Legal Office Records Management

• Author: Tina Kamakaris/Jane Kamakaris/Louis Kamakaris
• Pages: 11-26

11

Chapter 2 Legal Office Records Management

CHAPTER 2

Business is like re -- nothing happens unless you build one. is chapter covers the day-to-day

practices that keep the engine of an eective legal oce practice running smoothly.

HANDLING THE TELEPHONE

Computers and voice mail systems are capable of automatically taking and printing a caller’s

message. Following are some basic guidelines for handling person-to-person calls:

Handling all calls Make the rst impression a favourable one by answering on the rst or

second ring. Identify the oce and yourself, “Mr. Redford’s oce, Jane Smith speaking.” Be

tactful and accommodating and maintain your composure. Remember, good will takes years to

create, but only seconds to destroy.

Handling urgent calls e very nature of the business of law often involves clients with

urgent calls. It is prudent to take the caller at their word and put the call through without

much ado, even if it means interrupting a meeting, “I am sorry to

interrupt, Mr. Redford, but Mr. Brown is on the line and says it is

urgent.” If the lawyer is out of the oce and out of reach, “I am

sorry, Mr. Brown, but Mr. Redford is out of the oce today; could

Mr. Michael or Mr.Eliad be of help?”

Taking messages When the lawyer wishes no calls, say “I am

sorry, Mr. Brown, but Mr. Redford is unable to take your call at the

moment; may I take a message, or would you like his voice mail?”

When taking a message, write it down clearly on a telephone message

slip, Figure 2.1, or as is often the practice, email the message to the

lawyer.

Legal TIP

Never give out

information about

any file that your

firm is handling.

LEGAL OFFICE

RECORDS

MANAGEMENT

Figure 2.1

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12 Legal Office Procedures

HANDLING MAIL

Voice mail Check your voice mail messages regularly, and act on them promptly. Determine

the ones that you can handle yourself. Transcribe detailed voice mail messages and bring them

to the lawyer’s attention. Make a note of any action you took with regard to any voice mail, and

place it in both the paper le and the online le to enable others who may be working on the

same le to view what has been done. Lawyers usually retrieve and handle their own voice mail

messages.

Email Save the email in the client’s le electronically and print it out and hand it to the lawyer

for action.

Paper mail In some law rms, the receptionist opens and date-stamps the rm’s incoming

paper mail and distributes it to the law clerks/assistants of the respective lawyers; in other law

rms, the law clerk/assistant opens and date-stamps the paper mail for the lawyer. In either case,

the law clerk/assistant usually scans the paper mail to the respective directory before handing it

to the lawyer for action. Once the lawyer reviews the mail, he or she will instruct you with any

action to be taken or to le it away.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Before you open a new client le, check that no conict of interest exists. A conict of interest

would occur where the same lawyer or the same law rm acts for both sides in a case, e.g. for

both the plainti as well as the defendant in a litigation action. e Rules of Professional Conduct

prohibit lawyers from acting for both sides as doing so may compromise the lawyer’s ability to

protect the interests of each side. Lawyers may, however, act in conict in certain non-litigation

matters (e.g. real estate) if both sides consent in writing to having the same lawyer act. If in

doubt, you should consult the lawyer or the Rules of Professional Conduct to conrm when a

lawyer can act for both sides.

When checking for conict of interest, be sure to run a check on your client as well as on any

opposite party in the matter because if it turns out that your rm has, at any time in the past or

present, acted for the opposite party, the rm must turn down acting for the client in the new

matter. Many law rms perform their conict of interest searches through such software as

PCLaw’s “Conict Search” feature, which is capable of searching by options such as last name or

address. e law clerk/assistant keys in the desired search option, e.g. last name, and the system

will bring up any les opened containing that last name or any dockets entered that may contain

that last name. If the search reveals any potential conicts of interest, bring this to the lawyer’s

attention promptly. Many law rms have a specic lawyer or a department who reviews potential

conicts so as to determine if the rm can still handle the matter. Here is a sample of a PCLaw

conict of interest search, followed by the corresponding printout indicating clearance:

Copyright © 2022 Emond Montgomery Publications. All Rights Reserved.