Like doctors, lawyers are becoming increasingly specialized. Someone who does mostly wills, house closings and other “nonbusiness” matters is probably not a good fit for your business. At the very least, you will need the following sets of skills. The more skills reside in the same human being, the better! Minimum skills any business needs are: Contracts, Business Organizations, Real Estate, Taxes and licenses, Intellectual property and litigation.
I tell every business person I meet that every business needs two professionals: an accountant and a lawyer. The reasons for hiring an accountant are pretty obvious–you need someone to help you set up your “chart of accounts,” review your numbers periodically, and prepare all of your necessary federal, state and local tax returns. The reason for hiring a business attorney are not always obvious. But a good business attorney will provide vital assistance in almost every aspect of your business, from basic zoning compliance and copyright and trademark advice to formal business incorporation, employee relations, lawsuits and liability.
Any good reception area should be properly designed to comfort and impress clients, intimidate other lawyers, and be comfortable for your employees. But 1 thing is regularly overlooked: security. So I’m going to post a few ideas just to be complete.
Your receptionist should have a concealed panic button. The button should connect to your office and set off a buzzer or flashing light or *something* that will immediately attract your attention. Then you can decide what to do.
Where should the panic button be located? 1 option is to give it to the receptionist to put on her belt like a cell phone. Alternatively, place it under the desk or next to the keyboard are locations I like. I don’t like putting the panic button on the floor because a) it’s either too easy to set it off by accident or not easy to set off if you need to; b) all the movies have the button on the floor so everyone knows to look for it there; and c) sometimes the receptionist walks away from the desk. These panic buttons aren’t very expensive, you just have to test the batteries once in a while.
Chairs and furniture should be large, over-stuffed and/or fastened down so they can’t be picked up and used as a weapon. Seems simple but family lawyers know how stressed out people can be. Personally, I like very low (extra low actually) overstuffed chairs for people to sit in. It’s hard to jump quickly out of low, overstuffed chairs and they’re heavy so they are hard to pick up. Magazine racks etc. should be bolted down or to the walls. Ditto wall decorations and tables etc.
Tell your receptionist to alert you to people who appear agitated while they are waiting. Keep in mind this one fact: your instincts and the instincts of your employees have evolved over millions of years to identify danger. Listen you them, take them seriously.
I haven’t posted for about 2 weeks now. Not through lack of interest, O My No. I’ve just been very busy preparing for and then trying a case. Any of you lawyers reading this will understand–a 3 day jury trial can be quite draining. But I’m back for the next 2-3 weeks until my next trial. So here we go again.
About a year ago a Judge in Nevada (I think it was Reno but I’m not sure) was shot through his windows as he was looking out. The shooter was a man with a rifle in a building across the street. Apparently the man was upset about some ruling the Judge had made or was about to make.
About the same time a young woman working late at a law firm called me–apparently some person was trying to get in and she was terrified.
My suggestion: keep the curtain or blinds drawn, even during the day. Set things up so you can see out but no one can see in. At night, be sure to close the windows and lock them! If you have a ground-floor office, this is extra-important.
If you don’t want to use the little “bell ringer” you have choices:
a) keep the front door locked and ask people to ring the doorbell. Then look to see who’s there & buzz them in. That’s a good way to go, a little more expensive, but it works. It also strikes a number of people as “unfriendly”. On the other hand, if your client base is abused women, they might like the idea. It depends on the practice area. You will have to decide for yourself. It’s a good system to use for weekends and for when you and your staff are working late.
b) a pressure plate under the rug where people step on it as they come in and a remote bell rings/buzzes. Unnoticeable. Also not too expensive. I think it’s a little less than the buzzer system but you will have to price it out.
Most of these things can be gotten at Radio Shack for not much and are easy to install. Have fun.
OK. Now we just finished (for the moment) talking about your front door. It assumed that you had a reception area separate from your personal office. But what about the front door to your office? It has to be open during office hours right? Usually that’s correct. But you should have a bell/buzzer that shows when the front door opens. They are cheap too. Just a little ringer mounted high up so the door touches them as it is opened is enough. You just want something so you know somebody’s come in. If you have an assistant, she (or he) will want to know too. Nobody likes being surprised by someone standing behind them, even it is is innocent.
