Devon Reyes
Devon writes about the day to day of running a small firm: intake, deadlines, and the systems that keep a practice calm.
How to Make Time Tracking a Habit Your Team Actually Keeps
Contemporaneous time capture is a behaviour, not a feature. Here is how to build routines that survive a busy litigation week without nagging your team.
Asking for Reviews Without Crossing the Line
A plain answer to the questions Canadian lawyers actually ask about soliciting reviews, framed around law society marketing rules and client confidentiality.
The Intake Call That Builds Trust in Ten Minutes
An intake coordinator walks us through the exact phrasing that makes a caller feel understood, long before anyone says a word about the retainer.
Talking to Clients About Costs Before They Get the Bill
A composite client story about the early honest conversation on costs exposure and cost awards that changes decisions and builds trust before the bill lands.
Why E Signatures Became the New Baseline for Client Trust
Secure sharing and e signatures moved from a nice convenience to a plain client expectation. Here is what that shift signals for firms still emailing PDFs.
Clearing the Monday Backlog by Noon
The Monday pile-up is mostly made on Thursday and Friday. Here is the structure that gets you through the backlog by noon, and the harder truth about what causes it in the first place.
Quarterly Goals That Fit a Small Firm
Annual plans stall by March. Here is a ninety day cycle built for a firm of two to ten, with goals tied to the hours you actually have.
Most Recurring Meetings Should Be Written Updates
Meeting bloat is a status habit, not a communication need. Here is a firm wide default that respects everyone's time: no meeting without a decision to make.
Delegation Logs: Knowing Who Owns What at Your Firm
Ambiguity about ownership is the quiet killer of firm productivity. A simple delegation log fixes more than any meeting ever will, and it costs you almost nothing.
How to Track Limitation Periods So Nothing Slips Through
A step-by-step system for capturing every limitation date at intake, then layering reminders so a missed deadline never turns into a malpractice claim.
The Friday Reset That Actually Sticks
One sole practitioner tried six planning systems before landing on a twenty minute Friday ritual that survived every busy season without falling apart.
Walking Into a Case Conference Prepared, Not Just Present
A working checklist for family case conferences: what to file, what to concede, and what to ask the judge for so the date actually moves your file forward.
When the Other Side Has No Lawyer
A seasoned litigator on handling self-represented opposing parties fairly and effectively, without compromising your own client or crossing an ethical line.
Why Small Firms Are Finally Going Paperless This Year
Paperless used to be a slogan. Now e-filing rules, cheaper cloud storage, and remote work have quietly turned it into the default for small Canadian firms.
Building a Firm Wiki People Actually Open
Every firm has a wiki. Most of it is in people's heads. Here is how to build one that is small enough to maintain, useful enough to trust, and structured so people actually open it.
How One Two-Lawyer Firm Cut Its Admin Load in Half
A small litigation practice spent one quarter trimming administrative busywork. Here is what they stopped doing, what they kept human, and where they actually landed.
A Monthly File Review Habit That Catches Problems Early
A repeatable monthly ritual for scanning your open matters, surfacing stalled files, upcoming dates, and quiet risks before any of them grow into a real problem.
Talking About Legal Fees Plainly
The money questions clients are too nervous to ask, and plain language ways to answer them before the retainer runs low or the bill comes as a surprise.
Making Sense of Expert Reports Without Getting Lost
How to instruct, read, and challenge expert reports in a family or civil file, from the retainer letter to the line between honest opinion and advocacy.
Cutting the Cost of Context Switching in a Legal Day
Every time you move from one matter to another, your brain pays a reload cost. In a day with twelve interruptions, that adds up to hours of lost output. Here is how to reduce it.
The Complete Guide to Running a Small Firm on A1 CMS
A guided tour of every part of A1 CMS and how the pieces fit together, from intake and matters to billing, trust, growth, and the client experience.
When Clients Know You Will Reply: Setting Response Time Expectations
Publishing an honest response window builds more trust than pretending to be instantly available. Here is why to name your window and how to hold the line without guilt.
Your Conflict Check Probably Has Gaps
Most small-firm conflict checks are single-name searches that miss the parties who matter. Here is what a genuinely protective process looks like instead.
Managing a Waitlist Without Losing Good Clients
A waitlist that lives in your head is not a waitlist. Here is what a real one needs: a written record, honest estimates, regular check-ins, and a clear way out for people who cannot wait.
A Clean File Opening Process, Explained Start to Finish
A plain answer to what a proper file opening process includes, who should own it, and why each step protects the firm before any real work begins.
Planning the Firm Year Without the January Wishlist
A managing lawyer talks through setting firm goals that survive past January, tying the annual plan to weekly habits and honest capacity.
The matter intake checklist that saves you an afternoon
Consistent intake prevents the gaps that cost you time later. Here is the short list of things worth capturing on day one, and what can safely wait.
Building a Chronology That Actually Works on a Family File
A dated chronology pulls a scattered family file into order you can argue from. Here is how to build one that serves both settlement and trial.
Keeping Your Contacts and Parties List Clean and Conflict Ready
A practical checklist for keeping your parties and contacts database accurate, so conflict checks and correspondence never rest on stale or duplicated data.
The Paperwork Trail Behind a Clean Consent Order
A handshake settlement is not an order. Here is every document, recital, and signature the registry wants before it will turn your agreement into something enforceable.
Closing a Small Firm for a Week Without Chaos
The first time we closed the firm for a full week, we came back to a mess we mostly made ourselves. Here is what we changed so the second time ran quietly.
Build a Matter Numbering System That Scales With Your Firm
A step by step guide to designing a matter naming and numbering convention that stays legible after five thousand files and survives staff turnover.
The Disbursements Checklist Every Civil File Needs
A running checklist of every disbursement category on a civil matter, with tips for tracking the small costs clients forget were ever incurred.
Fewer Decisions, Better Firm
Decision fatigue wears firm owners down. Learn how default rules, delegation budgets, and templates remove dozens of small daily choices so your best judgment goes where it counts.
Stop Answering Every Message the Second It Arrives
Instant reply culture is quietly harming lawyers and clients alike. Predictable, structured responsiveness serves everyone better than being available around the clock.
Taking Over a File Someone Else Started
Taking over a file someone else started requires a deliberate first week. Here is the checklist for getting the record straight, contacting the client, and making the file yours.
The Conversation Nobody Wants: Turning an Unhappy Client Around
One tense call went sideways before it recovered. Here is what actually changed the moment the client stopped fighting and started to feel heard again.
Practical Ways to Reduce Consultation No Shows
A checklist of small, low cost changes to reminders, booking, and framing that measurably cut the number of consultation clients who never arrive.
A Calm Way to Tame a Chaotic Inbox of Tasks
One litigator explains the simple capture and sort ritual she uses to process an overwhelming task list every morning without panic or dropped balls.
A New Matter Kickoff Your Whole Team Follows
The first day of a new file sets everything that follows. Here is what a team-wide matter kickoff actually needs to include, and how to make it run the same way every time.
Explaining Next Steps So Clients Feel Calm, Not Confused
Clarity about the road ahead is the single biggest driver of client calm. Here is why lawyers underinvest in it and how to fix that.
Surviving the Busy Season Without Burning Out
How a small real estate practice rode out its spring closing surge with smart triage, temporary help, and a recovery week that stopped the next crisis before it started.
Staying Calm Is a Skill, Not a Personality Trait
Composure on high conflict family files is not a gift some lawyers are born with. It is a professional discipline you can build with real guardrails.
When the Motion Cannot Wait Until Monday
A narrative walk through a genuinely urgent motion, from the Friday afternoon call to the order, and what you can safely let fall away when the clock is against you.
The Docketing System That Never Lets a Deadline Slip
Missed deadlines are a systems failure, not a discipline failure. Here is what a defence grade docketing culture actually looks like in a busy firm.
What Calendaring Court Dates Really Involves
The real questions behind calendaring appearances and filing deadlines: buffer days, double entry, who owns which date, and what to do when the court moves it.