1. OSB Bulletin Magazine - August/September 2002
Home | Sitemap | Forms | Contact
Member Directory Member Login Public Info
Search
Regulatory Functions
Oregon State Bar Bulletin — AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2002
Admissions
Discipline
Managing Your Practice
Discipline Home
Cyber Solutions
Disciplinary
Practice management tips for busy lawyers
Board Reporter
By Beverly Michaelis
Disciplinary Boards
Local Professional
Busy lawyers are always looking for ways to make their offices run more smoothly. But with the press of everyday
Responsibility Committee
demands, exploring available resources or the latest technology is often put on the back burner. With so little time,
State Professional how can you improve efficiency and productivity? Here are some leads to get you started:
Responsibility Board
Electronic case filing and adobe acrobat
MCLE
As courts move closer to a paperless system, more practitioners and staff will need to learn the ins and outs of
MCLE Home
Adobe Acrobat, the program that creates the PDF files used in electronic filing. Adobe’s Portable Document
Committee
Format (PDF) is a universal file format that preserves all the fonts, formatting, graphics and color of any source
Forms document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. Classes on Adobe Acrobat are readily
available through private providers as well as local universities and community colleges. In addition, Adobe
Program Database
provides extensive help online, including a searchable knowledge base, online lessons, books, videos,
Rules (PDF)
downloadable files, user forums and more. Visit www.adobe.com. Other useful sites include www.planetpdf.com
Sponsors
and www.pdfzone.com.
Status Change Forms
Oregon business law documents online
Inactive Status
In May 2002 two local attorneys launched www.claytablet.com, a website geared to business practitioners offering
Form (PDF)
more than 150 business law templates. Each template has its own drafting guide, history of substantive revisions
Active Pro Bono
and a message board so Oregon attorneys can communicate with each other. Subscriptions are based on size of
Status Form (PDF)
firm and billed on a flat monthly rate. Visit the site for more information.
Reinstatement
Forms (listing of PDFs)
Free child support calculators available online
Resignation Child support calculators based on the Oregon Child Support Guidelines are available online at www.dcs.state.or.
Form A (PDF) us/calculator. Choose from the regular custody calculator, the split custody calculator or shared custody calculator
to calculate support payments. Complete descriptions of each are available on the site, along with links to the
IOLTA Certification
guidelines and applicable Oregon Administrative Rules.
Unlawful Practice of Law
Pulling out your hair trying to keep on top of changes in technology?
Member Resources
Lower your blood pressure with a subscription to Law Office Computing. At $5 or less per month, you’ll get all the
Bar Publications
latest software reviews, practical hardware advice, word processing tips and valuable insight on new technology.
Bar Bulletin
Subscribers have full access online to archived issues of the magazine, including more than 300 product reviews
– Archives and tips. Subscriptions are $49.99 per year if paying by credit card; $59.99 if you prefer to be billed. Contact
James Publishing at (714) 755-5450, or visit www.lawofficecomputing.com.
Bar Leader Communicator
Bar Leadership
Need staff? Try a cyber secretary!
Conference Handbook
Cyber Secretaries is an Internet-based service available around the world from any telephone 24/7. Dictation is
Capitol Insider
transcribed, proofread and sent back via e-mail to your computer. If you need transcription services, Cyber
Disciplinary Board Reporter Secretaries may be a more flexible and less costly solution than hiring a secretarial service. For a free automated
OSB Legal Publications trial, call (800) YOU DICTATE (968-3428), or visit the Cyber Secretaries web site at www.youdictate .com.
Casemaker™
Want to better educate clients about costs?
Legal Research
Casemaker™ Login
Develop a 'price sheet.' Pull together the information on fixed costs (filing fees, service charges, recording fees,
Casemaker™ FAQ
etc.) as well as worst-case estimates on open-ended expenses such as depositions and medical reports. Use the
https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/02augsep/managing.html (1 of 4) [5/9/2009 7:19:39 PM]

2. OSB Bulletin Magazine - August/September 2002
Casemaker™ price sheet as a tool to educate and prepare the client, as well as to set a retainer.
User Guide (PDF)
How much time do you spend searching for lost documents or files?
Casemaker™ EULA (PDF)
Career Center
According to Inc. Magazine, the average executive spends one month every year looking for lost, mislaid or
Forms Library
misfiled information. The average lawyer is often in the same boat. If you need help with office systems, the PLF
Judicial Vacancies offers free and confidential practice management assistance. Call (503) 639-6911 or inside Oregon call toll-free
(800) 452-1639.
Member Fee FAQ
Online Fee Payment
Improve client relations for less than $10
Online Resources
OSB Events An effective support staff is vital to every law office. Every individual in a firm should be a member of the team,
dedicated to serving the needs of the client. The Law Firm Guide to Client Relations for Support Staff by Hollis
OSB Group Listings
Hatfield Weishar will allow you to identify the intangibles by which clients judge your firm, and show you how you
Performance Standards
can meet and exceed your client’s expectations for quality service. The guide is available from the ABA;.download
Products & Services
it as a PDF file, or order it online at www.abanet.org/lpm/ catalog. One copy costs $9.95; additional copies are
Rules Regulations available at a discount.
and Policies
Everything you always wanted to know about your local court
Surveys and Research
Membership Services Have you visited www.ojd.state.or.us lately? The Oregon Judicial Department website offers much more than
appellate opinions, it is a portal to circuit courts statewide. Nearly all judicial districts in Oregon are now on the
Affirmative Action Program
web. Find information about hours of operation, filing fees, court calendars and court rules or download forms and
AAP Home
attorney reference manuals for counties that publish them.
AAP/OLIO Registration
A must-buy from the Oregon State Bar
AAP CLE Info
Allocative Programs
The Fee Agreement Compendium is a comprehensive collection of sample fee agreements published by the
Non-Allocative Programs
Oregon State Bar. The publication also discusses how to bill client costs, the Truth-in-Lending Act as it relates to
Staff Contacts
retainer agreements, ethical issues arising in fee agreements, fee arbitration and IOLTA in relation to fee
CLE Seminars agreements. The 2001 edition includes forms on disk and is available for $65 from the Oregon State Bar. Visit
www.osbar.org or call the Order Desk at (503) 620-0222, ext. 413, or (800) 452-8260, ext. 413.
Ethics Information
Ethics Home
Advice on legal issues and tax questions just a free phone call away
Ethics Opinions Info
Ethics Opinions TOC
The Oregon State Bar’s Lawyer to Lawyer program connects Oregon attorneys working in unfamiliar practice
Ethics Opinions Search areas with experienced attorneys willing to offer informal advice at no charge. Any Oregon attorney can call
Lawyer to Lawyer and receive the names and telephone numbers of three resource lawyers. Help is available in
Bulletin Bar Counsel Column
more than 100 specialties. Call (503) 620-0222, ext. 408 or toll-free in Oregon, (800) 452-8260, ext. 408.
Archive
Legislative/Public Affairs
If you have a tax or accounting question, use the OSB’s Lawyer to CPA program. Simply call the Oregon Society
Legislative Home
of CPA’s Peer Consulting Service at (503) 641-7200 or (800) 255-1470 for a referral. Identify yourself as a member
Committee Contacts of the Oregon State Bar and specify the practice area your question involves. The Lawyer to CPA program was
established in 1995 as a free, two-way referral service allowing lawyers to get answers to tax and accounting
Policies/Proposals
questions and CPAs to get answers to legal questions.
Publications
Staff Contacts
The only collection of research links you will ever need (almost)
Useful Links
Loan Repayment Assistance The Oregon Judicial Department wins again for the best collection of Internet legal resources in the state. At www.
ojd.state.or.us/library, find the expected — Oregon Appellate Court Records, ORCP, ORAP, Oregon Rules of
Program
Evidence, Oregon Administrative Rules, OSB Ethics Opinions, links to state agencies — and perhaps the
LRAP Home
unexpected:
LRAP FAQ
LRAP Policies
Meta-Index for U.S. Legal Research — A service of Georgia State University Law School providing a search
and Guidelines
interface to reputable sites offering court opinions, statutes, legislation, regulations and more. Easy-to-use tools
Oregon Law Foundation guide researchers through varying search processes at the different sites, or go directly to reputable sites such as
https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/02augsep/managing.html (2 of 4) [5/9/2009 7:19:39 PM]

3. OSB Bulletin Magazine - August/September 2002
OLF Home Findlaw, Cornell, Villanova, Emory, etc.
Leadership Banks
LexisOne — FREE access to Lexis for searching selected federal and state cases covering the past five years as
Grantees
well as a complete collection of U.S. Supreme Court cases. Retrieve full text by citation or Lexis keyword queries.
OLF Contacts
Requires registration to log-on.
OSB Legal Publications
Court Rules, Forms and Dockets — Described by the Oregon Judicial Department as the best site on the web to
Legal Publications Home
search for federal and state court rules, forms and dockets. Links to more than 700 credible sources. Easy to use,
BarBooks™ Online Info
fast and very current.
Online Bookstore
New Releases State and Local Government Information on the Web — Piper Resources provides one of the best resources for
Legal Pubs Catalog (PDF) reputable state sites, along with links to multi-state sites, national associations, etc. Easy to use and up-to-date.
Pro Bono Information
Law Journals on the Web — University of Southern California Law School’s listing of journals found on the web.
Pro Bono Home
Helpful coding to indicate which journals offer full text, abstracts, table of contents, etc. Extensive category links for
Pro Bono Attorney Resources
law reviews: general, subject specific, foreign, commercial, ABA journals/newsletters or computer/technology.
Pro Bono Reporting
For all of this and more, go to www.ojd.state.or.us/library and click on Internet Legal Resources.
Pro Bono Volunteer
Opportunities
Pair up with a mentor!
Professional
Liability Fund
Mentors can be instrumental in helping new lawyers meet the challenges they face when entering the practice of
PLF Website
law. The New Lawyers Division of the Oregon State Bar and the Multnomah Bar Association both offer mentoring
– Oregon Attorney
programs. For more information about the OSB’s mentoring program, call Peggy Miller at 503-620-0222 or (800)
Assistance Program
452-8260, ext. 384. For more information about the Multnomah Bar’s program, call (503) 222-3275.
– Practice Management
Advisor Understanding how clients pay bills
Bar Leadership
If you’re working with a corporate client, you are an accounts payable to that corporation. Learn their accounts
Board of Governors payable process and customize your billing accordingly. Give your client the detail and breakdown needed to pay
your bill. Mail your bills at a time during the monthly or quarterly cycle when you know the payment turnaround will
BOG Home
be short. Specify a due date on your bill. Offer a discount for early payment (specify the discount amount and how
Agendas
quickly the client needs to pay to take advantage of it). Apply these same principles to your non-corporate clients.
Committees
If the client is paid twice a month, you might enter into an agreement with the client to bill them just before they
Contacts receive their paycheck. At a minimum, get monthly bills out to non-corporate clients by the 25th if you expect to be
paid around the 1st. If the bill isn’t in their hands beforehand, you probably won’t get paid until the next paycheck
Meetings
rolls around.
Members
Minutes
Forms, publications, CLE materials and more at www.osbplf.org
House of Delegates
HOD Home The PLF has 150 forms, 4 books, 3 archived years of the In Brief, and a library of CLE audio and videotapes
available online. New in 2002: a News and Information page, the Primary Claims Made Plan, Excess Plan and
Elections
related documents, including Excess Application Forms for New Firms. Browse around at www.osbplf.org, or use
Guidelines
our powerful search engine to find helpful checklists, articles, books, CLE materials and more.
Meetings
Rules (PDF) ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Roster (PDF) The author is a lawyer and practice management adviser with the Professional Liability Fund. For free office
system consultations and assistance, contact Beverly Michaelis, Carol Wilson or Dee Crocker at (503) 639-6911 or
Staff Contacts
toll-free from in Oregon at (800) 452-1639.
Committees
Committees Home © 2002 Beverly Michaelis
Committees,
Councils & Groups
Program Advisory Committees
— return to top
CommitteeAssignments (PDF)
— return to Table of Contents
Leadership College
https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/02augsep/managing.html (3 of 4) [5/9/2009 7:19:39 PM]

4. OSB Bulletin Magazine - August/September 2002
Local Bars/Legal Orgs
Legal Orgs Home
Local Bars List
Local Bar Calendar
Specialty Organizations (XCL)
Oregon New
Lawyers Division
ONLD Home
Brown Bag CLEs
Job Resources
Law Students
Mentor Program
Subcommittees
Upcoming Events
Section Information
Section Info/Websites
Joining Sections
Section CLE Guide
Treasurers Tools
Volunteer Opportunities
Brochure and Form
Client Services
Client Assistance Office
Client Security Fund
Fee Arbitration
Fees for Public Records
Lawyer Referral Service
Military Assistance Panel
OSB Center
About the Bar
Contact Us
Directions to the Bar
Meeting Room Rentals
OSB Job Opportunities
Staff Roster
Home | Sitemap | Search | Member Directory | Member Login | Contact Us
Copyright© 1997-2009 Oregon State Bar®. All rights reserved.
Oregon State Bar – 16037 SW Upper Boones Ferry Road – Tigard, Oregon 97224
(503) 620-0222, toll-free in Oregon (800) 452-8260
https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/02augsep/managing.html (4 of 4) [5/9/2009 7:19:39 PM]