Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are pleased to share with you our spring/summer edition of The Column newsletter. This edition is chock full of information on how strategic management of both people and documents directly impacts the efficiency and profitability of your organization. As the legal industry continues to thrive, our clients and strategic partners have raised some common issues and concerns and we share with you our thoughts on some of the most prominent topics currently facing legal departments nationwide.

Staff retention, whether for your direct staff or a team of contract professionals, is a key component to running a successful department. Staff departures result in workload disruptions which, in turn, directly impact your bottom line. Our recruiters offer some important advice on how to keep your folks content and "on board". In this edition we also tackle issues involving electronic document discovery and selecting court reporting services - both important components to the profitability of your firm.

As always, we welcome any suggestions, comments or questions you would like to share with us so that we may incorporate your thoughts into future editions of the newsletter. Please email us at
column@specialcounsel.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Jodi L. Nadler
Vice President, Special Counsel

The crush of discovery or intense due diligence related to a merger requires you to engage a team of contract attorneys and paralegals. You review resumes, hire the team and train them on the factual issues of the matter at hand. Having a well qualified team of contract professionals allows you to complete a massive amount of work in an organized and efficient manner. Once you have this team in place, another challenge presents itself. How do you promote contractor retention and prevent turn-over on your project?

Whether you have a team of 5 or 100, the following steps will help you improve retention, reduce the costs associated with training replacement contractors and improve the efficiency of the team:

1. Select a Good Team Leader ­
Every team needs a captain. The captain should be a firm or corporate employee who knows the facts and strategy of the matter, has excellent communication skills, is decisive, has a strong working knowledge of the software and hardware being used, and has immediate access to the decision makers. The key ingredients in a good team captain are an even temperament and the ability to troubleshoot.

2. Communication with the Team ­
Good communication is essential to a consistent work product. Good training on the facts of the matter is essential at the outset of the project. As facts and strategies evolve, conduct regular updated training sessions. Keep the contractors apprised of the duration of the assignment. False rumors that a project is down to its last week may cause team members to look for a new assignment. When the document queue gets low, let the team know that more data is being loaded or more documents are being produced.

3. Keep the Team Comfortable ­
Performing electronic document review for 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week, requires a comfortable work station. Make sure computer monitors are properly positioned, chairs are ergonomically correct and lighting allows for a clear view of the computer screen without glare. Stiff necks and back aches lead to absenteeism, reduced productivity and resignation.

4. Maintain a Consistent Pay Rate ­
Working in a close environment for long periods of time builds a sense of community and shared experience. This comfort level inevitably leads to discussions of pay rate. Contractors performing the same work should receive the exact same rate of pay. Morale on a team is destroyed as soon as a contractor learns that the attorney in the next seat makes $5.00 per hour, or $200 a week, more. Keep the pay rate consistent.

5. Reward Longevity ­
When a project is expected to last many months, build raises or retention bonuses into the budget. For example, the promise of a $2.50 per hour raise, or a $500 retention bonus at the three-month mark is strong incentive for the contractor to stay with the team. Let the contractors know on day one that the incentive is part of the intended compensation package.

6. Flexible Work Hours ­
Contract work is appealing to many well qualified legal professionals because it allows for a certain element of flexibility. Contractors should be required to bill 8 hours per day, but this should not be required to be done during a strict 9:00 am -­ 5:00 pm schedule in most cases. If your firm or corporate culture can accommodate it, defining core business hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. allows contractors to come in later or leave earlier based upon the demands of their individual schedules. Demands of child care, eldercare and the like are easily accommodated by this flexibility.

7. Respect ­
Contract attorneys and paralegals are skilled legal professionals. The work they perform is very detail oriented, often tedious and always vital to the outcome of a matter. Contractors treated as disposable cogs in the legal machine are not invested in the outcome and will jump ship the minute a new project comes along that offers a higher hourly rate or a mere change of scenery. People who are respected and involved become invested in the outcome and are more likely to remain for the duration.

Lizabeth Macoretta is an Attorney Placement Director with the Philadelphia office of Special Counsel, Inc. and a former associate with a leading Philadelphia law firm.

Court reporting has come a long way since the introduction of the stenograph machine in 1913. Still an essential element of litigation discovery, trial, and government hearings, court reporters and the companies for which they work can now offer a much wider variety of services than ever before. Wherever an accurate transcript of the proceedings is required, court reporters can bring these new skills and services to bear.

It is important to note that there are a multitude of technologies and specialized services being offered by court reporters beyond the basic court reporting offerings. Once you have familiarized yourself with what services are available, you will be better able to engage the right court reporter based upon your particular needs. Each court reporter is unique with specific skill sets and expertise that may or may not be attuned to the requirements of your project.

Real Time
Real time technology is, without a doubt, the most popular "extra" service requested by attorneys, paralegals, and other litigation support staff.

Available through software programs such as Live Note and Summation Blaze, real time allows those present at the deposition to see the transcript as it is being typed by the reporter ­ rather than waiting for the draft or for the final product. Paralegals unable to attend the deposition often find having the transcription in real time to be an essential litigation tool, as it allows them to begin document review while the proceeding is still in progress. In addition, this technology gives second chair attorneys a distinct advantage in the deposition, as they can read back and annotate portions of the testimony without having to stop the proceeding.

Court reporters proficient in these programs can command a higher wage for offering these services at depositions. As a result, court reporting companies generally charge a marginal increase in price when attendees "connect" to the reporter to utilize this service. Potential users should be aware that an order for a real time reporter is considered a commitment to use this service, and, as such, you will be charged for the skill regardless of whether there is an actual connection. The key for both you and the court reporter is that the skill set is matched to the job so it is important to determine whether this service, and the associated extra cost for the specially trained reporter, is necessary for your proceeding.

Expedited Delivery
Most court reporters have the ability to turnaround a transcript instantaneously if requested on site. However, some reporters are more qualified than others to prepare a near perfect transcript immediately. It is generally in the best interest of all parties involved that if you anticipate the potential need for expedited delivery, you convey this to the court reporting agency prior to the proceeding. The agency will then send a court reporter who is highly skilled to perform such service.

Drafts
Requests for same day drafts are another popular "extra" service that can be provided to you. In general, the disappearance of floppy drives from most laptops, and the spread of Blackberrys and other wireless devices have made email the preferred delivery system for such documents. Emailed drafts can also be an attractive alternative to paying a higher fee for an expedited final transcript, provided the attorney simply needs a working draft before the next deposition.

As with other services, when feasible, order drafts in advance to ensure you are provided with a reporter with the most desirable skill sets. Highly skilled reporters produce cleaner rough drafts -­ it is as simple as that. Not only can they adapt to expedited delivery more readily, but it also means that their drafts are essentially as good as a final, minus the formatting, spell check, and certification page. Furthermore, by using a simple email list serve, ordering drafts in advance allows the court reporter and agency to ensure that all those involved in the case receive drafts that same evening of the proceeding, regardless of whether they had attended the deposition. As with real time and expedited delivery, advising the court reporting agency in advance that you will need drafts during the proceeding will ensure that you are assigned the most qualified court reporter.

Conclusion
As outlined above, prior to contacting your court reporting agency, analyze the requirements you anticipate needing during the proceeding. Armed with the proper information, the agency will be able to best provide you with the level of court reporter and services you require. Court reporters vary in skill levels and skill sets. Your objective is to hire the reporter whose skill sets best match your needs. The more information you can provide up front, the smoother the process, from testimony to delivery.

Mike Munson is a Business Development Director with the Washington, D.C. office of Alderson Court Reporting.

What Motivates Associates?
At face value, it is a simple question. Once upon a time in TV land, some might have called it a $64,000 question. Unfortunately (and to the consternation of countless partners and firm administrators), there is no simple answer. To make matters worse, if law firms answer the question incorrectly, the result can be extremely costly. According to a recent study, "The average total cost of an associate's departure is $315,000, approximately twice the average associate's salary." More specifically, the study estimated that each time an associate leaves, it costs a firm roughly $244,000 in investment costs and $71,000 in separation costs.² In light of this reality, it is not surprising that many firm administrators and partners are focusing heavily on their recruiting and retention practices.

Generational and Cultural Diversity
As a result of changing demographics and increasingly global business practices, firms are becoming more generationally and culturally diverse than ever. While this diversity of perspectives promotes creative solutions and facilitates practice innovation, it also presents unique challenges with regard to recruitment and retention. For example, what motivates Baby Boomers does not necessarily motivate the members of Generation X or Generation Y.

Younger associates today expect firms to provide high salaries, flexible work schedules, flexible career paths, mentoring, as well as extensive professional development opportunities. At the same time, there is also a growing lack of interest in the traditional career path of partnership as evidenced by high associate attrition rates. In contrast, Baby Boomers hold a different view and often express concerns that the younger generations are selfishly embracing an entitlement mentality. Thus, each group has its own expectations regarding compensation, benefits, and overall motivation, and law firm management is struggling to strike a balance.

In the past, after six to eight years of loyal service, an associate could frequently look forward to the title, respect, and responsibility of becoming partner in a firm. Associates today, however, must learn to play by different rules than their predecessors. More recently, partnership has been transformed, as evidenced by the myriad of titles and classifications now employed by firms across the country. At many firms, the traditional partnership track is split into a two-tiered system lasting seven to nine years in which associates first progress through "non-equity partnership" before potentially becoming full "equity partners." (Additionally, the role of "of counsel" has increased as a non-partnership option for associates with ten or more years.)

While existing studies can shed more detailed light on matters like motivation, generational diversity, and cultural diversity (since there is not enough room in this short article), in the end, law firm management needs to appreciate that the culture of every firm is different. As such, the best way to ascertain what motivates your firm’s associates is to personally ask them.

Internal Communication Practices
In the September 2005 issue of Law Practice, an article titled "Enhancing Your Firm's Internal Communication" opened with the following declaration: "In almost every employee survey, lack of internal communication is cited as a top reason for dissatisfaction."⁴ Indeed, this sentiment is a common one. Lawyers attend law school to learn the law. The practice and business of law, however, is generally learned by trial and error. Unfortunately, when it comes to internal communication, it is often more error than trial.

In "Groundbreaking Research: Motivating the Next Generation," Karen MacKay notes,

Our fondness for giving or receiving feedback is very different depending on our demographic. For senior partners who are still in [a] firm but who were born before 1945, no news was good news. For about 74% of the partners in firms today who were born between 1946 and 1965, feedback is an annual ritual that justifies a raise in pay, a bonus, or both.³

Such notions of feedback, however, are in stark contrast to the expectations of younger generations. "For the vast majority of associates in law firms today, feedback is an indication that someone cares about their development as professionals - about their future." This disparity in expectations, at least in part, helps to explain a common source of associate dissatisfaction.³

So how might law firm administrators and partners begin to more effectively address these generational and cultural diversity issues? A good start would be to consider a customer service best business practice. Customer satisfaction is all about managing expectations. In Selling the Invisible, marketing guru Harry Beckwith advises that "a customer’s satisfaction is the gap between what the customer expects and what she gets… To manage satisfaction, you must carefully manage your customer’s expectations."¹ When it comes to the business of law, there are external customers as well as internal customers. Under this analogy, associates are internal customers. Thus, by directly asking associates what motivates them and by clearly outlining both what the firm expects from them and what they can expect from the firm, law firm management can facilitate the internal communication process and minimize associate dissatisfaction.

Is That Your Final Answer?
While individuals (particularly lawyers) primarily motivate themselves, firms can do their part to create policies, practices, and places that facilitate the business of doing business. "The right people are motivated from within. However, the right law firm environment can foster motivation. The wrong law firm environment can neutralize it or even extinguish it."³ By focusing on internal communication practices, firm administrators and partners can efficiently, effectively, and pro-actively impact the bottom line, increasing retention, reducing turnover, and fundamentally learning how to play a different game ­- Who wants to be a millionaire?

Jowita L. Wysocka is a Placement Director with the Tampa office of Special Counsel, Inc. and a former associate with a construction litigation firm in Northern Virginia.

¹ Beckwith, H. (1997). Selling the Invisible. New York: Warner Books.
² Catalyst. (2005). Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Building the Business Case for Diversity. Retrieved April 24, 2006, from http://www.catalystwomen.org/files/full/Flex%20in%20Canadian%20Law%20full%20report.pdf.
³ MacKay, K. (2005). Groundbreaking Research: Motivating the Next Generation (Edge International). Retrieved on April 24, 2006, from http://www.edge.ai/Edge-International-1057915.html.
⁴ Shannon, M. P. (2005, September). Enhancing Your Firm¹s Internal Communication. Law Practice, 31(6), 44-45.

Electronic document discovery, also known as E-Discovery, is fast becoming the standard method for document review in large litigation matters. Most literature available today on electronic discovery focuses on how to collect the data or how to manage the review process once it is underway. However, there is little to no guidance on the preparation for an e-discovery project. This article will address three simple questions every prospective e-discovery participant should review prior to beginning an e-discovery project. Thorough preparation can save in the overall cost of litigation.

1. Do You Have the Infrastructure to Support the Review?
Electronic document review can be accomplished either through the use of an internal database or with an Internet-based resource. Both present unique issues.

When utilizing an internal database, you must verify with your network administrator that your firm has adequate space on the network to hold all of the expected data and images. The amount of space required will vary depending on the way the images are saved. The vendor performing the imaging can provide you with an estimate of the space needed based upon total number of pages expected. It is important to note that true electronic documents ­ such as emails ­ will be converted to images for production. Therefore, you will need to include an estimate of electronic "pages" to have a proper calculation of space required.

In the alternative, when using an Internet-based review system, you must confirm with your system administrator that the location of the review has enough Internet bandwidth ­ the amount of data that can travel between the local network and the Internet at any given time ­ to support the review. It is important to remember that images are much larger than both emails and electronic files and will require more bandwidth. This is vital to the success of the review. If you do not have the ability to quickly move data across the Internet, there will be a time delay as reviewers sit and wait for images to appear on their computer screens. This will result in inefficiencies in the overall review process.

Staffing is another major consideration for you and your IT department. Think about whether you will be using contract personnel or other outside reviewers such as local counsel. You must be ready to provide these individuals with computers and, in many cases, network logins. By strategically planning, your network team can arrange for the rental of computers at reasonable prices. They will set up special access rights for document reviewers that will restrict their access to other portions of your network.

2. Do You Have Adequate Space for Your Review?
At the outset of the document review project, it is important to conduct an analysis to determine space requirements for your review team. Decide whether you have an adequate open area to accommodate the team of reviewers or whether you will need to provide individual workstations. Space in law firms is almost always at a premium and a document review can be an extremely long and drawn out process. Be mindful of this fact as you conduct your space planning analysis. If office space is scarce, consider whether there are conference rooms or case rooms available for the review. If not, explore off-site rental space as an alternative.

If you do need to have your review team on-site, from a technological standpoint, using open offices within your organization can be an ideal solution. These spaces will already be wired for your network. Furthermore, utilizing these unused spaces for profitable, billable activity is ideal. One consideration, however, is that this solution separates the document review team from one another and can result in possible communication problems.

Conference rooms and case rooms are a good alternative for keeping groups of reviewers together. Again, these spaces are already wired for access to the firm’s network (although there may be too few data lines for the number of reviewers you would like to house in the space) and foster open lines of communication amongst the review team. As a practical matter, however, you may face pressure from colleagues not to occupy conference rooms with document review teams. These spaces are naturally placed in high profile locations (and a room full of document reviewers can, at times, be unsightly) and are often needed for their intended purpose.

If you need a large review team and space is at a premium at your firm, obtaining an off-site location for the document review group may be the best answer. Dedicated space keeps your team together and facilitates collegiality and communication amongst the reviewers. Quite often, space can be secured at a very reasonable cost and, if planned right, can provide you with the flexibility to grow in the future if necessary. Finally, off-site review takes the strain of large document review teams off the infrastructure of your firm. It should also be noted that in the event you hire contract staff to perform a document review, some staffing providers, like Special Counsel, already have space available through turnkey legal centers or can assist you in secured appropriate space for your project.

3.  Have You Prepared a Reference Manual for the Team?
Prior to commencing the document review project, prepare a manual outlining the facts and history of the case, along with rules and procedures for the document review project. By outlining the “rules of the road” for the project, you will be able to achieve better consistency throughout your review. Your manual should include a basic factual description of the matter, an outline of the important players in the case and significant issues for the review team to understand. This document should also provide definitions of database fields and how the entries should be formatted. This is critical because inconsistencies in formatting of the documents could result in inaccurate returns on searches down the line. If your review team will be making privilege determinations, you should provide a list of all known attorneys whose names may be contained within the documents.

In the event you utilize contract attorneys or outside counsel to perform the review, it would be worthwhile for the manual to also include a list of local restaurants, information concerning public transportation and taxis and local lodging including any negotiated rates the reviewers should expect.

Remember that the manual is a living document that will need to be updated throughout the review as additional information presents itself.

In sum, putting together a successful e-discovery review project requires significant strategic planning at the outset of the matter. By addressing infrastructure plans, space concerns and team training, you will reduce the risk of expensive mistakes.

Gordon Shock is Executive Director of the Cincinnati office of Special Counsel, Inc. and a former paralegal manager of a large Washington D.C. law firm.