Friday, September 11, 2009

Everything Your Paralegal Wants You to Know...

Frank Sanitate and Douglas Gillies of Quality Time Pros have authored an excellent article for the September 2009 issue of Arizona Attorney. The article is titled 'Everything Your Paralegal Wants You to Know (But Never Told You).

Where did they get their information? It's simple...they asked paralegals!!! What a great idea!

Do you ever wonder what's really going on inside your paralegal's head? In recent time mastery workshops for paralegals, the paralegals were asked to write something that they wished their bosses knew about them. The results are instructive -- and sometimes poignant.

The authors present nine statements that summarize the paralegals' responses, beginning with No. 1 I have a Life Outside of Work to Number 9 Sometimes I need Help with practice tips for each. Here's my favorite practice tip...it's a tip I've repeatedly offered in my Time Organization seminars for paralegals and in articles I've written:

Have a brief morning meeting with your paralegal or paralegals to go over priorities and answer questions. This is a good time to find out what they have been doing for you and thank them.
The morning meeting can set the tone for the day. Staff will know what has to be done and they can ask questions about their work. If used constructively, this meeting can go a long way toward stopping constant interruptions all day long...attorneys won't be calling the paralegal every 15 minutes with one new project after another and the paralegal won't be popping into the attorney's office to ask questions about the work they're doing. Everyone will be more productive.

Be sure to read this article. You will find all of the comments and tips interesting. You'll also find yourself saying, "Yes! That's exactly what I've been thinking!" You might also suggest that, in the interest of higher productivity and increased billable hours, your employer read it also.

Which practice tips can you put into effect TODAY?

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