The second edition of the Attorneys' Guide, like the first, is a joint project of the State Bar of the Texas Standing Committee on Legal Assistants, which is composed primarily of attorneys; the Legal Assistants Division, the legal assistants' own organization within the state bar; and the State Bar of Texas Professional Development Program, which produces legal educational seminars and materials. Work on the revision was undertaken chiefly by a team composed of Gerry Malone of Hildebrandt, Inc., as Editor in Chief, legal administrator Karol McVay (formerly a legal assistant), and attorney Thomas R. Dixon.
As with the original Attorneys' Guide, the second edition is an excellent nuts-and-bolts manual for attorneys and firms wishing to employ legal assistants to most effectively accomplish the work of the law firm while maximizing profits. The Guide is an invaluable resource for firms desiring to employ legal assistants for the first time, as well as for those wishing to improve established programs. Every aspect of employing legal assistants is covered in the Guide, from the economic benefits to be gained thereby, to recruiting legal assistants and establishing their compensation, to ethical matters involved in the employment of legal assistants.
The Attorneys' Guide is a helpful resource for legal assistants, as well as for attorneys. Covered in the Guide are such topics as the history of the legal assistant movement, legal assistant status in the law firm, and legal assistant salaries.
Valuable appendices are provided in the second edition of the Guide, which are themselves worth the price of the book. These include comprehensive job descriptions for twenty-six paralegal specialty areas, performance review materials, and a sample project assignment form.
A minor annoyance with the first edition of the Attorneys' Guide was pagination featuring separately-numbered pages in each chapter. This sometimes made it difficult to locate materials. This has been remedied in the second edition, which has sequential numbering throughout the book. An index would be a welcome addition to future editions of the Guide, though the detailed table of contents provided in the second edition assists in locating desired materials.
The Attorneys' Guide to Practicing With Legal Assistants [2nd ed.] is one of the best works of its kind currently available in the United States, and is highly recommended for both legal assistants and attorneys.