Smart Staffing: How Administrative Staff Can Boost Your Bottom Line

• Publication year: 2003
• Pages: 31
• Citation: Vol. 32 No. 1 Pg. 31

32 Colo.Law. 31 Colorado Lawyer 2003.

2003, January, Pg. 31. Smart Staffing: How Administrative Staff Can Boost Your Bottom Line

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31

Vol. 32, No. 1, Pg. 31

The Colorado Lawyer
January 2003
Vol. 32, No. 1 [Page 31]

Departments
Law Practice Management
Smart Staffing: How Administrative Staff Can Boost Your Bottom Line
by Sharon L. Davis, Larry C. Smith
C2003 Sharon L. Davis and Larry C. Smith

Sharon Davis, Denver, is Director of Legal Staffing for Strategic Staffing Associates, Inc., which provides direct hire and contract staffing services for firms of all sizes - (303) 407-1496; sdavis@ssapeople.com. Larry Smith is Director of the American Bar Association Law Practice Management Section (http://www.lawpractice.org) and has served as chair of the Colorado Bar Association Solo/Small Firm Section - (312) 988-5661; SmithL@staff.abanet.org

Readers interested in submitting an article for this Department should contact Chris Van Coney at (303) 335-2976 or e-mail: CvanConey@msn.com; or Sheldon Friedman at (303) 292-5656 or e-mail: sfriedman@irwl.com

The trend in the legal profession is clear: each year increasing numbers of lawyers pursue flexibility and control by forming their own small firms or solo practices. For lawyers who have spent part of their careers at larger firms, the prospect of running their own firm is empowering and exhilarating. What many lawyers do not realize, however, is how difficult it is to wear many hats: serving clients competently, managing a small business effectively, and marketing to develop new business.

Decades ago, small firm staff generally consisted solely of legal secretaries, whose jobs included document preparation, filing, billing, bookkeeping, and virtually all other administrative tasks. In the 1970s and 1980s, as law offices began to take advantage of personal computers ("PCs"), the role of the legal secretary had expanded to encompass such positions as legal assistant/paralegal, systems administrator, and office manager. The use of PCs also has encouraged lawyers to produce more work with fewer resources; sometimes, this has led to inefficiency in law practice management. This article focuses on the contributions administrative and management staff can make to efficient law practice management and the strategies for recruiting and retaining these essential personnel.

Why Hiring Administrative Staff Pays Off

The primary goals of most law firms, both large and small, are to provide competent service to their clients and to build a profitable business. Effective client development also is critical to profitability. Quality of life issues may impact the bottom line as well. Each of these topics is discussed next.

Service to Clients

When firms are short-staffed, attorneys often spend too much time performing administrative tasks. As a result, they are unable to maintain a high level of quality service to clients. Attorneys and firms that frequently push deadlines or fail to return calls promptly may benefit greatly from increased staff or a reorganization of the duties of existing staff.

In many ways, administrative employees can be more valuable than the implementation of procedures and systems in ensuring a firm's ability to efficiently serve its clients. The effective use of administrative and management staff can reduce the potential for client complaints and malpractice claims. Moreover, firms that serve clients efficiently have the potential to generate a higher volume of repeat and referral business, which can substantially boost the bottom line.

Time is Money

Firms are sometimes reluctant to hire additional staff because of the expense involved. The cliché "time is money" is quite accurate. Attorneys are expensive to recruit, train, and retain, and...