Using Blue Cards to Start Things Smoothly

We are still talking about the various rules that we have in our office for helping us "get the work done." As you know, there are five areas that make up every part of every business in the world, the third area is "getting the work done."

We have previously discussed "clients or customers," and "administration," and we are now talking about "getting the work done." After talking about "getting the work done," we will be talking about the fourth part "billing," and then the fifth part "getting paid."

This week we are going to talk about "blue card rules." There are multiple rules involving blue cards. The reason for so many rules involving blue cards is that blue cards are your main "tickler system" that remind you of things to do, due dates, and statute of limitations.

The "blue card rules" are in the following areas:
1. When blue cards are made up;
2. Where blue cards are filed;
3. When blue cards are posted; and
4. When blue cards are distributed.

You may want to go back and review the article under "administration" regarding blue cards before you go further with this article on "blue card rules."

No matter in our office can be opened until blue cards are put with the New Matter Report. One of the nice things about having both blue cards and New Matter Reports is that they can work in tandem to be sure that you have a system for properly opening files. The task of opening files is just not a physical task of getting a folder and backboards, it is a task that involves judgment with regard to the appropriate dates to be blue carded. Having a rule that says that no file may be opened in an office unless blue cards are made up, is a very good rule. There are actually times when a file can be opened when blue cards are not applicable, but this is a very rare occurrence and again, in our office it takes two people to sign off on this concept of blue card non-applicability before the file can be opened.

After the blue cards are filled out and attached to the New Matter Report, the file can be opened and the blue cards then need to be filed in some type of a retrieval system. The blue cards are filed by month, date and year and they are then pulled out and put on the appropriate lawyer's desk at the beginning of each week when the reminder date comes up and then again when the due date comes up.

As you can see, when each of the lawyers who are assigned to a certain matter gets a copy of the card, which is posted as well, we have a system that utilizes three different points of reminders to allow everyone to be sure that we do things on a timely basis. Those three points, again as a recap, are, the assigned lawyer, the additional assigned lawyer or paralegal and on the bulletin board that is available for everyone to see what is due on a particular date.

At the time that the cards are posted on the bulletin board in our office, someone also makes me a copy of all of those cards to be sure that we do not miss any due dates that would be coming up.

As you can see, when you have a system like this to warn you in advance that you have a matter coming up it does not sneak up on you and bite you in the backside. Often we will get reminder dates at thirty days, ten days, three days to remind us of a particular task that needs to be done and then obviously on the due date one last reminder to be sure that the matter has actually been done. You also get an additional reminder when the cards are posted and it is amazing how you will stop what you are doing and pay attention to that particular piece of paper to be sure that everything is being handled on a timely basis. The utilization of this type of system in your office is a great way to not only do things on a timely basis but is also a great way to avoid malpractice and to make you feel that you are on top of everything that you need to be doing, which certainly helps your stress level more than you can imagine.

As you can see, we have a series of rules involving blue cards. No matter what system you may have with regard to ticklers, you can make up similar rules in your office. All you have to do is have a rule about when the tickler cards are made up, how they are filed and retrieved, and how they get to the person's desk who is responsible for seeing that a particular thing is done on a timely basis.

The concept with regard to rule making is really quite simple and that is to go to the actual point in time where a particular task needs to be accomplished, and then set up a system that the next task cannot be accomplished until after the first task is completed. You will remember a series of articles I wrote regarding "fail-safe systems." Making it impossible to do the next task without accomplishing a prior task is the basic rule of systems. As lawyers, we would call this a "condition precedent." The condition that needs to be created precedes the next task that needs to be accomplished, and, therefore, everything can proceed in an orderly manner once the prior task is properly completed.

There really is no mystery to setting up these rules in your office, you simply need to try to articulate it in some type of a sentence that becomes part of a paragraph that becomes part of a memo with regard to a particular system. You probably already have these "rules" in place in your office, you have probably just never codified them, or thought of them in terms of "rules." I suggest that you commit these rules to writing and that you have your office become familiar with them and obey them.

Next week we are going to talk about the "royal-we" rule. This rule is quite simple with regard to trying to get your staff to write letters on behalf of the firm as opposed to writing the letters on behalf of themselves individually. The firm becomes the "royal-we." I think you will find this concept with regard to the use of the "royal-we" very interesting and can also have some impact on your marketing in the sense that the "firm" becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

Talk to you next week.

Jim Wirken is a civil trial attorney and the Chairman of the Board of The Wirken Law Group in Kansas City.