The Bottom Line

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Standing Committee on Law Office Management and Economics

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2000 Articles

“An all points bulletin”—for ISBA members and others By Scott A. Berndtson October 2000 The legal profession has a duty to protect the consumers of legal services in Illinois.
“The electronic lawyer” ™ By Alan Pearlman February 2000 During the course of my frequent lectures and seminars, I am often asked about software that can be used in a debt collection practice.
Electronic mail—benefits and perils By Paul Bernstein February 2000 Electronic mail is truly wonderful. It has a number of advantages over "regular mail" sent via the United States Post Office. Some of the benefits are as follows:
EsqWare for case management By Paul Bernstein June 2000 There are a good number of excellent case management software products on the market. Abacus, AmicusAttorney, TimeMatters, ProLaw, 21st Century Lawyer, PINS/ Needles, CaseMaster, and more are among the leading products in this software category.
From the chair— multidisciplinary practice update By Paul Bernstein February 2000 Under the dynamic leadership of, among others, Cheryl I. Niro, Illinois State Bar Association President, and Attorney Terrence J. Lavin, co-chair of the ISBA Task Force on Multidisciplinary Practice, the ABA's race towards seeing the huge accounting firms able to own law firms has been slowed down, and properly so.
The Internet, on the lighter side and a year-end potpourri By Paul Bernstein October 2000 The Internet must be a part of your law firm "arsenal." By now, you should be accessing Westlaw, Lexis, LexisONE (for free case law from the last five years and more) and the ISBA Home Page or sending email or document attachments, or collaborating with others via ListServ and/or threaded discussion groups or exploring Applications Service Providers (ASPs) to use various software products on a "rental" basis.
Law office policy on Internet and E-mail access June 2000 With the increasing use of Internet access and e-mail by law firms, it is important to establish appropriate uses and limits on these powerful communication tools.
LOE to sponsor management roundtable February 2000 The Law Office Management and Economics (Standing Committe on) of the ISBA is sponsoring a management roundtable in Peoria on Saturday morning, March 11, 2000 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Packard Plaza.
On the nature of our work and the importanceof happiness By Scott A. Berndtson October 2000 "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin--real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, time to be served, a debt to be paid.
Paralegal assistants in a trial practice By Maximilian M. Prusak October 2000 The practice of law has changed over the past 25 years. Words similar to these have been uttered by attorneys many times.
“A personal life—it’s about time” By Christopher J. Cummings June 2000 It's 1:00 in the morning, and I'm too tired to sleep. As I lay in bed tossing and turning, every commitment that I have made for the coming week bubbles to the surface, one at a time.
Top partners in law firms must use computers By Paul Bernstein February 2000 It amazes me, even at this late date, that there are so few lawyers in leadership positions who are actively using computer technology.
Who is in charge here? By Thomas J. Brannan June 2000 When we want results, we typically ask, "Who is in charge here"? If someone asked you that question, about your business or about your life, what would your answer be?
WordPerfect® Law Office 2000 Suite from Corel Corporation By Paul Bernstein February 2000 The WordPerfect® Law Office 2000 Suite came to market earlier this year. For lawyers in small and mid-sized law firms, this is a perfect product for their law office.