Definition of a Legal Case Manager
A legal case manager is a professional who provides administrative support to attorneys and legal teams. This role is currently gaining traction in the industry, as it allows law firms to manage an increasing volume of cases more efficiently. Legal case managers often serve as the primary contact point between clients and the legal team, ensuring that clients are kept informed and that their questions are answered promptly. Additionally, they may assist with drafting legal documents, coordinating with expert witnesses and managing case files throughout the duration of a case.
The position of the legal case manager is relatively new when compared to other, more traditional roles in the legal field such as paralegals and legal secretaries. Legal case managers are usually assigned to work on specific cases or with particular departments within a firm. Unlike a general paralegal , though, a legal case manager is not always concerned with the legal procedures and paperwork associated with a case, but instead acts as a liaison among those working on the case aimed at achieving a common goal.
This role originally gained popularity in health care environments, where case managers are becoming more common. Legal case management has evolved into a unique niche with its own standards, tools and best practices. Technology is a key element in legal case management, as technology tools such as practice management software make it easy to track deadlines, manage contact information and stay on top of case-related activities. A legal case manager can go from a file clerk to a strategic advisor in a matter of only a few years.
Skills and Qualifications of a Legal Case Manager
A legal case manager handles cases from the beginning, such as when a person is hurt in an accident, to the end. They coordinate with the client through various stages of the case, keeping track of information and updates about the client’s care, medical presentations, and documents that support their case. But it takes some significant skills to keep track of everything related to a case, and that is why good legal case managers are so important. The basic skills for any legal case manager start with good organization and communication. It’s vital for the case manager to keep the things she or he handles organized, and that means a great deal. A case manager has to keep track of all the records involved in the case. These can be substantial, and you need to be able to access them at a moment’s notice. You’ll be responsible for updating records, completing forms, and communicating with clients, doctors, experts, insurance companies, and more. You also have to be familiar with medical and legal terminology and procedures, since you’re handling aspects related to both. Medical terms should be familiar to you, and you should understand at least the basics of procedures like imaging scans or other tests, types of injuries, typical healing processes, and more. You don’t have to necessarily be a medical expert, just familiar enough with how these issues work. The same goes with legal terminology and procedures. From filing motions with the court to knowing what deadlines you’re under for certain parts of the case, it’s important that you’re able to navigate through these areas. Legal terminology should be second nature to you so you can answer questions from clients, attorneys, and others who might be involved in a case. Good legal case managers should also possess proficiency with the technology used to handle these cases. Attorney software, databases, and other programs make a legal professional’s life easier when they know how to use them effectively, and this should go for case managers as well. The best legal case managers understand the impact that their work has on a case and how they are there to help. Every detail may seem minor when looked at individually, but every little bit can help in a big way when added up, and good legal case managers always are keeping that in mind.
Responsibilities and Duties
A legal case manager’s day-to-day tasks can be as varied and complex as the cases their law firm handles, but many of their activities involve moving the client’s case forward whilst keeping communication open with all parties. They are often responsible for coordinating the movement of documents and evidence, arranging meetings between the case personnel, and logistically organizing deposition and trial processes. Many times, that involves working directly with, and actively seeking updates from, the client so that the information they have to pass along is always relevant and timely.
An example would be in a Personal Injury case – let’s say the law firm’s client is on a path toward receiving a settlement. The legal case manager in this scenario will be the one communicating directly with the client, checking for any changes to their medical status that need to be considered in the settlement negotiation. They will also be working to coordinate any updates from the insurance company to the law firm, and updating case management software with any new information, so attorneys have ready access to all relevant case details.
An increasingly common area of specialisation for legal case managers is Electronic Discovery (e-discovery). In fact, many law firms have a dedicated legal case manager for e-discovery alone. The document-heavy nature of e-discovery is a highly labour-intensive element of case management. It involves the retrieval, review, and production of electronically-stored information. This responsibility falls into the category of Electronic Discovery Management (EDM). Legal case managers involved in EDM will typically analyse and organize large volumes of material from documents and emails for the legal team, making it accessible and digestible. They might even manage metadata for review by the legal case management team, presenting highly-targeted information, and compiling internal documentation.
The previous examples have demonstrated how legal case managers act as project managers for individual cases. They are responsible for personally managing processes relating to specific legal matters and stakeholders. In a big picture sense, the legal case manager role is also about delegating duties among the broader supporting legal professionals they oversee. For instance, in the e-discovery example, the legal case manager is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the legal team has all the necessary case information at their disposal. They may appoint a paralegal to hand basic paperwork, and they could also delegate a specific part of the e-discovery task to the paralegal or associate.
How a Legal Case Manager Helps Law Firms
Armed with the knowledge that a higher number of cases in a law firm generally results in a more positive outcome, we can deduce that the inverse is also true: a higher number of cases leads to greater financial gain. The fine balance of managing the number of cases a firm carries at any given time requires the skillful ability of a legal case manager. Fostering the growth of a law firm to increase its overall potential mandates that efficient management of case files and thorough client service be of the utmost priority, as these are what drive cash flow. Clients remain at the heart of a business; therefore, tending to them with exceptional customer service makes the highest impact on generating loyal customers.
The fundamental objective of a legal case manager is to manage legal professionals’ caseloads, with a particular focus on solving problems. Legal cases begin from the moment a client reaches out to a law firm requesting legal services and extends through the firm’s delivery of those services. Since this can last for months or even years, having a point person to ensure the entire process is running smoothly minimizes the risk of gaps in service delivery. This role does not remove specific tasks from the legal professionals, but rather takes on specific assignments that keep them focused on their job.
At its most basic level, a legal case manager has the responsibility of organizing the elements of a case so that the case’s legal professional(s) do not have to. This includes building a timeline for executing the law firm’s legal service, tracking filing deadlines, keeping track of all correspondence, accounts and client records, doing whatever is within their purview to mitigate the risks of litigation, and providing extensive reporting to whoever needs to be kept informed.
How to Become a Legal Case Manager
Becoming a legal case manager often requires a unique career path that combines education, certification, and experience. The first step is typically to earn a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, such as business administration, paralegal studies, or criminal justice. While a specific concentration may not be necessary, coursework in areas like case management, legal terminology, and professional ethics can provide a strong foundation for a career as a legal case manager. In addition to formal education, many professionals choose to pursue certification to enhance their job prospects and demonstrate their expertise in the field. The Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (ALNC), for example, offers a certification exam that covers topics such as the legal system, anatomy and physiology , evidence and discovery, and malpractice. In terms of work experience, many legal case managers start their careers as paralegals or legal assistants, where they gain valuable skills in case management and client interaction. Other professionals may have backgrounds in nursing, forensics, or criminal justice. It is also common for legal case managers to participate in ongoing professional development through seminars, workshops, and conferences to stay up-to-date with the latest legal trends and technologies. With the right education, certifications, and experience, legal case managers can advance in their careers by taking on supervisory roles, specializing in a particular area of law, or transitioning into related fields such as legal nurse consulting or legal project management.
Legal Case Management Software and Technology
The technologies and tools employed by a legal case manager will ultimately depend on the size of the firm they are employed by and the type of legal cases that are being represented. Case management software has become increasingly important in legal case management, be it cloud based case management software, the use of Microsoft Office applications or accounting software like Quickbooks. Firms employing a legal case management software can expect some unique benefits, including:
In conjunction with case management software, communication and collaboration platforms ensure critical information is readily available and can be communicated between internal stakeholders and with clients. Applications like Slack and Microsoft Teams have greatly enhanced the ability for legal case managers to work closely with their colleagues, who may be working at different locations.
Legal case managers are the gatekeepers of information for either law firms or in-house legal departments and need to capture, classify and store information in a secure, easy manner. In addition to being responsible for legal information for current and background matters, case managers are responsible for the management of voluminous amounts of personal, financial and corporate information, requiring a firm understanding of the relevant privacy regulations.
As previously mentioned, while IT departments are not usually the responsibility of a legal case manager, a basic understanding of IT systems to facilitate reporting requests and processes will also be advantageous to the success of the legal case manager.
Challenges Legal Case Managers Face
The typical legal case manager is involved in group and individual matters from the very beginning of the engagement. Often times, these individuals are in charge of reporting and presenting potential issues to a client, while also helping them navigate through the litigation process, expenses, and general questions along the way. One challenge for legal case managers is the concept of how work is assigned and viewed within the firm. Often times, the case manager is reporting directly to an attorney who doesn’t always have an understanding of what the case manager does and what exactly it takes to get the case through the process. They only see the end-product of case management execution. So, if they request certain case management tasks be performed by a specific deadline but do not understand the amount of time it actually takes, they will inevitably be disappointed. When being asked why it took an hour to find a document or redraw an exhibit that they assume is easy to find and recreate, you may face an attempt to explain where their temporal expectations may have been unreasonable or had a lack of basis. Another challenge that oftentimes strikes behind the scenes is the concept of change management. Personally, I have spent almost 8 years in in-house litigation departments at major insurance companies. During this time I have been a case manager who oversaw thousands of pending claims litigation files each year. Adapting to new systems and procedures became somewhat second nature. When I joined an out-side litigation firm , I was surprised at the lack of internal policies and procedures directing where cases were to be filed and how files were remain organized. There were no case management guidelines or binders to instruct new employees. Everything was learned through on-the-job training and case management experience I had learned over the years in-house. The challenge presented itself when clients began to have issues with the disorganized nature of the files. As such, I was asked to take the lead in the restructuring of all current files, electronic and hard copy, and to implement a set of policies and procedures to help future employees organize their cases from day one. So what we basically learned from the challenges faced is that case managers have to learn and adapt quickly, often in regards to new firm procedures and standards. When expectations of attorneys and clients become unenforceable, case managers should take the initiative to explain why they cannot be meet and offer alternative solutions that would accomplish the same goal or objective. A major part of that responsibility is to realize that sometimes your capabilities and bandwidth will be stretched if the litigation is complex enough. Remaining organized and efficient in your time management is important to overcome challenges when they inevitably come.