Market Areas > Practice Management > Paralegal

How to Turn Your Paralegal Staff Into a Firm Profit Center

Course Description:

How can you effectively utilize your paralegals to augment your firm’s business processes and improve your bottom line?

Today’s business paralegals can take more on than you may think.  In fact, research shows that more firms than ever are hiring paralegals to handle many of the invaluable tasks normally performed by associates. 

And although the role of the paralegal may vary from firm to firm, what remains consistent is that it’s just more economical for firms to bill at a paralegal rate for things paralegals can do. 

Join CCM in this practical, yet invaluable audio program, to find out how your paralegal staff can become a profit center for your practice.  In just 75 minutes, you’ll learn how to:

• Maximize your firm's performance by allocating the workload to correspond to specific skills held by paralegals
• Increase firm profitability and customer retention by increasing billable hours, keeping total clients costs manageable and expanding your practice areas
• Effectively train and grow your paralegal staff to better service your business model
• Differentiate between paralegal and secretarial tasks
• Evaluate paralegal performance and improve potential weak spots
• Achieve less turnover and increase attorney efficiency

Featured Faculty:

James Wilber, Principal, Altman Weil, Inc.

James Wilber is a principal of Altman Weil, Inc.  He leads consulting projects in strategic planning, practice management, paralegal program development and improvement, organizational development, and partner compensation systems.

Prior to joining Altman Weil, Mr. Wilber practiced law and managed law offices for 14 years, and he also taught paralegal training courses at the college level.  His law office management experience is extensive: as a managing attorney in both the public and private sectors, he was responsible for the hiring, training, supervision and development of lawyers, paralegals and law office managers.  Other duties included responsibility for financial analysis and budgeting and law office technology and computer applications.  Mr. Wilber is licensed to practice law in, and is a member of the state bars of, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Michigan, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Wilber, a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, has written and lectured extensively on management issues in the legal profession.  He is the Editor of the Report To Legal Management, and is the former Editor of the International Practice Manager of the International Bar Association.  Mr. Wilber has been published or quoted in numerous publications, including the ABA Journal, The American Lawyer magazine, the National Law Journal, and the journals of many state bar associations.  He is a founding member of the Association of Consultants to Law Departments and a former officer of Committee 10 (Practice Management and Technology) of the International Bar Association.

Mr. Wilber is a cum laude graduate of the inaugural class of the Southern Illinois University School of Law, having served as Notes and Comments Editor of the law review.  He also has a bachelor's degree from The University of Michigan and a master’s degree in English Literature.

We're so confident you'll get what you want out of this conference that we'll refund every penny if you're not completely satisfied. No questions asked! It's 100% risk-free!

Pricing:

Your CD recording includes the complete audio conference presentation, audience Q&A and presentation materials.

CLE:

CCM provides audio conference attendees with CLE credit processing services. To expedite CCM processing your CLE request, please complete and submit the evaluation form available from CCM at the conclusion of the audio conference. It will be necessary to enter the following information: name of each attorney requesting CLEs with full contact information, including e-mail address, bar number, and the state in which the attorney wants credits. Each attorney requesting credits must submit an evaluation.

Please be advised CCM audio conferences are subject to approval from each CLE issuing organization and approval is not guaranteed (state bar associations in Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania do not grant CLE credits for audio conferences). The approval process takes approximately 6 - 8 weeks for most organizations but can take as long as 3 - 4 months. You will be notified via e-mail with the final status of your CLE application.

Any person applying for CLE credits must attend the audio conference from start to finish (attendance will be taken for compliance reasons). Requests for CLE credits must be received no later than two weeks following the conclusion of the audio conference or live conference. CLE credits are not available for CD recordings.

If you have any questions regarding CLE credits, contact Jill Adler at 631.368.2082 x 21 or jill.adler@meeting-matters.com.

Each CCM event presents a variety of information and is presented for each organization to develop its own approach and methodology.