Standardized operations are just as practical in the law office as in the factory, according to a speaker at the 1950 Mid-Winter Meeting of the Wisconsin Bar Association.
The Importance of Management in the Law Office
by Dwight D. McCarty
The principle of standardization is predicated mainly on habit
formation. Psychology has long recognized that we are creatures of
habit. ... This is a tremendous force, which may be controlled and
utilized. In the law office we apply the same principle. We experiment
to determine the quickest and best way to do a certain thing in order to
accomplish a certain purpose. When thus worked out it then is made a
standardized operation. Once it is thus standardized, it is performed in
exactly the same way every time it is called for and then becomes a
fixed habit. It becomes automatic. The task therefore is done more
efficiently, in less time, and with very little chance of mistake or of
overlooking some important detail.
One of the first principles of standardization is simplification. Do
the task in the most simple and best manner. ... It is worth noting that
standardized routine helps take care of the small matters that
inevitably come into every office. ... These small matters always seem
vital to the client. He magnifies their importance and often insists
upon service out of all proportion to its value. It is necessary to give
service in these matters to maintain the good will of such a client. He
may have an important case sometime. Here is where the standard routine
comes in. ... One lawyer wrote me that standard practice was just the
thing to take care of what he called "nickel and dime stuff," and did so
very satisfactorily and at a greatly reduced cost.
Like the businessman, the attorney must develop all the efficient
methods possible in order to cope with the constant new demands on his
time and attention and meet the continual pressure of increasing
responsibilities. ... When one undertakes to modernize his house, the
carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and painters all move in, and the
family moves out. President Truman is living at Blair House while the
White House is being rebuilt. Fortunately the modernization of the
office procedure is not so drastic. The recommendation is that one or
two activities be first studied, standardized and perfected, and entered
in the office manual. ... Thus the modernization is made gradually and
without disrupting the daily work of the office.
These aids in lessening the burden of routine tasks are not intended
to supplant the personal element. ... After all, it must be recognized
that nothing will take the place of hard work in the practice of law. No
machine has ever been invented that will do the lawyer's thinking for
him. We all know that it is hard, persistent application that counts.
But at the same time a proper office organization will relieve the
lawyer from many distracting details and needless worry that wears down
the mental and bodily powers. Creative work is the very essence of the
practice. It is the function of management to release more time for
important matters and to enable the lawyer to conserve his brain energy
and concentrate his highest legal attainments upon the real problems of
the practice. That is what enables the lawyer to give the highest type
of constructive service to his clients.
If the lawyer of today is to measure up to his responsibilities, if
he is to maintain his leadership, if he is to perform the function of
legal advisor in a trusted fiduciary capacity, he must not only maintain
the high traditions of the past, but must have a vision of the future.
He can continue as a leader only as long as he continues in touch with
everyday life and understands the needs and aspirations of the people.
He must move forward, and as business progresses, he must progress. He
must know the industrial trade and the business life of the community in
order that he may lead and guide the vanguard and not trail along in the
rear. Only by such clear and timely progressive management, can the
lawyer of today be worthy of his high calling and meet the challenge of
the present hour.
Wisconsin
Lawyer
