Law Office Management Chapter 8-14 – Flashcards
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What are the four essential elements of the billing process?
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Communication, Documentation, Regular and Frequent Billing, and Descriptive Bills
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What is the most important aspect of the billing process?
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Communication
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This begins at inital client interview and continues throughout the attorney client relationship until the final bill is paid and the relationship is terminated
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Comunication
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Documenting all communication concerning fees and billing matters is important particurally if there is a fee dispute
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Documentation
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Billing should be frequent and regular. Monthly billing is the most common method of billing, clients prefer small monthly bills rather than large, infrequent bills
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Regular and Frequent Billing
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Bills should describe the services rendered in a brief concise manner
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Descriptive bills
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Charging a client for services rendered in one large block of time rather than itemizing the tasks performed
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Block Billing
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A bill prepared for an attorney's review and consideration for adjustement before a final bill is prepared
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Preliminary Bill
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A form used by an attorney to increase or decrease a clients bill as appropriate
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Fee adjustement Memorandum
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What eight factors are considered by the ABA to determine a reasonable fee?
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TOCATPET
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Charging a client intrest on past due accounts is generally acceptable, however some states require a client's consent to charge intrest, as a rule intrest is rarley collected
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Intrest Charging
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LAwyers often extend creedit to their clients, credits are extended to people who generally extended to people who generally have the ability to pay
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Credit and Credit Cards
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computrized billing systems, software packages are used
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Billing system
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When a percentage of the bill is given to the orginating or supervising attorney as compensation
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Fee Allocation
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A utility program that allows data to be transfered to a billing program by copier or telephone system for recovery of costs
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Cost Recovery System
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The percentage of the total amount billed by a time keeper that is actually received by the law firm as income
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Realization Rate
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What factors affect the relazation rate?
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Nonbillable time, write ups, write downs, and write offs.
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An increase in the amount owed because of a premium
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Write up
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An decrease in the amount owed because of a discount
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Write down
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A credit for the total amount
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Write off
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What are the goals of a firms billing process?
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First is to make Profit, Second is to give back to the community
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What does a firms profitibility depend on?
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How you handle your resources aka the people who work for you
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A letter summarizing the scope of representation and the fee agreement between a lawyer and a client
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Engagement Letter
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What is considered when a firm projects income?
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Rent, Office Expenses, and Sallary
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How do you calculate an expense percentage?
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Various expenses divided by full income gives you this
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What is the most common billing method?
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Monthly
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What does a firm consider when projecting income?
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A firm considers the amount of time worked for existing clients and other variables to determine from new clients
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What is the purpose of a trust account?
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Purpose is serrogation of cash, keeping cash seperate of the clients and the law firms
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Holds the clients money in trust so that law firms money does not interfere with clients money
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Trust Funds
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What is funded by IOLTA?
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IOLTA funds legal services for indifent people through the funding of legal aid programs ...
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Using other clients funds until check clears the bandk
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Check kiting
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What is the purpose of a docket control system?
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Keep all dates in one setting
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A system that allows a law firm to schedule court hearings, depositions,m and other appearances and keep track of document due dates, filling deadlines, appoitments, and statue of limitations
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Docket Control System
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What does a docket control system consist of?
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A calander that contains the schedule of each attorney
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A calander that contains hearings and deposition dates for each attorney in a law firm
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Master Calander
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An individual calander that contains the same information as the master calander but also includes appoitment dates, follow up dates, deadlines so that the legal team will have enough time to prepare and complete the project on time
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Personal calander
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A system that is the method of controlling document dates and deadlines so that the legal team will have enough time to prepare and complete the project on time
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Tickler System
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What is considered when requiring the number of reminder dates in a tickler system?
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You must first determine the due date
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How frequently should files be reviewd?
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Monthly
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Whose responsibility is file maintance?
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Paralegals responsibility
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How are files categorized?
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Function, Subject, Topic, Subtopic
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Refers to wether a document or information is needed on a day to day basis
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Operational value
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Refers to wether a document or information is covered by statue of limitation
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Legal value
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Refers to whether a document or information has technical or procedural importance
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Technical value
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What is the U.S. Legal system based upon?
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Both written and case law
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How are laws categorized?
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Cvil or Criminal
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Rules created by an individual cour tthat apply in the court only
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Primary Authority
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Anything other than primay authority that aids a court in reaching its decision
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Secondary Authority
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A printed copy of judicial opinion that is distrubuted soon after a decision is rendered
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A slip opinion
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The process of storing information photographucally
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Microform
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Sheets of film on which documents are photographed
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MicroFiche
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Film on which documents are photographhed
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Microfilm
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A datavbase of laws compiled by a publisher who charges customers to use it, axcess to full text legal documents
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Online Legal Database
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Also known as brief banks are copies of work previously completed that may be used again for use of a guide to complete other projects
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Knowledge bank
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Software created exlusivley by a law firm
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Custom software
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Created by software companies who market and distrubute the software through the public
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Off the shelf software
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Software bundled in one package called office suites
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Bundled software
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A software application that can be purhased to enhance the features of another software applicstion
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Add on Software
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A unique name that identifies an organization of the internet site
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Domain name
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What was the internet origninally designed for?
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A countrys communication network in case of a nucleur attack
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This is not the internet, it is one of the protocols that operate the internet
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World Wide Web
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What are the goals of a system?
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Maxamize productivity, minimize waste, conserve resources, reduce errors, and produce high quality work
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What is the purpose of a system?
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The purpose is to stramalize a task so that team mebers of a legal team do not do unecessary work, wast resources, or make mistakes
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A large system, the elements include technology, economy, and govermental laws and regulations
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Macrosystem
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A firms methodology for reaching its goals
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Microsystem
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A system with a microsystem. This system must operate with substantive and administrative microsystems
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Minisystem
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A system relating to the management of a firm
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Substantive Microsystem
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A system providing legal services to a client
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Administrative Microsystem
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What are the four stages if devolpement?
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Anylyze, Synethize, Organize, Finalize
