David Jeter and Nate Jackson started a small general law practice near Sacramento, California. Prior to that, the two had spent five years in the district attorney’s office
after completing their formal schooling. What began as a small partnership – just the
two attorneys and a paralegal/assistant – had now grown into a practice that
employed more than 27 people in the three separated towns. The current staff
included 18 attorneys (three of whom had become partners), three paralegals, and
six secretaries. For the first time in the firm’s existence, the partners felt that were losing
control of their overall operation. The firm’s current caseload, number of employees, number of clients, travel requirements, and facilities management needs had grown
far beyond anything that the original partners had ever imagined. Attorney Jeter called a meeting of the partners to discuss the matter. Before the
meeting, opinions about the pressing problems of the day and proposed solutions
were sought from the entire staff. The meeting resulted a formal decision to create a
new position, general manager of operations. The partners proceeded to compose a
job description and job announcement for recruiting purposes. Highlights and major responsibilities of the job description include:
? Supervising day-to-day office personnel and operations (phones, meetings, word
processing, mail, billings, payroll, general overhead, and maintenance). ? Improving customer relations (more expeditious processing of cases and clients). ? Expanding the customer base. ? Enhancing relation to local communities. ? Managing the annual budget and related incentive programs.