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Tips for Automating Your
Practice
Presented by Heidi Alexander, Esq.

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About Presenter
• Deputy Director, Lawyers Concerned for
Lawyers
• Former practicing attorney
• Expert in law practice management and
technology
• Author, Evernote as a Law Practice Tool (ABA
LP Publication)
• Vice Co-Chair, ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board
• Member, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial
Court’s Standing Committee on
Professionalism

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Joe Lawyer faces some challenges . . .

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His Daily Tasks Include . . .
• Administrative tasks
• Scheduling and intake
• Tracking time
• Preparing, sending, and following up on
invoices
• Creating documents
• Managing clients
• Obtaining clients

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If not managed properly . . .
• Too much time spent on administration
• Inadequate intake data collected
• Lost of time = loss of $
• Lower billable hours
• Poor realization rates
• Search and recreation of documents
• Inconsistencies and mistakes

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POLL 1
• What percentage of your time is spent on
administrative tasks?
o Too much!
o 25% to 50%
o Less than 25%

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POLL 2
• Approximately how many hours do you bill
per day?
o 6-8
o 4-6
o 1-4
o Not enough!

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Automation: “the technique, method, or system
of operating or controlling a process by highly
automatic means, as by electronic devices,
reducing human intervention to a minimum.”

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May vary by practice . . .

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Documents

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Documents
• Response to potential client
• Common contract provisions
• Your biography
• Common phrases and words (Ex.
“Commonwealth of Massachusetts”)
• Mailing address
Repetitive Text and Phrases

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POLL SLIDE 3
• Do you use Microsoft Word and/or Outlook?
• Do you use Microsoft Quickparts?

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Documents
• Form with fill-in the blanks
• Creates copy as new document
• Reduces mistakes
• Helps maintain client confidentiality
• Easy to build
Document Templates

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MyCase Document Writer

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Scheduling
• “When are you available?
• “I can meet on Monday at 1, Tuesday from 5-
6, or Thursday from 2-4”
• ”Sorry, I’m not available then. What about
Tuesday at 12-3 or 6-7”
• “AM or PM?
• And so on and so on . . .

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Intake to
Engagement

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Potential
Client
Conflict
Check
Tasks
Assigned
Fee
Agreement

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Failure to communication is one of the top bar
complaints against lawyers by their clients!
Communication is key!

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Marketing

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Going Beyond

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Every Case Detail in
One Place
With MyCase, you never have to think twice about
where to find important case documents, messages,
and contacts — everything is organized and easily
accessible from any web browser or device.

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Heidi Alexander
heidi@masslomap.org
@heidialexander
Questions?

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