Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Standard Law Firm Operating Procedures: Optional or Critical?

By Liz Lamar
December 27, 2012

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are the cornerstone of any successful law firm operation. They help prevent mistakes and curb waste by providing staff with structure and a clear roadmap to follow. Without them, law firms suffer from inconsistency, chaos and lack of control. Likewise, having SOPs is a must for legal IT departments. From lost equipment to lost passwords and data, not having written policies and procedures can create liability and losses that are sometimes unrecoverable.

Legal IT professionals often experience challenges in taking their goal of having SOPs from “pie in the sky” to reality. Developing written policies and procedures takes time and dedication. It takes time to write and perfect them, and perseverance and consistency to apply and enforce them. But once they are developed and are in use, the benefits are many and the risks are dissipated.

Read These Next
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners Image

Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.