The Main Event: Three Important Calendar Management Tips for Lawyers

Most attorneys should probably be ruled by their calendars, with law practices running on deadlines.  That’s especially true for litigation firms, which take direction from court rules and judges about when and how things get done.  Of course, the problem with just taking a final deadline, and dropping that onto the calendar (like: attend a hearing, send a document), is that you’re usually left just triaging everything, at the very last minute.  And, nobody wants that mental anguish, when you end up breaking out in a cold sweat, getting ready to battle against the clock. 

 

The good news is that there are some pretty basic calendaring tips you can use, to set things straight, massively improve your process and reduce stress. 

 

The first thing you can do is to create ‘self-imposed deadlines’ – so, simply: not deadlines that other people require from you.  As an estate planning attorney, there’s no settled time frame for when you need to complete your clients’ documents, for example – so, you should calendar the completion date. 

 

The second thing you can do is to create ‘ticklers’, or reminders, for outside deadlines or self-imposed ones.  This will require you to ‘phase’ the project = break it down step-by-step, and create reminders.  So, if you end up needing to draft a document for court, remind yourself, beforehand: to do the research, to generate a first draft, to get feedback on your draft, to make final edits . . . then, to submit.  That’s far better than trying to get everything done on the due date – which is often the default, if you don’t split a larger project up into components. 

 

The third thing that’s really helpful, is creating ‘recurring reminders’, and this is quite useful, in terms of keeping in touch with clients, in order to stay abreast of new developments in the case.  A simple strategy is to put a recurring task on your calendar to reach out to each of your active clients every 6 weeks.  They’ll love it that you’re checking in, and you may learn things that are valuable for your case, that those clients may not have brought to you directly. 

 

. . . 

 

If you want to streamline your processes around calendar management, we can help! 

Through a unique partnership between the bar association and Jared Correia's Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, National Creditors' Bar Association members have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discount rate.

To get started, visit Red Cave's NCBA landing page, and start running your law practice like a business.