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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    October 01, 2000

    Wisconsin Lawyer October 2000: Hot Practice Management and Techno Tips - David Grove

    Hot Practice Management and Techno Tips

    To whom can attorneys turn for real, practical office management and computer tips geared especially for them?

    For starters, turn to your colleagues, professional staff, and consultants.

    The Law Practice Section and Solo and Small Firm Practice Committee cosponsored "60+ Hot Practice Management and Techno Tips in 60 Minutes" at the Bar's annual convention in June. In the interest of space, the presenters offer their favorite tips. Nothing said in this article is to be construed as a State Bar endorsement of any brand or product.


    David Grove
    Owner of Grove Law Office, DeForest,
    a general practice firm. He primarily practices estate planning, corporate law for closely held business owners, creditor-debtor law, and civil litigation

    Know Your Spreadsheet

    Take time to put together spreadsheets that handle many of your day-to-day exhibits or calculations. Examples: Divorce property division and financial disclosure worksheets; wage calculations if still done internally without an accounting program.

    Simplify Routine Correspondence

    Set up "check-the-box" type of forms for routine communication. These can be broken down by legal practice areas and even made with carbonless copies for file receipts. None of these sheets needs to be over a half-page wide, which saves paper and mailing expense.

    Think Up Creative Customized Ink-stampS

    I found it useful to have a stamp that allows me to "check the box" as to whether I filed a particular document to the court, to opposing counsel, and to the client, along with the date that I did it.

    There are Headsets ... and Then There are Headsets

    The number one productivity-enhancing tool that I found is to have a wireless 900 mhz headset. This not only allows hand free operation, but I am desk-free as well.

    Clean Up Your Tools

    The toolbar - the row of icons at the top - in all Microsoft applications can be customized to fit the actions that you do the most. To replace icons you do not use, click View, choose Toolbars, then choose Customize from the next menu. From the Command tab, simply drag and drop any icon you want, and/or drag any command you do not want off the tool bar. You can even arrange the order this way.

    Customize Your Menu

    Drop-down menus also can be customized the same way. In addition, in Office 2000, menus will only show your most frequently used commands. To see all menu choices, click the Tools menu, and choose Customize; under Options, uncheck "Menus show recently used commands first."

    Eliminate Your "Office Assistant"

    Office has an annoying "assistant" that is always in the way. To get rid of it, select Hide the Office Assistant from the Help menu. If you do it three times, it will ask if you want this to be permanent. Office 97 users will need to right-click on Clippit, choose Options, and then clear all selected options to eliminate your assistant.

    Learn to Use the Middle Scroll Wheel on Your Mouse

    It can help you adjust the size of your View. Simply hold down the control key and scroll the zoom in or out. It also can help you scroll down the windowpane bars, and on some, a simple click allows you to use the mouse to control moving the document up or down.


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