Law practice management is the management of a law practice. In the USA, such practises are operated as independent businesses and so must be efficient and financially sound to be successful. Law practises in this country must therefore attend to business-like activities such as workload and staff management; financial management; office management; and marketing.[1][2][3]
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Lawyers started practicing some millennia ago, and even law firms as an institution date back to the nineteenth century.[4] The legal profession therefore had a head start on management theorists[5] in the ordering and running of their own affairs. A law firm is a professional services business and must be set up and managed as such if it is to operate efficiently and at a profit. There is a debate however within the legal community as to whether the practice of law is a "business" or a "profession". Some legal commentators believe this false choice is one of the reasons most American law schools exclude law practice management from the standard curriculum.[6]
Practically every bar association has an LPM section and many bars permit non-attorney membership in the LPM section due to the technical (e.g., non legal) basis of law office management [7]. The largest organization dedicated to law practice management is the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association which publishes Law Practice Magazine. Many private organizations exist also to supplement the substantive legal training lawyers receive in law school and in most CLE programs.[8] The focus of most of these private organizations is to provide additional training to equip lawyers for the profitable management of a law firm as the majority of lawyers licensed to practice law in the United States today are solo practitioners or owners of small (five or fewer) law firms.
There are four principal elements of law practice management: People, Plant, Processes and Money. People includes clients, staff and don't forget to take vendors into account. Physical plant includes the space where the work gets done and all required equipment including software to run it. Processes refer to how the business functions and include policies, procedures and documentation so you're not re-inventing the wheel every time. And last but not least is the money which includes how the firm gets paid, budgeting, financial controls, payroll and of course client property (IOLTA) trust account management. (Source: Excerpt from a speech by Lawyer and Law Practice Management Advisor RJon Robins)
Some of the elements of LPM include:
Software applications form the basis of today's office and this axiom does not exclude a law office. Thus Law practice management software is at the very crux of efficient LPM implementation, but it is a foundation and not the entire structure. [9]
Picking the "best" software for a law office can be difficult, but not impossible.[10] Some general-purpose software available on an open GNU license can (with some expertise) be modified to work well with law office requirements. For example, CiviCRM[11] offers a highly-customizable, open source engine core that, along with its free modules for such things as clients lists, mailing, billing, etc. permit an attorney knowledgeable in coding the opportunity to establish a sophisticated software solution on a shoe-string. However, the more sophisticated the practice area, the more difficult it becomes to self-code. Thus, highly integrated software for niche practices usually does all that is needed but comes at a price. For example, Microsoft touts its online law office suite for its cost-cutting, general purpose solutions,[12] while, at the extreme of niche specialization, the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys performs everything for estate planning lawyers from generating Living trusts, Will (law), a Power of attorney and even Thank you letters.[13] Somewhere in between these extremes is something that will fit almost every lawyer's budget.
The broad subject of personnel management is one laden with both social and governmental issues and, at the very least includes the following subtopics: Personnel Recruitment, Personnel Retention, Legal Compliance, Employee Benefits, Compensation Plans, Dispute resolution, Financial Management, Law Office Management Procedural Systems, Law Office Personnel Systems and Employee Training and development. Each of the subtopics could easily constitute a separate article and in some cases do.