Risk Management

52 New Year's Resolutions For Lawyers

Resolve to make 1999 the best year ever for your law practice. Once a week, sample a tip from the following list of resolutions collected from the staff of Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co.

By Ann Massie Nelson

1. Set a goal of returning phone calls within 24 hours. Reserve time at the beginning and end of each work day to return phone calls.

2. Keep a record of all voice mail messages, including name, date, time, phone numbers, and key points.

3. Read every document before it leaves your office. Don't expect your support staff to catch your errors.

4. Make up a proofreading checklist that you and your staff can use to check names, dates, amounts, and other details. Include several columns for multiple drafts of work product.

5. Personally sign your letters. You will stay on top of correspondence and instill client confidence.

6. Write a policy for identifying conflicts of interest. Make sure everyone in the firm is using the same policy.

7. Schedule a monthly meeting of support staff to discuss office procedures, confidentiality, client relations, ethics, and similar topics. Ask your staff for their input.

8. Test your firm's computer software/hardware and other technology to ensure Year 2000 readiness.

9. Develop a contingency plan for your firm in the event that telephone, electrical, or other vital services are interrupted by Year 2000 problems.

10. Advise clients purchasing or leasing business equipment about potential Y2K problems, just as you would advise clients about potential environmental issues in real estate transactions.

11. Schedule enough time to do work wrong - and correct it - before the statute of limitations or other deadline runs.

12. Before you accept a position on a client's board of directors, consider the potential conflict of interest.

13. Discuss fee arrangements in your initial meeting. Follow up with a written fee agreement.

14. If you are offered an interest in a client's business in lieu of fees, say no.

15. Check for conflicts of interest before you have heard the client's life story.

16. Never answer questions from telephone callers before you have their full name and phone number.

17. Send letters of engagement to new clients and to current clients who come to you with new matters.

18. Stay loyal to the client you agreed to represent. Don't begin prospecting with the opposing party, no matter how tempting.

19. Know who your client is. Would your client agree? Would the person who is paying for the representation agree?

20. Schedule one day a month to do the chores you dislike most. Reward your self-discipline with dinner and a movie with someone special.

21. Write a script for saying "no" on a note card that you can pull out of your top desk drawer when needed. For example, "I appreciate your confidence in my work; however, I don't have the time/resources/experience to give your legal matter the consideration it needs. Thank you for thinking of my firm." Follow up with a nonengagement letter.

22. If the client's problem would be better solved outside the legal system, say so up front. Don't wait for the client to discover it on his or her own, after you have racked up time and fees.

23. Identify another attorney who could protect your clients' interests in your unforeseen absence. If you're a sole practitioner, work out a reciprocal arrangement with another attorney for unplanned absences.

24. Examine your bill from the client's perspective. Does your bill clearly state what services your firm provided, including those offered at no charge?

25. Check your accounts receivable. Call clients who are more than 45 days past due and ask if they have concerns about your firm's representation.

26. Mail a short client satisfaction survey with your bill. Follow up with a phone call if you detect concerns.

27. Sit quietly in your reception area or conference room. What conversations can you overhear? Would your clients feel their confidentiality is being compromised?

28. Develop written procedures for opening, storing and retrieving, archiving, and destroying client files.

29. Shred.

30. Send "for your information" copies of all important correspondence and documents to your clients.

31. Write a letter when clients choose not to follow your recommendations in order to document your advice.

32. Obtain written client consent before accepting any settlement offers.

33. Keep detailed time records.

34. Back up all your computer files daily or weekly. Store the backup disk or tape off-site.

35. Investigate new calendaring and docketing software.

36. Remember, time continues to run on a statute of limitations, even when you have an offer on the table.

37. Review trust account procedures with everyone in your firm.

38. Participate in continuing legal education and ethics education that is relevant to your area of practice.

39. Become better acquainted with at least five attorneys through your state or local bar association.

40. Identify five promising new clients. Let them know you're interested in their business over lunch or dinner.

41. Suggest five undesirable or unprofitable clients seek other counsel.

42. Exercise caution in making referrals. Give clients at least three names or the phone number of the State Bar's Lawyer Referral & Information Service (800-363-9082).

43. Establish written job descriptions and performance expectations for everyone in your firm. Review quarterly.

44. Ask satisfied clients for referrals. Clients who find you by word of mouth are less risky than clients who pick your name out of the phone book.

45. Ask someone to critique your advertisements. Do they focus on service to clients? Do they inflate your firm's capabilities?

46. Meet with your clients on their turf.

Ann Massie Nelson is director of communications at Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co. Past risk management columns appear on the WILMIC web site, with permission of the State Bar of Wisconsin.

47. Schedule your own personal retreat, away from the office and telephone. Think about what kind of practice you would like to have two years, five years, 10 years from today.

48. Practice active listening: Look clients in the eye. Paraphrase and repeat their statements back to them. Ask if you have correctly interpreted their concerns.

49. Make sure the limits of liability on all your insurance policies are adequate.

50. Report claims or potential claims to your professional liability insurer as soon as you become aware of an error or omission. Failure to report during the policy period may jeopardize your coverage.

51. Become a mentor to a new lawyer.

52. Never promise more than you can deliver.