Perspectives: Have Law Practice Management Questions? Don’t Forget LP

I am often asked by law firm management folks and in-house counsel: What practice management processes should I implement? What specific practice management tools should I use? What should I purchase, and from whom? That’s a difficult question to answer in the abstract since every law firm and business will have different needs and goals they seek to meet. And unlike for many businesses, few guides and ratings are available to help evaluate vendors and what they offer. Most lawyers don’t take the time to provide ratings and evaluations like you might find on Amazon. 

But the Law Practice Division (LP) does offer a wealth of information about law practice management from some of the leading authorities in the field. And we sometimes forget exactly all the content LP offers. So it might be helpful to briefly revisit what we offer our members. (Yes, membership in LP is still free if you are an ABA member. Hence almost all the content is available to you without charge.)

What do we offer? LP focuses its services on four pillars, one of which is practice management (the others: marketing, finance and technology).

Law Practice. You are reading it right now. The magazine is available in print and digitally. The digital version is offered as a webpage on americanbar.org, as a desktop reader and email newsletter, and as a mobile app. Obviously, this entire issue is devoted to law practice management. But other issues of the magazine touch on marketing, finance and technology.

Law Practice Today. The webzine is a member benefit to all ABA members, not just LP members. It reaches some 250,000 people and is distributed as an email newsletter. Like the magazine, the webzine is chock-full of content related to the management of the practice of law, finance, leadership and project management, among other things.

CLEs. LP offers at least 36 CLE webinars annually. These are free to ABA and LP members and often deal with law practice management issues. Some recent examples: Practice Management Software vs. Project Management Software, Mastering Time, the Lawyer Leadership Mastermind Series, Interpreting Data to Drive Decision Making and many more.

Books. LP publishes between six and 10 new titles every year. Many of these deal with practice management issues. Two recent examples by world-renowned experts in the field: How to Do More in Less Time (Second Ed.) by Allison C. Johs and Daniel J. Siegel and The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies by Dennis Kennedy and Thomas Mighell. And there are countless others. These books are not free but are offered at a reasonable cost.

Law Technology Today. This blog is published by the Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC), which provides practical guidance for using technology in the legal field. It brings together practicing lawyers, technology professionals and practice management experts. Don’t let its name fool you: There are frequent posts about practice management issues and how those issues are impacted by technology.

ABA TECHSHOW. ABA TECHSHOW is our flagship event. It consists of exhibits and educational programs over two days in the spring. Again, while TECHSHOW focuses on technology, multiple sessions deal with and touch on practice management issues. And many vendors in the practice management space attend and exhibit. Want to find out what’s new and important in the field? Attend TECHSHOW.

Legal Technology Survey Report. LP annually surveys its members on technology and practice management–related topics. We offer reports that combine the data with industry leaders’ observations and predictions. The 2022 survey looked at issues such as online research, security, law office technology, litigation technology and technology basics. While there is a charge to obtain the survey data, a summary of the findings in each area is published for free by the LTRC.

LP offers so many law practice management resources by so many experts on so many issues. Take advantage of the content— most of which is free to our members. Sometimes I think our content is a best-kept secret, even from our members. Have practice management questions? Consult our LP content!