Calendaring, Docket Control, and Case Management Chapter 7 Practical Law Office Management, 3 rd...

Calendaring, Docket Control, and

Case Management

Chapter 7

Practical Law Office Management, 3rd Edition, Thomson Delmar Learning

©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

2 ©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.©2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Definitions• Calendaring - a generic term used to describe

the recording of appointments for any type of business.

• Docket control - a law-office-specific term that refers to entering, organizing, and controlling all the appointments, deadlines, and due dates for a legal organization.

• Case management - a law-office-specific term, that always includes more than just tracking dates; it usually includes things to do, contacts, case notes, document assembly, document management, and more.


Common Docket Control Entries

• Expiration dates for statutes of limitations• Judgment renewal dates• Employee-benefit annual filings• Renewal dates for copyrights, trademarks, and patents• Renewal dates for leases and licenses• Renewal dates for insurance coverage• Trial court appearance dates• Due dates for trial court briefs• Due dates on various pleadings: answers; depositions;

replies to interrogatories and requests for admissions; various motions and notices, and so forth



• Due dates in probate proceedings, such as inventory and appraisal dates

• Appearances in bankruptcy proceedings• Action dates in commercial law matters• Due dates in corporate or security matters• Closing dates for real estate transactions• Due dates for appellate briefs and arguments• Tax return due dates• Due dates in estate matters, such as tax return dates,

valuation dates, and hearing dates• Dates of stockholder meetings• Dates of board of directors meetings• Review dates for wills• Review dates for buy and sell valuations of business

interests



• Review dates for trusts• Renewal dates for leases on offices• Renewal dates for attorney licenses• Expiration dates on notary certificates• Renewal dates for malpractice and other insurance• Personal property tax return dates• Dates for partners’ (and other recurring and

nonrecurring) meetings• Review dates for billings and accounts receivable• Review dates for works-in-process• Review dates for evaluation of associates and staff• Review dates for raises and bonuses• Quarterly payroll withholding reports due


Docket Control – Ethical Considerations

Adequate Preparation and Competence• Model Rule 1.1 - A lawyer shall provide

competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.

Diligence• Model Rule 1.3 - A lawyer shall act with

reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.



Rule 1.4 Communication• (a) A lawyer shall:• (1) promptly inform the client of any decision or circumstance

with respect to which the client’s informed consent, as defined in Rule 1.0(e), is required by these Rules;

• (2) reasonably consult with the client about the means by which the client’s objectives are to be accomplished;

• (3) keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter;

• (4) promptly comply with reasonable requests for information; and

• (5) consult with the client about any relevant limitation on the lawyer’s conduct when the lawyer knows that the client expects assistance not permitted by the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law.

• (b) A lawyer shall explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation.



Rule 1.7 Conflict of Interest: Current Clients• (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a lawyer shall not represent a

client if the representation involves a concurrent conflict of interest. A concurrent conflict of interest exists if:

• (1) the representation of one client will be directly adverse to another client; or

• (2) there is a significant risk that the representation of one or more clients will be materially limited by the lawyer’s responsibilities to another client, a former client, or a third person, or by a personal interest of the lawyer.

• (b) Notwithstanding the existence of a concurrent conflict of interest under paragraph (a), a lawyer may represent a client if:

• (1) the lawyer reasonably believes that the lawyer will be able to provide competent and diligent representation to each affected client;

• (2) the representation is not prohibited by law;• (3) the representation does not involve the assertion of a claim by one

client against another client represented by the lawyer in the same litigation or other proceeding before a tribunal; and

• (4) each affected client gives informed consent, confirmed in writing.


Manual Docket Control

• Calendars– Page-a-Day– Wall Calendars

• Card Systems


Computerized Docket Control/Case Management Features

• Perpetual calendars• Recurring entries• Data calculator• Scheduling conflict alert• Scheduling multiple parties• Automatic reminders• Calendaring using events from a rule• Case contacts


Computerized Docket Control/Case Management Features

• Synchronizing with PIMs/PDAs• Case diary/notes• Document assembly/generation• Legal research library• Conflict of interest• E-mail interface• Document management• Time and billing/accounting interface


Law Office Docket Control Approaches

• Centralized• Decentralized• Combined


Hypo #1

• Sarah Winters is applying for a job as a paralegal at the largest corporate law firm in downtown Phoenix. Prior to applying for this job, Sarah has worked as a legal paralegal at a small law firm. At that firm, she has acquired a lot of legal experience including . She has experience entering, organizing, and controlling appointments, deadlines, and due dates. During the interview, she is asked whether she has any experience with docket control? What should she say?


Hypo #2For Toole and Associates, PC, the winter is the busiest time of

year. Andrew Fine, Esq., a partner, is one of the top trial attorneys in the

country. Despite having a brilliant mind, he has an extremely bad memory. He

depends on his new legal assistant, Michael Land, to create warnings in the

calendar. Though new to the firm, Michael didn’t think it was too hard to do.

According to the legal documents that he had in front of him, there were hearings

scheduled for February 2, February 15, February 21, and February 24, so he

inputted these dates as it was listed. Did he do the right thing? Why or why

not?


Hypo #3

For several months, Stan Winehouse,

Esq. has worked very hard on Dan

Harper’s personal injury case. From the

way that the case is going, Stan

Winehouse is confident that his hard work

will pay off. Despite his lawyer’s

confidence, Dan Harper is anxious about

the outcome of the case. He has called

Stan Winehouse every day for the past

week, but Stan Winehouse doesn’t see a

need to return his call since there has

been no new legal developments. Has

Stan Winehouse acted ethically? Why or

why not?

Calendaring, Docket Control, and Case Management Chapter 7 Practical Law Office Management, 3 rd...

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