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The issue of delivery of legal services at an affordable rate is a current hotbed of discussion, not only in the State of Utah, but across the nation. A committee formed by the Utah Supreme Court is
currently looking into a myriad of options to help meet the need of affordable legal services. Proper utilization of legal assistants is one way to help meet this need. The Bar has even established
guidelines for utilization of legal assistants that can be found on the Bar's website at http://www.utahbar.org/rules/ html/legal_assistant_utilization_gu.html.
Why use legal assistants? There are many reasons to use legal assistants that are beneficial to the client and to the firm.
- reduction of overall fees
- specialization of legal practice
- increase in technical details in legal work
- associate "demands" and turnover
- Client service
-contact and communications readily available
-lower hourly rate
-able to serve more clients
There is no question that some things must be done by an attorney such as:
Accepting a case
- Evaluating the case and charting its course
- Performing legal analysis
- Giving legal advice
- Formal judicial process (i.e. depositions, hearing, trials, etc.)
- Supervising legal assistants
However, there is a multitude of work that can be performed by a trained, competent legal assistant, including but not limited to:
- Obtaining facts from the client
- Communicating information to and from the client
- Interviewing witnesses
- Performing limited legal research to assist the lawyer with legal analysis
- Obtaining documents (i.e. public records, police reports, medical records, employment records, deeds, photographs, plans, probate records, weather records, etc.)
- Preparing summaries, chronologies, itemization of claims, drafts of pleadings, interrogatories and production requests and responses
- Preparing outlines for lawyer to use in deposing witnesses and in argument
- Indexing deposition transcripts and preparing summaries of the evidence
- Preparing exhibits and lists
- Assisting at trial with witness and exhibit coordination
In order to be effective in performing these functions legal assistants must have some essential skills such as:
- Analytical abilities
- Communication skills
- Maturity
- Judgment
- Common Sense
- Initiative
- Dedication
- Professional attitude
- Cooperative nature
- English skills
- Research skills (book and computer)
- Understand general legal concepts
Members of the Legal Assistant Division must meet strict standards to qualify for membership, and by reason of those standards would possess these essential skills.
Both the lawyer and legal assistant must overcome barriers to be effective in their performance.
Legal assistant barriers to effective performance would include:
- Lack of basic skills
- Lack of legal training
- Lack of involvement
Lawyer barriers to effective performance would include:
- Desire for control
- Lack of understanding and analysis of legal information
- Communication skills
- Delegation skills
- Scheduling
- Respect for Others
It takes teamwork between the lawyer and legal assistant to make it all work. Successful teamwork involves:
- Discuss issues in the case
- Engender team attitude
- Allow everyone to express opinions
- Communicate effectively
- Don't nitpick
- Assume responsibility
- Delegate responsibility
- Give clear instructions - make decisions
- Ask questions
- Legal assistant is not a gofer
- Praise for good work; frank evaluation of errors
- Show confidence
- Overlook minor personality problems
- Keys to successful utilization of legal assistant:
- The lawyer and client have confidence in the legal assistant
- The lawyer assigns the proper work
- The legal assistant has full involvement in the file
-first interview
-e mail messages
-all meetings
-copies of all correspondence especially that which explains
and discusses strategy and the big picture
-point others (counsel and clients) to the legal assistant
- The lawyer properly prices the legal assistant's work
- Attorneys should do what they do best.
- Attorneys should do what they alone can do.
- Attorneys should move work to the least expensive competent
level.
You can start now by:
- Hiring legal assistants that have the essential skills
- Providing proper training and continuing education for legal assistants
- Involving the legal assistant fully in the file
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