You are working as a Legal Assistant at a law firm. Your day starts at 8am and you work until 4pm. You have 15 minute coffee breaks at 10am and 2:30pm and a lunch break at 12:00 – 1pm. Following is a list of tasks that have to be completed today. Prioritize these tasks and explain why you have arranged them in the order you chose.
Lawyer’s timesheet (lawyer’s consider their time to be entered into the PC Law program to be important)
Telephone message from your mom
Notice of Motion to be completed and sent for filing by 9am (This is for a family matter. Notice of Motion usually takes around 20-30 minutes to complete)
Nora Roberts file which requires an Invoice to be done and sent to her
An Affidavit to type and have ready for a client coming in at 1pm. (This is for a family matter. Consider the Affidavit to be ten pages long).
Telephone message from Linda Teriaco at the Courthouse (she deals with Motions)
A stack of letters to be filed
An email from management reminding you to collect $ for the United Way to be picked up today by 10am
Telephone message from a client that wants an appointment with the lawyer
Three piles of files with dictation tapes – the lawyer provides a list on the top of each file as to who the client is and what the document is you are typing. You should probably check this pile and make sure that there isn’t anything important for the day.
Open a new file and deposit retainer monies. Opening a file is on PC Law and physically opening a file. Should take no more than 15 minutes.
A file with revisions to a Separation Agreement for a client coming in at 11am. Given the Separation Agreement is already completed in draft, and these are revisions, this is likely to take anywhere from 15-30 minutes.
A file with a new Will and Testament to be completed for clients coming in 2pm. A Will should take about 20 minutes to complete.
Take mail to the mail box
Telephone message from another lawyer regarding your client coming to sign the Separation Agreement at 11am
Minutes to type up for staff meeting at noon. (Consider the minutes to be three pages long)
Affidavit to complete for client coming in at 8:30am the next morning. Affidavit is twenty pages long.
Telephone message from a potential new client regarding divorce proceedings
Letter to be typed and couriered to the other lawyer’s office before noon. This is a lengthy letter, approximately three pages.
It’s the last day of the month – all invoices must be submitted by end of work day to the accounting department. You have seven invoices left to submit. Assume that the Account is being done from PC Law, and therefore easily generated. You just need to make sure dates are correct, and time has been entered in correctly. You are not typing these from scratch.