July 2001

LOMAP:
Taking the Mystery Out of Law Office Administration for the Solo & Small-Firm Practice

by Peter D. Roberts
Advisor, WSBA Law Office Management Assistance Program

It is both symbolic and convenient that the WSBA Law Office Management Assistance Program (LOMAP) occupies office space in the same building in Seattle that hosts the Department of Revenue, where attorneys can file for Master Business Licenses.

LOMAP began in 1997 as a steering committee of interested lawyers drawn from private practice, augmented by support from WSBA staff lawyers; the Law Practice Management & Technology Section; and the Bar liaison of the Association of Legal Administrators, Puget Sound Chapter.

The program resides in the WSBA Lawyer Services Department and has no connection to discipline.[1] A Board of Governors' standing committee provides guidance and support to the program. The LOMAP committee's inaugural chair was Lew Zieske, a solo practitioner in Chehalis. Dave Gordon, the present chair, practices with a partner in Gig Harbor. The committee meets quarterly.

In 1998, after nine months of preparation, the original steering committee released a comprehensive guide for lawyers in Washington called Up & Running, Operating Instructions for the Small Law Office. It covers business planning, facilities, operations, client relations, financial management, technology, ethics and staff management. This loose-leafed guide, which is designed for periodic updates, was recently augmented with a new chapter describing issues that can occur in the "life cycle" of a staff person, from recruitment to termination of employment.

LOMAP supports several of the goals in the WSBA's Long-Range Strategic Plan.

Strategic Goal 1

Members often tell us they wish that LOMAP had existed when they began practicing law. They are willing to pay a modest hourly rate for services, which are discreet, efficient and confidential.

Strategic Goal 3

Prevention is a guiding principle of LOMAP. We seek to collaborate with the Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD), as well as with Washington's three law schools.

Strategic Goal 8

Promote the use of technology for the benefit of members, the courts and the Bar.

LOMAP has a computer lab where members can try out software programs, and review books and materials. Consultations emphasize training on software applications to enable the best use of software in the lawyer's possession, helping to avoid unnecessary purchases of new software.

The mission of LOMAP is to assist solo and small-firm practitioners in the delivery of the highest quality legal services. The program seeks to keep up with the changing administrative environment by reviewing a range of periodicals, Web sites, and other resources for appropriate information for the LOMAP resource archive. Technology is changing fast, and we keep a particular eye on these emerging issues. Practicing lawyers have little time to review this kind of literature, so we hope to benefit you with this service.

Some of the internal activities of the program are:

• conducting consultations;
• responding to telephone and e-mail inquiries from members;
• mailing requested materials to members;
• cultivating speaking opportunities;
• planning and conducting the annual LOMAP "Roadshow";
• maintaining resource materials;
• updating the resource database;
• administering the lending library;
• updating the LOMAP pages on the WSBA Web site (www.wsba.org/lawyers/services/lomap.htm);
• researching vendor resources;
• attending appropriate conferences and exhibitions;
• distributing the self-audit checklist to members;
• researching law office management periodicals;
• selling WSBA and ABA materials;
• writing articles for Bar News; and
• acting as liaison with the ABA LPM Committee and other state Bar programs.

Most law schools have not provided exposure to the business side of managing a law practice. While this is beginning to change, there is a large gap of knowledge and expertise in these matters. Lawyers in a small setting do not normally have access to staff trained to handle a practice's business and administrative aspects. If a practice is growing, these matters take on much more urgency. Therefore, the program seeks to:

• expand professional competence;
• improve client services;
• increase management skills;
• avoid or reduce errors;
• prevent situations from resulting in grievances; and
• reduce stress and improve quality of life.

Goals are pursued by performing "general maintenance reviews" of a practice and its systems; performing consultations on specific identified issues, problems and procedures; providing reference materials and teaching tools on a wide variety of subjects; and referring practitioners to commercial consultants and vendors.

Vendors are told explicitly that there is no endorsement or WSBA "stamp of approval." Before making referrals, LOMAP undertakes to identify consultants and vendors who show appropriate evidence of good service and experience working with lawyers.

The program can provide information and answer questions about the various matters that surface in the areas of: