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INTRODUCTION A lawyer’s time and advice are his only stock in trade. But another important requisite to be a successful Advocate is a well-maintained Law office and its proper management. A systematic management of the law office could add to the efficiency and productivity of an Advocate. A well-managed office will also create a healthy working atmosphere and can attract many clients. Management of Law-office involves various aspects like location, layout, library, registers, diary, case management, staff management, meeting and communication with clients, assignment of work to juniors, utilization of equipments like computer etc. As a final year student and as a part of practical training, chamber visit to an Advocate’s office, who has put up practice at least for ten years, is a requirement. The chamber visits have assisted to observe closely the various aspects of complexities of the office management and have given a clear picture of the office management. The following report is my comprehension and conceptions of law office management. LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENTManagement means a process of managing or maintaining a proper methodology depending on the needs and demands of the nature of work. Law office management, in particular, is the continuous process of keeping, holding, checking, controlling, contriving, and maintaining various requirements of the profession. Thus, the requirements of the profession determines the structure, nature, management largely depends on the financial resources available and the attitude and devotion of an Advocate towards the profession. Management of Law-Office involves Management of the following:ü Office’s location and layout ü Meeting and communication with clientsü Management of casesü Management of Registers and Documentsü Maintenance of diary ü Maintenance of Library ü Management of the staffü Management of accounts. ü Utilization of modern equipment like computer, and communication methods Internet etcü Stationery A. LOCATION & LAYOUTLocation of law office depends on various factors like availability of premises in the vicinity of the court, cost to be incurred for the office premises, convenience of Advocate and clients. It is always an added advantage to have a law office in the vicinity of the court premises or in a place like heart of the city where the people could have convenient and easy access. Location of the office in a peaceful atmosphere is a requisite of an office. The layout of office covers the areas like:ü Chamber of Advocateü Arrangement of furniture, andü Accommodation for clients staffs and clients.A separate chamber to the Advocate is a requirement, which has to provide comfortable sitting arrangements for an Advocate. This provides for a seclusion wherein the clients and Advocate could have confidential communications and unnecessary interference could be avoided. Arrangement of the furniture must be made in such a way that it makes the office tidy and fits into the space of the office in such a manner that requirement of all is met with. Accommodation for the staff and clients is very important. Seating arrangements for the clients and staff have to be provided. Junior Advocates or assistant must be accommodated in such a way that the Advocate could easily direct them to do any work. An Advocate cannot attend all the clients at a time and clients may have to wait for him. Hence, providing a waiting room with proper furniture, newspapers and magazines is a requirement. Even on access to television could also be provided.B. MEETING AND COMMUNICATIONS WITH CLIENTSThe meeting and interaction must be carried in a closed chamber so that confidentiality could be maintained and such an atmosphere is necessary to make a client feel so comfortable that he could communicate material facts upon which Advocate’s appraisal and further course of action begins. Communication with the client requires ‘telephone facility, which would assist the client in avoiding unnecessary visits to the office. The use of e-mail could also be made for the purpose of communication. The timing of office should also depend on the convenience of the Advocate and clients. The office should be accessible at the hours in which clients could conveniently contact. Generally during evening, from 7pm to 10pm. The Advocate’s working nature also determines the timing of the office. Effective communication requires proper maintenance of diary and registers keeping a track of the proceedings of cases so that client could be informed in advance as to the postings of the case, and steps to be taken by him etc.C. MANAGEMENT OF CASES An Advocate through out his career has to deal with cases and keeping a proper track of the proceedings of every case from the part of case management. It is very vital since an Advocate has to deal with multiple cases and there will be lot of scope for confusion if proper management is not made. From the date of filing of a case, keeping a record of the proceedings in a register, which could maintained based upon the nature of the case and in an alphabetical order, have to be maintained and entries have to be made every day. A junior counsel could be assigned the work of maintaining the register under the supervision of the Advocate. It is also necessary to make entries of postings of every case in the Advocate’s diary. The maintenance of documents is an important aspect of case management. The maintenance of safety and confidentiality of the documents is a duty cast upon the Advocate and its proper management enhances the trust of a client in the Advocate. Thus, proper arrangements for almera with locking facility for storing them are inevitable.A cabin for placing files of the cases is also a must for the office in order to prevent unnecessary search for the case files. A cabin or ward robe with 31 pigeon holes or blocks has to be maintained so that case files could be placed as per the dates. It is a common most device used by every Advocate. The above aspects are maintenance of records and entries of a case file. Along with the above aspects case management also involves proper appraisal of the case, study and research of appropriate provisions of laws and case laws for which an Advocate could create his image and set standards for. Timely action in consultation with the client at every stage of the proceedings is a must. D. MANAGEMENT OF REGISTERS & DOCUMENTS:Another important aspect of law office management is maintenance of registers and ensuring the safety of documents. Followings are the important which have to be maintained:ü Case Registerü Attendance Registerü Legal Notices Registerü Stock Register of Library Booksü Stock Register of furnitureü Case Diaryü Accounts Bookü Receipt Book The maintenance of these registers can also be made through the computer programming. The management of the documents has an important role in office management. In law office each case shall have separate file and such file should be in a position to explain whole matters relating to such case, like, title of the case, parties to the suit, status and information about suit and proceedings (both previous and present), etc. such file shall also contain all necessary documents relating to the case, like plaint, written statement, notice, replay to such notice, I A’s, etc. Safety of the original documents produced by a client is a responsibility of the Advocate and a Shelf with locking mechanism is a must. E. MANAGEMENT OF CASE DIARY An Advocate’s diary is the schedule manager of an Advocate’s work. A case diary keeps the entries of postings of cases based upon the calendar. This assists the Advocate in preparing for the net day’s work. A standard form case diaries are generally provided by the Bar councils to Advocates on its roll. F. MANAGEMENT OF LIBRARY Every Advocate is in need of a good library of his own. The library of an Advocate should contain both local and national acts reference books; law reports and books related to social sciences. These books will be helpful to the Advocate in knowing the law and precedents. The law reports enable him to know the decisions of both Supreme Court and High Court on different cases of both civil and criminal matters. Maintenance of library is a must for any Advocate. So, he must have the knowledge of scientific way of maintaining a library. The general procedure of maintaining a library is the same to all the libraries. The library should be maintained basing on subject classification. An Advocate should maintain a catalogue register of library books with call numbers. He should allot some pages for each category of books. At the beginning of the register he should prepare an index of subjects. Following are the important books, which an Advocate requires for his practice: · Reference Books The reference books are necessary for the knowledge of statutory laws. General and specific dictionaries, encyclopedias, yearbooks, directories and bibliographic dictionary are some of the reference materials that are constantly useful for Advocates. When an Advocate finds a dictionary of legal terms and phrases, he should place it in his library among the reference books.· Acts and Statutes He should keep all the important Acts of Central Government and State Government along with the relevant rules. He should make them upto date by including the amendments when and where they are made. By keeping all the relevant Acts in his library, he can save his time and at the same time he can refer them immediately without going to any place.· Periodicals and Law Journals Articles in law journals are important and indispensable sources of information for an Advocate. The law reports enable him to have the knowledge of the judicial decisions and views of the courts on different issues relating to different laws. The Journal of Indian Law Institute, Indian Journal of International Law, Academy Law Review, the Administrator, Civil and Military Law Journal, Criminal Law Journal, Labour Law Journal is some of the Journals that an Advocate should contribute. Index to Legal periodical and index to Foreign Legal periodicals are very useful to find the relevant articles useful for his cases and locate the name of the journal, volume and number in which that has been published. Generally all current legislative material such as Bills, Acts, Rules, Notifications, etc., is published in the Gazettes of India and the States. These are very much required to bring the Acts up-to-date. The All India Reporter (AIR) is one of the reputed legal periodicals. The publishers of All India Reporter have published AIR manuals in multiple volumes. The volumes containing Central and State legislative material should find place in the library of an Advocate. The Supreme Court Reports (Since 1950), The Federal Court Reports (1939-1950) published the cases decided by them. Private publications like All India Reporter, Supreme Court Journal, Supreme Court Cases and some other publications report the case decisions of the Supreme Court and High Courts. The library can have the literary periodicals of regional languages for the refreshment of clients who have to wait for the Advocate’s counseling. Some local newspapers should also find place in the library for the use of clients. Thus the library should be arranged section-wise by keeping all the reference books at one place and the books according to the catalogue numbers. The journals and law reports should be arranged year-wise. The criteria for the maintenance and management of good library are that any book or journal be traced easily within short.G. MANAGEMENT OF THE StaffStaff in a law office of an Advocate consists of clerk(s), an assistant, typist or computer operator or stenographer and junior Advocates. The work has to be allotted to fellow Advocates on the basis of their abilities, experience, and their working style. In practice each junior/fellow Advocate shall be allotted a court where every day he has to attend cases and other assigned works like filing of cases, applications etc. The Advocate should constantly supervise and monitor the junior Advocates and other staff‘s work and give them directions as and when required.H. MANAGEMENT OF ACCOUNTSAn Advocate should keep accounts of the client’s money entrusted to him and the accounts should show the amounts received from the client or on his behalf, the expenses incurred for him and the debits made on account of fees with respective dates and all other necessary particulars. Where money are received from or on account of a client, the entries in the accounts should contain a reference as to whether amount have been received for fees or expenses, and during the course of proceedings no Advocate, shall, except with the consent in writing of the client concerned, be at liberty to divert any portion of the expenses towards fees.Where any amount is received or given to him on behalf of his client the fact of such receipt must be intimated to the client as early as possible. After the termination of the proceedings the Advocate shall be at liberty to appropriate towards the settled fees due to him from any sum remaining unexpended out of the amount paid or sent to him for expenses or any amount that has come into the hands in that proceeding. I. UTILIZATION OF MODERN EQUIPMENT LIKE COMPUTER, AND COMMUNICATION METHODS INTERNET ETCComputers assist the law practitioners by timing, and costing interviews with clients, besides storage of the case records. Internet facility brought the whole knowledge of the world into a laptop computer. Information Technology has developed a lot and e-mail facility helps the Advocates in communication.An Advocate can get information through websites and he can also refer national and international statutes, agreements, and details of case laws relating to a particular issue through different websites. With the help of the printer, Advocates can get the printed copy of the documents needed within no time. The computer plays the role of typewriter. Now-a-days use of computer is a must to any legal practitioner. The compact discs (CDs) and VCDs are available to know the statutory laws and precedents. With the installation of the computer, an Advocate can work in his office room, which is sufficient to keep a drawer, an Almery and a chair.The information given by his client can be stored in his computer. He can find the model pleadings and fill them and get print copies to file in the court.Telephone is a must in Low Office. The clients often ring up the office to get appointment of the Advocate and to get information about his case. Advocates can use telephone to give information to their clients and receive information from them to speed up the professional work. The telephone saves the time, money and physical strain of the Advocate. For quick communication telephone proves very useful. It is suggestible that in each office they should own a Xerox machine; there shall be other modern facilities like, Fax, advanced telecom system etc. J. Stationery The law office of an Advocate should consist of stationery articles required for office use such as white paper, wrapper paper, pens, pencils, pins, tags, pinning machine, twine, gum, envelops, cards, money order forms, postal acknowledge forms, cards, telegraph forms, postal stamps, pads, case filing documents, different printed forms, which are to be filed in courts. All these should be kept in stock and one should not go elsewhere in search of these needed office articles.MY PRESENT OFFICEAs a of part of Practical Training III, every student is supposed to visit an Advocate’s office, who has put up practice at least for 10 years to observe and understand the nature of the pretrial preparations made by the Advocate, art of client interviewing and also the various aspects of office management.For the last one year I had the privilege of visiting the office of V. Sharada, Advocate. Her office is one of the well furnished, well organized, and well equipped. The office layout is divided into two portions: (i) Chamber of the Advocate and (ii) Waiting room for the clientsThe chamber of the Advocate is a closed chamber with proper sitting arrangement for the Advocate and clients. It is also air-conditioned. A portion of it is also accommodated for the computer and the stenographer. The chamber also has wardrobe for the placing case files, documents, registers and ledgers and stationeries. The waiting room is spacious and has sufficient sitting arrangements for the clients, junior Advocates and students. A Library is also maintained in the sitting room. The Advocate has maintained one of the best Libraries with thousands of books covering various subjects and branches of law. He also subscribes the reporters like The All India Reporter (AIR), Supreme Court cases and reports of the past years have also been maintained. There is a junior Advocates taking apprenticeship under the guidance of the Advocate. A stenographer cum typist is also engaged. The Advocate allocates the work to the junior on the basis of their abilities, experience, and their working style. The following registers are maintained and regular entries are made:ü Case Registerü Legal Notices Registerü Stock Register of Library Booksü Case Diaryü Accounts BookMy Advocate’s office is one of the well established and a popular office and its been my pleasure to visit the as student trainee. MY DREAM OFFICE I would like to set up an office, which is an ideal and unique one in all respects. It shall be laid out and managed as per principles and requirements discussed above. A place of work is considered also place of worship .I would like my office as holy and as divine as a place of worship.My dream office will have following aspects: ü Reception: Reception is the place where the out side persons are received and appointments are given.ü Waiting room: - It shall consist proper furniture and the clients should feel comfortable and newspapers, magazines of all kinds should be available along with the Television.ü Library: - A library is the core part of the law office. It shall be the best available in the place not only in respect of the number of books on varied subjects but also in maintenance and up gradation.ü Documents section: - The documents, which are pending in the court, are present documents; it shall be arranged in date wise in racks as it is pending. The same information shall be stored in the computer also. ü Counseling room or chamber: - the counseling hall shall be the best one and a closed chamber so that the confidentiality of the discussion could be maintained. The client should really feel at ease and comfortable.ü Rest room: - It is exclusively for Advocates, in my dream office those who feel tired should be given rest, for that purpose, there will be rest room.ü Cabins for Advocates & fellow/junior Advocates: There will be separate cabins for fellow and junior Advocates, each will be connected by intercom phones, and however, each will be liberal to do the assigned work. If the personnel are computer literate, they will be provided a computer or laptop. ü Computer hall: In my dream office, there will be a separate room which will be left for accommodating the computers. it shall consist, internet facility, Tele conference facility, etc. Each personnel of the office will have access to that computers and communication with clients could be made on line. Conclusion The ‘legal profession’ being one of the challenging professions requires unflinching devotion and dedication along with discipline and systematic working. The management of his office where he has to carry on his major chunk of the work especially the research, pretrial preparations and meetings with clients assumes vitality and needs attention. The office of an Advocate is part of his professional personality and the clients form their opinion as to an Advocate not merely on Advocate’s ability but also on the management of his office. Thus, an Advocate has to apply his mind in the management and this report being an attempt to understand the vistas of office management helps in creating a mental make-up in a student of law as to his office of the future.