A junior advocate falls ill on the evening before a hearing. The senior counsel is in another city. The matter file sits in the associate's bag at her home, and the cause-list shows the case at item twelve in the morning. By nine the chamber clerk is ringing everyone. By eleven the court has granted an adjournment, the client is angry, and the firm will not bill that day.
Courts do not wait for anyone's fever. Legal work has a calendar that other people set: listing dates, limitation periods, filing windows and closing deadlines on a deal. Planning for absence means planning for those fixed points.
Start with the dates that cannot move
Every firm has a diary, but the diary tells you what is due, not who can do it. Sort the next four weeks into three sets.
- Court dates: hearings, mentioning slots, arguments and cross-examination. Each needs a named advocate and a named backup.
- Filing dates: plaints, written statements, counter-affidavits, rejoinders, appeals, applications. Each needs a drafter, a checker and a clerk for e-filing or the registry counter.
- Deal dates: closings, data-room openings, redline rounds, stamping and registration appointments. Each needs a lead, a second and a runner.
A date with only one name against it is the real exposure. Make a list of such dates every Friday for the following week.
The matter file is the first line of defence
When a lawyer is away, the file must speak. A good matter file carries the cause title, the court and bench, the next date and its purpose, the last order, pending applications and a one-page status note. A vakalatnama, an affidavit draft and the latest pleading should sit where a colleague can lay hands on them in a minute.
Keep one status note for each matter, updated after every hearing. Two lines are enough: what happened, and what the next advocate must do. The habit costs five minutes. It saves the night before a hearing.
Build the cover, step by step
- 1
Pair each partner with a deputy
For every senior advocate or partner, name an associate who sits in on his key matters and knows the file. The pairing is on paper, not left to chance.
- 2
Share the cause-list check
A clerk or paralegal checks the next day's cause-list each afternoon and tells both the lead and the deputy where the matter stands.
- 3
Hold a short leave window
Ask for leave requests ten days ahead whenever a matter has a hearing in that period. Approve only when the deputy is free.
- 4
Arrange cover for the clerk
The chamber clerk holds the diary, the stamps and the court contacts. Teach a second person the same routine.
- 5
Keep a briefing sheet for borrowed counsel
When a colleague from another team steps in, hand him the status note, the last order and the three arguments you want made.
- 6
Debrief after the hearing
Whoever appeared writes the two-line note before leaving the court premises.
The support layer holds more than it seems
Partners notice when an advocate is away. They notice less when the paralegal who tracks the cause-list is away, or the typist who formats the paper book, or the runner who collects certified copies from the registry. Yet a missed certified copy can sink an application. A late paper book can cost a hearing date.
List the support tasks that touch a court or a registrar's counter. Beside each one, write two names. Train the second person on the real counter, not on a diagram. Let him go with the first person once, to see which window to approach and which clerk to greet.
Different practices, different gaps
- Litigation firms: the senior counsel's date overlap. Never accept two hearings in two benches at the same hour without a deputy named.
- Corporate law firms: deal teams during a closing week. Hold a rule that the second chair never takes leave with the lead.
- IP and trademark practices: the docket clerk watching renewal and opposition windows. Keep a second person on the reminder system.
- Property lawyers: the clerk who handles the sub-registrar visit, encumbrance search and stamp duty slip. Document the steps.
- Independent advocates: a sole practitioner needs a standing arrangement with a colleague for emergency appearance.
The pages for litigation firms and legal process outsourcing firms show how shift and leave planning looks in each setting. The wider list of sector pressure points is on the law firms overview. For design of rosters and leave, see our attendance and leave service.
Watch for the quiet gaps
- A junior who regularly works through the night before a hearing will be absent the day after.
- A typist or stenographer who holds all the drafting templates in one personal pen drive.
- A client who speaks to only one lawyer and expects replies from him alone.
- A partner who treats his own leave as exempt from the deputy rule.
