Time Management For Lawyers Indianapolis Bar Association Applied Professionalism Course

1. Time Management For Lawyers Indianapolis Bar Association Applied Professionalism Course John R. Maley jmaley@btlaw.com Barnes & Thornburg, LLP

2. Our Agenda • The Importance Of Time Management • Managing Phones • Managing Email • Managing Meetings • Managing Paper • Managing Your Day, Week, Month, & Year

3. Why Talk About Time Management ? • For Most, The Biggest Challenge In Practice Is Time Management • Poor Time Management Leads To: • Missed Deadlines • Poor Work Product • Unhappy or No Clients • Undue Stress • Discipline or Even Disbarment • To Be A Good Attorney, You Must Be Strong In Time Management • Law School Does Not/Cannot Fully Prepare You For the Time Management Challenges Of The Practice

4. Think Of The Most Productive People You Know • Are They Really Smarter? • Do They Work Harder Than You, Or Just More Efficiently? • Or Are They Just Better Organized, Better Time Managers, And Maximizers Of Proven Technologies?

5. What Do I Have To Offer? • Lessons From Managing Technology At My Firm • Lessons From Years Of Bar Leadership • Lessons From National Litigation Experience • And . . .

6. Lessons From Home

7. My Goals Today • Get You Thinking About This Topic, Today, Tomorrow, Forever • Implement A Few Of My Tips Next Week • Implement A Few More More Next Month • NOTE: Some of my tips might not be feasible in your firm or agency – use good judgment

8. The Client Culture & Practice Expectations • The Increasing Pace And Volume Of Communication • Clients, Staff, Courts • Most Expect Amazon.Com Turnaround • And The “Expected” Time Period of Accessibility Is No Longer 9-5 • Not Yet 24/7, But Probably 7am – 10pm

9. So How To Keep Up? • Maximize The Basic Technology – Phones • Enhance (While Simplifying) Your Use Of Email • Embrace Other Technology Tools • Still Try To Maintain The “Personal Touch”

10. The Basics - Phones • Many Have No Real Plan For Handling Incoming Phone Traffic • Tip # 1: Devise A Plan That Works For You • Who Will Answer – a person or vmail? • How many rings until vmail or transfers to another person? • How Do You Get Your Messages? • What Message Is On Your Vmail?

11. More On Phones • Tip # 2: • Consider Driving Callers Away From Phone Calls & Towards Email • Phones Are Inherently Inefficient For Most Communication • Non-Electronic Vmails Are Slow To Retrieve, Hard To Manipulate

12. How To Do This • Tip # 3: Have Staff Drive Callers To Email • Or Have Staff Take A Message & Email It To You • Have Your Email Address On Your Vmail Message As The First Option • The Benefits? - Easier To Reply Or Delegate, Plus Better Record Of What Occurred

13. Have You Checked Your Vmail Message Lately • Tip # 4: Create A New Vmail Message Every Day, Or At Least Weekly • Why? • Sets Client & Opposing Counsel Expectations • Informs Them How To Proceed Without Your • Result: Less Frustration For All

14. Tip # 5: Enhancing Phone Use • Use A Headset (This Allows Note-Taking, Multi-Tasking) • Don’t Use Speakerphones • Know When Phone Is More Efficient Than Email or Meetings

15. Conference Calls • Can You Instantly Set Up Your Own Conference Call? • Use Services Such As www.1800conference.com or www.soundpathconferencing.com

16. What About Cell Phones? • Tip # 6 • Who Gets The Number? • Use A Good Noise-Quieting Bluetooth or Headset • Have Cell Vmail & Direct Them To Page Or Email • Warning: Once Someone Has Your Cell #, They Will Use It

17. What About Email? • If Managed Properly, A Great Tool • If Mismanaged, Disaster Lurks • Tip # 7: Manage Email Before It Manages You

18. Email – The Monster • The Problem • Ever-Increasing Volume • Clients • Courts • Counsel • Staff • “anyone have free Super Bowl tix”? • Useless replies, surreplies, sur-surreplies • Imagine 20 years ago managing 50-500 incoming letters or memos daily with response expected same or next day on most! • Greater need to find and manage what you’ve received

19. How To Do This? • Tip # 8: Think Of Your Email As Your File Room • Create Multiple e-Folders • For Clients & Matters • And Then Subfolders

20. More On E-Folders • Have A High Priority Folder • Have A Phone Message Folder • And Sub-Divide Further Where Appropriate

21. Creating Rules To Maximize Your Email Experience • Tip # 9 Folders Are Important, But Without Rules You’re Left Still With One InBox & Manual Moving Of Email • You Can Make Rules By Subject Line Text, Sender, Recipient, Etc.

22. Tip # 10: The Importance Of A Good Subject Line • Never Leave Subject Line Blank • Use Your “Rule” Terms, Plus More Detail • Use AN for Action Necessary • Use NAN or FYI When No Action Necessary • Indicate When Action Is Due IN THE SUBJECT LINE • E.g, AN John Sum Jgmt Brief Due 11.1 • Remember Someday You’ll Be Hunting For This Email Or Its Attachment

23. Tip # 11 - Warning! • You must train your team to follow these protocols! • This includes Office Staff • You can also train your clients

24. Tip # 12: A Few Simple Email Tips • Use The High Priority Option When It Is, In Fact, A High Priority • Reading Pane will save hundreds of clicks daily, thousands weekly, hundreds of thousands annually, millions each decade • And will save minutes daily, hours monthly, weeks yearly, months through your career

25. What About Auto Replies? • Tip # 13: Use Auto Replies Sparingly If At All – Only When Truly Off Line For Days • Don’t Need As Often If You With Email On Your Hip Or Laptop

26. Cutting Email Volume • Tip # 14: Major Challenge Is Limiting Volume!! • How To Do This? • Direct team to send you less • Get off lists that you no longer want • Use effective filtering • Block known abusers yourself

27. What Other Technology? • Tip # 15: Scan Incoming Paper Mail – Allows For Quicker, Easier Communication • Can Forward To Team, Clients

28. Tip # 16: Naming Protocols • Attachments Need Names Too • E.g., 10.16.12 Jones v. Smith as-filed sum jgmt brief

29. Tip # 17: Avoiding Paper • Avoid Paper • Stop Generating Paper • Don’t Paper File Things You Have Electronically (subject to your firm’s policies) • And Convert Paper To Electronic Medium When Keeping Something • Never Touch Paper More Than 1x, Certainly Not More Than 2x

30. Tip # 18: More On Paper • Paper Is The Evil Of Time Management & Productivity – Laptops & PDAs Are The Solution • Never Take A Paper Note Again – NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! • ALWAYS Have A Laptop (or iPad) For Notes

31. Avoiding Paper • Tip 19 - Meetings • Take Organized, Brief Notes In Meetings – But Use TASK As Your Keyword • Immediately After Meeting, Calendar Dates & Tasks, & Email Notes & Tasks To Whomever Needs Them

32. Tip # 20: Limiting Meetings • Meetings, Like Paper, Are A Time Management Black Hole • Avoid Or Limit Meetings When Possible • Ensure Start & Stop Time and Agenda • Get Meetings Started On Time, and End Them On Time • Ensure Reminders Go Out 5 Days & 1 Day Prior

33. Tip # 21: Planning • Plan Your Day • Your Week • Your Month • Your Year • Schedule Vacations, Doctors’ Appointments, Kids Programs, etc. Well In Advance • Try To Protect Mondays and Fridays

34. Tip # 22 - Scheduling • Utilize Breakfast, Lunch, or End Of Day When Possible for Meetings

35. Tip 23: Read /Study Time Management Periodically • E.g. The Time Trap, by Alec Mackenzie

36. Tip 24: Time Management Myths • Good Time Management Does Not Mean Working Longer Hours • Or Working Harder • It Means Working: • Smarter • More Efficiently • With Clear Planning, Processes, & Systems

37. Tip # 25: Service Is Everything (Almost) • Accurate, high-quality work product should be a given for all of you (whether in practice, for Bar matters, non-profit work, etc.) • Once that’s the case, service is what distinguishes you • Good Time Management Is Critical To Good Client Service

38. Closing Thoughts & Questions