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Calendaring, Docketing, and File Tickling Systems
Sheila M. Blackford
Attorney & Practice Management Advisor
OSB Professional Liability Fund
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program October 19, 2009
Our Agenda
1. What’s at stake?2. Calendar Control3. Docket Control4. File Tickling Control5. Resources6. Questions
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Most malpractice claims involve missing a deadline.
Stats are scary but in Oregon, the odds of a legal malpractice claim are 1 in 5.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Malpractice Claims due to Administrative ErrorABA 2007 Profile of Legal Malpractice Claims
1. Failure to File Document – No Deadline2. Failure to Calendar Properly3. Procrastination in Performance/Follow-up4. Failure to Calendar Properly5. Clerical Error6. Lost File, Document Evidence
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
ABA 2007 Profile of Legal Malpractice Claims
2007 claims0.00%5.00%
10.00%15.00%20.00%25.00%30.00%35.00%40.00%45.00%50.00%
Administrative Errors 28.63%
Substantive Errors 46.61%
Client Relations 11.22%
Intentional Wrongs 13.53%
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Malpractice Claims due to Administrative ErrorABA 2007 Profile of Legal Malpractice Claims
Claims
No DeadlineCalendarProcrastinationReactClericalLost File
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Calendar Control
Do you have a reliable system for tracking dates and deadlines?
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Calendaring
Have a backup system.
Calendar advance warnings prior to ultimate deadlines.
Follow up to see that the work was actually completed.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Calendar important dates
Administrative hearings and deadlines Billing dates Client-imposed deadlines Court appearances Dates you and your staff will be out of the
office Deadlines set by you and your staff
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Calendar important dates
Discovery dates Litigation deadlines Procedural deadlines Statute of limitations Tort claim notice deadlines
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Docket Control
Do you have a formal docket control system?
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Docketing
Have a designated employee in charge of the docket system.
Double check all entries.
Task is complete when item mailed, filed, or served.
Follow up all tasks done prior to deadline.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Docket items
All deadlines as they arise Reminder notices of deadlines –
A few days, a week, a month Final reminders Final reviews Follow-up reminders
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Docket items specific to practice
Administrative Appellate Bankruptcy Corporations Foreclosures Immigration Litigation Patent Probate Tax
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
File Tickling Control
Do you have a file tickling system to prevent files from being neglected?
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
File Tickling
Tickle file for review every 30 days.
Tickle file to be pulled and reviewed every 60 days.
Never put a file away without a future tickle date.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Tickling
Don’t let files stack up on your desk.
A good tickling system prevents vertical piles on your desk.
A good tickling system prevents files falling through the crack because nothing has happened to create activity.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Tickle Items
Open files Follow-ups to requests from firm Follow-ups to requests from client Follow-ups to requests from opposing
party Follow-ups to requests from court At file closing At file destruction
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Resources for calendaring, docketing, and file tickling systems
Professional Liability Fund www.osbplf.org Practice Aids and Forms ABA Books at 15% discount
Oregon State Bar www.osbar.org CLEs & Publications
Oregon Law Institute www.lclark.edu/org/oli CLEs & Publications
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Resources for case management software that has calendaring, docketing, and file tickling systems – PC-based
Amicus Attorney 2009 Small Firm Edition, $499.; Premium Edition, (SQL Server 2005) $699. www.amicus attorney.com
PracticeMaster , Basic $199. free with Tabs3 Billing; Premier $295. www.tabs3.com
ProLaw, READY (pricing 1-800-977-6529); www.prolaw.com
TimeMatters10. (includes 1st year maintenance plan) $905. www.timematters.com
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Resources for case management software that has calendaring, docketing, and file tickling systems – Mac-based
Daylite $199. ww.marketcircle.com
LAWSTREAM, $800. (includes year of support) Classic version still available, contact for price. www.lawstream.com
Legal Suite – Case Management Software, $199. www.mdansby.com
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Resources for case management software that has calendaring, docketing, and file tickling systems – Web-based
Clio, $49. month. www.goclio.com
Rocket MATTER , $59. month. www.rocketmatter.com
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Avoiding Missed Deadlines is the GoalOutlook vs. Case Management Software
Microsoft Outlook: e-mail, calendar, contact cards, to-do list, and free-form notes; can organize by person.
vs.Case Management Software: E-mail,
calendar, contacts, to do’s, and notes plus client information database, organizes by person and file; assembles documents in your cases; organizes documents in your cases; links to your billing system.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Time Matters: The Daily View
Change staff or view by selecting different options from top of
screen
Display as little or as much information as
you want – you choose!
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
View Multiple Days at Once: One PracticeMaster Calendar View
Calendar
Tasks
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Display Multiple Staff on a Single Calendar Day!
Time Matters: “Margie, are you busy at
2:00PM?”
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
“Tony, What’s my calendar look like for the next 3
days?”You can change the number of calendar days displayed by
selecting one of the options shown. You
can also define your own!
Initials designate entries for
different staff members.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
The Modern Group Calendar: Case Team Management at
last!
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
“But I Liked My Day Planner!”Amicus Weekly and Monthly Calendar Views
These views combine the power of the Amicus database with a traditional paper calendar type view.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
The Time Matters Approach to Group Calendars:
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Case Calendars are a Snap!Filtering Out the “Noise” in Time Matters
A simple filter allows you to display information on just one case or relating to just one client.
Let’s see only the items scheduled for the “Gordan” trial this week . . .
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
“But I Liked My Day Planner!”Time Matters Weekly and Monthly Calendar
Views
Compare the detail of viewsto your tradition paper calendar…
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Warning - Avoid the Traps!TimeMatters warns you if you try to double
schedule
Trying to schedule an event at the same time as an existing event generates an immediate warning of the potential conflict.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Warnings About Warnings
Multitasking doesn’t mean you can be in two places at once!
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Alerts, Reminders and Watches Screen: Time Matters Neglect Prescription for Busy Lawyers!
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Forget becomes Neglect – No More!
Select your criteria for
which records
you want watched
and periods of inactivity
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Rx for Neglect
Add Filters for tighter
control over
watched items…
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Alerts and Reminders: have them your way…
Generate reports useful to you and your case team.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Amicus Has its “Dailies” - the Electronic Legal Assistant
Click on an item and get the details or click “Today’s Overview” . . .
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Difficult to miss Today’s Appointments, Outstanding To Do’s,
Unreturned Phone Calls, and Outstanding E-mails with Amicus!
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Practice Master’s Incomplete Task List
Warns of Incomplete Tasks both Past and Future...
Past items are in “red.” Future items are in “black.”
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Time Matters Event Record
Not Just Date and Time….
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Time is money!
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Rules Integration Partners with: Amicus
Attorney, PracticeMaster.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Legal Deadline Calculation
Service. Prices range from
$5.00 to $99.00 per research
result.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Time Matters Date Calculator: Simple Steps for Avoiding Missed Deadlines and
Blown Statute of Limitations!
1. Decide whether to count weekend
days as well as Court and Legal
Holidays.
2. Select time period -- days, weeks, months
or years.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Time Matters Date Calculator
3. Select from date
calculations you have
saved.
4. Add, Change or Delete date calculations.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Time Matters calls them “Chain” Templates…..
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Creating the Chain:
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
All entries appear in the related records tab of the matter….
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Events, ToDo’s and other records can be automatically created by the chain
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
PracticeMaster’s Calendar Plans:
Make scheduling easy!
►Create templates for pre-defined interrelated dates based on a specific event entered by the user such as opening a file and counting forward
►Once created, a Calendar Plan Template can be used over and over again.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
The OSB Client Assistance Office Surveys Show Clients are:
► Extremely unhappy with lawyer’s failure to return phone calls.
► Unhappy with lawyer’s failure to keep them updated on a regular basis; and
► Unhappy with lawyer’s failure to provide them with timely and adequate communications regarding their matter or case.
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Cure for the Causes of Unhappy Clients and Complaints of Lawyer’s Failures:
Calendaring, Docketing, and File Tickling Systems especially when combined into your Case Management Software program!
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
Resources from the PLF for Calendaring, Docketing, and File Tickling Systems
See www.osbplf.org – Loss Prevention – Practice Aids & Forms: Docketing and Calendaring: Docketing & Calendaring
Checklists, common time limitations, and practice-specific docketing tips are also available.
Last UpdateTitleMay 2009Calendaring and File Tickling SystemsMay 1996Calendaring NoteMay 2007Diary/Tickler SystemsFebruary 2009Docket Control ChecklistJune 1992Docket SheetFebruary 2009Docket Sheet (Fillable)September 2008Follow-UpJanuary 2009Supplementary Local Rules
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program
QUESTIONS?
Thanks for listening!Sheila M. Blackford
503-684-7421
Lewis & Clark School of Law Graduate Fellows Program