2013 Solo and Small Firm Conference

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1 Vermont Bar Association Seminar Materials 2013 Solo and Small Firm Conference 2b) Integrated Practice Management May 16-17, 2013 Basin Harbor Club Vergennes, VT Faculty: Donald Coker

2 DONALD J. COKER, P.A. LAW OFFICE SYSTEMS CONSULTING POST OFFICE BOX 164 PORTSMOUTH NH (603) (V) (E) - In our 31 st year of service to Law Firms throughout New England - VERMONT BAR ASSOCIATION SOLO AND SMALL FIRM CONFERENCE BASIN HARBOR CLUB MAY PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE : WHAT IS IT AND WHAT DOES IT DO?

3 OVERVIEW OF PRACTICE MANAGEMENT Ok.SO WHAT is Practice Management (PM) software? In principle, it is similar to your Outlook in that it has a calendar and contacts. However, this only two thirds of the picture. PM systems allow you to gather information around a matter something that Outlook cannot do. It has databases for all three components: matters, contacts and calendars. However, there is much more. In essence, PM is a database of client/matters, of contacts, a calendar, a journal that contains all your notes, s, phone calls, research links; all linked to the client matter. Any decent PM system should have a report writer that you can use to create you own client lists, files opened and closed during a period, status reports, etc. I would encourage you to consider your information needs and ask potential vendors how they propose to meet those needs. One of the great features that is required of a PM system is that it be easily modified to suit each individual user s needs and wants. For instance, the way information is displayed should be easily modified. Another feature is you can add fields to specific types of law and have information for each type of law be unique, i.e. litigation can have date filed, statute dates, etc. Divorce can have number of children, date of marriage assets, etc. This lecture is designed to get you off the ground and to understand the basics of a PM system. It is NOT designed to make you an expert in PM systems, nor familiarize you with the advanced features of a PM system. The following screen shots are representative of what a good PM system should do for you. It is not, by any means, intended to be a complete definitive work on all PM systems, rather it is used simply as an example. There are some 50 or more PM systems, both traditional PC based software and cloud offerings and this is but one example. The real goal of a PM system is to get as close to a PAPERLESS office as you can reasonably get to. I firmly do not believe we will ever get to PAPERLESS, but certainly we can get closer to PAPER LESS. Anything that helps you to not need the physical file in front of you to work on it is the goal. Practice Management consists of the following areas of information management: Contacts Matters Calendar management Document Generation Document management Phone call management Matter reporting Billing and accounting integration Please feel free to ask questions during this program. I will do my best to answer them as we encounter them

4 MAIN SCREEN (a/k/a Task Folder) After logging on, this is typically your jumping off point. From one screen it is easier to navigate the system rather than go through layers and layers of programs to get to where you want to be. The screens should be modifiable to suit your needs. NOTES: - 3 -

CLIENT/MATTER LIST VIEW Once you click on the CLIENT icon, you can access the client matter in a number of ways: by client matter number, or by client matter name.

5 CLIENT/MATTER LIST VIEW Once you click on the CLIENT icon, you can access the client matter in a number of ways: by client matter number, or by client matter name. Click on the header to use that as the index. This is important because you need to have the ability to find matters in many different ways: work description, client name, case number, docket number, etc. Once you decide how to find the specific client/matter, yype in the way you want to find the client matter, highlight the one you want and either double click or press enter. NOTE: the columns displayed should be user modifiable. If you only want to see the client name and the work description, you can modify it to show only those two fields. This is an important feature to have, for it lets you display only the information you want to see, and not a bunch of useless stuff. LIST OF MATTERS NOTES: - 4 -

6 ADDRESS SCREEN SETUP SCREEN - 5 -

7 DETAILS SCREEN COURT SCREEN The preceding 4 screen shots are the typical information about the matter. You will note that it has all you need to know about the matter: the type of matter, contact on the matter, who the matter belongs to, specific contact information, and what court (if any) it is in

8 These will normally be filled in when the matter is open. However, please feel free to add your own information as you acquire it. You should have some mechanism for opening files that is a set and standard practice. You need to have only 1 (maybe 2) people open files. That way they are opened in a proper manner and the same way every time. That is vital for consistency and accuracy sake. NOTES: - 7 -

CALENDAR TAB The calendar for the MATTER should show the entire history of every calendar event for every client/matter. It is an easy way to see every calendar entry for a particular client/matter.

9 CALENDAR TAB The calendar for the MATTER should show the entire history of every calendar event for every client/matter. It is an easy way to see every calendar entry for a particular client/matter. If you use the calendar for your appointments, tasks and deadlines, and link it to the matter, it will also show you what is done and what is not done. Here is where Outlook falls down as a PM system. Outlook is great for telling you an individual s calendar, tickler and appointments. However, it is INDIVIDUAL centric, not MATTER centric. A good PM system should allow you to at minimum, both of these. Just make sure to mark the calendar entry as done with the date it was completed. NOTES: - 8 -

JOURNAL TAB The Journal page should display a list of note, e-mail, phone, and research journal records assigned to the current client or contact.

10 JOURNAL TAB The Journal page should display a list of note, , phone, and research journal records assigned to the current client or contact. Calendar records can be added, edited or deleted from this list. Individual pages for Note, , Phone, Timer, Research, notes to the file, Billing or cost information journal records can also be included. The purpose of this is to create a record of any notes to the file, s related to the file, any phone calls received or made relating to the file, any records created from a timer, any research done on a file, and any billable efforts for that file. This is a very important part of any PM system. It allows you to pretty much tell everything that had been done on a file. The documents linked to the file is up next, and allows you to easily see what documents are related to the file that you have created, scanned or received via . NOTES: - 9 -

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT TAB The Document Management should display a list of document management records assigned to the current client or contact.

11 DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT TAB The Document Management should display a list of document management records assigned to the current client or contact. Document management records can be added, edited or deleted from this list. With the proper icons in your word processor, they can automatically be linked to the client matter. This is an extremely important part of the document management part of Practice Management. There is nothing worse than trying to remember just who you did a specific document for, mainly because you want to have all the documents at your fingertips rather than have to find the file to get the document. You should organize your document files and folders to reflect clients. For instance, Joe Smith should have his own folder. If Joe Smith has multiple matters, you should have the divorce, the personal injury matter, and any other matters listed separately under the Joe Smith folder. Within each matter, you could have a folder for motions, pleadings, correspondence, etc. Under no circumstances should your folder structure be by attorney, or by user or secretary. If one of those people leaves, it can throw your entire document structure out of whack and make it difficult, if not impossible, to find documents. NOTES:

CONTACTS TAB The Contact tab in the Client file displays a list of the contacts associated with the client matter. Selecting a record in the list displays the record information.

12 CONTACTS TAB The Contact tab in the Client file displays a list of the contacts associated with the client matter. Selecting a record in the list displays the record information. Likewise, double-clicking a record opens an Editor window with the record information. Knowing what parties are on the file is an important feature of any PM system. It makes contacting any person on the file easy. Otherwise you need to find out who they are by going to the physical file. That is one of the goals of a PM system not needing the physical file as much as in the past. The Contact tab is only displayed in the Client file when the Contact Page check box is selected in the Configure Client Pages window. You should always get a detailed view of the information about that contacxt simply by cliciking on the contact name. The information displayed on the Contact tab should be able to be printed via the some report using simple procedures. NOTES:

13 INTEGRATION WITH OUTLOOK Outlook Calendar & Contact Integration Overview Any PM system that you consider MUST provide the ability to synchronize records from the PM system to Outlook and from Outlook back to the PM system. Additionally you should be able to configure each method to synchronize automatically or manually. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SYNCHRONIZE WITH OUTLOOK. If you just use Outlook for your and use the calendar in the PM system, there is little benefit. The only benefit is to have the information in Outlook and your PM system identical. PM system to Outlook When synchronizing from the PM system to Outlook, the PM calendar records and contacts are added to Outlook. This can be done automatically or only when a manual synchronization is performed depending upon your preference The settings in the Outlook Synchronization determine which PM calendar records and contacts are synchronized to Outlook. For example, you can synchronize events, tasks, events and tasks, all contacts, contacts assigned to a specific contact category, etc. If only your PM to Outlook synchronization is enabled, then any calendar records or contacts added, changed or deleted in Outlook are not sent to the PM system. When Microsoft Exchange Integration is enabled, you also have the ability to add, change or delete calendar records for other PM system users and have those changes sent to their Outlook Calendars. (Note: Contacts only integrate to "your" Outlook program.) How the Outlook system integrates with your Pm system is a crucial part of your decision making process. It must be seamless and flawless. From Outlook to your PM System Your Outlook calendar and contact records should be synchronized to your PM system. This should be done automatically or only when a manual synchronization is performed. The settings in the Outlook Synchronization window determine which PM calendar records and contacts are synchronized to Outlook. For example, you can pass events, tasks, events and tasks, all contacts, contacts assigned to a specific contact category, etc. Again, when using Microsoft Exchange, you also have the ability to add, change or delete calendar records for other PM system users and have those changes sent to their Outlook Calendars. Furthermore, any calendar records added, changed or deleted in Outlook by other users can be synchronized to your PM system. NOTES:

CALENDAR USAGE CREATING A NEW CALENDAR ENTRY Easily creating new calendar records, as well as edit or delete existing calendar records in the your PM calendar, is vital to keeping your system up to

14 CALENDAR USAGE CREATING A NEW CALENDAR ENTRY Easily creating new calendar records, as well as edit or delete existing calendar records in the your PM calendar, is vital to keeping your system up to date. File. Calendar records should be able to be added to the Calendar File in a variety of ways. Besides the typical PM calendaring program, calendar records can also be added via the Calendar, via a calendar tickler code during document assembly, via the Calendar Plan Templates program when generating a Calendar Plan, via the Import Data program, and via the Outlook Plug-in. You should have at least the following fields are in creating calendar entries: Due Date Recurring Date Date Completed Calendar Code Location Description Comments Type Priority Private Start Time End Time Client ID Contact

15 User/Group Alarm Alarm Active Notify Reminders Reminder 1 Reminder 2 Reminder 3 Click the button to save the calendar record. You should have a PM system that automatically detects calendar conflicts, and a window or some warning should be displayed to make sure that you want to accept or cancel the calendar record. NOTES:

16 CHECKING YOUR CALENDAR You can check your calendar either through Outlook or in your PM system. Since they are synchronized, it really doesn t make any difference which you choose. Daily Calendar

17 At the basic minimum, your PM calendar program should allow you to display calendar records in a daily, weekly or monthly calendar format. Additionally, you should be able to have one person s calendar, a group of peo,le, or the entire firm s calendar The Calendar should be customized for each user. Customizing the Calendar should be easy and intuitive. The Calendar areas should include the following: calendar records in a Daily, Weekly or Monthly format, and should be customizable to show each day is divided into hours. Each hour should be divided into intervals ranging from 5 minutes to 60 minutes. NOTES:

18 WEEKLY CALENDAR Weekly Calendar You should also have a weekly calendar, which can be resized or hidden depending upon user preferences. The F6 key can be used to toggle focus between the Event Calendar and the Task List. Pressing the Home key moves the current day being viewed to today's date. When displaying the calendar using the weekly format, you should be able to determine the number of weeks being viewed. Each week is divided into days. You should be able to create a customized Weekly Calendar. The need to be able to modify the calendar format. Customizable features should range from changing fonts and colors to specifying what calendar records are included. You should be able to preview or print a Weekly Calendar with the settings for the information currently displayed in the Weekly Calendar. NOTES:

MONTHLY CALENDAR Monthly Calendar The Monthly Calendar program is should be divided into at least three different areas, the Event Calendar, the Date Selector and the Task List.

19 MONTHLY CALENDAR Monthly Calendar The Monthly Calendar program is should be divided into at least three different areas, the Event Calendar, the Date Selector and the Task List. These areas can be resized or hidden. A monthly calendar does not really give you a great deal of data when viewed, rather it is used primarily as a quick reference as to who is busy on what day. You should be able to determine which user's calendar records are included. The filter feature would provide a quick method for finding specific information. You must be able to modify the calendar format. Customizable features should range from changing fonts and colors to specifying what calendar records are included. CALENDAR NOTES:

LINKING EMAILS TO MATTERS One of the great features of a practice management system is that your emails can be linked directly to a matter.

20 LINKING S TO MATTERS One of the great features of a practice management system is that your s can be linked directly to a matter. All you need to do is make sure your link is activated and it is easy after that. NOTES: Receiving and Sending s and linking to a client/matter

21 Sending an and linking it to a matter do your and when you send it, this screen will come up (assuming you have activated the link). Choose the client/matter (using the same technique as looking up a client/matter in the client list view). Should you also wish to link this to a specific contact (not required), then choose the contact from the lookup list and click save. Incoming s do not automatically link to a matter. The computer does not know specifically which client/matter is being referred to so the system allows you to choose which matter. HOWEVER, when you reply (assuming you do) the system will ask which client/matter you want to link it to. If you do not reply to an , and you wish to link it to the client/matter, then click on the JOURNAL button to bring up the Journal record screen. The link to the client/matter and/or contact. NOTES:

22 OTHER JOURNAL RECORDS The journal tab (or some equivalent) also has a few other record types that you can create. These are notes, s, phone records, time task (not used here) and research tasks. NOTES:

23 NOTE RECORDS Note records are stored in the matter and should include free form notes allowing you to keep track of any information desired. Note records should be easily created The following fields are should be shown for each Note record: Description - A memo field type that holds many, many characters of notes for the record. Date - A date field type that indicates the date of the record. Client ID - A Client ID field type that indicates the Client ID the record is associated with. Additionally, the client name and work description are shown to the right of this field. Contact - A contact field type that indicates the contact the record is associated with. The contact full name should be shown as hyperlink text that can open the associated contact record. User ID - A user field type that indicates the user ID the record is associated with. Time - A time field type shown in HH:MM format that indicates the time the record was created

24 Typically the use of the note is similar to hand writing a note to the file and putting it into the file. It memorializes important information that you wish to have in the file. Make no mistake about it notes to the file are important. Phone Records Phone records should also be stored linked to the matter file. Phone records should easily be created and have at least following fields shown for each phone record: Description - A memo field type that holds thousands of characters of description for the record. Action - A series of Boolean field types that indicates the status of the phone record. Actions include: o Spoke With o Returned Call o Left Message o Voice message Date - A date field type that indicates the date the phone task was initially started. Client ID - A Client ID field type that indicates the Client ID the record is associated with. This field is optional. The client name and work description is shown to the right of this field. Contact - A contact field type that indicates the contact the record is associated with. This field is optional. For example, you may have a telephone conversation with a particular third party attorney regarding your client. In this situation, you would specify the contact in the Contact field. A Contact Report for that particular attorney should list all conversations and activities associated with

that attorney. The contact full name should be shown as hyperlink text that can open the associated contact record. Phone # - A phone field type for recording the number called or received.

25 that attorney. The contact full name should be shown as hyperlink text that can open the associated contact record. Phone # - A phone field type for recording the number called or received. This field defaults to Phone 1 of either the Contact or Client selected on the journal record. You can also enter a phone number. User ID - A user field type that indicates the user ID the record is associated with. Time - A time field type shown in HH:MM format that indicates the time the task was initially started. Duration - Indicates the total accumulated time for the selected task. Each task can consist of multiple start and stop times (although this is not as common as with time tasks). These times can be edited in the Edit Times window. RESEARCH RECORDS Research records are also linked to the matter and should have the following fields shown for each Research record: Research URL - A Web page field type that holds the URL of the Web page associated with the record. Research File - Optionally used to store the location of a saved Web page. Description - A memo field type that holds many thousands of characters of description for the record. Date - A date field type that indicates the date the research task was initially started. Client ID - A Client ID field type that indicates the Client ID the record is associated with. The client name and description is shown to the right of this field

26 Contact - A contact field type that can optionally be used to associate a contact with the record. User ID - A user field type that indicates the user ID the record is associated with. Time - A time field type shown in HH:MM format that indicates the time the record was initially created. Duration - Indicates the total accumulated time for the selected task

27 WORKFLOW IN USING A PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Putting all these pieces of the puzzle together, we can have a system in place that allows you to have almost all the information in a file linked to that file, and it becomes available at the click of a mouse. Here is how a file can get worked up. Opening a file do the intake directly into the computer or traditionally by having the client fill out a form, then it gets entered into the computer File setup with mater information and all contracts/parties to the file. Initial documents fee agreement, etc. can be merged automatically with your word processor to complete documents in seconds. Upon saving the file, the fee entry screen pops up and you enter your time. A calendar entry can be created to remind you of follow up on these documents. Automatically create a boilerplate calendar to create key dates and deadlines for your use based on the type of law. Add calendar deadlines, ticklers and reminders on the fly for everything you do. Phone calls come in open the phone record and type in a summary of the call. Upon saving the record, a fee entry screen pops up and enter your time. Create a calendar entry for a follow up to the phone conversation. s come in link the to your file. Have the ability to full text search the s. Read and respond to the . Link to the file. Calendar comes up for entry to follow up. Fee entry window opens up for time record. Outgoing s get attached to the file. No more moving s around. Delete the after you link it. It is always there. Link to the file. Calendar comes up for entry to follow up. Fee entry window opens up for time record. Ongoing document production automatically merge the information in the database with documents, then link them to file automatically. Link to the file. Calendar comes up for entry to follow up. Fee entry window opens up for time record. Assign tasks to associates and assistants send an IM to them and create a calendar reminder to check on the assignment status Start your morning by running your task and appointment calendar for the day. Work off of that on screen list all day. Automated workflows to trigger a series of events based on one event..and on and on

28 QUESTIONS AND NOTES

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