If your clients suddenly start hugging the lawyers in your office, don't be alarmed—but do check your calendar. If it's the first Friday in November, then your clients are just enthusiastically embracing National Love Your Lawyer Day and are letting their favorite legal eagle know how much they love and appreciate them. Yes, there is such a thing as National Love Your Lawyer … [Read more...] about National Love Your Lawyer Day
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What’s in a name?
Editor's picks: How to be a better proofreader Four records management errors that can get your firm into trouble How long should you keep client and practice records? … [Read more...] about What’s in a name?
Improve your office operations with a few easy changes
By Steve M. Cohen bio I'm sure you've seen one of Hollywood's "political" movies. You know the kind: drama unfolds between a candidate and (fill in the blank), while his or her selfless team of volunteers labor furiously in the background, assuring that the candidate still wins, despite spending all of his or her time dealing with the drama. Hollywood fantasy, … [Read more...] about Improve your office operations with a few easy changes
Technology Update: 8 tools you can use now to work better, faster, and safer
The 2015 Pacific Legal Technology Conference held recently in Vancouver, British Columbia covered a host of big picture topics essential to everyone in today's legal profession. Presenters and exhibitors discussed practice management tools, technology in court, and the strategic reinvention of the law firm. And of course the big concern of the day, security, was the subject of … [Read more...] about Technology Update: 8 tools you can use now to work better, faster, and safer
How to keep the office safe from employment law claims when a staffer gets fired
Terminations are what spark the vast majority of today's employment law claims, says employment defense attorney Shari Lane. That's one area where managers can't afford to make mistakes. Step back before pulling the trigger Safety starts with two obvious precautions, Lane says. First, review the record. Make sure it explains what has led to the decision. If there's not … [Read more...] about How to keep the office safe from employment law claims when a staffer gets fired
Writing the Employee Handbook
Bonus Content Webinar Presentation Slides In this recording, Daphne Gray-Grant will show you: A simple and easy-to-use technique for generating at least 50% more ideas for content The best way to schedule and plan projects so you actually get them done on time How to collect information from difficult-to-manage colleagues or bosses How "the crappy first … [Read more...] about Writing the Employee Handbook
Back to basics
Editor's picks: Commonly misspelled words How to be a better proofreader Here's what you missed at the ILTA 2014 Conference … [Read more...] about Back to basics
The joy of the crappy first draft
By Daphne Gray-Grant bio Every beginning writer I know abhors the idea of a crappy first draft. It's embarrassing, mortifying and humiliating. They know their boss or client is going to hate it. They're going to hate it themselves because they fear it will make them look inept and unskilled. Thus, they don't want to it exist on their hard-drive, even for a … [Read more...] about The joy of the crappy first draft
Assigning secretaries to case types improves litigation work flow
A Tulsa administrator had serious secretarial problems. Work flow was stymied, productivity was down, client service was suffering, and morale was low. The cure, however, was simple. It was nothing more than a secretary reassignment strategy. Now the secretaries still work for specific attorneys but at the same time, each secretary is assigned to handle all the work in a … [Read more...] about Assigning secretaries to case types improves litigation work flow
An easy way to do those dreaded staff job descriptions
It’s not fair to hire someone without fully explaining the requirements of the job—from the very large to the very small. Neither is it fair to evaluate someone without fully explaining what performance and behaviors the office expects to see—again, from the very large to the very small. Many employers don’t have job descriptions at all, and many more have … [Read more...] about An easy way to do those dreaded staff job descriptions