The Law Society recommends that you develop an office procedure manual. This will assist anyone stepping in during an absence, as well as provide daily guidance to staff. It also ensures consistency in your office practices and clarifies expectations.

The Law Society of Alberta has prepared a list of the Top 10 Things to Include In Your Law Office Manual, and a sample Outline of a Law Office Manual.

While there may be some overlap between your plan and your office procedure manual, ensure that the recommended items are captured in either or both documents and reviewed regularly, with updates made as necessary.

The following checklist is adapted from the Law Society of British Columbia and includes some additions from the Nova Scotia Barristers Society:

• Client intake process: identification and verification of the client, the source of funds and the review and execution of retainer agreements (e.g., time and materials, flat fee, contingency billing arrangement, etc.)
• How to check for a conflict of interest
• How to use the calendar system
• How to generate a list of active client files, including client names, addresses, and phone numbers
• Where client ledgers are kept
• Billing practices
• How to find accounts receivable
• How the open/active files are organized
• How the closed files are organized and assigned numbers
• Where the closed files are kept and how to access them
• The office policy on keeping original documents of clients
• Where original client documents are kept
• Where the safety deposit box is located and how to access it
• The bank name, address, account signers, and account numbers for all law office bank accounts
• The location of all law office bank account records (trust and general)
• Where to find, or who knows about, the computer passwords
• How to access your voice mail (or answering machine) and the access code numbers
• Where the post office or other mail service box is located and how to access it
• Accounts payable – when, who, how etc.
• GST – frequency, who does it, how
• Payroll – who/how done, frequency
• Payroll remittances – who/how it is done

View a printable version of this checklist in the full PDF guide.

View the other sections of the guide:

• Planning Considerations
• Your Plan – Checklist
• Additional Planning Resources