KiMformation

I'll never forget, as a child growing up in New Orleans, one of four children of a firefighter, climbing onto the big, red fire engines and trucks, and running around the firehouses where Dad was stationed.  And I remember too well Dad coming home after fighting fires, exhausted and coughing up soot for days.  Or worse, swathed in scary, white bandages from burns he suffered, saving people's lives and protecting property.  It was those memories that conjured up, after all the years, when I recently opened an e-mail from my Dad, mysteriously and self-mockingly entitled, "How I Became a Museum Piece."  To it, Dad attached a copy of his letter to the Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum, in which he told a story about an old Ahrens-Fox pumper that he operated while with the N.O.F.D. in the '60s, and how he had stumbled upon that very same fire apparatus on display in the museum.  As a result of that letter, Dad's antique firefighters' helmet and uniform were placed on display in the museum, atop his beloved pumper.  By the end of Dad's letter to the museum, I had a lump in my throat the size of Texas, tears in my eyes, and my heart filled with pride and love.  I hope you enjoy reading Dad's letter to the museum (it's also on display at the museum), as well as the museum's poignant e-mailed response.

[NOTE:  Updated and revised since original post on 1/29/03.]

- Posted by Kim Plonsky - 9:09:02 PM - radio comments (past)  []

Every lawyer and paralegal I know hates tracking time (except, of course, the plaintiff lawyers and paralegals, who are by and large exempt from this onerous task).  And while I pride myself on being organized and efficient in most things office in general and paralegal in particular, time-keeping is one skill (okay, I can't answer phones, either -- well, I can, but, trust me, you would never want me to) that I can't seem to get a good grip on, even after all these years.  (Hey, I'm not a bean counter, I'm a producer!)

Yet, we all know how important it is to get our time input into the system (you know, so that you and everyone else at your firm can get paid).  Getting it done is another matter.  I'm curious to know how other paralegals are handling this chore.  (How most lawyers get it done is irrelevant to me, for a number of reasons.  For one, most lawyers have support staff, which allows them to both be more productive and to focus on bigger projects, resulting in fewer time entries.)  Specifically, I'd like to know:

1. Do you enter your time directly into your firm's time and billing system?
2. If so, do you enter the work as accomplished (all day, throughout the day), or periodically?
3. If you enter your time periodically, on what schedule do you enter it (daily, weekly, etc.)?
4. Do you enter your time by hand on a log, and then you or someone else enters it into your firm's time and billing system?
5. Do you type your time in a word-processing document as you go along, and then cut-and-paste it into your firm's time and billing system?
6. Do you dictate your time and have someone else enter/transcribe it?
7. Do you use voice-activated software to enter your time directly into your firm's time and billing system?
8. Do you re-construct (you know what I mean)?
9. How much time, in an average month, do you spend handling the time-keeping and -reporting task?
10. What system works best for you, regardless of whether you regularly practice such a system?

I'll tell if you will (in the name of finding a better way).

- Posted by Kim Plonsky - 6:07:02 AM - radio comments (past)  []

Hanging On for Dear Life . . . Literally A teenager was catapulted at least 25 feet in the air during an auto accident but grabbed onto overhead utility wires like an action hero and dangled for about 20 minutes before a rescue crew brought him down by ladder. [Foxnews]  Did you see the video of this on FoxNews?  Unbelievable!  I think it's a safe bet this kid will be wearing seat belts from now on . . .

- Posted by Kim Plonsky - 4:19:25 AM - radio comments (past)  []