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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    December 01, 2003

    Managing Risk: Post-war Production Methods for Law Firms

    Standardized operations are just as practical in the law office as in the factory, according to a speaker at the 1950 Mid-Winter Meeting of the Wisconsin Bar Association.

    Ann Massie Nelson

    Wisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 76, No. 12, December 2003

    Post-war Production Methods for Law Firms

    Standardized operations are just as practical in the law office as in the factory, according to a speaker at the 1950 Mid-Winter Meeting of the Wisconsin Bar Association.

    Sidebars:

    by Ann Massie Nelson

    Ann Massie   NelsonAnn Massie Nelson is a regular contributor to Wisconsin Lawyer and communications director at Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co.

    Ann Massie Nelson is the public member of the State Bar of Wisconsin Communications Committee and communications director at Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co. (WILMIC).

    The years following World War II were marked by rapid expansion. Technology and production methods developed to support the war were used to revolutionize industry and give rise to a new era of consumerism.

    A fundamental principle of efficient production is standardization. Dwight D. McCarty, an attorney from Emmetsburg, Iowa, noted that standardization methods employed in construction and manufacturing could be equally useful in the law office.

    He urged Wisconsin lawyers to develop standard office procedures and forms for recurring tasks, document these procedures in an operating manual, delegate important-but-routine tasks to office staff, and free themselves to "do the headwork."

    McCarty's 1950 address originally appeared in the November 1950 Wisconsin Bar Bulletin, the predecessor to the Wisconsin Lawyer. The publication celebrates 75 years of publication in 2003.

    Words to the Wise

    Dwight D. McCarty's practice management advice to lawyers is as germane today as it was a half century ago. Here are some words to the wise from his 1950 address to the Wisconsin Bar Association.

    On delegation:

    "One of the ideas which the lawyer seems slow to appreciate is that it is not necessary for him to do all the work of the office himself. ... If you watch a foreman on a construction gang, you do not find him taking off his coat and digging with a shovel down in the excavation or pounding nails on the forms up on the structure. No, his job is to study the plans, lay out the work, straighten out the difficulties that arise, and do the headwork so necessary to assure the successful completion of the contract. Other less expensive men can do the labor work under his supervision. We must learn that lesson."

    On form books:

    "When work is once well done in the office, it should not be necessary to do it all over again. ... Few lawyers preserve these forms and precedents where they are accessible. ... Standardized form books enable the modern office to turn to profitable account this principle of re-use, and eliminate much waste of time and effort. At the same time better results are obtained than by the older haphazard methods."

    On filing:

    "Too often the system is cumbersome and unworkable. Many offices still maintain an elaborate numbers system and docket classification. Generally the filing clerk is the only one who knows anything about it. The result is that when the filing clerk gets married or leaves for another job, there is a period of trouble and confusion until a new clerk can be obtained and has had time to unravel the mysteries of the system. ... All this can be avoided by a simple standardized system that meets the needs of the office, and is known alike to all the lawyers and clerks in the office. Anyone can then quickly find any file at any time."

    On billing:

    "Clients generally do not know much about the value of legal services. ... If a lump sum statement is sent them they are apt to think the amount too high. If an itemized bill is rendered they may question some items. To avoid some of these difficulties a 'psychology' statement is now used. It gives the lump sum charge, and then below the work done from day to day itemized, but with no amounts given opposite these items. The client thus sees the large amount of work done on the case and the lump sum charge does not seem so large after all."

    On morning coffee:

    "One lawyer wrote me ... that the only bad result of adopting this efficiency system was that now they would have to eliminate the morning coffee session in the drug store, as that wastes about half an hour and my system would not permit that. However, relaxation is recognized as just as necessary as work. The school recess and the factory 10-minute rest period help eliminate fatigue. The coffee session may be advantageous if properly scheduled and controlled."


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