Midterm Project
The Midterm Project has two parts.
First, using the fact pattern below, develop a list of five to eight goals for the law firm. A goal is a brief statement of direction for the law firm. (You may want to look in the dictionary and in the library to better understand the concept of a goal.) Each goal should be one sentence in length or at most two, if some additional clarification is required. The statement should be very clear and should say what the firm hopes to accomplish in its operation. One example of a goal statement of a law firm is:
"The firm will provide a minimum of five hours a week of pro bono service for poor people in the neighborhood of the firm."
Second, prepare a mission statement for the firm based on the same fact scenario set forth below. You may look at the following law firm websites (or any other one) to see examples of mission statements. Sometimes the firm will call its mission statement the "Firm Overview."
Before you write the mission statement, you should think carefully about the purpose of the firm. A mission statement is a brief statement of what the firm intends to do: where it fits into the fabric of the justice system and the community, and how people are to understand the firm. In preparing this assignment, you should look in the library for concepts of a mission statement. You might also conduct a Web search using the term "mission statement" to see other examples.
Fact Pattern
You are about to start work for a solo practitioner in a metropolitan area of about one million people. The office will be located just outside of the downtown area. The solo practitioner for whom you work engages in a general practice of law, but emphasizes civil practice and family law. She engages in almost no criminal defense work except where it is requested either by an existing client or as part of a civil matter. She has been in practice for about five years. Prior to that, upon graduation from law school, she clerked for two years for an associate judge of the state supreme court. She spent six months with a medium-sized firm, then decided to open her practice. Her current office is in the downtown area, where she and a secretary/receptionist conduct her practice. You will be her first legal assistant. Her practice continues to grow, in part, because she is a very competent attorney and, in part, because her manner and approach encourage clients to seek her services. She has no time to organize her office and has no operating manuals or procedures. She uses time-management software, but lists her former clients on three-by-five cards that she uses to check for conflicts of interest. One of the sites that she is considering is shared office space with five other solo practitioners. She is also considering a suite of offices adjacent to the mid-sized firm for which she used to work. Image and philosophy are very important to her, and she has told you that she expects you to assist her in developing statements about both for her practice.