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| Preface | |
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| The Legal Marketplace | |
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| Structure and Organization | |
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| Size | |
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| Specialties | |
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| Management Styles | |
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| Forms of Management | |
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| Private Law Firms | |
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| Sole Proprietorships | |
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| Partnerships | |
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| Professional Corporations | |
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| Limited Liability Corporation and Limited Liability Partnership | |
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| Boutique Firms | |
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| Office-Sharing Associations | |
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| Legal Clinics | |
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| Private Industry | |
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| Corporate Legal Departments | |
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| Private Companies | |
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| Attorney Service and Nonprofit Companies | |
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| Government Agencies | |
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| Federal Agencies | |
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| State Agencies | |
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| County Agencies | |
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| City Agencies | |
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| The Changing Marketplace | |
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| Multidisciplinary Practice | |
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| Nonlegal Subsidiaries | |
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| Law Firm Structure and Organization | |
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| Legal Insurance Plans | |
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| The Legal Team | |
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| Historical Perspective | |
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| Legal Team Members | |
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| Attorney | |
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| Legal Administrator | |
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| Law Office Manager | |
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| Paralegal | |
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| Law Clerk | |
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| Legal Secretary | |
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| Receptionist | |
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| Other Personnel | |
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| Outsourcing | |
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| Personnel Relations | |
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| Management Objectives and Employee Relations | |
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| The Manager's Role in Personnel Relations | |
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| Functions of a Personnel Manager | |
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| The Hiring Process | |
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| Employee Objectives and Management Relations | |
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| Communication | |
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| Education | |
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| Motivation | |
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| Evaluation | |
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| Compensation | |
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| The Team Approach | |
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| Commitment | |
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| Competency | |
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| Constructive Feedback | |
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| Creativity | |
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| Cooperation | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| The Attorney-Client Relationship | |
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| Variables Affecting Client Relations | |
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| Role of Bar Associations | |
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| Role of the Lawyer | |
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| Role of the Paralegal | |
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| Role of the Client | |
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| Cultivating Clients | |
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| Marketing Activities | |
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| Advertising | |
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| Promotional Activities | |
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| Public Relations | |
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| Solicitation | |
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| The Attorney-Client Relationship | |
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| When Does the Attorney-Client Relationship Begin? | |
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| The Five Cs of Client Relations | |
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| When Does the Attorney-Client Relationship End? | |
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| Attorney Discipline | |
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| Admonition | |
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| Reprimand | |
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| Probation | |
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| Suspension | |
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| Disbarment | |
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| Other Forms of Discipline | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Paralegal Ethics and Client Relations | |
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| Evolvement of Paralegal Ethics | |
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| Role of Bar Associations | |
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| Role of Paralegal Associations | |
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| Paralegal Ethics and Client Relations | |
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| Competence | |
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| Commitment | |
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| Communication | |
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| Conflict of Interest | |
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| Confidentiality | |
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| The Unauthorized Practice of Law | |
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| Representing Clients in Court or Government Agency Proceedings | |
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| Preparing Legal Documents | |
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| Giving Legal Advice | |
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| Independent Paralegals | |
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| Abuses | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Legal Fees | |
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| Historical Perspective | |
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| Types of Fees | |
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| Retainer fees | |
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| Hourly Fees | |
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| Flat Fees | |
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| Task-Based Fees | |
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| Contingency Fees | |
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| Statutory Fees | |
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| Referral Fees | |
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| Premiums | |
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| Combination Fees | |
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| Division of Fees | |
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| Division of Fees Among Lawyers | |
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| Division of Fees with Nonlawyers | |
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| Other Fees and Charges | |
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| Other Law Firm Personnel | |
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| Hard Costs | |
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| Soft Costs | |
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| Statutory and Judicial Guidelines | |
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| Calculation of a Reasonable Fee | |
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| Lodestar and Multipliers | |
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| Liens | |
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| Paralegal Guidelines | |
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| Fee Agreements | |
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| Retainer Fee Agreements | |
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| Hourly Fee Agreements | |
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| Flat Fee Agreements (Fixed Fee) | |
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| Contingency Fee Agreements | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Timekeeping | |
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| Timekeeping Requirements | |
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| Billable and Nonbillable Hours | |
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| Calculation of a Billable Hour | |
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| Minimum Charges | |
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| Billable Hour versus Actual Hour | |
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| Timekeeping Records and Reports | |
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| Billing Clients | |
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| Compensating Hourly Employees | |
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| Calculating Employee Productivity | |
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| Planning | |
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| Monitoring Work in Progress | |
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| Projecting Profitability | |
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| Forecasting Income | |
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| Elements of Timekeeping | |
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| Coding | |
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| Contingency Fee Law Firms | |
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| Corporate Legal Departments | |
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| Government Legal Offices | |
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| Timekeeping Systems | |
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| Manual Systems | |
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| Automated Systems | |
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| Timekeeping Ethics | |
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| Common Problems | |
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| Timekeeping Tips | |
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| Keep the Time Sheet Handy | |
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| Record the Largest Amount of Time | |
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| Document the Time as a Project Is Finished | |
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| Do Not Estimate Time | |
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| Be Accurate | |
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| Be Descriptive and Concise | |
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| Record All Nonbillable Time | |
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| Develop To-Do Lists | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Billing and Financial Management | |
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| The Art of Billing | |
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| Communication | |
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| Documentation | |
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| Regular and Frequent Billing | |
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| Descriptive Bills | |
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| The Billing Process | |
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| Interest Charges | |
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| Credit and Credit Cards | |
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| Billing Systems | |
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| Billing Styles | |
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| Billing an Hourly Fee Case | |
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| Billing a Flat Fee Case | |
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| Billing a Contingency Fee Case | |
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| E-Billing | |
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| Collection | |
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| Sending Reminder Letters | |
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| Renegotiating and Withdrawing | |
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| Suing | |
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| Using a Collection Agency | |
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| Billing Ethics | |
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| Legal Auditors | |
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| Common Billing Problems | |
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| Client-Directed Billing Policies | |
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| Fee Disputes and Arbitration | |
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| Financial Management | |
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| Law Firm Profitability and Realization | |
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| The Realization Process | |
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| The Budgeting Process | |
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| Income Projection | |
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| Personnel Costs Projection | |
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| Operating Expense Projection | |
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| Calculating an Expense Percentage | |
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| Managing the Client Funds Trust Account | |
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| Types of Funds Held in the Trust Account | |
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| Costs and Expenses | |
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| Estate Proceeds | |
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| Escrow Funds | |
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| Settlements | |
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| Judgments | |
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| Fee Advances | |
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| Funds in which a Third Party Has an Interest | |
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| Maintaining the Trust Account | |
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| Opening a Trust Account | |
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| Preparing the Client Ledger Sheet | |
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| Maintaining Journals | |
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| Communicating with Clients | |
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| Documenting Transactions | |
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| Disbursing Funds | |
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| Reconciling the Account | |
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| Preparing Monthly Statements | |
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| Closing an Account | |
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| Keeping Records | |
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| Interest on Lawyers' Client Funds Account | |
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| Trust Account Abuses | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Technology in the Law Office | |
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| Common Law Office Software | |
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| Word Processing | |
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| Spreadsheets | |
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| Database | |
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| Time and Billing | |
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| Case Management and Docket Control | |
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| Litigation Support | |
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| Substantive Software Applications | |
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| Court Forms Generating | |
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| Browser | |
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| The Internet | |
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| History of the Internet | |
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| Protocols | |
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| Domain Names | |
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| The World Wide Web | |
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| Locating Information on the Web | |
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| Reliability of Information on Web Sites | |
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| Intranets and Extranets | |
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| Intranets | |
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| Extranets | |
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| Electronic Mail | |
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| E-Mail Addresses | |
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| Listservs and Discussion Groups | |
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| Netiquette | |
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| Managing E-Mail | |
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| Keeping E-Mail Confidential | |
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| Technology Ethics | |
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| Advertising | |
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| Domain Names | |
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| E-Mail | |
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| Retention of Advertising Materials | |
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| Multistate Compliance | |
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| Unauthorized Practice of Law | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Law Office Systems | |
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| What Is a System? | |
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| Types of Systems | |
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| Macrosystems | |
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| Microsystems | |
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| Minisystems and Subsystems | |
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| Systems Development | |
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| Candidate Selection | |
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| Analysis | |
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| Synthesis | |
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| Organization | |
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| Finalization | |
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| Systems Storage | |
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| Essential Skills for Systems Development | |
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| Common Problems with Systems Development | |
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| Systems Evolvement | |
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| Third-Party Systems | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Docket Control Systems | |
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| Elements of a Docket Control System | |
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| Calendaring Systems | |
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| Master Calendar | |
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| Personal Calendar | |
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| Calendaring Procedures | |
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| Calendaring Ethics | |
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| Tickler Systems | |
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| Manual Tickler System | |
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| Tickler Procedures | |
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| Computerized Docketing Systems | |
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| Static Calendar Programs | |
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| Automated Docketing Programs | |
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| File Review System | |
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| File and Records Management | |
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| Filing Systems | |
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| Types of Filing Systems | |
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| Filing System Classification | |
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| Coding Systems | |
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| Numeric Coding Systems | |
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| Alphanumeric Coding | |
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| Cross-Index | |
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| Color Coding | |
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| File Retrieval | |
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| Electronic Files | |
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| File Opening | |
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| Preclient Files | |
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| File-Opening Procedures | |
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| File Maintenance | |
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| Document Categories | |
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| Case Cover Sheets | |
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| Indexes | |
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| Document Management | |
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| Managing Electronic Records | |
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| Document Retrieval | |
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| Automated Document Management | |
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| File Closing, Retention, and Destruction | |
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| File-Closing Procedures | |
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| Inactive Records Storage | |
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| Records Retention | |
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| Records Destruction | |
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| File and Records Management Ethics | |
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| Preserve Client's Property | |
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| Perform Conflict-of-Interest Checks | |
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| Promptly Return File to the Client | |
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| Retain Records | |
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| Preserve Confidentiality | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Law Library Organization and Management | |
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| The Nature of Law | |
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| Law Classification | |
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| Classes and Authority of Law | |
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| Primary Authority | |
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| Secondary Authority | |
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| Search Tools and Form Books | |
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| Law Library Organization and Procedures | |
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| Library Size | |
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| Types of Library Organization | |
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| Library Checkout Systems | |
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| Law Library Technology | |
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| On-Line Legal and Nonlegal Databases | |
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| Microform | |
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| CD-ROM | |
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| E-Mail and Telefacsimile (Fax) Transmission | |
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| The Internet | |
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| Electronic Citation | |
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| Court Forms, Form Files, and Knowledge Banks | |
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| Court Forms | |
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| Form Files | |
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| Knowledge Banks | |
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| The Law Librarian | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Answers to Self-Test Questions | |
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| Associations for Paralegals, Legal Secretaries, and Managers | |
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| Federal Employment Laws | |
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| Definitions and Code of Ethics of National Paralegal Associations | |
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| Docket Calculation Chart | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Bibliography | |
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| Index | |