Opening a New Law Firm

Developing effective office policies and procedures involves several steps. Start with the big picture: what is your vision for the firm? What are your values or mission statement? How will you provide your clients with ethical and high-quality legal services? 

Then identify core areas that require structured guidelines, such as client handling, communications and technology, file management, billing, confidentiality and office management. 

When you’re ready to put your pen to paper, make sure you draft clearly and concisely, outlining each policy and its corresponding procedures, using straightforward language to avoid ambiguity. Once the drafts are complete, review them thoroughly to ensure they cover all necessary aspects and are legally compliant. You might consider having a colleague or mentor review your work to ensure they reflect practical insights and align with industry best practices. Finally, disseminate the policies and procedures among your staff and conduct training sessions to ensure everyone understands and adheres to them. 

Regularly update these documents to reflect changes in law or office practices and focus on continually improve effectiveness. As your firm grows, you may also have to develop more, and more detailed, policies and procedures. Policies and procedures that worked when it was only you and a part-time assistant may no longer be appropriate if you bring on an articling student, associate or partner. For example, the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act requires that any employer with between 5 and 19 employees must appoint a health and safety representative (s. 14). Employers with 20 or more employees must also create a joint health and safety committee (s. 13).

As part of your office policies and procedures, you should consider creating a Business Continuity and Succession Plan. The fundamental question addressed by any Business Continuity Plan is what will happen to your files in the event of an unexpected absence from practice? Life can throw us curveballs. For example: 

• What would you do if you break your arm and have a trial scheduled to begin the next day?
• What if you need to travel across the country or around the world to be with a sick relative?
• What would happen to your practice in the event of disruptions caused by a flood, tornado or other natural disaster?

You will be able to better deal with unexpected events if you have proactively developed a contingency plan.