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CHAPTER 2
LEGAL ADMINISTRATION AND TECHNOLOGY

OVERVIEW
Chapter 2 covers the full spectrum of law office management topics. The chapter breaks law office
management down into 11 parts. Some of the topics, such as financial management and marketing,
have full chapters devoted to them later in the text, so these topics are just introduced in this
chapter. Other topics, such as human resources, planning, and technology, among others, are only
covered in this chapter, so these are explained in more detail. This is an important chapter in
that it introduces the complexity of law office management and its many facets to the student.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, the student should be able to:
◼ Distinguish between office administration and practice management.
◼ Identify the functions of legal administration.
◼ Define total quality management.
◼ List and explain major federal employment laws.
◼ Discuss what a staff manual is and why it is important.
◼ Explain the purpose of strategic planning.
◼ Describe what disaster planning is.
◼ Discuss major technology issues in law offices.

OUTLINE
I. Legal Administration Principles
A. Dispelling a Myth—Many people assume that attorneys automatically make good
managers. In truth, this is not necessarily so. Although lawyers have gone to school
to learn about practicing law, many have no training or experience in management. One
adage is “the best system for law office management is the system that involves the
lawyers the least.”

15

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B. The Importance of Legal Administration


1. Poor management results in layoffs, mergers, and/or closures.
2. Signs of poor management include unhappy staff members and clients.
C. Practice Management v. Administrative Management
1. Practice management refers to management decisions about how a law office will
practice law and handle its cases.
2. Administrative management refers to management decisions relating to managing
a law office, such as financial or personnel matters.

II. Functions of Legal Administration


A. Management—Management is the administration of people and other resources to
accomplish objectives.
B. The functions of legal administration include (see Exhibit 2-2):
1. Practice management
2. Leadership
3. Controlling
4. Financial management
5. Human resources management
6. Planning
7. Marketing management
8. Organization, policies, and systems
9. Facilities management
10. Office services management
11. Technology management

III. Practice Management


A. Defining the Law Firm’s Practice—Every law firm makes decisions regarding who
its primary clientele will be (see Exhibit 2-3).
B. Defining the Law Firm’s Services—Once the firm has decided who its clients will
be, the next step is to decide exactly what services will be provided to the clients.
C. Defining the Law Firm’s Practice System Needs—Once it has been decided what
legal services will be provided to clients, the next step is to decide what practice systems
and resources are needed to deliver those services (hardware, software, library,
personnel, etc.). Exhibit 2-4 in the text covers some possible alternatives.
D. Total Quality Management (TQM)—Total quality management is a management
philosophy based upon knowing the needs of each client and allowing those needs to
drive the legal organization at all levels of activity (see Exhibit 2-5).
1. TQM Philosophies:
a. Management has an overriding duty to ensure that the firm provides quality
legal services.
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18 Chapter 2: Legal Administration and Chapter
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b. Quality service involves every person in the firm, and everyone must be
involved and committed.
c. Quality service is based not on management’s or our own perception of
quality, but on the perceptions of the client.
d. Quality service depends on the individual’s, the team’s, and ultimately the
organization’s performance.
e. Improve systems constantly.

IV. Leadership
Leadership is the act of motivating or causing others to perform and achieve objectives.
Effective leaders inspire others; set a clear mission, vision, and goals for an organization;
and give it direction and guidance. See Exhibit 2-6.

V. Controlling
Controlling is the process of determining whether the law practice is achieving its
objectives, holding stakeholders accountable for their goals, and making strategy
adjustments as necessary so the firm achieves its objectives.

VI. Financial Management


Financial management is the oversight of a firm’s financial assets and profitability to ensure
overall financial health.

VII. Human Resources Management


Human resources management refers to hiring, evaluating, compensating, training, and
directing law office personnel.
A. Hiring Process
1. Writing job descriptions (Exhibit 2-7)
2. Advertising and recruiting
3. Employment applications and resumes
4. Interviewing
5. Reference checks
B. Performance Evaluations
1. Coaching techniques—Counseling that focuses on the positive aspects of the
employee’s performance and explores alternative ways to improve his or her
performance.
C. Compensation and Benefits
D. Training and Development
E. Personnel Policies

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F. Current Personnel Law Issues (see Exhibit 2-12)


1. Employment-at-Will—States that an employer and employee freely enter into an
employment relationship, and that either party has the right to sever the relationship
at any time without reason.
2. Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
a. Applies to employers with 50 or more employees.
b. Applies to employees with at least one year of service and 1,250 hours in the
last year.
c. Employee is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period for:
i. The birth or adoption of a child
ii. Care of a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition
iii. Employee’s own health condition
d. Employee is entitled to return to his or her same position or one that is
equivalent.
3. Fair Labor Standards Act—Sets minimum wage and maximum hours of work for
employees. It also requires employers to pay overtime for time worked over 40
hours per week to nonexempt staff.
4. Civil Rights Act of 1964—Prohibits discrimination against employees on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established to enforce this law.
5. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967—Prohibits employers from
discriminating against persons age 40 or older on the basis of their age, unless age
is a bona fide occupational qualification.
6. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990—Prohibits employers from
discriminating against persons with disabilities in several different areas. The ADA
required that employers “reasonably accommodate” persons with
disabilities.
7. Equal Pay Act of 1993—Prohibits employers from basing arbitrary wage differences
on gender.
8. Sexual Harassment—Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for favors, and other
verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile,
or offensive working environment.

VIII. Planning
A. Planning is the process of setting objectives, assessing the future, and developing
courses of action to achieve these objectives.
B. A mission statement is a general, enduring statement of the purpose or intent of the
law practice.
C. Strategic planning includes determining the major goals of a firm and then adopting
the courses of action necessary to achieve those goals. See Exhibit 2-15 and Exhibit
2-16 in the text.

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IX. Marketing Management


Marketing is the process of educating consumers on the quality legal services that a law
office provides.

X. Organizing, Policies, and Systems


A. Organizing is the process of arranging people and physical resources to carry out
plans and accomplish objectives.
B. A system is a consistent or organized way of doing something.
C. A policy is a specific statement that sets out what is or is not acceptable.
D. A procedure is a series of steps that must be followed to accomplish a task.
E. A law office staff manual sets out the policies and procedures of the law office. See
Exhibit 2-18 for a partial law office staff manual table of contents.

XI. Facilities Management


Facilities management encompasses planning, designing, controlling, and managing a
law office’s building or office space. Facilities management includes a variety of subject
areas.
A. Property Acquisition—Property acquisition refers to acquiring space in which the
law office will be housed, including purchasing a building/property or leasing office
space.
B. Moves/Construction/Remodeling—Facilities management also includes moving from
one location to another, constructing a whole new office from scratch, or
constructing/remodeling existing office space to meet new needs or demands.
C. Parking—Adequate parking for both employees and clients should be taken into
consideration when choosing office space.
D. Cleaning/Maintenance/Grounds—Facilities management also includes being
responsible for having the facility cleaned, typically through a cleaning service;
maintenance and upkeep when things break or need to be replaced or repaired; and
being responsible for the grounds of the office, including lawn care and snow
removal, among other things.
E. Common Areas—Facilities management may also include being responsible for
common areas in the office, such as the waiting room, kitchen areas, conference rooms,
bathrooms, and storage rooms, to name a few.
F. Environmental Considerations—Environmental considerations include a variety of
important topics such as lighting, electrical, climate, and plumbing in the law office.
G. Security/Workplace Violence—Law office security is a major concern for all law
offices. Exhibit 2-19 shows a list of things a law office can do to strengthen its security.
1. Safety—Safety issues include ensuring the building has a sprinkler system, fire
alarms, emergency power/lighting, fire escapes, and other features that enhance
safety.

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2. Disaster Recovery Planning—A disaster recovery plan includes information on


how the office will rebuild and recover from a total disaster.

XII. Office Services Management


Office services management refers to a number of internal systems and services in law
offices.
A. Mail Room
B. Copy Machines
C. File/Records Management
D. Telecommunications
1. Telephone equipment
2. Voice mail
3. Fax machines
E. Video Conferencing

XIII. Technology and Information Systems Management


A. Paralegals and Technology
B. Hardware—Exhibit 2-20 shows a partial list of technology in law offices.
C. Software
1. Electronic mail
a. E-mail in the legal environment
b. E-mail encryption and digital signatures
c. Business e-mail etiquette and tips
d. Problems with e-mail
e. E-mail errors
f. E-mail confidentiality
2. Word processing/spreadsheets/database management/presentation software
3. Docket control/calendaring/case management
4. Time and billing
5. Document management
6. Document assembly
7. Litigation support
8. Electronic discovery
9. Legal-specific software
10. Trial software
D. Telecommunications
1. Law office Web sites
2. Internet access

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25 Chapter 2: Legal Administration and Chapter
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3. Intranet
4. Extranet
5. Legal weblogs

TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
1. Exhibit 2-2, the Functions of Legal Administration, is a good place for students to get an
overview of law office management. An outside speaker, such as a legal administrator or office
manager, can assist in bringing to life the diagram and can talk about how all of the functions
take place in a real law office setting.
2. Practice management is a topic that is sometimes left out of discussions with paralegals
because they are typically not involved in the decisions. Nonetheless, practice management
and the strategy of attracting and retaining clients is critical to the success of any law firm.
Consider having a partner in a law firm come in and talk about what types of clients the firm
provides services for; how the firm distinguishes its services from those of other firms; how
the firm selects which cases and clients to work with; how important quality is; and what
resources in terms of staff, marketing, and technology the firm uses to provide services.
3. Some good articles on practice management can be found on the American Bar Association
website under the Law Practice Division (http://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_practice
.html). Law Practice Today is a monthly digital publication and maintains a large selection of
archived articles. Law Practice Magazine is a bi-monthly publication that covers practice area
topics. The May/June, 2015 issue focuses on management, with “Five Steps to Building the
Practice You Really Want,” by Janice P. Brown. The September/October issue focuses on
leadership, with “Four Necessary Leadership Skills,” by Mark Beese.
4. Regarding leadership, there is an interesting article written in 2000 by Thomas M. George, Ph.D.
called “Leadership Report Card—How Would Your Employees Rate You?” It includes a self-
administered test regarding leadership skills (http://tgeorges.home.comcast.net/~tgeorges/leaders
.pdf). Forbes.com also has a self-administered test entitled “Think You’re A Leader? Take the
Test and Find Out,” by Mike Myatt. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/05/22/think-
youre-a-leader-take-the-test-and-find-out/). The reader rates him- or herself on a grading scale,
from A to F, on 10 aspects of leadership. I highly recommend it because it allows the students to
see what an “A” leader is as opposed to an “F” leader. The grading scale (A to F) ties in closely
with their academic pursuits, and it is quite interesting. If the hyperlinks provided are no longer
valid, try locating the articles by their titles or on their respective Web sites.
5. Some instructors believe human resources is important in this course and others do not,
because paralegals typically do not play a large role in this area of most law offices. Even if
this is true, the section has value in that it can prepare the student for the workplace, so he or
she understands what the hiring and evaluation process is and how it works. One idea is for
students to conduct mock interviews with one another. Some students should pose as the
interview team and other students should act as job candidates for a paralegal position. The
interview team should make a list of questions to ask each candidate using the suggestions in
the text. The interviews can be videotaped so the students can see how they did. The rest of
the class should evaluate both the applicants and the interview team(s) and make suggestions
on how they can improve their performance.

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6. A great resource for all law office management topics, but particularly human resources, is
The Essential Formbook—Comprehensive Management Tools for Lawyers, Volumes I–IV
by Gary A. Munneke and Anthony Davis (American Bar Association, 2003, 2007, 2010). It
has a number of alternative law office forms for performance evaluations, reference checks,
job descriptions, and so forth. If you want to demonstrate different human resource systems
in law offices, this would be a good place to start.
7. Compensation and benefits for paralegals were covered in Chapter 1, so that topic is not
duplicated here. Good resources for this topic include the following: http://www.salary
.com; NALA Paralegal Utilization of Compensation Survey (http://www.nala.org/Upload
/file/PDF-Files/News-Articles/15SEC4.pdf); Paralegal Today’s Annual Salary Survey,
published in the Q1 2015 issue of Paralegal Today; and Altman Weil (http://www.altman
weil.com). Altman Weil charges for its salary report on paralegal compensation, but it typically
issues a free press release regarding the national average and whether the amount rose or fell
over the previous year. Of all of the survey data, the Altman Weil report is probably one of
the most authoritative and has the most credibility with employers.
8. Training and Development—following is a sample orientation program checklist for new
paralegals.

NEW PARALEGAL ORIENTATION CHECKLIST


□ withholding and insurance □ payroll information/pay dates □ staff manual
forms
□ job description □ benefits □ memo/document formats
□ performance □ employee handbook □ law office ethics policies
goals/performance
evaluation/salary review
□ organizational chart and □ office hours □ client confidentiality
firm history
□ office tour/keys/doors to □ days off/leave □ filing/checkout procedures
be locked/office security
□ supply procedures □ dress code □ unauthorized practice of
law

□ petty cash □ copy procedures □ conflict checks


□ client interviews □ mail procedures □ computer calendar/docket
□ client relations □ library/research/Westlaw □ computer
timekeeping/billing
□ quality of work □ computer □ weekly time
sheets/computer entries
□ assignments □ file directories/format □ client trust accounts

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29 Chapter 2: Legal Administration and Chapter
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□ teamwork □ printers □ client expenses


□ conference rooms □ backup □ accounting
system/practices
□ staff meetings □ e-mail □ forms
□ staff directory/listings □ intranet/public folders □ practice groups
□ telephone system
© Cengage Learning®.

9. Sexual Harassment—The Little v. Allstate Insurance Co. case at the end of the chapter is a
good example regarding sexual harassment. Exhibit 2-13 shows an excellent antiharassment
policy for a law office. The following link to the EEOC includes excellent statistics and
other information regarding sexual harassment: http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual
_harassment.cfm.
10. Office Relations/Lavely v. Heafner—In researching the text, I found an interesting and
unique case. You might use this case to illustrate how important good decisions are
regarding where you decide to work, office relationships, and how things can go astray.
Although these issues are relevant in any size of law office, these issues can really be important
in very small firms. Whether or not you decide to use the case is up to you, but I can nearly
guarantee you have not seen anything quite like it before.
11. Strategic Planning—Although most paralegals are affected by strategic plans, they may or
may not be included in these types of meetings, so there is not a lot of information included
on this topic. Excellent articles can be found in Law Practice published by the American Bar
Association, such as “A Fresh Look At Strategy” in the September/October issue. Some older,
but still useful articles include “Getting to the Future First—How to Analyze External Trends
of Strategic Decision Making” in the May/June 2004 issue of Law Practice.
12. Stress the importance of staff manuals and how they can set forth important policies and
procedures for controlling the firm and controlling the quality of the legal work going out of
the firm. If possible, bring in staff manuals from law offices in your area as examples. If you
cannot do that, you may be able to find a law library with the 2008 Law Office Policy and
Procedures Manual, 6th edition, by Robert Wert and Howard Hatoff (American Bar
Association). It is a great resource, and the whole book also comes on CD-ROM and is
completely customizable.
13. Facilities Management—Most paralegals are not directly involved in facilities issues, so this
topic is only covered briefly. Paralegals are sometimes consulted in small law offices when
it comes to office design. If this interests you, two good resources for designing a law office
are “Small Spaces: A Planning Primer for Solo and Small Firm Office Design” by Suzette S.
Schultz and Jon S. Schultz, in the April/May 2005 issue of Law Practice (American Bar
Association, p. 46) and “Designing the Smart Office—Where Form Meets Function” in the
same issue (American Bar Association, p. 38).

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14. Considerations When Setting Up a Paralegal’s office—See the accompanying table for a
summary of this topic.

Work space Paralegals typically need as much usable work


space as they can get to lay out documents
they are working with, to organize files,
and to lay out research materials. Cubicles are
standard practice for most paralegals, so space
is limited— whenever possible, maximize
your usable work space.
Most cubicles allow for shelves that can
Mount everything possible, including hang on the cube walls. Utilize these
telephone, on cube or wall whenever you can for a telephone, inbox,
storage, supplies, and so forth.

Replace handset of phone with Paralegals can spend many hours on the
earpiece/microphone phone. Most telephone handsets can be
replaced with an earpiece/microphone unit
that allows the user to talk on the phone hands-
free. If you have a choice, consider a headset.
They are usually more comfortable to use.
If you have a choice, try to have a guest
Put client chairs next to the desk, not chair placed so that you do not have to talk
across from the desk across the desk to the client. This helps
prevent you from being in a superior
position to the client and creates a more
amicable setting for the client.

Keep reference books next to you Keep reference materials close by, so you do
not have to get out of your chair to get them.
Computer/monitor placement Try not to put your computer on the desk
unless there is no alternative, because it will
typically take up desk space. Place the
computer on the floor, if possible, and keep
only the monitor on the desk. As you sit up
straight at your desk, the monitor should be
at eye level. The keyboard and mouse should
be located next to each other.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®.

15. Security/Workplace Violence—This is obviously an important concern for any business, and
it is particularly difficult for law offices because most firms deal with the general public— and
you just never know who you will get walking through your door.
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16. Disaster Recovery Plans—There is a tremendous amount of data on the Internet and
otherwise regarding disaster plans. This is a good research or project for students. The
ethical dilemmas for a law office if a total disaster occurs are immense. There is also a
serious question of whether any firm can truly recover if a total disaster occurs. Another
good project would be to ask students to write a paper regarding the ethical problems a total
disaster would create for a law office. There are resources in the “Web Links” section of the
chapter regarding this subject.
17. Technology—Consider bringing in a practicing paralegal, law office computer specialist, or
legal administrator to discuss this topic. Another great source of data is the May/June issue
of Paralegal Today, which usually features its technology survey. The problem with
teaching law office technology and computers is that the subject is so vast; it is truly its own
whole course. There are also thousands of articles on law office technology, so paring the
subject down is difficult. One idea is to cover the high points and then ask the students to do
a project regarding the top five trends in law office technology, such as mobile computing,
computers in the courtroom, e-discovery, and so forth.

ANSWERS TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE


1. Practice
2. Administrative
3. What practice systems are needed to provide the agreed-upon legal services to the client?
4. False
5. Practice management, leadership, controlling, financial management, human resources
management, planning, marketing management, organization/policies/systems, facilities
management, office services management, technology management
6. Total quality management
7. Client
8. Leadership
9. Controlling
10. Financial
11. Coaching
12. Employment-at-will
13. Americans with Disabilities Act
14. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature that create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working
environment.
15. Planning
16. Mission statement
17. The process of educating consumers on the quality legal services that a law office can
provide
18. Staff manual or policies and procedures manual
19. Facilities management

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20. Disaster recovery plan


21. Office services
22. Technology can fail, what you say can be easily forwarded to others, e-mail security can be
breached, once e-mail is sent it cannot easily be retrieved, e-mail can be sent to unintended
parties, incorrect attachments can be accidentally sent, typing errors can occur.
23. Document management

ANSWERS TO ON THE WEB EXERCISES


1. In this exercise, the students compare and contrast different mission statements from three
different law offices. This will obviously depend on the firms selected, but there will usually
be an emphasis on quality and client service.
2. There are a number of state bar association sites listed under the “Web Links” section of the
text. Most of these have articles on law office moves.
3. Again, most of the state bar association sites have articles on opening a new law practice, as
well.
4. Finding job descriptions for the positions in this exercise is quite easy. Career and job sites
such as http://www.careerbuilder.com and http://www.monster.com list these types of jobs,
and these postings can also be used. For the most part, students should not have trouble finding
full job descriptions for these positions.
5. Most of the state bar association sites listed in the “Web Links” section have articles
regarding how to properly select client cases.

ANSWERS TO PROJECTS
1. Disaster recovery plans will usually contain some or all of the following:
• Who is in charge of overseeing implementation of the disaster recovery operation?
• What key individuals make up the disaster recovery team, and what are their functions
and responsibilities?
• Who will be contacted, and how?
• Where is the designated meeting place (and an alternative) if the whole facility is
unavailable?
• What services/areas/departments have been determined as vital to the recovery
operation?
• What are the steps, components, and alternative strategies for making each
area/department operational?
• What will each department require in terms of resources (computers, minimal office
space, desk, chairs, information, etc.) to be operational? All of this must be reduced to
writing, and a copy should be maintained off-site.
• How do firm personnel obtain information and instructions on what to do when a
disaster happens?

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
36 Chapter 2: Legal Administration and Chapter
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2: Legal Administration and Technology 36

• Where are important papers and computer backup data located? Important documents
such as copies of leases; names, addresses, and phone numbers of all staff; bank account
information; copies of insurance policies; a listing of all clients, including contact
information for the clients and opposing counsel in cases; complete firm-wide inventory
list (computers, furniture, art, library books, fixtures, etc.); disaster recovery plans for each
department; and computer backup tapes should always be maintained off-site in the case
of a disaster.
• In the case of a disaster, what vendors and companies have been identified in advance
than can help to assist with restoration, and who are the contact people for each?
2. The list of computer equipment will include some or all of the items listed in Exhibit 2-20.
By the time the list is complete, the students could easily have in excess of $10,000 to
$20,000 in equipment and software, depending on the system and capability they decide
upon.
3. W. Edwards Deming developed the theories behind TQM for major Japanese manufacturers
in the 1950s. The following Web site contains a good summary of Deming and his TQM:
http://www.12manage.com/methods_deming_14_points_management.html
4. Federal Employment Laws
a. Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
• Applies to employers with 50 or more employees.
• Applies to employees with at least one year of service and 1250 hours in the last
year.
• Employee is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period for:
1. The birth or adoption of a child
2. Care of a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition
3. Employee’s own health condition
• Employee is entitled to return to his or her same position or one that is equivalent.
b. Civil Rights Act of 1964—Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis
of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In certain instances, differential treatment
is allowed for religion, sex, or national origin if it is a bona fide occupational qualification.
Sexual harassment is also prohibited under this law, as are all forms of harassment based
on membership in a protected class. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) was established to enforce this law.
c. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990—Under the equal employment provisions of
the ADA (Title I), it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a qualified
individual with a disability. The prohibition applies to conduct involving applicants and
employees in the terms, privileges, and conditions of employment. It is also unlawful to
discriminate against a nondisabled individual because of that person’s association with a
disabled individual. A qualified individual with a disability is an individual with a
disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential
functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires.
An individual is disabled under the ADA if he or she:
• has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life
activity (e.g., breathing, seeing, hearing, caring for self, walking);
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
37 Chapter 2: Legal Administration and Chapter
Technology
2: Legal Administration and Technology 37

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
38 Chapter 2: Legal Administration and Chapter
Technology
2: Legal Administration and Technology 38

• has a record of such an impairment; or


• is regarded as having such an impairment.
An employer must reasonably accommodate a disabled employee’s functional
limitations unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Whether
and when an employer must accommodate an employee is fact specific. When the
obligation to accommodate arises, the employer must engage the employee in an
interactive process to determine whether and what accommodation is reasonable.
The ADA also regulates the manner and method by which an employer may question
employees, including by administering employee physicals and other medical
examinations.
d. Age Discrimination in Employment of 1967
The ADEA is the primary federal statute that prohibits employers from discriminating
against employees in terms, privileges, and conditions of employment on the basis of
age. The law also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations. To be
covered by the ADEA, an individual must be 40 years old or older. It is not a violation
of the ADEA where age is a bona fide occupational qualification (“BFOQ”) reasonably
necessary to the normal operation of the particular business.
5. Law office security and workplace violence will typically center around: (1) limiting access
by the general public to the workspace; (2) zero-tolerance policies regarding workplace
violence, and properly investigating all threats of violence; and (3) training employees and
managers on prevention and how to recognize early signs of workplace violence.
6. The answers will vary based on the group(s). The section on Planning will provide guidance.
It includes strategic planning guidelines. Exhibit 2-16 is useful for what to consider.

ANSWERS TO PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS


1. This is a straightforward project. Most attorneys, just for the sake of their livelihood, will
have a fairly good understanding and philosophy of their practice and how they have
decided to provide legal services to clients.
2. Most people are loyal to products that are high quality, don’t break often, have good
customer service and selection associated with them, and have a reputation of being a good
company with a good product. It is hard to separate quality from these factors.
3. Review the questions to see if they are appropriate. There are literally hundreds of questions
that could be asked. For the most part, the questions should revolve around the job or the
person’s background, education, and experience without eliciting answers regarding the
applicant’s personal life.
4. This will depend on the student, but you will probably see philosophies they hold true and
goals regarding work and personal lives.

ANSWERS TO CASE REVIEW EXERCISES


Bednar v. CT Corporation, 2003 WL 23571819 (D. Minn.)
1. Interestingly, the FLSA is somewhat of a difficult and complex law to interpret, even for
people associated with law offices. The controversy regarding paralegals proves that.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
39 Chapter 2: Legal Administration and Chapter
Technology
2: Legal Administration and Technology 39

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
40 Chapter 2: Legal Administration and Chapter
Technology
2: Legal Administration and Technology 40

2. Apparently, the company discovered that it had misclassified these employees and most
likely attempted to quietly correct it. When the company moved them from exempt to
nonexempt, one of the employees may have gotten suspicious and talked to an attorney. It
is fair. The company broke the law, and the employees deserve the overtime pay under
the law. The law has been on the books since 1938.
3. FLSA issues like this can quickly go from a single individual to a large group when an
attorney discovers that there is a class of people the employer has wronged. Class actions
obviously represent the potential for more money/recovery for the attorneys. It was most
likely litigated quickly because the company had, for the most part, admitted to liability by
changing the classification. So, there was not much to litigation except for damages.

Littell v. Allstate Insurance Co., 177 P.3d 1080 ((N.M. Ct. App. 2007)

These questions provide an opportunity for discussion and debate in

class.

1. Yes, it would be appropriate.


2. Up to the student
3. Yes, it would be appropriate.
4. Up to the student

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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