Managing Risk
Work with Support Staff
to Promote Quality
Balancing productivity with risk management in a law firm is one
of the most challenging tasks a lawyer faces. Here are some
suggestions.
By Ann Massie Nelson
Before you read any further, you should know that learning how to
manage employees by reading a magazine column is like learning how to
walk the tightrope by reading a book. You cannot fully appreciate the
magnitude of the challenge until you take the first step.
"Successful lawyers filter work down to the lowest level at which it
can be performed competently," said Gary Munneke, chair of the ABA's Law
Practice Management Section and professor of law at Pace University, in
a talk before the State Bar of Wisconsin earlier this year. Lawyers
solve clients' complex legal problems and delegate essential
administrative tasks - ones that don't require legal education and
experience - to their staff.
Sounds simple; however, lawyers reluctantly delegate work to the
lowest level of competency - and for good reason. Duties that lawyers
have considered "ministerial" and delegated to staff have come back to
bite them, according to Katja Kunzke, vice president-claims, Wisconsin
Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co. Some examples of malpractice claims made
against lawyers for staff errors include:
- a mortgage recorded in the wrong county, resulting in a loss of the
creditor-client's security interest;
- an incorrect statute of limitation entered for out-of-state personal
injury representation, resulting in the case being dismissed;
- a bill that erroneously referred to an unrepresented third party as
a client, giving the third party an open door to argue that the attorney
owed him a duty; and
- a zero left off of the amount secured in a mortgage, resulting in
the security interest being a small percentage of the correct
amount.
The responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the work is,
in the final analysis, the lawyer's alone. To effect quality legal
representation, law firms need to provide staff with training, a written
office procedures manual, and opportunities for open and honest
communication.
Provide Training
Sample Confidentiality Form
As an employee of (Law Firm), I acknowledge that I have been
instructed regarding the confidentiality of all firm business, activity,
and records and except as required by law in the course of my duties, or
where instructed in writing by management, I am aware that all firm
books, records, files, and memoranda are to be treated in strict
confidence. I pledge that I will not disclose information relating to
the firm, its business, or its clients during my employment or after
termination thereof, whether such termination is voluntary or
involuntary. I understand that any breach of confidentiality will be
grounds for my immediate dismissal as a firm employee.
- Used with permission of Lawyers Mutual of North
Carolina
|
Part of the risk comes from placing too much confidence in competent,
long-term employees. Over time, lawyers tend to give staff members more
responsibility and less supervision and training. "Lawyers have a
continuing education requirement, but we forget that our staff does
not," Kunzke says.
Training in the rules of professional conduct, particularly the rules
governing confidentiality, conflict of interest, and communication,
should be lesson one. At Milwaukee-based Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C.,
the training begins before the first day on the job.
"When a staff person who is coming from another law firm accepts a
position, we require her or him to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Further, we conduct a conflict screening with the former firm and, if
appropriate, we set up an information barrier within the firm," says
Andrew Bednall, the firm administrator. (See above for a sample
confidentiality statement.) Staff members participate in quarterly
training covering a wide range of topics, from professional conduct and
ethics to technology and office procedures.
Staff members who assist with a particular area of practice will
benefit from attending relevant continuing legal education seminars.
(Tuition often is reduced for staff members.) The State Bar of Wisconsin
also offers several videotapes for staff use. (See sidebar for
information about staff training tapes.) "Being
trained in the lawyer's duties helps staff understand the value of what
they contribute to clients. They become more vested in client service,"
Kunzke notes.
Publish an Office Procedures Manual
Written office procedures simplify everyone's job by answering
frequently asked questions and providing a basis for discussion and
evaluation of firm procedures. The ABA Law Practice Management Section
publishes (on disk and looseleaf paper) a model, Law Office Staff
Manual for Solos and Small Law Firms.1
In addition to personnel policies, an office procedures manual needs
to address:
- confidentiality
- conflicts of interest
- client communication
- telephone and voice mail
- faxes
- mail distribution
- calendar and docket
- file opening
- records management
- standard forms and correspondence
- billing
- cash handling
- trust accounts
- reporting lawyer impairment
Bednall's firm continuously revises its office procedures manual to
keep up to date with changing technology and methods.
Encourage Communication
Ann Massie Nelson is Communications Director at
Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co. |
The busier the law practice becomes, the more necessary it is to
schedule regular, one-on-one time with support staff. Staff members are
the law firm's eyes and ears, but they need a forum to voice their
observations.
"Clients are often less inhibited with staff than with their lawyers
in communicating dissatisfaction," Kunzke says. "In some firms, the
climate does not allow or encourage staff to communicate that
information."
Bednall agrees. "One of the most important qualities a staff member
can have is the self confidence to raise an issue when he or she
believes an error has been made, without feeling threatened about
retaliation," he says.
Endnotes
1 Demetrious Dimitriou, Law
Office Staff Manual for Solos and Small Law Firms. Ordering
information is available by calling the ABA at (800) 285-2221.
Wisconsin
Lawyer