SMALL LAW FIRM MANAGEMENT: A PRACTICAL APPROACH

Final Exam, Spring Semester 1999

Instructor: Frederick Hertz

Instructions : This is a closed book exam. The total time for the exam is one and one quarter hours. There is only one question on the exam, and you are free to structure your answer however you wish. Answer the question in your blue books, and turn in the question and your blue books after the conclusion of the exam.

Essay Question : You are one of two partners in a civil litigation law practice located in San Francisco. Your firm has one associate, one secretary, a part-time paralegal and a part-time bookkeeper. You have been in business for about five years, and you have always acted as the "managing partner." While you respect your partner's legal ability highly, her business and management acumen is somewhat questionable.

While you are content in your current practice, you have always dreamed of doing international human rights work. You've written articles on the subject, attended conferences, and done pro bono work in this area. One afternoon you receive a phone call from your former professor in an international human rights course, offering you a one year position as staff attorney to the International Human Rights Tribunal in The Hague, prosecuting Bosnian war criminals. There is only one condition for taking the job: you must leave for The Hague tomorrow, as an important trial is about to get underway.

You immediately decide to take the position, and you are overwhelmed with the tasks you must accomplish by the time you depart. You have about an hour to write a memorandum to your partner, giving her detailed instructions on how to manage the firm during your absence. You want to summarize all the key components of managing your firm, from file maintenance to bookkeeping to malpractice insurance. You want to let her know how the firm is managed, and also give her some key instructions on how to avoid problems while you are away.