CHAPTER 13 ILLUSTRATION

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 13 ILLUSTRATION When Black, White & Greene started their law firm, they had a decentralized filing system. Each attorney s files were stored in a filing cabinet in his or her secretary s area close to his or her office. Each secretary was responsible for opening files, and each paralegal was responsible for maintaining the files. The secretaries were responsible for filing documents and keeping the files organized and indexed. Each attorney had his or her own file preferences: Robert and Dennis used partitioned folders, Grant used regular folders, and George used a folder for each type of document in a case. The firm used an alphabetical coding system for all files. Just one attorney, Patrizia, used color-coded labels to identify the file by type of case. As the firm grew and the support staff grew busier, the secretaries had a problem keeping up with their filing duties. They did not like to file, so they would leave the filing until they completed their other, more pressing work. Consequently, the filing did not get done, and each secretary had a large pile of filing to do. The secretaries handled this filing problem in different ways. Sandra came in on Saturdays to catch up on her filing. Pam just threw the documents in the file without putting them in the proper order or placing them on an index sheet. Tricia collected the documents in a pile on her desk and watched the pile grow higher each day. This filing backlog caused problems for the firm. When an attorney needed a document, it was not in the file. It was in the filing pile, and the paralegal or secretary would have to search the pile to find it. George and Grant, Pam s attorneys, always had messy files. They spent a lot of time going through loose documents to find the information they needed. They would give the messy files to Milton to organize and put the documents on index sheets. Milton resented this and felt that it was Pam s responsibility to keep the files in order.

2 When Tricia did her human resource audit (discussed in Chapter 3), she found that filing interfered with the secretaries productivity. She also found that the current filing system was fragmented and disorganized. It had no uniformity, which was important for the firm. She decided to overhaul the system to a centralized system, and she hired Kay Bowen as the firm s file clerk. All the files were moved to a central area, and the secretaries were relieved from their filing responsibilities. Kay was responsible for filing documents. She changed the coding for clients files from alphabetical coding to a standard numeric system. This coding system allowed for file volumes, which would satisfy George s preference for separate folders for each type of document. The system also accommodated files that had no volumes. Each attorney was given a number that was the first number in the code, as follows: Attorney Type of case File number Volume number With this coding system, each attorney s files were filed together. Within each attorney s files, all cases of the same type were filed together. In addition, Tricia developed a color code that identified the year in which each case was opened. All files opened in 2008, for example, had the same color label. The age of the case was easily identified by looking at the file label. Secretaries were responsible for opening a file. The attorney or paralegal completed a new case memorandum and gave it to the secretary. Each secretary checked the conflicts database for a conflict of interest and, if there were no conflicts, opened the file. To determine the file number, the secretary consulted the new file index, which gave the next number in sequence for each attorney. She entered the file number on the new case memorandum and makes a copy of it. The original memorandum was filed in the client s file, and the copy was filed in an alphabetical binder, which was used as a backup to the cross-index of clients files. Once all file-opening procedures were completed, the secretary prepared a new client memorandum and distributed it among the staff. The file was then given to Kay, who filed it in the file room.

3 Kay was responsible for filing all documents and tracking the location of each file. If a file was needed, a file requisition slip was completed and given to Kay, who retrieved the file and inserted the person s name on an out folder. She then put the out folder in the file s position in the file drawer. She signed and dated the file requisition form as evidence that the request was completed. The file requisition slip was stored in a files out file. As a file was returned, the requisition slip was removed from the files out file and inserted in a binder for future reference. If a file was not returned in a day or two, Kay knew where to find it. When a file was ready to be closed, the attorney reviewed it to make sure that all documentation has been completed. A file-closing memorandum was signed by the responsible attorney, who transfered the file to Tricia, the office manager. Tricia checked to see whether the final bill was paid. If it was paid, she initials the file-closing memorandum and transfered it and the file to the paralegal. Paralegals were responsible for file-closing procedures. When Julie received the file, she first checked the conflicts database to verify that all parties were listed. Then the file is reviewed for any original documents that were to be returned to the client. After she made a copy, she returns the original documents to the client with a disengagement letter that contained a notice informing the client that he or she was entitled to documents from the file. She gave the client 30 days to respond to the notice. If she did not hear from the client, she proceeded with fileclosing procedures. She began pruning the file and discarded all unnecessary documents. Then she changes the status of the case from active to inactive. She removes the case from the active-files list and inserted it on the closed-files list. She gives it a closed-file number, which is a combination of calendar and straight coding systems. The first part of the number is the date the file is closed, and the second part of the number is the length of time the file must be retained according to the firm s retention schedule: means that the file was closed in March 2009 and must be retained for 10 years. She calendars the file for destruction for March 2019 and inserts the file into a numbered container. She inserts the number of the

4 container, its location, and all other information on the file-closing memorandum and in the computer system. She then deletes the electronic file from the computer system after putting the electronic files on a CD. The closed-file container was then transferred to storage, where the firm s inactive files were stored. The new system was a definite improvement over the old system, but it was not without its problems. Some attorneys, especially Dennis, did not return files to the file room. He liked the convenience of having his files where he could get to them quickly. When Kay would came into his office looking for the files, he always told her that he was not through with them. Files piled up in his office, along with his files to be reviewed. Robert and Tricia talked to Dennis about the importance of all employees following the rules of a filing system, but to no avail. When the firm got an intranet (discussed in Chapter 10), Robert and Tricia realized that many aspects of the filing process could be automated. They researched records management programs and decided that they were not ready to transfer all their paper documents to electronic documents. However, they liked some of the features offered, such as automated file tracking, integrated conflict database, and file-closing indexing and processing. They found a software package with these features. They purchased it and began the implementation process. The first thing that had to be done was to put all their existing cases in the system. When a file was input, the system prepared a bar code label for the file that transferred the information to the firm s time and billing system and automatically assigned a file number. The system was programmed with the firm s file-coding system, and it automatically prepared a cross-index, list of cases, conflicts database, and file label. When a file was needed, the requester would the file requisition slip to Kay, who would scan the bar code, and the new location of the file would automatically be put into the database. Each member of the firm could access the database from the firm s intranet. It took a long time to completely implement the automated system. An outside temporary service was called in to help Kay input all the files. After the files were in the system, each person had to be

5 trained on the system. The secretaries, paralegals, and some of the attorneys loved the system. The other attorneys had difficulty adjusting to the high tech nature of the system. However, as they grew accustomed to it, they found the system very convenient and easy to use. The firm could now boast of its state-of-the-art filing system. Now, if Dennis would just return all those bar coded files he kept in his office, in his car, in his briefcase, and in his home!