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January 09 2012
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Legal Entrepreneur: Deadlines- You Only Get One Shot
Deadlines.
Most of the time, while we are in school, you get ample reminders that a test, exam, or paper deadline is coming due. If your professor doesn't remind you, your fellow student certainly will. Once you are practicing on your own, however, the court system does not send you friendly reminders, you are responsible for making sure that you write deadlines down.
Calendaring is an essential component for any law office. What works best for you, may not work best for an office either. You will have to spend some time thinking about and exploring different calendar options.
First, if you already have a case management system (there are some very good ones out there), you may have the ability to link various court dates with the calendar on that system. If you are a high volume practice, this becomes an essential component of whatever case management system you want to use. Explore this option when you are considering a case management system.
Second, you must have access to it on the go, but your staff has to know what's going on as well. I'm currently looking at several different options for calendaring my court appearances and client meetings. I'm trying to find the right system that will either integrate into my current system, but still have the ability to see when I am at court. I haven't found the right one yet, as my calendar right now, is the calendar that came with my phone. For several years, it was just me, so I didn't have to worry about letting my staff know what deadlines were coming up. But now, I have an assistant that needs to be able to schedule appointments, etc. So I'm trying to figure out what works best.
Third, often the court will schedule dates, while you are in motion hour. You have to be able to tell the judge right then and there if you have a conflict, so you can work around it or pick another date that works for everyone. That means you have to accommodate the court's docket, the opposing counsel's hearing schedule, your own client's calendar and possibly a few others, just to get one hearing date. Then once the court sets that hearing date, you may not get a “reminder” or anything later on in writing. The judge just assumes that you are capable of making sure that gets on your calendar.
This happened to another attorney where they forgot to write down a follow up hearing. No written notice was ever sent out and the client failed to appear for a follow up hearing. Consequently, a bench warrant was issued and then that attorney had to spend 3 days of time, correcting the mistake and get the client out of jail.
Missing deadlines can be fatal in the practice of law. There is often a statute of limitations that if you miss, you will not get another chance to ask for a “do over.” Likewise, the court is not going to calculate your time to file an appeals brief for you. You will get one notice of when the time starts and it is up to you to make sure you calculate the days correctly and write that deadline down on your calendar. Trust me, opposing counsel will be counting down the days to make sure that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing and they will not hesitate to file a motion for dismissal for failure to comply with the rules.
Finally, write it down or make sure it gets into your electronic calendar. Also, make sure you have some sort of appropriate reminder set, either by reviewing your written calendar weekly, daily, etc. or through your electronic “tickler” system. Either way, you are only given one shot to make sure your deadlines are being met.
Make sure you meet all your deadlines. You won't be able to do things like join the association of corporate counsel at martindale.com if you don't meet your deadlines.
Got a comment, different point of view, or question, just let me know.
Law school teaches you how to think like a lawyer, but not run a business. This column fills in that gap. You CAN open your own law firm and you CAN be successful.
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