaurant, he had discussed earlier. He said, “No, but I do want to figure out a way to get it across to my clients that calling or e-mailing with a 5-part legal question is not like going through a drive through restaurant and placing an order to be picked up in seconds.”

He said that so often a client waits to call until the last minute or until something has escalated to the point that it will take hours to correct rather than minutes and then they don’t understand why it’s not done “immediately”.

“The perception is that lawyers only fill out forms that they get online at the “Get a Form” site for their state and that is all it takes to be a good attorney.  They do not realize that I have to take ALL of their extenuating circumstances into consideration for each part of their 5-part question and then decide the action that will be best for them now AND later.  There is just a lot more to do than they realize.”

I thought, “No wonder this firm has an AV Rating!”

In trying to come up with some possible solutions for that issue, I asked about developing a client education page for his website and he didn’t think much of that idea.  ”Too much time to put into something that the clients will not read anyway,” was his reply.

Another idea was to develop a “let the call come through” list of clients to help his assistants make decisions regarding interrupting his time. He thought about that and rejected it as too strict.

Then we discussed time blocking - he tried that and it didn’t work for him. When he finally decided he is not truly ready for a change, we left the situation as is - yet - during the exchange of ideas, we realized he needs a better filing system!

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Integrated Legal Office Systems Lead to Productivity, Part 5

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

 

Key #5 Listen Well, Communicate Effectively  

Good listening skills help us avoid miscommunication with co-workers, which reduces stress and improves individual and office productivity. One of the listening issues I’ve found in many practices is that there is not time set aside on a daily basis for the people in the office to communicate face to face. 

We all get busy and think that since there is not a fire to put out at this moment there is not an important issue to discuss.   When time is taken to discuss the issues at hand it keeps an office running smoothly because everyone knows what is important. 

Again, the most important part of effective listening is to summarize.  Be certain that you have clearly understood the message.  Also, when getting a point across to others be aware that the way you speak – your voice tone and facial expressions often have a more lasting impact than the actual words you use.

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Integrated Legal Office Systems Lead to Productivity, Part 4

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

 

Key # 4 Prioritize Tasks, Schedule Time, and Minimize Stress

When we prioritize our tasks and schedule our time, we DO minimize Stress. Maintaining balance in our lives is so important and sometimes it is hard to do.

Use a simple system of 1-2-3 to prioritize tasks.  Make a conscious decision of what is the most important task to be done that day and schedule that task when you are at your peak production time.  In other words, make an appointment with yourself and keep it.

Do not put more than a few #1’s on your “to do list” daily.  That’s a great way to cause burnout quickly. Remember to do the truly important things, not necessarily the things that others deem urgent.

One important thing we all need to do is schedule our time, not only including our outside appointments but also our office time.

1)    Did you know that 80% of our daily interruptions usually come from 20% of the people we work with?

 

2)    An average interruption during the work day consumes 10 – 20 minutes in getting back on track, not counting the actual time with the interrupter. 

Try scheduling appointments with yourself as well as with others.  Time blocking will help you do that and it is easy to do using your computer calendar. Outlook is the most often used computer calendar in the firms I have worked with. 

In the August 2008 issue of Addendum, Laura Calloway wrote an article reviewing a book by Ben Schorr regarding Outlook 2007.  In the article, she says that someone else has already done the hard part by writing the book; now you can streamline your office tasks quickly and easily.  I agree.

Laura declares The Lawyer’s Guide to MS Office 2007 is a must-have for every lawyer who has ever wanted to pull out their hair over e-mail management. For information on how to order the book, go to www.alabar.org

Another way to minimize stress is to pay close attention to various ergonomic factors in your office.  Keyboards, chairs and lighting are so important and many of us do not pay much attention to these things.

 

Lee’s Keys #5 can literally change the culture of your legal office into a productive, efficient machine.

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Integrated Legal Office Systems Lead to Productivity, Part 3

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

 

Lee’s Keys #3  Improve Efficiency, Reduce Steps

Let me share some statistics regarding paper.  In a survey done by Fast Company, the question was asked,

“Do you use more paper or e-mail in your business?”  Eighty-six percent said “more paper.”  Look at these paper statistics:

1)         The average American office worker is estimated to use a minimum of 1 sheet of paper every 12 minutes.  

 

2)         80% of papers filed in drawers are never referenced again

 

3)         50% of all filed materials are duplicates or expired information

Remember the RULE OF ORIGINATION

“The person responsible for the origination of a document is the person who is responsible for maintaining that information either on paper or electronically.”

One of the best ways to maintain hard copy information in any form is by using MobilLogic.  It is a web based search engine for your file cabinet as well as a great front-end application for your records management system.  MobilLogic also works very well with off site hard copy storage and retrieval. 

If you don’t already have a standardized hard copy filing system with pop-up reminders, this one can solve many issues for you.  With reminders regarding actions to be taken on a file as well as searchable records of cases in progress, you don’t have to remember which legal pad the notes were written on. 

We know where the paper comes from, but what do we do with it?  Use the ART OF WASTEBASKETRY® to determine whether or not to keep a piece of paper.  Ask yourself these 6 questions when making a tough decision about keeping a piece of paper.

1)      Did I ask for this Information?

 

2)      Is this the only place the information is available?

 

3)      Is the information recent enough to be useful?

 

4)      Can I identify the special circumstances when I would want this information?

 

5)      Are there tax or legal implications?

 

6)      What is the worst possible thing that could happen if I didn’t have this piece of paper? 

 

From:  Kiplinger’s Taming the Paper Tiger: Organizing the Paper in Your Life

Revised and Expanded Edition

By Barbara Hemphill

Registered trademarks are the property of Hemphill Institute

If the answer to these questions is NO, then toss the paper!  Remember to include scanning in your office records management system.  Used properly this will become a great part of improving office efficiency. 

Over the years I’ve learned there are different learning types in most offices – visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The people who are kinesthetic will be the least likely to want to convert to a total scanning system. These are the people who will re-print a scanned document to read it. 

 

Know that scanning is important as a part of overall office organization, but it may work better for some practices rather than others due to the people who are the end users of the information.

  

One practice I worked with saved its client millions of dollars because they were able to locate the original printed fax cover sheet.  That alone was worth the effort for the office to become organized!

 

Lee’s Keys #4 is about prioritizing, scheduling, and minimizing.

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Integrated Legal Office Systems Lead to Productivity, Part 2

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

 

Lee’s Keys #2 Think Vertically and Visually!

 

This includes:

 

1)      Separating items according to categories

 

2)      Designing vertical storage spaces specifically for the items being stored in them, and also for the persons using them the most

 

3)      LABEL EVERYTHING – there are many different ways to label, including docket number, client matter, dates, or a combination of these.  I’ve seen firms use them all. 

 

4)      Design a plan for the desktop organization of the computers in your firm.  When everyone has the same programs in the same order on their desktop, it is much easier to locate information in their absence. 

 

Many law offices don’t realize how much it costs for even one person to be disorganized.  To calculate the COST of disorganization in your office, you can go to the website www.eldonsolutions.com.  As an example, I put in an average salary of $45,000 in a company with 6 employees.

 

The cost of disorganization in that company 

per year was $33,750 – that is a lot of wasted money.

 

Did you know that a 1% improvement in office productivity equals 10% of the operating cost? Thinking Vertically and Visually leads us to Lee’s Key #3.

 

 

 

 

 

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Integrated Legal Office Systems Lead to Productivity, Part 1

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

 

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” We have all heard the saying, but what does it mean in an office environment?

 

I have learned over the years that when you say the words “get organized”, different people will hear different things.  One person may think “communication”, another person may think “spatial order” and another may think “time management.”  Actually they are all correct; I will give you some Keys to remember when planning the systems in your law office.

 

Lee’s Keys #1 Design your Waterfront Property© for Maximum Use

 

How many of you have Waterfront Property©? Actually, anyone who works in an office has it! It’s a term I coined to describe the space around your desk or credenza – or the area where you do most of your work. 

 

When you sit in your chair, hold your arms out to your side and turn in a circle, this area is considered your Waterfront Property©.  It’s the most valuable piece of property in your office because it is where your most important work is done.

 

One of the main complaints I hear about a person’s Waterfront Property is “what do I do with all this stuff”?  We tend to keep lots of “stuff” around us in our Waterfront Property area especially if we are visual people.  And we tend to keep this Waterfront Property “stuff” in piles, rather than in files.  

 

Someone with lots of piles is creating what I call “horizontal filing”. These people have difficulty finding information quickly because most of it is paper based. If a matter or case is not closed, then we tend to keep the information in paper form, and most of the time it’s filed horizontally rather than vertically.  This creates a pile that must be lifted and moved every time information is needed.  This equals more time wasted.

 

Many law practices wait until the case is closed before they consider the ways they keep the information. Remember that information in a combination of paper, electronic, and scanned documents is often a good way to handle a case or a legal matter.

 

Always send the closed case hard copy information to an AAA Certified records management center rather than using a mini warehouse unit, or closet, or attic of the building you are in. The difference in these options is dramatic and failure to manage and store your records properly could have serious consequences.

 

When horizontal filing is the organizing problem, I teach people Lee’s Key #2.

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