time management Archives

17 09, 2012

Systematize to Optimize Your Legal Practice – Part 3

2019-03-11T22:13:59+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|2 Comments

In this issue of “Raising the Bar”, Debra L. Bruce continues with the final part of her series which addresses how law office systems work to provide improved efficiency, increased quality control, and cost reductions. Part 1 focused on “Why Systems Matter”, Part 2 introduced “How to Employ Systems”, and this final part continues with some additional steps to “Employ the Systems”. If you missed Parts 1 or 2, follow the links on our blog to read them.

1. Stop recreating redundant letters and emails. All lawyers have forms as starting points for longer documents like interrogatories or purchase and sale agreements. Many continue to prepare common emails and letters from scratch, however. Even if they will need some customization, design forms for frequent letters and emails. Begin with one you have already written, or the next time you write one, save an extra copy of it in your forms folder. You’ll be able to whip out future emails more quickly, or let your assistant do the first draft for you to edit. Email forms can be saved in the drafts folder in Outlook (or another email program) for a quick copy and paste into a new email. […]

5 09, 2012

Systematize to Optimize Your Legal Practice – Part 1: Why?

2019-04-01T20:57:54+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Systematize to Optimize Your Legal Practice – Part 1: Why?

In this issue of “Raising the Bar“, Debra L. Bruce presents the first of a three-part series addressing the creation of law office systems for increased efficiency, improved quality control and cost reductions. As a bonus, systems help lawyers to focus on and enjoy their law practice more.

Image credit: thingamajiggs / 123RF Stock Photo

Why Law Office Systems Matter
Increased competition, downward pressures on fees, and elevated client expectations require lawyers today to respond faster while maintaining high quality. Law firms and individual attorneys need structural aids to improve productivity and assist in quality control. Systems let lawyers spend more of their time on the high level, challenging work they enjoy most. […]

13 12, 2011

To Do or Not To Do

2019-06-25T16:27:18+00:00By Cathy L Ribble ACP|Comments Off on To Do or Not To Do

The season is upon us! You know — the season of fa-la-la-la-la, holiday decorations, greeting cards, family parties, gift buying, travel plans, winter snow storms, and year-end business. The list goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on….too much to do and not enough time. If you make it to January 1, then your knee deep in a different set of tasks headed into tax season.

So what is a smart attorney or paralegal to do? Organization is key, but who has time – or money — right now to implement complicated practice management software?

SOLUTION: Pick one of these quick, easy and inexpensive online task management solutions. Register for a free user name and pick a password. Then start listing everything congesting your over-crowded mind. Start with just the basics by listing the task and assigning a deadline. That’s it!! You can expand your vision and develop a more-rounded solution when the time crunch has eased.

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29 11, 2011

Introducing Guest Blogger Cathy Ribble – “Virtual Paralegal Partnerships: What Solo Attorneys Need to Know”

2019-04-01T21:26:16+00:00By Cathy L Ribble ACP|Comments Off on Introducing Guest Blogger Cathy Ribble – “Virtual Paralegal Partnerships: What Solo Attorneys Need to Know”

Cathy L. Ribble is a senior level litigation paralegal who decided in 2009 to offer virtual services to U.S.-licensed attorneys when she founded Digital Paralegal Services. She is certified by the National Association of Legal Assistants as an Advanced Certified Paralegal in the area of Trial Practice. She matches attorneys looking for virtual paralegal support with NALA-certified paralegals by practice area and geographic location.

Cathy contributed to NALA’s 2010 Career Chronicle with her article Could You Be One? Virtual Paralegals. She has been featured in Texas Far Journal’s Testing the Waters: Is It Time to Try a Virtual Legal Assistant? Paralegal Today’s Freelance Freedom, Carolina Paralegal News Virtual Paralegals Becoming More Common as Profession Grows, Practical Paralegalism’s Top 50 Twitter Feeds for Paralegals, ParalegalGateway’s Toolbar for Paralegals under Paralegal Tweeps and Paralegal Blogs, and The Paralegal Mentor’s Virtual Paralegal Interview Series.

Solo attorneys throughout the United States are hearing the terms virtual paralegal and virtual legal assistant for the first time. Today’s economy and the desire to keep a home-office practice are leading many solo attorneys to seek more information about virtual support. […]

4 01, 2010

Keeping Those New Year’s Resolutions

2010-01-04T14:57:48+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Keeping Those New Year’s Resolutions

How long do your New Year’s Resolutions usually last? If they rarely make it through January, you may be getting tripped up by some common snags that lawyers encounter. Do you set the bar unrealistically high or lack a way to measure interim progress? If so, you set yourself up for discouragement. On the other hand, perhaps the time frame, or the goal itself, is too fuzzy.

The benefits of achieving your goal may not be tangible enough to keep you motivated. You may need an accountability partner or someone to buoy you up when it gets tough. Perhaps you need to think about what has helped you succeed in the past, or how to make the process more fun. Maybe this resolution is just a “should,” rather than what you really care about. Maybe you need more meaningful consequences for the outcome, whether failure or success.

To improve the likelihood of keeping your resolutions, make sure you know: (1) why you really want to do this, (2) how to measure interim progress, (3) the specifics, including the deadline, for what constitutes success, (4) the resources available to help you, and (5) the reward for your triumph.

For more in-depth tips on how to keep those resolutions, read Secrets to Actually Accomplishing Your Goals in this blog.

24 04, 2009

Silver Linings in Recessionary Times

2009-04-24T15:03:13+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Silver Linings in Recessionary Times

The current economic downturn has affected BigLaw to an unprecedented extent, resulting in lawyer layoffs. Many smaller firms, however, have not actually seen a drop in business. This scary economic climate may actually create opportunities for smaller law firms.

Small Firm Opportunities

1. Big companies with shrinking budgets may take a chance on smaller law firms with good reputations and less expensive fee structures. Make sure you keep your corporate relationships current.
2. Your firm may attract higher quality, experienced attorneys or staff at reasonable salaries, as the result of layoffs from corporations or large firms. Some lawyers may be glad to work on an Of Counsel basis or office sharing basis, just to have a respectable place to land with the possibility of referral business.
3. More graduating law students will have difficulty finding jobs, and they may seek positions as law clerks or even unpaid interns, just to get experience. Get some help or delegate tasks you don’t like to do, without over-extending your budget.

Take Advantage of Slower Business

If your business has slowed down, this too shall pass. Take advantage of the additional time you now have available. Do what you kept wishing you had time for, when you were too busy. Here are a few suggestions to consider.

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9 12, 2008

Holiday Networking Tips

2008-12-09T12:57:00+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Holiday Networking Tips

Many lawyers think of December as a time when people are harder to reach, decisions get postponed and less work gets done. That may be true for some, but it’s also a time filled with opportunities for marketing your practice, looking for new career opportunities, and deepening or expanding your network of useful resources.

No, I am not suggesting that you hawk your wares or pass out your resume at holiday parties. I am suggesting that you take full advantage of this opportunity to meet and reconnect with people who you may not have access to the rest of the year.

Whether you just love socializing or avoid big gatherings whenever possible, here are some tips that can make your holiday networking more productive:

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14 11, 2008

Successful Lawyer Time Management

2008-11-14T16:16:34+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Successful Lawyer Time Management

A lot of lawyers struggle with time management. Many lament the unpredictability of their schedules and the volume of last minute client “emergencies.” Some get so many interruptions during the day that they don’t actually get a good start on their most important projects until after 5:00 pm. They work long hours just to make a little progress.

Some attorneys want to please their clients, so they promise to deliver the client’s work at the earliest date they can get it out. Unfortunately, they usually make the assessment in a vacuum, without first assessing the other commitments they have already made, and without allowing space for unexpected contingencies.

There are many such issues that affect an attorney’s productivity. Here is my top ten list of time management behaviors of productive lawyers.

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1 08, 2005

Dealing with Distractions

2019-02-10T23:15:54+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Dealing with Distractions

A reader asks for advice on how to deal with distractions. If you, too, have difficulty putting aside distractions, here are a few subjects to investigate for the source of the problem, along with some possible solutions.

Which goals fall by the wayside?

First, let’s look at what goal you get distracted from accomplishing. What is the purpose or goal of that “to-do”? Is it a compelling goal? Is it your goal, or really someone else’s? For a mundane, but common example, let’s say your to-do is to get your messy desk organized. If your purpose for cleaning up your desk is so other people won’t think you are a slob, then that’s just a should, and not very compelling. It really is someone else’s goal, not yours. No wonder you are easily distracted from it! If, on the other hand, your purpose is (i) to get a burst of energy from releasing all those little worry strings tied to every piece of potentially important paper lost on your desk, (ii) to be able to respond promptly, decisively and effectively to challenges that come your way today (leaping tall buildings in a single bound) because you know how to quickly put your hands on every piece of information available to you, or (iii) to avoid repeating the embarrassment you suffered yesterday when a client called and you couldn’t find her file well, those goals sound significantly more compelling. It is easier to keep motivated and on track when we have vivid outcomes in mind. So the next time you have a to-do of reviewing a deed of trust or a routine set of responses to interrogatories (yawn), consider the purpose of your review and the outcome you desire. Ask yourself a few questions: What’s important about this task? What will I be able to […]

2 02, 2005

10 Tips for Surviving the Email Avalanche

2005-02-02T17:59:17+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on 10 Tips for Surviving the Email Avalanche

Are you buried under an avalanche of email? Do you lose important information hiding among the emails clogging your inbox? Here are 10 tips for digging out of the email avalanche. These tips reference features available in Outlook, but most email programs have similar features.

1. Use automated features to sort your emails into folders as they arrive. The Outlook Rules Wizard (under Tools) will let you create rules for automated sorting of incoming emails by sender, subject, text and other filters. Incoming messages are routed to the designated folders, which change to bold print to indicate an unread message. Set up folders (select File, New, Folder) for your clients so that you can see at a glance that you have email from them, and keep all your correspondence together. Replies to an email in that folder automatically will be stored in that folder as well. You can also route newsletters, listservs and other high volume, low priority emails to special folders to keep them from clogging your inbox until you have time to read them.
2. Drag and drop emails to your task icon if they have “to-do” items associated with them. The task will be included in the task list, and a copy of the email will be visible in the details window for the task. You can set a due date and reminder for the task. Delete the email or move it to a storage folder. You will get a pop-up reminder at the designated reminder time, even if you have deleted the original email. If the task is not marked as complete by the due date, it will turn red in the task list as a further reminder.
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