TechnoLawyer Blog: Furniture/Office Supplies

Originally published on June 7, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

There are many things my mother didn't tell me that I had to learn the hard way — that is, in real life. In all fairness, however, my mother was not a lawyer so I cannot hold her accountable for not better equipping me for law practice when I was starting out. Having now practiced since Moses was a baby, I impart here a few handy hints (a la Heloise) from which lawyers starting their own practices who take heed will benefit greatly over the years. However mundane or retro these tips may sound right now, you'll thank me later.

1. Your First Purchase

You won't believe me, but your most important acquisition (definitely long before Black's) should be a business card scanner — preferably a small one that you can have at hand all the time, including when you go to conventions, professional programs, etc.

DYMO, which acquired CardScan, sells a variety of these with appropriate software that capture the information printed on the card, an image of the card, and your notes. The more annotations you add to each card the better (where you met the person, anything they said of note, brief physical description, existence or name of wife or kids if mentioned) because (1) you will not remember later, and (2) this information — and more importantly this store of information — will prove invaluable over the years.

If you're smart, you will not waste any time after the meeting dropping your new acquaintances an email (or even an old-fashioned snail mail note), and then from time to time stay in touch.

Of course now "there is an app for that" since iPhones (and others) can scan cards using their camera as the scanner. Just make sure the $5 app you buy works as reliably as the gold-standard CardScan. Either way, get back to your hotel room as quickly as possible to scan each business card before you forget anything.

2. Don't Run a Paper-Based Office, but if You Do …

A. Paper Punching

Buy one (or better yet two) GBC 150-sheet Electric Punches if you can find them. You can vary the punch location, so I bought two, set one up as a 3-hole and one as a 2-hole punch to avoid the annoyance of constantly changing punch locations. When I made the purchase, I suspected I might be losing my mind — nearly $600 with tax for a hole puncher! But I often thought over the years those had been, in the final analysis, two of my most astute purchases because they permitted my small law office to prepare (including punching) expeditiously huge paper submissions, and huge trial exhibit sets, for huge cases that we could not otherwise have handled.

Other electric two-hole punches will function only to place two holes at the top of the paper (as needed for court-filing), but will not place those two holes on the long edge of the paper (as is needed for European File systems and the like). But the GBC monsters can handle anything.

Nowadays, of course, your court filings can be uploaded to a service leaving all the pesky punching and tabbing to others, but at a significant financial cost. Similarly, you can engage services to assemble (copy, punch, tab, and insert in notebooks) your trial exhibits — but again at a rather fancy price.

Those who cannot afford such services will ultimately come out way ahead by investing in the GBC monster punches or their modern day equivalents.

For those with more modest budgets, high capacity manual punches are available, such as the Swingline Heavy-Duty High Capacity Hole Punch at $264.99 from Staples. Alternatively, for 3-hole punched trial exhibits and the like, purchase pre-punched papers and (assuming you have your exhibits already imaged) print your trial exhibits onto the pre-punched paper.

B. Exhibit and Declaration Tabs

Can't tell how much money you have invested in pre-printed exhibit pages that eat up storage space and yet never seem to include all the exhibit designations you actually need?

Buy what used to be called Redi-Tags and are now sometimes marketed as Medi-Tags. Each individual tab consists of (1) an area on which you can print (yes, with your printer or God forbid type) your exhibit or declaration designation, and (2) a gummed portion which can be invisibly affixed to the appropriate page in your papers, for either bottom or side tabs. These come in various sizes (suitable for just letters, numbers, or longer "Exhibit "#" or "Declaration of "#"). Because you can print them yourself, you can always have exactly the right tabs, and your entire collection takes up just a smidgen of space in a single drawer instead of an entire file cabinet.

3. Avoid "Groundhog Day" Scanning

For those who have switched over to scanning instead of squirrelling away paper, but have not yet fully succeeded, avoid the scanner's "Groundhog Day" trap of not knowing for sure (especially in the long run) what has already been scanned, and thus repetitively scanning documents "just to be sure."

The cure is simple. Buy an inked stamp (I use one which is just a red star). When a document has been scanned, stamp it with a red star on the front. If the document is "original," "certified" or otherwise unsuitable for stamping, then stamp a small post-it with your red star and staple the stamped post-it to the front of the document.

4. In Praise of Labels

While shopping at DYMO or the like, get yourself two printers (or a DYMO Turbo, which is essentially two side-by-side label printers in a single chassis) that you can set up so that your mailing labels print out on the left, while your postage stamps (from Endicia) print out on the right.

And now for the tip that will save you the most money and grief over the course of your electronics-buying career! While you are still dropping bucks at DYMO, buy yourself yet another label printer that creates vinyl labels with peel-off backs. Then, every time you purchase a computer or other electronic device, immediately (i.e., before you let yourself sit down and play with it) print and affix a label to every single cord and other accessory and miscellaneous piece — including most importantly the AC power adapter — that came with your new toy.

That label must show the name of the main product to which this piece is appurtenant, and its function. And do not forget to label the main gadget, including its serial number, and other essential information. This regime is the only cure known to man or woman for the calamity that will ensue when you move or otherwise need to store and later re-connect equipment.

5. Your Own Private Law Library

When conducting legal research on a particular point, I often stumble across really fabulous authority for other and different points which are likely to arise, either next Tuesday or a year from next Tuesday. For a while I deluded myself into believing that I would be able easily to find these authorities again. Not so — and especially not if the point appears nested in language that contains few distinctive words providing fodder for a future search. And even when I could find the desired authority again, it was only with the expenditure of significant additional time.

I constantly express thankfulness in my prayers for the day that it finally hit me that I should create a special directory that I could treat as my own personal law library (e.g., \LEX). Now I don't know about you Westlaw folks, but on Lexis.com I can download and save the single case authority containing my newly discovered nugget, and can do so without interfering with my ongoing research on the original point.

So now I save that little gem of authority while I have it in front of me. But think through and adopt a naming convention for your collection of downloaded cases, the idea being that you should make them easy to find by a simple file-name search when you need to locate "that great case that held X" or which "dealt with procedural scenario Y."

Now I am not, of course, talking about saving cases saying that it is possible to demur to a complaint, but rather cases (and statutes) which either (1) deal with points which have a high recurrence rate in your practice, or (2) which might prove difficult or even impossible to find again in the future. Even so, my own "private library" now contains over 3,500 cases and statutes.

Once again — you will thank me later.

Written by Yvonne M. Renfrew of Renfrew Law.

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Originally published on March 21, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Operating a law firm from your home is not for everybody. Two basic prerequisites exist for successfully setting up a home office.

First, if you enjoy day-to-day contact with colleagues, you may find yourself going stir crazy. On the other hand, if you just like to hole up and get your work done, it can be an ideal situation.

Second, you need to be reasonably computer literate. When working from home you will not have any onsite support. You can waste a tremendous amount of time trying to find a solution on the Web. After 14 years of working from my home office, I have many tips for lawyers considering this path. Below you'll find the five most important.

1. Use an Actual Room With a Door That Closes

Especially if you have kids, you need actual office space. You need to be able to leave all your papers and go have lunch and not have to clear off the dining room table. You need an "office environment" and avoid giving the impression that since you are "home" you can be interrupted at any time. If you have kids, you may actually want to post "office hours" on the door of your office.

2. Clients and Home Offices Don't Mix

Do you need to meet clients in your office? Obviously, if you plan to meet clients in a home office, you need to set it up much differently. Most people will have neither the space nor the desire to meet clients at home (and your clients probably feel the same way). You're better off renting an executive suite from companies such as Regus or subleasing unused office space in a local law firm. If you don't have many meetings, you can work from home and use an executive suite as a virtual office for its conference rooms and perhaps its call answering service as well.

3. Get a Virtual Assistant (Secretarial and/or Paralegal)

Investigate using online secretarial and paralegal services. They're widely available and frequently locally. Used in combination with Web-based collaboration tools such as Box.net you can easily share, edit, revise, and track documents. You upload documents to a secure shared space for editing. You receive an email message about any changes, etc. This arrangement is much more efficient than sending documents via email.

In a recent issue of BigLaw, Escape From the AmLaw 100, former Latham & Watkins partner Joshua Stein extolled the virtues of his virtual assistant when he set up a solo practice (though he leases office space and does not work from home).

4. Comfort First, Looks Second

Law office furniture is usually designed for show, not for functionality. Buy ergonomic and computer-friendly equipment. The ideal height for a computer keyboard is about 2" lower than the standard desk height. The "under the desk" drawers for keyboards are often flimsy and unproductive. Humanscale makes some of the most highly-rated keyboard systems.

Buy a good computer chair. TechnoLawyer publisher Neil Squillante (who does not work in a home office) uses a Herman Miller Embody chair (pictured above — the chair, not Neil), which he describes as "expensive but worth every Benjamin." He purchased it with a few non-standard options for $957 from WB Wood, a local office furniture dealership. While online stores often offer the best deals, that's not true for Herman Miller chairs according to Neil. He suggests finding a local authorized dealer.

My fellow SmallLaw columnist Yvonne Renfrew used to sit on a Herman Miller chair in her home office, but praises her new Verte Chair in her recent column, Under the Technology: Desk and Chair Recommendations for Small Offices.

Some work is better suited for other chairs so in addition to a computer chair, consider buying a comfortable armchair for reading final drafts, using your iPad, or simply taking a break. Finally, don't miss Marin Feldman's evergreen BigLaw column, Top Five Ergonomic Problems at Large Law Firms, which applies equally to home offices.

5. Reliable, Secure Telephone Service

Consider me old-fashioned, but I still find landlines the way to go. About 75% of the time I can tell if someone is using a cell phone or even VoIP by the quality of the call. A crackly line, dead spots of a second or two, a call that sounds under water, etc. makes you seem and literally "sound" unprofessional. So I stick with my cordless Plantronics telephone and headset and nationwide calling plan. That said, many other options cost less.

Vonage is the leading VoIP company. VoIP services have the advantage of call hunting — ringing your smartphone and other phones when you're not in your home office. If you make a lot of international calls, Skype can save you a lot of money. I have used Skype for technical support and demonstrations with people in Egypt, India, and Vietnam. Given that the calls are free, the quality was perfectly acceptable. Lastly Google's Google Voice offers an array of services plus you can now port your Google Voice number to your smartphone. Yvonne covered these and other services in more detail her SmallLaw column, Everything Law Firms Need to Know About Switching to VoIP Telephone Service.

A variety of answering services exist — at a price. Decide what functionality you need before spending money on such services. Your practice may require nothing fancier than voicemail.

A related issue concerns the question of a fax line. With the importance of faxes declining rapidly, you probably will be better off with a scanner and an email/fax solution such as MyFax. I pay $10 a month and have yet to exceed the page limit. That's much less costly than a dedicated fax line.

Conclusion

As for everything else you need, don't skimp. When you hear yourself thinking "I can manage without that," stop. Within a very short period of time you will discover you can't manage. For example, you can't have a law practice today without a Web site. For email on the go, a smartphone is essential. Buy a dedicated laser printer and scanner rather than a multifunction inkjet printer. You get the idea. Considering what you'll save on rent, go for the best when it comes to the rest of what you need.

Written by John Heckman of Heckman Consulting.

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The Real World of Virtual Law Firms

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Cracking the Facebook Code

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Originally published on October 18, 2009 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

A modern solo practice or small law firm requires rethinking (1) technological tools, (2) procedures, and (3) workspace. We start here in this issue of SmallLaw with the most fundamental and low-tech of these, yet one of critical importance to lawyers, especially those working from "home offices" — your workspace.

From a Traditional Office to One Less Office

It was serendipity that forced me to focus on workspace considerations. I broke, and then re-broke my foot, resulting in being in a boot/cast contraption for nearly a year. Until then, I had thought ideal my move to a downtown loft with living space upstairs and a huge (essentially traditional) office workspace downstairs. Suddenly, "downstairs" sounded like the other side of Mars. And it was not immediately apparent that I could set up an even temporarily efficient workspace in the far more accessible but relatively miniscule upstairs living area.

However, using a four and one-half foot square area in the corner of the living room, I was able to establish a workspace so efficient and so perfect for a technologically advanced practice that the downstairs remains essentially abandoned, except as the parking place for large printers and production scanners, all of which I use less and less as I'll explain in future columns.

Central to the workspace setup is, of course, the desk, and I owe TechnoLawyer my thanks for pointing me to Heckler Design which is the manufacturer of "OneLessDesk."

Heckler Design's desk, constructed of steel, is actually two separate desks forged of metal into the shape of an inverted "U." The larger has a footprint (including sliders) of approximately 39 x 14.5 inches with the other small enough to be snuggled completely within the shelter of the larger piece. The larger piece has what is, from the front, an invisible shelf which is ideal for out-of-sight storage of AC adaptor blocks and electrical cords, among other potential uses. When in use, the smaller desk slides out thus providing a two level workspace.

By way of example, I have sitting on the higher desk a dual 20" monitor set up, a USB postage scale, a Dymo LabelWriter Duo, and a Dymo LabelWriter Twin Turbo that prints mailing labels with one of its two print heads, and postage (using Endicia) with the other. There remains enough real estate on the larger component of the desk to place the charger for my Bluetooth mouse, to lay my iPhone while recharging, and other minor junk.

Various NAS (near area storage) devices, including a wonderful Drobo, fit neatly under the desk yet in plain sight and easily accessible.

The smaller slide-out component of the desk holds my gigantic Lenovo W700 laptop along with its docking station, a Polycom phone speaker, an external LaCie 1TB Drive, and myriad additional pieces of junk.

With OneLessDesk you can forget about the three most dreaded words in the English language — "minor assembly required." Nothing is required other than to unpack the components of your OneLessDesk, and then (which even I can do) screw on the non-skid sliders that permit the desk to move easily over any surface where the desk meets the floor.

Anthro Minicart and Verte Chair

I actually have two "OneLessDesk" sets (a total of four desk surfaces) that I have placed at a 90 degree angle, thus creating an "L" shaped work area. Because I wanted to fully use these desk areas, they do not overlap, which means I have a small square area in the "V" between the two desks into which fit perfectly a small Anthro "MiniCart" (under $300) to which I added an extra bottom shelf.

The MiniCart holds my ScanSnap, telephone base set, an extra large Bluetooth keyboard in its charging stand, another sizeable gizmo, a laser printer, a network switch, an external LightScribe CD/DVD burner by LiteOn, and a Vonage adapter (into which my phone base is plugged).

Rather than using a MiniCart to hold additional equipment, you can place your printers and/or scanners on Heckler Design's "OneLessStands," which is shaped precisely like the components of its "OneLessDesk," but small enough to be snuggled completely within the shelter of the OneLessDesk. Although I prefer always if possible to work with electronic documents, for those who cannot completely cut the cord to paper, or who are forced to deal with paper, Heckler Design also sells a "OneLessFile," which provides Pendaflex storage that fits neatly under the OneLessStand. After happily working for years without them, I have just now ordered both the Stand and File, which will increase my available workspace without adding to my 4.5 foot square "office" footprint.

Such a classy setup demands, of course, the perfect chair. For quite a while I used a Herman Miller Aeron with this set-up, and both functionally and aesthetically, it worked wonderfully. I have now moved on, however, to the Verte Chair sold (but apparently not manufactured) by Anthro, which is a bit odd-looking, in an industrial torture contraption sort of way and expensive ($1,500), but well worth it, especially to anyone with back problems.

Cost and Caveats

Heckler Design has bundled its OneLessDesk ($699), OneLessStand ($299), and OneLessFile ($149) into what, not surprisingly, it calls its "OneLessOffice" ($1047), all prices inclusive of shipping charges.

All of Heckler Design's office components appear incredibly well made and good value, and have that edgy industrial chic appearance so much in demand, but I have a few warnings: Do not stub your toe on the edge of the desk, and do not pinch any part of your body between something else hard and that edge, or it will hurt. In other words, not for klutzes. Also, the desk feet do not have levelers.

Creating a workspace like mine not only solves common space problems in a hip eye-pleasing way, but also encourages economical practices while discouraging reliance on "old-school" routines such as accumulation of paper and post-its and the bad work habits that inevitably ensue.

Written by Yvonne M. Renfrew of Renfrew Law.

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Originally published on October 14, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter.

On August 6, 1930, I disappeared. Many have written about my disappearance, most recently Peter Quinn in his novel, The Man Who Never Returned. With all due apologies to Mr. Quinn, I have returned. And not from the dead. Rather, from a long 80 year "nap" of sorts. I did not relish living through a seemingly endless economic downturn, though I have awoken in the midst of another one. More importantly, I knew a day would arrive after my likely death when the world's largest law firms would need my wise counsel.

As a man of means, I worked with a brilliant young scientist to slow the aging process and my metabolism. For the last 80 years, I have "napped" while subsisting on BST — a high-protein intravenous fluid created from the blood, sweat, and tears of first-year biglaw associates. With the number of such associates dwindling and my supply of BST in jeopardy, I have "awoken" to help guide those who manage large law firms, and in doing so ensure my continued survival. In my first BigLaw column today, I offer some advice on a topic I know a great deal about — the two best places in your office take a nap. Because it's unlikely you're using them efficiently anyway.

Your Conference Rooms: Improve Your Meetings

Meetings can rack up billable hours, but they often accomplish nothing and prevent you from finishing your personal billable work earlier. Because relatively little of importance occurs during meetings, you're better off using your conference rooms for naps — unless you're willing to change your ways.

Writing for Harvard Business Review, Gina Trapani enumerates some effective measures successful companies have taken to shorten meetings. For example, Google uses a chess-like timer to keep meetings on track. Some companies employ chairless conference rooms, while others ban laptops and smartphones.

Marketing guru Seth Godin might agree to ban laptops and smartphones, but he believes the solution to more efficient meetings lies in iPads. Unfortunately, the app he envisions doesn't exist yet, but you as the meeting organizer can perform most of its functions. For example, you should create and distribute an agenda, ensure that everyone participates, and take votes.

Project management expert Michael Taylor echoes much of Godin's advice in his free report, How to Conduct Better Meetings, but he also offers an even more important tip. Park any extraneous topics that surface for discussion another time and stick to the agenda. I would add to Taylor's advice that you should save any small talk for a more social setting, which brings us to another good place for a nap.

Your Library: Transform It Into a Zagat-Worthy Cafe

Good riddance to libraries now that law firms no longer need them. But many still exist, relics of a bygone era chock full of untouched books with a five-year layer of dust. So just lie down within one of the quiet aisles and close your eyes — unless you're willing to better use this space.

If you're fortunate enough to have just leased some raw office space, don't even build a library — and reconsider your conference rooms as well. Last month, BusinessReport.com reported on Phelps Dunbar's new digs in Baton Rouge. Thanks to the help of architectural firm Gensler, Phelps Dunbar built flexible conference rooms that can change in size as well un-conference rooms — informal breakout areas where employees can congregate. The firm built a library — probably because an old-school partner insisted on one — but at least it's much smaller than the firm's previous library.

CMS Cameron McKenna in Scotland built its new office space in a similar manner according to allmediascotland.com in an article published this week. While the firm built a breakout area, it also unfortunately built a library.

In his new book, Where Good Ideas Come From, Steve Johnson disagrees with the conventional wisdom that innovation strikes most frequently in solitude — like when you're sitting in your office or when you're zoned out in your own world at a poorly-run meeting (see above). Instead, he argues that the best ideas most often stem from informal gatherings. If you don't want to read the book, watch his recent TED Talk instead.

Johnson's anecdotes and research are compelling, but as any lawyer knows, good ideas can also bubble up when you're alone but not necessarily in your office or even working. So consider transforming your library into a Zagat-worthy cafe. Move your librarians to cubicles somewhere (I'm not suggesting large firms no longer need librarians), and instead hire a barista to serve espresso drinks, sandwiches, and baked goods better than you could get at Starbucks.

If Johnson is right, your firm will benefit — more business, better work product, etc. — from the informal conversations that take place. Unlike your cafeteria, a cafe offers more opportunities for conversations outside your usual circles within the firm, and also serves as a better place for creative solitude. One possible downside of a cafe exists — more office romances.

Until Next Time

I can remain awake for only short periods of time. I must now return to my chambers for some BST and a nap. But don't emulate me. Instead, get to work on improving your meetings, and draw up a blueprint for your cafe.

Editor's Note: One of our readers pointed us to Malcolm Gladwell's article from ten years ago, Why Your Bosses Want to Turn Your New Office Into Greenwich Village.

Long considered dead after disappearing in 1930, Judge Crater instead hired a brilliant young scientist to slow his aging and metabolism. Subsisting on BST, a high-protein intravenous fluid created from the blood, sweat, and tears of first-year biglaw associates, Judge Crater periodically arises from his slumber to offer advice to those who manage the world's largest law firms.

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Tom Rowe, Mobile Apps v. Mobile Web: No Contest

Mark Deal, The Case for Document Automation Technology in Every Law Firm

Michael Jones, Review: Tabs3 for Time-Billing

Allan Tiller, Review: AbacusLaw for Practice Management

Tom Trottier, Review: Balans Backless Kneel Chair (Plus Herman Miller's Embody)

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Coming today to TechnoFeature: Living the good life is all about balance. For example, how can you appear serious but not boring? Stylish but not frivolous? Tech savvy but not nerdy? In this TechnoFeature article, lawyer and technologist Edward Zohn explains how lawyers can combine "chic" with "geek" when shopping for gear. Zohn then recommends chic geek products in ten categories — tablets, smartphones, netbooks, laptops, feature phones, Bluetooth headsets, office ergonomics, wristwatches, pens, and keyboards and mice.

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Coming today to Answers to Questions: Paul Tredoux reviews Dragon NaturallySpeaking and shares several tips for using it successfully, Miriam Jacobson explains how she uses retainers to improve collections and client satisfaction plus she also reviews the Steelcase AirTouch desk, Roger Massengale reviews the Olympus DS-5000 with the StartStop transcription system, and Lisa Peterson explains how she avoids paying for an expensive dedicated fax line for her home office. Don't miss this issue.

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Coming today to Answers to Questions: Michael Schley explains how his firm manages documents without true document management software, Michael Schwartz compares Time Matters integration with Timeslips versus Billing Matters, Ted Bartenstein reviews Philips' Pocket Memo digital recorders, Christopher Spizzirri reviews ScrapBook for Web clippings, and Steve Hall reviews his experience using an exercise ball as an office chair. Don't miss this issue.

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Originally published on August 3, 2009 in our free BigLaw newsletter.

They say death and taxes are life's only certainties, but large firm lawyers like you can also count on long hours. Many associates and even partners spend at least ten hours a day at their desks — even more in the heat of a deal or an expedited lawsuit. While stories abound of associates who add aquariums, stereos, and other comforts to their office, many work in total ignorance of proper ergonomics, increasing the risk of injuries. With the right knowledge and equipment, you can bill 3,000 hours/year pain free (physically, at least).

If you rub your shoulders, squirm in your chair, or crack your neck while reading this week's issue of BigLaw, help is on the way. I recently met with certified professional ergonomist Hayley Kaye, president of HLK Consulting, a New York City-based ergonomics and biomechanics consulting company, to bring you the top five ergonomic problems she encounters at large law firms and other organizations. (Disclosure: TechnoLawyer recently hired Ms. Kaye for an ergonomic assessment of its office.)

1. Blaming the Chair

When attorneys experience back, neck or shoulder pain from sitting, they'll often request a new chair, thinking that it'll be a cure-all. "One of the biggest misconceptions about ergonomics is that the chair is always to blame," says Kaye. "While a good chair is important, quite often the cause of back pain is the way they're typing and not the chair."

Kaye recommends placing your keyboard at or slightly below elbow height, and your monitor slightly below eye level no closer than an arm's reach away — but not so far that it requires you to lean forward to read it. For many, the best way to achieve this position is with a keyboard tray (not a keyboard drawer) that offers an adjustable height and tilt and comes equipped with a palm support and mouse platform.

Highly adjustable chairs are great, but if you're hunched over your keyboard or slumped back in your chair, you may still experience pain. Your back should always be in contact with the chair backrest, and you should be slightly reclined (100-110 degree angle).

2. Adding Flair to Your Chair

If you're in pain and the culprit really is the non-adjustable chair your firm's office manager bought in bulk from Staples, don't bother purchasing fancy lumbar pillows or gel thigh supports. "Having a pillow or an add-on in the wrong area is worse than not having one at all," says Kaye.

Instead of stuffing your seat, Kaye recommends purchasing your own highly adjustable chair that you can take with you when you leave the job. "Everyone who worked for the companies that recently went under sat in a chair, so it's easier than ever to get good prices on some excellent used chairs."

Look for chairs with adjustable height seats, backrests, armrests and recline tension (the back of your chair should move with you; it should not be stationary). The seat pans should adjust as well and consist of foam or gel to help distribute body weight. "The textile you choose is irrelevant with regard to ergonomics," adds Kaye. Thus, your firm can save big bucks by ordering chairs with the cheapest grade fabric. By contrast, if you're buying your own chair and you prefer leather go for it.

3. Making Your Laptop Your Primary Computer

Firm-issued laptops are great for portability, but attorneys increasingly dock their laptops at their office desks and use them as their primary computers. Bad idea, says Kaye. "People lean in to see the keys or the screen on laptops, and hunching causes pain over time. It's critical to plug in your laptop and use an external monitor, keyboard and mouse for long-term office use, so that you can adjust each of the individual elements for maximum ergonomic benefit."

4. Using a Lamp as Your Primary Lighting

Some attorneys approach the pervasive problem of law firm fluorescent lighting by keeping the overhead lights off and use only a lamp. Kaye agrees that law firms tend to over-light, but suggests that attorneys ask for lower wattage bulbs or request removal of a bulb rather than forgo overhead lighting altogether.

"Lamp lighting alone is often insufficient and can strain your eyes," notes Kaye. "However, attorneys who do a lot of paper reading require a little more light, so a desk lamp coupled with overhead lighting is helpful if shined directly onto the paper."

5. Using Expensive Equipment Without Training

One of the biggest problems that Kaye sees occurs when firms invest in expensive office equipment and think they've done their part. "I've seen law firms spend $600-$900 per chair but nobody understands how to adjust them, so they're not getting much benefit."

Also, many lawyers rarely get up from their pricey chair throughout the day. However, according to Kaye, movement is one of the key principles of ergonomics. She recommends taking a short break for about 20 seconds every 20 minutes. Doing so reduces the impact of sedentary postures on the spine and other areas. "These short breaks need not interrupt the work flow," says Kaye. For example, she suggests periodically standing up during long teleconferences.

To maximize their purchases, Kaye recommends that law firms offer ergonomic training sessions to demonstrate how to use the equipment, better organize work areas, and take breaks. Ergonomics training may mean a small expenditure today, but Kaye contends that such training is cost effective. "Ergonomics training has a very high return on investment because the cost of training is low compared with the cost of handling injuries."

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