The main reason secretaries don’t do what they are supposed to do is that their boss does not tell them what is expected.
The list below is intended to be updated by you AND YOUR SECRETARY every few months so your secretary knows what you expect.
1. Appointment Calendar. Please keep my calendar up to date.
2. Appointments – I like my Assistant to calendar all matters--personal and business, including appointments, lunches, dinners, reminders etc. You have absolute authority to calendar anything from 9:00 a.m. thru noon and from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Friday mornings I like my appointments from 9 to noon only. I prefer lunches to begin at 11:30, but 12:00 is OK. I like appointments about an hour apart, but not for an hour after any court appearance and/or lunch. However, if I have court, the client with the next appointment should be told that I may be delayed. I try to save Tuesdays and Thursdays to do paperwork. Therefore, I like to be asked if I want an appointment set on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons. I usually will "OK" the appointment, so if I'm not around and the client has to get in to see me, go ahead and make the appointment, but tell the client that you or they will have to call back to confirm. If this is a new client, you should check conflicts before I speak to them. It is embarrassing to start talking to them about their problem only to discover that they are being sued by one of the other attorneys in the office. If I have an appointment with a current client, I like their file pulled prior to the appointment. I would like you to review my calendar 7-14 days ahead (everyday) so you are aware of conflicts (and handle them or ask) and so you can correct matters that have changed. Always confirm appointments on the day of the scheduled appointment and inform me that confirmation has been made. When making appointments, take into consideration where I’ll be and factor in the drive time, i.e., do not make an appointment on the opposite side of town from another appointment. Also, please give me driving directions to each appointment via Google Maps. Better than that, call and get directions from the person I am going to see.
3. Calendaring – When entering anything on my calendar make sure you enter it correctly, using the file number and name. It will be much more convenient for me to keep track of that time without looking up that client’s info.
4. Hearings – Please indicate on my calendar who will attend a hearing when an associate is working with me on a case. If I am to attend alone, just put my initials. If I am attending with the associate, put my initials and the associate’s first name parenthesis. (PSA/Julie W.) Do not use the initials of the associate because I do not know them by their initials. Always write out their full first name and then put the initial of their last name (as seen above). Please also make sure that all the documents to the hearing (Motion, Opposition, Reply) have been previously scanned in the computer and are available.
5. New clients – When calendaring a “new client” consultation, first check conflicts and be sure to put “M&A NEW TIME - PSA” for the file - File # 2-7. Include Attorney Meetings and Shareholder Meetings as File #20-7.
6. Travel – Do not calendar any appointments for me the day before I am to leave on a trip unless I approve of it first. When you have made travel arrangements for me, ask me if I need a rental car. Please ask ahead of time for directions from the Airport to the Hotel. Print out driving directions for me every time using www.maps.google.com. When booking my flight, please input my flight information into my Outlook calendar so that I can see the date and time of departure and arrival ahead of time. I prefer flying Southwest Airlines unless otherwise specified. Please give me my SWA itinerary, boarding pass and hotel itinerary the day before I leave, along with the driving directions to and from the hotel to the airport.
7. Roll Call – When I am going to be out of the office, make sure that it is on roll call. I want the roll call to indicate where I am that day. If I am out for vacation, then it should say “Phil Aurbach – Vac” or if I am at a seminar, mediation, arbitration, deposition… etc then it should say “Phil Aurbach – Out (depo/seminar/med/arb, etc). That way people know where I am that day. Also, send out an email a couple days before I leave to all attorneys letting them know when I will be gone (giving dates) and to please get with me prior to my departure if there is anything they need.
8. Calendaring Things to Review.
a. Include on my Calendar the due date for responses, such as an answer to complaint or response to motion by me or by the other side. I really appreciate the "double check." This lets me know you are watching deadlines for me.
b. When I do something on a file, please ask me for a review date if I don't remember to give you one. Also ask whether I want the file pulled on the review date or just be reminded to review the file and why, e.g. 3/1/96 RV file to see if we received a response to my demand letter, interrogatories, etc. Put this in my calendar.
9. Every day look at each appointment scheduled for the next 7 days and make sure they have not been canceled OR moved, i.e., that they are still valid. If they have been canceled, please be sure, if they are on the group calendar (conference rooms), to take them off as soon as the appointment is canceled in case someone else in the office needs to reserve the room.
10. E-mails - you do not have to respond to every email I send you acknowledging receipt of same. Only respond when there is a question asked or information needed.
11. My Desk. Please check and pick up things from my "OUT BOX" every couple of hours. It makes me feel more organized when my OUT BOX is empty. Also, always bring in a pad and pen when you come in - just in case, for notes or instructions.
12. Telephone Calls. When people call in and ask for me, say: "I'm not sure if he is in the building, may I tell him who is calling? [Then ask] May I tell him what this is regarding?" Also, if they haven’t already told you, ask “who referred you?”
a. If they won't say, but they want me to call them back, you are authorized to then tell them “that Phil sometimes won't return the call if the caller won't give me more information or explain the reason for the call.” And if they only give you there first name (for example: Andy) say, “He knows 5 Andys and I am not supposed to even give him messages if I don’t get 1st, last name and what its regarding. We have had attorneys in the office who returned calls to someone our client was suing then tried to disqualify us because we spoke to someone who called & didn’t leave their name and what the call was about. I hope you can see why the firm has this policy.”
b. If they tell you what they are calling about and I can't take the call at that moment, tell them that I am on another line or with clients and get the correct spelling of their name and their correct t/p number. It is embarrassing for me to call someone I know and mispronounce their name because I am reading a major spelling error on your phone message e.g. if you tell me Jim Bradshaw called instead of Jim Bradlow. If the caller has left a voice mail message and you are not able to ask for the correct spelling, please indicate in your email message to me that you are not sure of the spelling by indicating with this: (sp?) that way, I’ll be able to indicate I’m not sure of the correct pronunciation. If you come across a hard to pronounce name and it doesn’t sound anything like it is spelled, give me a phonetic spelling of the name. That will help me out also.
13. Tell me when a secretary (instead of the client, attorney, or friend) is on the line. It can be very embarrassing when I say "Hi Jim, has your secretary found out she’s getting fired?" (or something else personal to Jim Bradlow when I pick up the phone) and then I find out it's his secretary on the line waiting ‘til I get on the line to put him through. Let me know if it's a long distance call on the line. I might want to take it even if I'm busy since it would be "on their dime."
When initiating a conference call I like to be the LAST person that you add to the conference. Also, please remember that our phone system only allows the initiating caller to conference in 5 people. Example: You initiate the call to Joe, Tom, Bill, Mike and Bob. This is the max number of people that you can have the call, so it will be impossible for you to conference me into the call; therefore, you must only have 4 people on each call because I will be the 5th person to be conferenced into the call. If there will be more than 5 people on the conference call, you can use our conference call dial-in system. You will give the participants the toll free number to call at an allocated date and time (1-866-228-9900) then you will give them their guest code to enter. You will then call the toll free number at the allocated date and time and enter the host code. Each person should then be on the line waiting for the call to begin. You can then transfer this call into my office. After using this service you will get an e-mail from the software company. Forward this e-mail with a client number in the subject line to bookkeeping.
14. Timesheets. I enter my own time into our system, but I need you to remind me what came across my desk such as affidavits of mailing, notices of motion etc. Open a “new” email at the start of your day to log incoming/outgoing faxes, drafts of letters and pleadings to help capture as much of my daily billing as possible. Put the file # first, the case name in ( ) and write the entries in, i.e. 1557-22 (Ajax
15. Notes. I sometimes give verbal instructions. I really like to see you take notes on a yellow or steno pad and then cross off each one as you do it. This makes me feel like you are organized and that you will remember the instruction so I can put it out of my mind.
16. Mailing Boxes/Packages: DO NOT SEND ANY PACKAGES/BOXES I GIVE YOU BY US
17. Transcription tapes. I usually like assignments transcribed the same day or by the next day. I feel much more organized when I know my dictation gets typed the same day. I also like you to read the rough drafts and pencil or redline your suggested changes. That is, read for content as well as spelling and grammar. Please proofread and use spell check!!! If I have given you a tape at the end of the day and have told you I need it done before you leave...if you have only spell checked the document and not proofread it, TELL ME THAT on the draft so it won’t bug me while reading the document and I find errors in content, etc.
18. Rough Drafts. I like you to attach exhibits, enclosures, or attachments to the rough draft of letters, affidavits, pleadings, or documents. That way I can double check that we are sending the right exhibits to the right person. The fewer errors, the more confidence I have in my Assistant. Make sure nothing goes out without my initials or signature showing I reviewed it.
19. Use Colored Folders.
a. Green Folders. Review - Put rough drafts you transcribed or other documents that associates have drafted and need to either be revised or initialed by me in a green folder labeled "To do."
b. Red Folder. Urgent correspondence, pleadings or documents should be placed in a red folder labeled "Rush." Put this folder on my chair so I see it when I sit down.
c. Manila Folder. Junk Mail - Open my junk mail and put it in a separate, manila folder labeled "Junk Mail" and don't paperclip it--staple it if you need to attach some of the papers together.
d. Yellow Folder. Mail - Open it and put it in a separate, yellow folder labeled "Mail."
e. Blue Folder. For Signature - I like these placed in a blue folder labeled "For Signature."
f. Purple Folder. Faxes – I would like the faxes that arrive throughout the day stapled and placed in this purple folder for my review. Do not forget to print out the initial fax page that states where the fax is coming from and the date so that you can put the correct file number on it and send it down to billing.
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