How a practice management system can help you meet your ethical obligations.

1. How a case management system can help
you practice ethically and competently
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2. History with the LSBC
• Assembled a small firm task-force to examine issues and
forces contributing to frequent breaches of Professional
Conduct Rules (PCR)
• Identified that pervasive under-adoption of available
practice/case management tools were a frequent
contributor to PCR related breaches and complaints
• Sought to reduce incidences of malpractice and ethical
misconduct by proactively searching for a turnkey solution
which could be enlisted to assist their membership
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3. Case Management 101
All lawyers need to manage:
Files/Matters Time Tracking
Clients/Contacts Bills/Reports
Tasks/Reminders Documents
A good system integrates these functions seamlessly
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4. The Contenders
Many excellent traditional systems are available:
Great for robust, feature-rich and desktop
integrated case management
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5. The Contenders
Web-based newcomers also provide compelling solutions
Great for ease-of-use, accessibility, passive
information security and redundancy
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6. Ethics & Case Management
“(Case management) helps you avoid
malpractice claims/conflicts”
David Bilinsky, LLB – Practice Management Advisor, LSBC
“A good case management system makes it easy
to practice ethically and stay out of trouble.”
Kensi Gounden, LLB – Manager of Practice Standards, LSBC
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7. Ethics & Case Management
Case Management systems aid in the ethical
practice of law in the following ways:
1. Tracking and keeping critical appointments with a
complete calendaring system
– Keeping engagements with clients
– Ensuring punctuality and maintenance of
professional commitments
– Avoiding scheduling conflicts and overlap
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8. Ethics & Case Management
Case Management systems aid in the ethical
practice of law in the following ways:
2. Diarizing important deadlines using a date sensitive “To
Do” list or bring-forward system
– Provides reminder system to prevent passage of deadline
without engaging in required steps or follow-up
– Reminds the attorney when and how often to update the
client regarding important events or developments
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9. Ethics & Case Management
Case Management systems aid in the ethical
practice of law in the following ways:
3. Facilitates timely follow-up and correspondence with
clients using integrated message management
– Identifies and assigns client correspondence (emails,
letters & telephone messages) for response within a
reasonable timeframe
– Ensures that client inquiries are not forgotten or left
unattended
– Permits integrated archiving of important matter/client
correspondence for future reference
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10. Ethics & Case Management
Case Management systems aid in the ethical
practice of law in the following ways:
4. Maintaining accurate records and documentation
regarding case events and progression
– Enables complete and accurate reporting to client on
details of case and event chronology
– Allows attorney to fulfill requirement to provide
candid advice and information on matter position
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11. Ethics & Case Management
Case Management systems aid in the ethical
practice of law in the following ways:
5. Avoid conflicts of interest with integrated and
comprehensive practice search capacity
– Mitigates risk from information “siloing”
– Enables attorney to pledge undivided loyalty in good
conscience
– Identify and avoid conflicts before they happen
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12. Ethics & Case Management
Case Management systems aid in the ethical
practice of law in the following ways:
6. Maintain accurate records of time and disbursements to
avoid unnecessary and unseemly wrangling over fees
– Time tracking system keeps an accurate history of time
accrual including dates, amounts and work completed
– Expense and disbursement tracking enables attorneys to
document and justify any out-of-pocket expenses or
additional costs of services incurred
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13. Ethics & Case Management
Case Management systems aid in the ethical
practice of law in the following ways:
7. Enables accurate recording and reporting of client
moneys or Trust property using a system of ledgers
– Fulfills jurisdictional Trust reporting requirements
– Prevents inextricable co-mingling of client or attorney
funds
– Permits viewing of client ledger indicating balances for
trust funds, pre-payments, retainers and unearned fees
– Prohibits negative client balances
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14. Ethics & Case Management
Case Management systems aid in the ethical
practice of law in the following ways:
8. Ensure the privacy and safekeeping of a client’s
confidential information
– Guards client data against passive & active
information compromise
– Takes reasonable measures to protect against
catastrophic data loss using information storage best
practices
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15. Ethics of the Web
Data Availability & Redundancy
• Performing secured backups of data at regular
intervals (ideally at least once per day)
• Ensuring geographical distribution of backup data
through simple off-site storage or otherwise
• Involving third-party data escrow providers in the
long-term, independent protection of data
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16. Ethics of the Web
Improved Data Security
Data communications are encrypted
with 128 or 256-bit bank-grade SSL
encryption
Daily security audits performed by
trusted authorities in data integrity
Adherence to strict privacy guidelines
and best-practices
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17. Ethics of the Web
Data Availability & Redundancy
• Performing secured backups of data at regular
intervals (ideally at least once per day)
• Ensuring geographical distribution of backup data
through simple off-site storage or otherwise
• Involving third-party data escrow providers in the
long-term, independent protection of data
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18. Other Advantages
Provides Freedom and Mobility
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19. Other Advantages
High degree of accessibility and platform neutrality
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20. Other Advantages
Manages documents, knowledge assets and
other intellectual property
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21. Other Advantages
Allows monitoring of practice health and
reporting of critical information
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22. Other Advantages
Provides a simple ROI proposition
• Saves time spent on non-billable,
or other administrative tasks
• Saves money by mitigating
administrative overhead, and (in
some cases) entitling you to
reductions in practice insurance
premiums
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23. Finally…
• A good case management system should just work – don’t find yourself
regretting your purchase, or on the IT support treadmill
• Find one that makes sense in the context of your practice workflow and
level of technical sophistication – request a free trial before committing
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24. Thank You
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