Law Firm Management

While the document review aspect of the discovery process generally receives the majority of attention because of the expense and time involved, the collection of potentially responsive electronically stored information (ESI) can also represent a major expense and logistical challenge.

The concept of the attorney-client privilege seems pretty straightforward in, for example, a criminal case. However, as any in-house attorney knows, this concept becomes pretty murky when applied to attorneys working inside entities: Who is the client? Which attorneys are covered? Are those attorneys always covered? Which communications? With whom? On what subjects? The questions are endless and the situations are complex.

Almost 30 years ago when I began my career consulting to law firms, the then managing partner of Donovan Leisure Newton & Irving used that term to refer to the months of October through December. It was his way of pointing out to his fellow partners that the necessary activities of practice management that so many of them had avoided for the first nine or 10 months of the year now had to be addressed.

AccessData's interoperable e-discovery, mobile device discovery and forensic analysis applications collect from nearly any data source and cull case data for highly targeted review. This platform addresses all phases of the e-discovery life cycle and with these tools in place, we offer effective and expedient e-discovery services to our clients while passing the resultant cost savings on to them.

For decades, litigation was typically associated with large paper files piled on conference tables and oversized boxes being wheeled into courtrooms. The closest thing to technology that many people ever connected to litigation was a Dictaphone used to narrate notes for transcription.

How do you determine partner compensation at your law firm? You certainly look at each partner's originations, working attorney receipts and billable hours. But what about his or her excellent client service, strong leadership, successful staff development efforts and keen technical skills?

For those who have had some exposure to Total Quality Management, the reference to Lean or Lean Six Sigma might be familiar. Total Quality Management (TQM), famed for advancing Japanese firms to remarkable achievement in product quality, was also pursued in the service industry.

When it comes to attorney pay, origination has held a steady place at the top of many firms' list of compensation criteria. But could rainmaking be drying up in importance?