Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Employee Handbook
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& Standard Office Procedures
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Shin Law Group
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Table of Contents
Policy Statements
Hours of Operation
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Tardiness & Absenteeism
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Sick Days
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Office Equipment
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Computers
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Internet
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Cell Phones
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Dress Code
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Discrimination
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Sexual Harassment
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Theft
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Employee Evaluation
Performance Review
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Disciplinary Process & Procedure
........................................................................... 9
Office Management
Confidentiality
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Client Intake
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Consultation Fee
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Client Conflicts Check
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Calendaring & Scheduling
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File Management
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Client Questions
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Appendix
Client Intake Form
Retainer Agreements
Termination Notices
Emergency Contact
Password Matrix
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Employee Handbook & Standard Office Procedures
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Policy Statements
Hours of Operation
Shin Law Firm operates between 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Reporting for work regularly and on time is essential to the Firm’s operations. If an
employee is experiencing personal situations which may hinder reporting to work on time
each day or may require significant absences, that employee is encouraged to to discuss
the situation with management.
Shin Law Firm expects all employees to be diligently responsible for their daily
attendance and promptness. Recognizing, however, that illnesses and injuries may occur,
the Firm has established a sick leave plan to compensate full-time regular employees for
certain time lost for legitimate medical reasons, including time off to secure necessary
treatment for an illness or disability.
If you are unable to work because of illness, you must notify your supervisor as early as
possible or by 8:30 a.m. on each day of your absence. Failure to properly notify the Firm
may result in an unexcused absence. Absenteeism that is unexcused or excessive in the
judgment of the Firm is grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
Tardiness is detrimental to the efficiency of the operation of the Firm. Employees must
notify their supervisor if they anticipate being late to work. Employees are expected to
arrive at work on time, to return to work from breaks and lunch promptly, and to work to
the conclusion of their regular scheduled day. An employee who is unavoidably detained
must phone his or her supervisor to advise him or her of the fact. Tardiness that is
unexcused or excessive in the judgment of the Firm, or leaving work early without
permission, are grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
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Sick Days
Shin Law Firm recognizes that the inability to work because of illness or injury may
cause economic hardship. The Firm also recognizes that employees may require time off
to secure necessary treatment for an illness or disabilities. For these reasons, the Firm
provides paid sick days to full-time regular employees.
Eligible employees accrue sick days at the rate of one-half day per month to a maximum
of six days every calendar year. Sick days may not be carried over from one calendar year
to the next, and no payments are made for accrued unused sick days at the end of any
calendar year or in the event of termination.
Office Equipment
Shin Law Firm provides the necessary equipment to perform your work. None of this
equipment should be used for personal use, nor removed from the physical confines of
the Firm unless it is approved by management and your job specifically requires use of
Firm equipment outside the office.
The telephone lines at the Firm must remain open for business calls and to service our
clients. Employees are discouraged from making or receiving any personal calls with the
exception of emergency calls. No long distance calls are to be made which are not strictly
business related.
Computers
To circumvent problems with the Firm's computers due, in part, to the unauthorized
installation of certain programs, do not download programs from the internet without first
receiving permission from your supervisor. Furthermore, to limit problems associated
with computer viruses (trojan horses, malware, spyware, etc.), do not open any
attachments from unknown or suspicious e-mail addresses.
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Internet
Like other Firm resources, internet access is first and foremost made available for
conducting Firm-related business. Internet access should be used for client matters,
scheduling, collaboration, business development, and associated research.
The Firm recognizes that use of the internet for personal use may be necessary, just as
personal telephone calls from the office may be necessary. However, personal use of the
Firm’s internet access should be limited and is only permitted subject to this policy.
Prohibited Uses:
Internet Privacy:
The Firm does not routinely monitor users in their internet-related activities.
Nevertheless, all users are put on notice that the Firm tracks internet usage and is
aware of which sites are visited by which users.
Accordingly, no user of the Firm’s internet access resources has (or should expect
to have) any expectation of privacy. The Firm specifically reserves the right (from
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The Firm also reserves the right to disclose to other persons or otherwise use the
contents of any internet communication or any other electronic communications
or file for any of the foregoing purposes, as well as for the purposes of complying
with or assisting law enforcement officials or legal authorities who may, by
subpoena, search warrant or otherwise, seek review of such communications, or
for the purposes of litigation or other legal proceedings.
Cell Phones
The use of a personal cell phone while at work may present a distraction to the employee
and to fellow employees. Unless otherwise authorized, employees may only use personal
cell phones for an emergency. To the extent authorized or as the circumstances may
warrant, cell phone use should be limited to making telephone calls and not used for
texting or other services.
Dress Code
Although the Firm has customarily recognized a “Casual Friday” dress code, the dress
code for Fridays shall be business-casual attire and, as such, the wearing of t-shirts, jeans,
or sneakers are prohibited. This is necessary in presenting and maintaining a professional
image as the Firm can expect to receive clients on Fridays.
Discrimination
Shin Law Firm is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not tolerate discrimination in
any aspect of our employment relationships including hiring, termination, promotion,
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training, compensation or benefits, based on race, sex, age, religion, creed, color, national
origin, handicap, martial status, sexual preference, or pregnancy.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment in any form by anyone will not be tolerated. For purposes of this
policy, sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome or unwanted advances, requests for
sexual favors and any other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
Theft
Stealing from the Firm or from other employees will not be tolerated. Equipment and
materials may not be removed from Firm premises or otherwise misappropriated for
personal use without management approval.
Stealing is grounds for immediate termination and may cause the company to bring
criminal charges against the employee.
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Employee Evaluation
Performance Review
The Firm’s management reviews employees in two general areas: 1). performance of
major duties and responsibilities and 2). contributing factors. Inspection of the
Performance Review form will help in understanding the two areas. Job functions are
specific to a given position in the Firm; contributing factors are applicable to all positions
in the Firm.
Method of Review:
A meeting between the employee and the management is held to allow all parties
to critique the documentation of the review. At this time, all parties will try and
reach an agreement as to the conclusions of the review and any future actions that
have to be taken. If training is decided upon, its character and schedule is
established; if performance improvement is the outcome, the needed remedial
action is determined. If advancement is planned, its schedule and direction is
established. The employee may be advised that performance is acceptable and no
other action is required.
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Poor (1) — Does not meet the minimum requirements of the job.
Shin Law Firm attempts to provide employees who violate policies or exhibit
unsatisfactory job performance an opportunity to comply with contractual employment
requirements by means of progressive disciplinary actions.
Employees are expected to abide by the established rules and policies of their
departments. To enable them to do this, supervisor must develop clear and reasonable
departmental policies and performance expectations, investigate the circumstances of
apparent policy or rule violations or unsatisfactory performance and take disciplinary
action, and ensure that prompt, consistent disciplinary action is administered.
The intent of this policy is to use a series of progressive disciplinary actions when
appropriate as a means to assist and encourage employees to correct their conduct and to
achieve satisfactory work performance. Violations of the the Firm’s rules against
discrimination and sexual harassment may result in specific disciplinary measures,
including immediate discharge.
Progressive Discipline:
Procedures:
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A written warning shall explicitly state that it is a “written warning” and shall
specify that further disciplinary action will ensue if the employee fails to achieve
a satisfactory level of performance. A written warning shall also include notice to
the employee that it is subject to the dispute resolution procedure, if applicable. A
copy shall be sent to the employee’s personnel file.
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Following the above, the affected employee shall be notified verbally of:
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Office Management
Confidentiality
No employee of the Firm shall divulge any information regarding any case or any client
that is learned or discovered through the attorney-client relationship to anyone who is not
duly associated with the Firm.
Client Intake
Every prospective client must, at a minimum, fill out all of the identifying questions on
the Client Intake Form. This is necessary for properly identifying the client as well as
identifying any potential client conflicts.
Consultation Fee
Unless otherwise waived by the Firm, every initial consultation with a prospective client
will be assessed a fee of $100.00, payable at the time of the consultation.
File Management
Client Questions
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Unless otherwise qualified to do so, an employee of the Firm shall not answer questions
of a legal nature—either in person, in any correspondence, or over the phone—asked by a
client or prospective client. Such employee shall defer from answering and direct the
person to an appropriate attorney within the Firm.
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Appendix
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