If you’re a solo or small firm owner and you’ve never tried working with a Legal Research and Writing Specialist (aka Litigation Support Specialist), you’re missing out!
If you have worked with a Specialist but you want a smoother, better experience, here are 3 things you should be doing to get the most out of your collaboration.
1. Set Specific Objectives for Your Projects
While this may seem obvious, many attorneys assign a project to a Specialist with the objective being to “respond to this motion.” While a good freelancer will be able to handle that, you will get a product much closer to what you expected, and in less time, if you just take a few minutes to determine what you really want.
Chances are you already know how you want to respond to a motion (or what you want your motion to say); you just don’t want to be the one researching and writing. If that’s the case, take just a few minutes to go a little deeper before delegating the task. Review the relevant documents and take notes about your case. For example, if you need a response to a motion, read the motion first and make notes on things like allegations that are factually incorrect, case law you know is in your favor, and areas of law you’re unsure of and need more research on.
Take a moment to review any other relevant documents (such as discovery responses) that are useful in completing the project. You know your case better than anyone else, and you’ll save time and money by giving the Specialist the benefit of your thoughts, notes, and experience in your particular field.
Also, don’t forget to make comments regarding the law. Maybe there is an entire section of case law in the motion that you know you can ignore because it’s correct (or irrelevant to your counterargument). Let the Specialist know this. Remember, Specialists are experts in research and writing, not necessarily in your specific area of law. A little bit of help with the area of law you’re proficient in will go a long way in saving you time on the project.
Now that you have your notes and annotations in order, take a moment to communicate them to the Specialist in as much detail as needed. Because your instructions will now be much more thoughtful and specific, the work product will reflect this.
A warning for those of you thinking “well, if I’m going to spend time reviewing everything, I may as well just do it myself!”: the few minutes you spend up front save hours of research and drafting you no longer have to do.
2. Give Them Access to the Entire File, but Direct Them to the Relevant Documents
While you should take a moment to review and identify relevant documents, as mentioned above, you should also give the Specialist access to the entire file. Because you know your case so well and you know the facts inside out, sometimes you will forget to provide a basic document that the Specialist needs. Failing to provide everything needed makes the project take longer, as the Specialist will have to search through the online docket (which can sometimes be slow and cumbersome) or email or call you with questions and wait for answers and additional documents.
Also, any good Specialist will want to spend at least a small amount of time looking at the pleadings, the discovery, correspondence, or other potentially relevant documents to get a better feel for the case and make sure you didn’t miss anything. This is a good thing. You don’t just want a robot following specific instructions; you want a second pair of fresh eyes on your case and your project.
Pro tip: If you’re going to work with any associate, clerk, or litigation support specialist who needs to review documents in your file, make sure your files are uniform and organized. It is a tremendous waste of time to dig around an unorganized, disjointed file full of duplicates, drafts, and files within files within files. So get organized; it will save a lot of time and trouble. For more information on file structure, uniformity, and organization, just ask. We’ve seen it all and we’re here to help!
3. Develop a Uniform, Paperless Method of Reviewing and Commenting on Your Documents
Wait! For all you paper lovers: don’t skip this section. If there is anything the past few years have taught us, it’s that being tech-savvy and having online processes is crucial to running almost any business, especially a law firm, and most especially a solo or small firm. Small firms cannot always afford to hire and train full-time staff. This is why hiring specialists and having great online tech and processes is so important.
Remember tip #1 about saving time and money by taking notes that can be passed on to a Specialist? Tip #3 goes hand in hand with that. To save time and money, take notes and record your thoughts and comments in a way that can be passed on to a Specialist without having to rewrite your thoughts in an email. You should already have case management software where you can keep important notes on your case in general.
On top of this, when you’re reviewing documents to delegate a project, take your notes in the document as you review it. This will help you and the Specialist be on the same page, literally. As the Specialist reads the documents, they will have the benefit of your thoughts and comments each step of the way.
