Thank you for making 2015 such a successful year! We had great guest bloggers, inspiring readers’ tips, and a series of very informative and well-attended webinars. And we’re looking forward to an even better time in 2016.
In case you missed it, these are the top articles that trended on the site this year.
#1: November 6 is National Love Your Lawyer Day
If your clients suddenly start hugging the lawyers in your office, don’t be alarmed—but do check your calendar. If it’s November 6, then your clients are just enthusiastically embracing National Love Your Lawyer Day and are letting their favorite legal eagle know how much they love and appreciate them.
#2: Can every attorney in your office answer these 10 critical questions?
Want to see more profit this year? Get each attorney to draw up a practice plan for the year. A plan forces the attorneys to organize their work agenda by focusing on practice development, production, and self-improvement. What’s more, it ensures that everybody does work that furthers the firm’s goals, it keeps the marketing focused, and it keeps the collections in line.
#3: How a mentor program can improve your associate retention rates
It’s the money that gets the first-year associates in the door. But it’s the work that keeps them there. Many associates are gone by the third year, and most of them go because the work assignments don’t live up to their expectations.
#4: How are your billing and collecting processes? 6 best practices that fit the bill
Training some select clients to pay their bills on time might seem about as possible as herding cats. But if you start the training early, you might actually achieve the impossible.
#5: 8 pitfalls of letting law firm employees work from home
Contrary to what you might have heard in HR circles, refusing to let employees work from home will not make your law firm a dinosaur that nobody will ever want to work for. In fact, it will put you in the same position as the nearly 65 percent of employers that don’t allow telecommuting.
#6: Job descriptions make paralegals a profit center
A Phoenix firm realized its paralegal force was not paying for itself in billings. Instead, the group was not only unsupervised but was being given a lot of non-billable work assignments. In response, the firm set billing requirements, drew up a paralegal job description, and, to encourage its paralegals to exceed the minimum, developed an objective bonus system. Along with all that, it threw in some morale building-perks.
#7: 3 ways you can boost office morale fast
Which would you rather have: an upbeat, engaged staff that contributes to a successful law practice or a staff that grudgingly shows up for work each day and plods through required tasks? Obviously, the first choice is preferable. In reality, however, your staff probably includes at least several employees who fit the latter category.
#8: Ending 6 irritating staff behaviors
Employees’ work and personal habits may not be significant enough to determine the firm’s success or failure, but they warrant attention. It’s those small things that drive down the morale of any business, says practice management consultant Dr. Rhonda Savage who heads Miles Global in Gig-Harbor, WA. They also drive down the administrator’s morale. Here she tells how to deal with six of the most irritating of irritants.
#9: A telling way to interview job candidates
Everyone walks into a job interview with their best foot forward and a slew of prepared answers. It’s your job to sift through what’s often a rehearsed performance and find out what the firm will actually get if the person is hired.
#10: Don’t let another firm steal your staff
The old saying that “the grass is always greener” is actually a fairly accurate description of one aspect of human nature. And this trait almost certainly applies to members of your office. As other organizations grow and the need for professional staff increases, openings will be filled by stealing the best from offices. It’s frustrating, but it’s reality.
