What Does a Legal Case Manager Do?
The legal case manager reviews all incoming documents, notifies the appropriate attorneys and/or legal assistants when new work comes in, drafts and/or reviews pleadings and discovery, summarizes hearings, destroys files, prepares subpoenas – both under and from attorneys, handles communications with clients, opposing counsel, and other professionals, and monitors deadlines. Attorneys and/or legal assistants may be busy with more than one case at a time or out of the office on a deposition . The legal case manager fills in by noticing the deadlines and keeping track of them. Because you monitor all these deadlines, you have an overall picture of where any particular case stands at any given time. You are often the person who is first to know a matter is coming due. The legal case manager is expected to be able to step in for attorneys when needed and provide the same level of service that clients expect from the firm’s attorneys. This level of service requires; the ability of the legal case manager to manage his/her time to assist the rest of the firm.
Essential Skills for a Legal Case Manager
Effective legal case managers are not only strong leaders but they also possess a unique array of technical skills, as well as the communication and interpersonal abilities to work well with clients, attorneys, and the experts they interact with. There are two distinct skill sets – those that can be learned through training and experience and those that are harder to teach and find in candidates. In fact, there are a number of characteristics that only experienced case managers possess having worked on many types of cases. Technical knowledge is obviously very important but case managers also need the people skills that help them round out their expertise.
A strong legal case manager has expertise managing a variety of cases, understand the litigation process and are proactive in identifying issues and problems that may arise throughout the course of a case. The problem-solver and analytical skills case managers possess allow them to coordinate truly complex cases involving multiple litigants or defendants or litigation in multiple jurisdictions. They analyze large amounts of data from discovery or medical records and quickly absorb information to disseminate amongst many different case members. Their ability to keep track of what is going on in different places and make connections between disparate pieces of information allows them to understand how experts react or respond in different circumstances.
The case manager must also be someone who is willing to work long hours while remaining approachable and responsive to a multitude of people in many different ways – phone, email, fax, or in person. They also have the ability to manage multiple projects at once by setting priorities to ensure a successful outcome, particularly in time-sensitive situations.
Influence of Case Managers on Legal Cases
In the legal context, "the case manager" (also known as the litigation assistant) described in this article organizes and maintains both digital and physical files, assists with client care, medical treatment, billing and related issues, organizes medical records, performs document review and analysis, prepares medical chronologies and case timelines, prepares for expert witnesses and depositions, reviews and analyzes reports and records, assists with trial strategy development and implementation, and communicates and coordinates between all parties involved in the case. We’ve trained and employed many legal case managers and they positively impact case outcomes.
In personal injury claims, for example, case managers have assisted in the successful recovery of the following outcomes for clients:
• A $14 million dollar recovery from a hospital and physician practice for improper insertion of a device;
• A $7.5 million dollar recovery from a hospital for failing to ensure safe and effective administration of medication;
• A $4 million dollar recovery from a hospital for improper surgical procedure and postoperative care; and
• A $3.2 million dollar recovery from a hospital for failing to timely recognize and treat a pulmonary embolism.
The Case Manager’s Impact: Organizing and maintaining files and obtaining records – 300,000 Pages in 4 days. What happens when an attorney on a tight filing deadline has to coordinate and handle a massive amount of paperwork? The case manager assists by organizing and maintaining both physical and digital files, usually in firm specific software. In a recent matter, a case manager reviewed, organized, and indexed 300,000 pages of medical records (digital and physical) that were obtained from over 300 facilities around the U.S. within 4 days, in time for a motion filing (and this was over a holiday weekend)!
The Case Manager’s Impact: Drafting and preparing medical records summaries and chronologies – Timelines/progress notes/board notes, pictorial timelines, indexed chronologies, and coded and summarized medical records are produced by case managers. We have worked with mediators and experienced that it can be helpful to provide summaries of medical records with exhibits prior to mediation. It can be helpful and also save time if the records are organized chronologically in the manner in which the medical providers would typically have viewed the records, including monthly and quarterly intervals.
Liaising with Experts and Your Testimonial Provider
The case manager works with the experts to clarify issues and identify additional information or records needed. She also follows up to ensure that issues are addressed and that reports are prepared in a timely manner. We also recommend providing experts, attorneys and support staff with a summary of relevant records, timelines, and chronology that have been prepared, so that everyone is "on the same page." We’ve created spreadsheets that write themselves in case management software and track the evidentiary materials that have been submitted to experts. These serve as detailed "exhibits" and lists the materials submitted. This can be invaluable when tracking and discussing evidentiary issues with attorneys during trial preparation. While we do not recommend that case managers lead or coordinate the process for retaining and/or communicating with experts, we do recommend being a final touch point for all communications with experts.
Legal Case Manager Career Opportunities
The employment outlook for Legal Case Managers is strong. According to Salary. com, the average Legal Case Manager salary is $83,459 as of November 27, 2018, with a range usually between $65,393 and $110,237. Intermountain Healthcare pays Legal Case Managers with an average salary of $70,656, whereas Amerigroup pays their Legal Case Managers an average of $112,140 annually, according to Payscale.com. Larger companies like Britax pay Legal Case Managers a salary of $102,000 per year and Zenimax Media offers salaries starting at $80,000 per year. Insurance companies and Health Maintenance Organizations offer higher salaries to Legal Case Managers.
Legal Case Managers hold a bachelor’s degree and have at least four years of experience in case management or a related field. They are hired as entry-level Legal Case Managers, where they learn how to conduct client interviews, clinical data collection, medical record reviews, and how to develop legal medical histories. Legal Case Managers work under the supervision of a Staff Supervisor who translates and archives findings into reports. The primary duties of an entry-level Legal Case Manager may include reviewing and analyzing medical records in accordance with case management processes and procedures, preparing legal consulting case history files, summarizing the discovery responses, electronically uploading files into a database, organizing the files, and electronically sending files to attorneys. Once entry-level Legal Case Managers have gained experience, they can go onto more senior positions as they are promoted, such as with Title VII Legal Case Management Specialist-Denials and Denials Manager positions.
Experienced Legal Case Managers can also opt to work as property damage investigators, as legal malpractice claims examiners, legal nurse consultants or legal nurse specialist, claims analysts, and legal administrative assistants.
Legal Case Management is rapidly expanding, and recent trends showed an increase in job opportunities available and demand for highly skilled Legal Case Managers in private law firms and insurance companies. Legal Case Managers may choose to work in a variety of organizations and industries, departments, and markets, including but not limited to: commercial, environmental, employment, securities, healthcare insurance agencies, managed care insurance, and legal malpractice.
Challenges in Legal Case Management
The role of a legal case manager, which can be filled by a paralegal, office support staff or private investigator, can be an extremely challenging one. In addition to ensuring that the legal case manager has a comprehensive understanding and experience in all common areas of estate planning, probate and trust administration law, some of the most common challenges that they may face are:
Ballancing caseloads: Caseloads can vary greatly for legal case managers depending upon their level of experience and the work that needs to be completed. For example, new paralegals may take longer to complete work than more seasoned paralegals and thus may need fewer cases to balance the workload. Also, if uncertainty exists with regard to the legal case manager’s capacity then it may result in assigning them work that is time sensitive and may be too much for the individual to meet their deadlines.
Dealing with difficult clients: Clients , in various situations, may be rude or simply even aggressive. A legal case manager should know how to best defuse any difficult situations (basically using your customer service skills in those instances). The legal case manager needs to identify the best way to cut off any aggressive or rude behavior from a customer. The best way to control an aggressive client is to set a calm tone before the meeting so that the tone of voice is neutral and friendly. By being calm and relaxed in a heated encounter, then that will help calm the client.
The challenge of balance: In many successful firms, the legal case manager may need to be able to switch tasks very quickly and move from matters to matter and prioritize time. They may need to be able to stop work to take urgent matters and change the focus. These sort of things can be a challenge for an experienced manager due to the constantly changing priorities.
Case Management Technologies
The legal profession is no stranger to technology. And, like other professions, it has seen a rapid evolution in the types of technology that are available to facilitate the work its professionals do. As a result, the legal case manager has a number of high-tech tools at his or her disposal. These range from systems that track everything from contact information to appointments to document management to tracking billing and mediation process to forms preparation to time and expense entry to invoicing to scanning and imaging. Or software that manages cases through the entire lifecycle. New technologies are also emerging that manage automated workflow, streamline business processes, support case triage, provide conflict check, and permit sharing of data and advance analytics.
Perhaps the most basic technology that any legal case manager should have is a good word processing program. But most case managers will not be doing extensive word processing as much as they will be using case management software that may have spreadsheet capability, document management, automated workflows, and archiving, among other features. Document and forms systems that enable case managers to prepare forms are also essential to their work.
A legal case manager will commonly employ tracking software along with case management software. The latter is an advanced form of case management software that is designed specifically for legal processes. It permits case managers to manage the entire life cycle of a legal matter. Tracking software is used to track all the aspects of the case, along with chronological updates.
Specialized software for billing and accounting helps track financial functions such as payment processing, invoicing, and accounts receivable. It should also enable order entry, accounting, installation and service tracking, and inventory management.
If your firm uses a document management system (DMS), it should have the capability to scan, image and archive documents for easy data recovery. A DMS may be a standalone system or come as part of a larger software package. Software that provides advanced imaging and tracking can facilitate the workflow between people, processes, and locations. Integrated document management systems also enable collaborative work between clients, staff, and other parties. Physical document scanning is also important. Scanning can save paperwork from filing cabinets and give you access to documents instead of wasting time searching.
Digital dictation and automated transcription systems can enable case managers to transcribe recorded information for use as an internal document or to be included in a communication with a party such as the attorney, the client, a mediator, or others. The dictation can be recorded on various media including a digital voice recorder, your telephone, or a handheld device. Software can automatically transcribe this dictation into text for storage with other documents.
Document assembly technology creates documents that you fill out with a series of response fields. It can generate documents such as pleadings and orders.
Cloud-based case management software runs on software that resides on the Internet instead of your computer. Cloud-based software can help with case management and litigation support. It may also include billing and accounting, scheduling, document management, and even trust accounting.
Mobile case management permits access to your case from anywhere on any mobile device. With mobile case management, you never have to miss a call or a text because you’re both out of the office and away from your desktop. You have better access to deadlines, appointments, and other important information.
Teleconferencing software lets you meet with someone online, share documents, take joint notes, and even share video and audio in some applications. The meeting may be with an attorney, a client, or other participants in the process. Once the meeting is done, you can collect all the materials for review later.
Best Practices in Legal Case Management
Best Practices for Legal Case Management
While state laws differ on requirements, standard best practices are essential for effective legal case management. Your law firm should:
Proper organization and attention to detail will go a long way in ensuring your clients trust you.
It’s also important to keep clients informed about deadlines and case developments. For clients, the uncertainty of not knowing where their case stands can be stressful, even overwhelming.
This is especially true in tough family cases such as divorce or separation, where the stakes — emotional and financial — are high.
Have a vetting process in place to determine if a new client is a good fit for your firm. Ask potential clients to fill out a client questionnaire. Use this information to determine whether you can deliver on their expectations. For example, a client may not want to go to mediation, even though that may be the best option for them and their spouse.
Work with your law firm’s marketing team to understand the types of clients you want to target. You should avoid spending time and money on bad leads.
When it comes to a bad case, or one that simply doesn’t fit your firm’s area of specialization, don’t take it. Submit a formal declination letter, and refer the client to another lawyer who specializes in the relevant area of practice.
Treat all cases with respect, whether or not you think the client is a good fit. When I receive bad cases, I handle the initial meeting, have a conversation with the potential client, and take the high road. I always treat people with respect.
Case Manager Training and Certification
Accredited legal case managers have received advanced training from an American Bar Association ("ABA") accredited paralegal program such as from Orlando-based Institute for Legal, Financial and Administrative Management ("ILFAM"). ILFAM’s comprehensive 3-module program consists of intensive classes, practical scenarios and examinations that covers everything from the initial case review to the final settlement. With the completion of the ILFAM training, a legal case manager can be certified as a Registered Legal Case Manager (RLCC).
For those who may not have a formal paralegal education, the National Association of Legal Assistants offers to a limited number of paralegal professionals in legal case management positions the opportunity to participate in a special LMT™ Workshop along with other qualified applicants to complete the Certified Legal Manager ("CLM") exam and designation . The CLM exam is offered only once a year and, similar to the RLCC exam, it tests a candidate’s knowledge and proficiency in the core study areas of legal management, including financial or business management, human resources and technology. In passing either of these exams, the legal case manager is able to show prospective and existing law firm employers that he or she is equipped with the skills and knowledge to assume a larger role in their office and has the minimum qualifications to be considered a seamless transition to legal administrator.