1.6 Docket Control

• Library: The Virginia Lawyer: A Deskbook for Practitioners (Virginia CLE) (2022 Ed.)

1.6 DOCKET CONTROL

1.601 Monitoring Workload.

Controlling workload is a skill that attorneys refine over time. Accurately projecting the amount of time a task will take can be difficult for new attorneys, but continual assessment of workload is essential because an attorney's overarching ethical responsibility is to represent clients competently. An attorney who is too busy to handle a matter cannot represent a client competently. Accordingly, an attorney must pay close attention to his or her calendar. Each practice area will have unique challenges. For example, litigators should be aware that federal court deadlines are usually firmly enforced (particularly in the Eastern District of Virginia) and should avoid handling multiple federal cases with trial dates that are in close proximity. Other practices, such as tax practices, have predictable "crunch" times that should be anticipated. If a crunch time is approaching, an attorney should be proactive about seeking an extension from the court and opposing counsel. Courts give extensions more freely before a deadline has expired. Finally, if an attorney cannot meet the deadlines, he or she may use temporary attorneys. LEO 1712 addresses the ethical and practical issues regarding temporary attorneys. These rules apply with full force to commonwealth's attorneys. ³⁵

1.602 Organizing Case Files.

A client file consists of a series of subfiles of various subject matters. A litigation file generally includes correspondence, pleadings, notes and memos, research, drafts, documents provided by the client, and documents produced by other parties. A corporate file contains subfiles or binders for corporate minutes and documents.

Attorneys should maintain files in a consistent manner and should not allow unfiled documents to accumulate. Even though an attorney may know where items are located if not properly filed, a properly organized file is essential to protecting the client's interests if another attorney must attend to the client in the primary attorney's absence.

Under LEO 1818, purely electronic files may be permissible in certain cases. Although it is unlikely that any law firm can completely eliminate paper files...