The Bottom Line
October 1999 Vol. 21, No. 1
(Notice to librarians: The following issues were published in Volume 20 of this newsletter during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999: September, No. 1; November, No. 2; March, No. 3; June, No. 4.)
Statements or expressions of opinion or comments appearing herein are those of the editors or contributors, and not necessarily those of the association or section.
Contents
Working effectively: Team work with your office assistant
The bottom line in all businesses is getting the work done efficiently. Recently a very informal survey was made of law office assistants and their assigned attorneys. The results are not scientific, and do not qualify as a valid sample of all law office employees. The results did, however provide interesting insights on common team management issues. The survey will not be reported in full since it was not from a large enough sample to be reliable. Instead, this article evolved from an examination of the sometimes pointed statements made by the secretaries and paralegals who responded.
The survey questions tried to elicit information on the office equipment, personnel and planning issues that affected work flow on the office. Some, but fewer, attorneys answered the same questions. Not surprisingly, some of the answers were very different. This was most often the case on questions that called for the attorney to answer questions on what he or she believed were important issues for their secretaries. The responses helped define the topics included in this article.
Equipment and technology
When the survey was first drafted it focused on the technology that might make automated processes more useful in the office. The answers revealed that technology was not viewed as the most important office management issue to law office staff. It serves as a good starting point, however, since the answers to the survey led to the other topics.
Not much demand was made for latest breaking technology. A vocal complaint was expressed over the opportunity to learn how to use the computers and software that was on hand. A second complaint was equipment breakdowns. The copy machine is a big offender. Secretaries ask for copiers, fax machines and printers that don't jam. They also complained of computers that "hang" at a critical points in document preparation. The simple management lesson from this is to review the office equipment. Do you have reliable service for the crucial items like the copier?
For the computers, you need to make some assessments. If the computers crash frequently, is it because they are not up to the job, or is it a maintenance issue? You will need a computer consultant to help answer this question. Computer operating systems, especially Windows 95/98 were designed to address most configuration issues for the user. This does not mean that the system can be ignored. Get some help making sure that the system is maintained regularly using readily available features on the operating system or third party utility software to keep the computer system tuned up.
Alternatively, are your computers up to the needs of your office? If you plan to run the powerful current software including the all-inclusive word processing suites, you will need a computer with some real processing power and memory. Don't be fooled into thinking that meeting the minimum requirements on the software is adequate. With the affordability of powerful computers today, you should purchase nothing less than a Pentium II computer running at 300 MHz or faster and have at least 128 MB of memory (RAM). You may be operating just fine with less speed or memory in your computer currently, but be careful on new purchases. Find out if your computer is really meeting the needs of your staff. Remember, too, that your secretary is probably more tied to the computer than you are. Secretaries should have priority when new equipment is purchased. They will appreciate, too, the courtesy of a larger screen and good wrist rests. Your worker compensation carrier will agree.
When answering the question: "What office equipment makes your job as a secretary easier?" secretaries more often responded, "Computers and fax (ones that work)," while many attorneys responded "Dictaphone and computer." The image conjured from these responses is telling. It is easy to view the secretary as a person who answers the phone and types all day. In fact, that is what we may see most often in passing by. The reality is that a good legal secretary is organizing materials and planning as often as just typing words recorded on some tape. The question to explore with the assistant is what technology will make work more efficient for the assistant. Would a fax/modem line in the secretary's computer speed up the fax process (often the answer is yes). Are client file materials available in useful form on the assistant's computer (attorney's, too)? Would your assistant benefit from newer software that is coordinated to work with different applications? The two giants of word processing have legal office suites that coordinate word processing, spread sheets, document assembly, time and billing, calendars, fax, e-mail and even legal research. Speech recognition software for dictation is now an included part of the legal suites of word processors. If you have not explored these with your staff, you will be missing out on one of the biggest changes in law office operations.
The bottom line on technology is that it will need to be coordinated with the staff whose job assignments are directly affected. Within two to five years, most attorneys will dictate directly to their computers rather than to tape. Secretaries will do less typing and need to be more involved in other organizational tasks. Because of these changing trends, purchasing great equipment and software will not be enough; training will become essential in the law office of the 21st century.
Training
Computer and technology training. In all too many cases, attorneys purchase computers or software and tell the office staff, "Read the manual." After the purchase and installation, the attorney views his job as finished. Five years ago, the manual tended to be as large as Webster's Unabridged Dictionary and was written in a foreign language--technical jargon. Today the manual may be only a 15-page pamphlet called, "How to Get Started," showing how to connect all of the cables or how to install the software. It has a sentence somewhere near the end that tells the user that there is a complete on-line, fully indexed help file with the answers to all of your questions. The only problem is that the answers are not all there and if they are, they aren't where you look for them. In any event, whether it is the wonderfully powerful word processor, the latest powerful computer, or time and case management software, there is no efficiency without training. The second error is to provide staff training, but ignore the need for the attorney to learn the basics of the computers and programs. You cannot utilize any of the efficiencies of current technology without some coordinated use by everyone in the office.
Legal training. Is your assistant trained on the legal aspects of the job? Have you investigated training courses on legal issues in your areas of practice designed for your secretary or paralegal? As technological advances make their way into the law office, the attorney's assistant will no longer be qualified merely on the basis of good phone manners and fast typing speed. The role of the secretary will evolve, just as the operation of the law office is evolving, to meet client expectations and competition. Secretaries uniformly reported that they would like to be trained to play a more responsible role with clients, under the attorney's supervision. On the whole, they are motivated to learn new tasks. If used to its best potential, the efficiency of automated equipment will free up time that well-trained assistants can use to supplement the attorney's work. Explore how this could work in your office.
Delegation
One of the best benefits from training and good tools should be a balanced division of work. In the survey answers, secretaries reported a belief that they could do more challenging tasks if given a chance. Obviously the typing and filing have to be done and the lawyer should not be the one doing it. On the other hand, your secretary should be able to handle a lot of correspondence, simple pleadings, real estate, bankruptcy, or other forms with modest supervision. It is not necessary for the lawyer to dictate each task individually. Work with your secretary and ask if there are tasks that can be delegated.
Interruptions
"Copy this," and "I need this typed right away" are two of the phrases most reviled by secretaries. Attorneys have responded on surveys that they wished that their secretaries were more timely in their work. Do you defeat your secretary's efficiency by hitting that intercom number and asking for immediate help on small tasks? It is easy to take for granted that the secretary or office assistant will drop their tasks and do as you ask. The question, though, is whether you are hindering progress on your own client matters by failing to organize tasks to be done efficiently. A good secretary will save a number of documents for copying all at one time rather than running to the copier after each letter or pleading. If you ask for immediate copying on projects that could be planned ahead, you are likely to get less productivity from your staff.
Telephone calls can be a problem for both attorney and assistant. We all know the importance to clients that attorneys take or promptly return client calls. We know, too, that calls are often inconvenient and interrupt other work. This is true for the assistant as well as the attorney. Review policies and use of technology. Are there times scheduled for uninterrupted work each week? Has your office considered scheduled times for making and receiving calls?
Communication
Just as communicating with clients is important, good communications with staff are vital. In the survey, secretaries often listed as a major irritant the lack of clear and regular direction and planning. If you are fortunate enough to have a secretary who wants to take initiative on projects, daily planning meetings are mandatory. Consider setting a given time each day for this. It may take only 15 minutes. On a personal note, my secretary and I review the mail mid-morning each day. It is already sorted by priority and is one item to discuss. She takes a number of the mail items for her assignments and leaves me with items needing my attention. At this meeting, the status of client matters and deadlines should be reviewed. You are likely to find that office assistants will try to anticipate your needs and be more responsive to clients if they understand the status and goals set for client matters they encounter.
Planning
The communications that are needed cannot happen until planning is done. Last minute and end of day demands are another common complaint from office staff (associates, too). Remember your end of day is likely later than an assistant's. Your employees may have personal deadlines after 5:00. Day care centers and school age children can present unforgiving schedules. This is a prime stress producer for your office assistant. Employees who have no younger children have commitments, too. Don't assume that they have more time to stay late with you without advance planning.
The same holds true for projects that habitually run up against deadlines. Appellate briefs and final trial preparations are key examples. If you wait until the deadline for work, two things are likely to happen: your work will not be your best quality, and your stress will affect your relations with others in the office. In short, staff will complain that your are a grouch. This kind of stress can easily spread throughout the office and reduce efficiency.
Organization
When asked what work in the office is least satisfying, many secretaries responded, "Filing." Filing is drudgery but vital to the law office. The second related response from secretaries was a list of things attorneys do that are most irritating or cause inefficiency. Complaints of attorneys taking files apart and returning them unorganized were common. This may seem unavoidable, but no one like to work hard on an unrewarding job twice because of what is perceived as a lack of courtesy.
The goal my secretary and I set for me in a planning session once was, "Keep Carl in his office and at his desk working." This translates into making money and getting client tasks finished. To do this we plan to have files ready the day before hearings or appointments. Computer networking allows a tremendous amount of information to be kept at the fingertips of all members of the office.
Office etiquette
What was the last compliment you gave to a staff member? Have you given a compliment today? Probably most attorneys are self-starters and we learned long before law school how to keep on task without supervision from others. Good office assistants do so too, but may perform even harder with some added recognition. For most attorneys, the office is owned by its members. Partnership is an attainable goal for associates. Secretaries often work for a paycheck and perhaps a bonus. The best motivational tool is the free compliment and helpful suggestion. Even though office assistants cannot be partners in the firm, they should feel the same sense of belonging. Build your office procedures around a team approach and see if staff attitudes improve.
Conclusion
Most of these comments and ideas expressed by office staff were listed ahead of salary when asked to list ways to improve working conditions. Perhaps the lack of scientific methods in this survey make it impossible to draw too many conclusions from the responses. On the other hand, the common-sense nature of the suggestions demand some attention. Staff loyalty cannot be purchased and is like a reputation: it is easier to develop from the start than to regain after it is lost.
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This article was submitted by Carl Draper. Mr. Draper is a partner in the Springfield firm Feldman, Wasser, Draper & Benson. He engages in civil and administrative law and serves as the firm's network and technology administrator.
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