ASK LAWYERS the Legal Guide

File Management Program for Law Firms

Legal Article Guide

By: Laura McDonald

Three years ago, file management in our law office was basically non-existent. It consisted of a handwritten calendar that had to be copied, by hand, into everyone else's calendars, little pink phone messages scattered about, notes made in hard file folders which often became stressful treasure hunts, rolodex cards, information scattered in word processing directories, and what we remembered in our heads. Time sheets were handwritten on legal pads, then type-transferred into a limited-function billing program. Expenses wound up unrecorded, forgotten and unbilled.

Thank goodness my boss has an amazing memory, and the legal secretary could uncannily regurgitate phone numbers on demand, but they had to work with me. As a paralegal, I'm a constant note-taker and refer back to printed material for accuracy. However, under our unstructured system, I was just creating more paperwork to get lost in the shuffle. This was quite clearly not a stellar system for continued use.

After some research, I convinced my boss to purchase Amicus Attorney. What a difference! The program is like a spider web, its effect weaving all information together in one central area on our networked computers. Files are set up in the program to correspond with our hard copy files. All people contact information is typed in and if they relate to particular files, links to those files are created. Daily mail is recorded into the program. Events, deadlines and scheduled to-do's are entered into the calendar feature. There is even a date calculator with various functions to arrive at accurate deadline dates to record. Phone messages are recorded directly into the communications feature of the program, with correct phone numbers and addresses easily accessed, and just as easily attached to the appropriate files.

Our Word and WordPerfect documents link to appropriate files, and more so, documents can actually be assembled within the program - for example, letters generated through Amicus Attorney are guaranteed to have updated addresses if a contact has moved, rather than pulling up an old document which may contain old information.

Several features of the program include a particularly helpful little button - one click converts the same information into a timesheet for billing ease. At the end of the month, those timesheets are transferred to a linked billing processor of multiple features that include fast generation of many reports to track performance.

Amicus Attorney also compiles a chronological list - a time table of ALL file entries. For a note-taker paralegal like me, it's a one-stop shopping place where I can see the whole picture at a glance.

Maintaining a file management program requires diligence. In the long run, every process of a law firm is easier and it becomes second nature to record information. That diligence is most definitely worth it for providing clients quality service.

Many file management software programs have add-on features and different packages from which to select which will benefit any firm, small or large. If interested in programs like this, a google search of "attorney file management" will present excellent options.

Laura McDonald is a paralegal. She has many years of experience in the areas of personal injury (accident related and medical malpractice), workers’ compensation, civil litigation, family, environmental, and corporate law, estate planning, and bankruptcy. She is employed by Michael L. Hawkins & Associates, P.L.L.C. in Frankfort, Kentucky. Her website is: http://www.paralegalsecretary.bravehost.com Laura is available to encourage anyone interested in entering the paralegal field or seeking to improve related skills.

Bookmark & Share Articles:

Related Articles:

Leave a comment to File Management Program for Law Firms

No Responses to File Management Program for Law Firms

Average Rating: (From 0 Votes)

Email to a friend
Print this page
View in PDF format

 RSS Legal Guide Feed

Latest 5 Legal Guide