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You've seen the studies, and you know that you can save as much as 93% on the cost of adding fax capabilities and 89% of the monthly cost by using an Internet fax service instead of a fax machine or fax server in your law firm. You also know you can improve privacy, simplify document management, and extend your faxing capabilities everywhere — even to individual properties. Now the question is ''Which one do I choose?''
Accounts receivable, if ignored or not dealt with efficiently, can represent significant losses to any business—let alone your law practice. Too many lawyers who bill for their time miss out on a great portion of revenue that could have been enjoyed, reinvested, or saved—if only they had received it in the first place.
Law firms everywhere are quickly jumping on the marketing bandwagon. It is no secret that many top law firms' levels of success in 2006 were attributed to their marketing budgets, according to the BTI Consulting Group, which surveyed 60% of all Am Law firms. The average marketing budget among top firms was $9 million.
When it comes to management at law firms, management does not simply refer to case management. It is also connotes the fact that law firms are businesses. Therefore, lawyers must also manage the business aspects of the firm, including payroll, purchasing supplies, and human resources. However, most lawyers are not specifically trained to handle the business side and would prefer to stick to the legal matters. Even if one were to delegate those responsibilities to a paralegal or legal secretary, either of those people may also have inadequate experience or education.
This is the second of a two-part article on diversity in law firms. This first article examined why more law firms are recognizing the value of having a diverse workplace. This second part provides ideas for recruiting and retaining an inclusive workforce and offers some advice to smaller firms.
This is the first of a two-part article on diversity in law firms. This first section examines why more law firms are recognizing the value of having a diverse workplace. The second part will provide ideas for recruiting and retaining an inclusive workforce and offer some advice for smaller firms.
Cultivating a legal and ethical business climate is a two-step process. First, the courts, regulatory agencies, and other governmental bodies need to have the legal and financial wherewithal to investigate and prosecute corporate wrongdoing. Second, corporate America and its employees need to be aware of the changing regulatory and legal landscape, so they can be sure they keep to the straight and narrow path.
Corporate America is at a crossroads. Revenue is increasing. Profits are up. The world economy is creating potentially huge new markets. And according to some analysts, the future appears bright. But few times in American history have we witnessed a larger spate of high-profile cases of corporate misconduct. Corporations like Enron, WorldCom, Cendant, Tyco, HealthSouth, and plenty of other companies-and the executives who run them-have been accused (and sometimes convicted) of numerous misdeeds.
A recent Jackson Lewis Workplace Survey that charts trends and developments in workplace law and related issues found that gender discrimination charges spiked in 2004. In the survey, participants were asked, ''Was your company sued by an employee for any reason during the past year?'' Fifty-eight percent of the respondents cited gender discrimination as the basis for a charge, a substantial increase over the 48 percent who responded the same way in the law firm's 2003 survey.
Business is still business when it comes to the law. Like any other entity, a firm must stay visible and competitive in its market. ''Legal marketing is more important today than at any other time,'' said Susan Sipe, president of Sipe & Associates, Inc., a legal Internet marketing firm. ''In any business that's run like a business, whether a firm or a corporation, if no one knows what you do or what you are capable of doing, there's no way they'll purchase your services,'' explained Nat Slavin, publisher of Corporate Legal Times and board member-at-large at the Legal Marketing Association (LMA).
Whether they're due to a new client, new representation for an existing client, or a lateral hire, regular checks for conflicts of interest have become an essential part of a firm's operations. ''The idea is to be able to allow the firm to identify…a situation which gives rise to an actual conflict of interest, or could potentially rise to a conflict of interest down the line,'' explained Richard E. Flamm, Esq., expert on conflicts of interest and author of Lawyer Disqualification: Conflicts of Interest and Other Bases. ''The proper conflicts check depends on a number of factors, including the jurisdiction you're in and the size of the firm,'' Flamm said.
The recent murders of Chicago District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow's mother and husband and the shooting rampage that killed three in an Atlanta courtroom painfully reminded the legal community of its vulnerability when it comes to workplace violence. The legal community is not alone. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that between 1993 and 1999, there was an annual average of 1.7 million violent workplace victimizations. During this same time, there were also 900 workplace-related homicides annually. The National Institute for the Prevention of Workplace Violence reports that in the year 2000, the states with the most deaths resulting from assault and other violent acts at work were California (111), Texas (103), New York (68), and Florida (66).
First it was Weyco, a medical benefits company in Michigan, dismissing employees who smoked even while away from the workplace, and then it was Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, located in New Jersey, restricting employees from gaining too much weight. Are companies becoming too intrusive in their employees’ lives?Legally, it depends, says Peter Petesch, a partner in the Washington, DC, office of Ford and Harrison, LLP, a national labor and employment law firm. What it depends on most is where the company is doing business. It’s mainly a state law issue, Petesch points out, and there are a myriad of state and federal laws and regulations.
Some companies are enticing employees to lead healthier, more productive lives with a variety of ''wellness'' initiatives, including smoking-cessation counseling and products, weight maintenance plans, and exercise programs. Companies are promoting everything from a discount on smoking replacement aids and health club memberships to substantial discounts on health insurance premiums.
Back when Sol Linowitz was a young attorney in the 1940s, law firms followed a cardinal rule. ''It was considered shockingly bad behavior to solicit legal business,'' Mr.Linowitz, author of The Betrayed Profession and former senior partner at Coudert Brothers wrote, ''The young lawyer was supposed to conduct himself in such a way that his telephone would ring.''
Being successful in expanding your business is crucial to the overall health of your company. Filling your new office with the right employees is one of the most important aspects of that - find out how.