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For those among you
who like to organize, no formal entity needs it more than a law office.
This page provides you with networking to national associations, legal
staffing, and general information about law firms. It also provides management
law sites and links to litigation support and case management software.
Finally, for RVCC students, there is a tutorial on utilizing specialized
legal software for case management and timekeeping & billing.
The paralegal manager
can run the entire law office, or just the para-professional staff. The
job requires someone who is not only well-organized but also a skilled
inter-personal communicator. Law office managers have general responsibility
for the planning, hiring, and overall business functioning of the law
office. They will need to do the mundane things like order supplies and
supervise monthly client billing, but also insure ethical conflicts checks,
handle trust accounting, recruit and hire staff, and maintain client and
case support systems.
Law-Office
Management Law
The following sources
provide an overview of this area of law:
- FindLaw
for Legal Professionals
www.findlaw.com/19lawpractice
Geared for legal
professionals, includes a guide to law office practice management materials,
with links to consultants in law office management or web-site development,
articles on client development & marketing, software, forms, discussion
groups and on-line continuing legal education opportunities.
- LexisNexis Research for Small Firms:
www.lexisone.com/store/catalog?action=rootFreeCategory
This site has available over 6000 free forms in various areas of practice,
and a lot more forms you can pay for! Check out the different areas,
including the general practice forms, and the state sources too. The
general practice forms sections provides retainer agreements, client
interview sheets, and many other forms needed to effectively run a law
practice.
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Professionals
& Professional Associations
The following sources
will help you find general management assistance, law office management
professionals and information on staffing and job searching in any area
of the country:
- General
Management Sites:
Sites
that provide management resources to help the law firm run its business
and even get more business
- Martindale/Hubbell
Legal Directory www.martindale.com
Comprehensive attorney locator for both the USA and Canada. Also provides
individual paralegal listings (853 to date) with links to websites,
plus dispute resolution experts, legal service providers, legal career
info, and especially useful law firm management info under its "Professional
Resources" link like LegalBiz and corporate conflicts checks.
- Association
of Legal Administrators www.alanet.org
A national association of individuals who administer or manage
law offices, their website has a useful "search" section that
provides links to legal vendors from recruiters to malpractice insurers,
periodicals & articles on managing a law firm, educational seminars
& on-line sources on law firm management and more.
- Legal
Assistant Management Association www.lamanet.org
A national association of supervisors
of paralegals in large law offices, their website provides useful info
on subjects like legal industry service providers, consultants and suppliers,
information exchange from colleagues in the legal management profession,
job openings, industry reports, seminars and more.
- Staffing
& Finding Employment: Many law office management paralegals
need to staff their firms and the following are good sources for those
seeking employees and for those seeking employment!
- New
Jersey Paralegal www.njparalegal.com
A website created by a NJ paralegal for NJ paralegals. Totes itself
as the place where NJ paralegals find employers and vice-versa. Has
a fun discussion board for informal e-talk among paralegals, gives info
on job searching, resume-writing, salaries to ask for, allows employers
to post jobs on-site, has vendor info and school info too.
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Case
Management Software
Most law firms today
use a computerized system of litigation support to manage their client
files, either a complete software package or an automated program of some
sort. The purpose of computerized case management software is to coordinate
the handling of case files within an office. As such, in order to work
effectively, programs must be personalized to fit the individual law practice.
There are too many products on the market to list them all here. For example,
for timekeeping and billing, RVCC uses TABS III, which synchronizes with
PracticeMaster (formerly CaseMaster),
www.stilegal.com the case management
software. PracticeMaster allows document assembly with MS Word or HotDocs,
time and billing with TABS III, rules-based calendaring, document tracking,
synchronizes with laptops and palm pilots, and has many other business
features. With so many choices out there, to decide which system to use, a firm must really do
its research!
- Some
Direct Links
Utilizing
industry figures, Amicus (150,000+ users), Time Matters (101,000+),
and Abacus (100,000+) seem to be the most popular software. Check
them all out... have fun!
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You must be a currently
enrolled RVCC student with an assigned WebCT ID and Password to access
this secure area at http://webct.raritanval.edu/SCRIPT/tops/scripts/serve_home.
After logging in to
the Home page, please use the icon labeled "Law Office Management".
For technical support, please contact online@raritanval.edu.
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Law Office Management