The numbers from Bell and Lampasas Counties suggest that we need “9.5” district court judicial officers, while we supposedly only have “6.5” (here, page 46).  The explanation for this, according to the report, is that we are among the top twenty or so counties who have the highest average populations served per district court.

The most obvious question, then, is – who is our “.5” judicial officer that we already have?

The next most obvious question is – where are we going to put the three new judges?  The district courthouse is done, and the county is almost finished.  I understand that there will be a couple of extra county courtrooms available.  I don’t suppose there would be any problem with putting a district court on the “county court side” of the new courthouse. 

Or, maybe we could get two more county judges and just give them jurisdiction over all family law cases.  That would certainly free up the district courts!

Even more interesting is that in the Western District of Texas, there were a total of 7,232 convictions.  Of those, 98.7% pled guilty and a mere 1.3% went to trial.

By comparison, in Texas state court 97.3% of felony convictions were the result of a guilty plea and 2.7% of convictions resulted from a trial. 

So why aren’t more federal defendants in this part of Texas going to trial? 

It can’t be because the prosecutors are recommending lower sentences, because they aren’t.  In fact, given that in almost all cases the judges of the Western District sentenced lower than the national average, maybe losing that “acceptance of responsibility” reduction isn’t that big of a deal!

For example, the United States Sentencing Commission publishes quarterly and annual reports on federal sentencing averages.  This is useful information for someone who might be wondering what the average sentence for a federal drug trafficking offense might be (83.2 months nationally, while only 46.5 months in the Western District).

And that leads to an interesting observation:  a defendant in the Western District of Texas is likely to find more mercy from the judge than from the Department of Justice.

In almost every category of offense, the Western District of Texas gives lower average sentences than the rest of the nation (here, page 10).  The four notable exceptions are the offense categories of Embezzlement, Forgery, Bribery, and Tax.

However, where the Western District lags behind the rest of the nation is in government sponsored below range sentences.  Nationally, US Attorneys ask for below range sentences in 25.6% of all cases (that’s one out of four!).  In the Western District, though, the government only seeks reduced sentences in 9.5% of all cases (that’s one out of ten!) (here, page 11).

Nationally, federal judges sentence above the guideline range in 1.5% of all cases, and Western District judges sentence above the guideline range in 1.8% of all cases.

So, for the average defendant in the Western District of Texas, that defendant probably shouldn’t fear the judge – but rather, the prosecutor.

In my experience, a law firm’s receptionist is the single most important employee in the firm.  Sure, a law firm obviously needs lawyers; and those lawyers often need legal assistants, secretaries, bookkeepers, accountants and even office managers.  However, it is the receptionist who greets the firm’s callers.  She, or he, is most often the first person a potential new client talks to.  The receptionist is also the gatekeeper, one who must ensure that only the right calls get through at the right time.

A receptionist can easily make or break a firm.  That is why I have been using Ruby Receptionists for the past few months, and will continue to use them from now on.  Having now completed my second paid month, I wanted to report on my great satisfaction with this fantastic service. 

Ruby is more than just an answering service, they are my receptionists (though it just so happens in this case that my receptionists show up for work in Portland, Oregon).  Ruby answers my phones as if they were actually in my office, though.  In fact, I have found Ruby Receptionists to be so good at their job, that I have forgotten that they were not actually in my office on more than one occasion!  That is why you will see me refer to this wonderful service just simply as “Ruby.”  I have come to think of Ruby as a singular, always present and pleasant employee.

The way it works is explained best on the Ruby Receptionists website.  Basically, though, I forward my incoming phone line to a special toll-free number which Ruby arranged for me.  I could give out this toll-free number, but I already had a toll-free number setup to forward to my incoming main line so I just continue to give that toll-free number out to everyone.

When someone calls my main number the call is automatically forwarded to Ruby’s call center in Portland, Oregon.  Ruby promptly answers the call with a greeting of my choice.  Ruby knows whether I am available or not because I send an email to Ruby anytime my status changes.  Ruby also has a set of default “call handling rules” which I created at the time I started using Ruby.  The rules can be changed at any time, either temporarily or permanently.  All it takes is a quick phone call to my own number to speak with Ruby, or an email to Ruby at any time.

As an aside, I have found that setting up an “auto text” entry in my Blackberry works great for updating Ruby on my status.  I have customized my Blackberry so that I simply have to type #r and then press the space bar on my Blackberry to have it create an email with all of the available status choices already there.  I just delete what does not apply and I am left with a great form email that explains where I will be, for how long, and how to reach me (if I can be, or want to be, reached).

When I am at the office, Ruby calls me on my second phone line (my “Line Two”).  Ruby can not call on Line One, though, because that line is forwarded to Ruby.  I do make my own outgoing calls on Line One, though.  This is so that Line Two will remain available for Ruby to call me.  I am a solo attorney, and I only have two phone lines plus a fax line.  If you only had one phone line, then I suppose you would have to use a cell phone to receive the calls from Ruby.  If you have a good Bluetooth headset, that might not be that bad of an idea, though.

When I am out of the office, Ruby can call my cell phone.  While I usually do not like speaking with clients on my cell phone (since I do not have a client file there in front of me to answer any real questions), it can be useful if I am expecting a particular call or if I have decided to sneak out to do some quick shopping and I would rather not shut the whole office down.  When I am at home, Ruby can call my home phone.

Regardless of where I am, when I answer a call from Ruby a friendly voice identifies herself by name and states that she is a receptionist for Ruby.  She then tells me the name of the caller she has on hold.  While we are discussing who the caller is and why the person is calling (Ruby will ask whatever questions I want Ruby to ask the caller, depending on the type of caller), the caller is listening to pleasant “hold” music.  I mention this only because I’ve had a couple of clients mention it to me.  When was the last time a client commented favorably on your hold music?  Apparently during the holidays, they were treated to some nice seasonal tunes.

If I agree to speak with the caller there is a seamless, noiseless, and instant transfer of the call to me.  Just as soon as Ruby finishes saying “here s/he is”, the caller and I are connected.  If I decide not to take the call, I can direct Ruby to take a message or I can have Ruby deliver a message if the caller just needs an answer to a quick question.  I could also have Ruby forward the caller to my voicemail, but then I’d have to listen to the message and return the call only after doing so.

Of course, oftentimes I am in court and unavailable for almost all calls.  For those situations, Ruby knows to not even bother trying to reach me–that is, unless it is a judge or other court personnel, Ruby will always attempt to track me down for that type of phone call.  That is just one of the many call handling rules I have set up.  If I wanted to have a rule that says a fellow attorney’s calls always get through regardless of any other rule, Ruby can do that (and that actually is one of my handling rules).  The possibilities are endless.

Whenever Ruby takes a message for me, I receive an email from Ruby which provides me with the name of the caller, the caller’s telephone number which the caller provided, the caller’s actual phone number from Caller ID if it is different from what the caller provided, and the message from the caller.  Because the call goes to Ruby over a toll-free number, the number shows up on Caller ID even if the caller tried to block it.  This is a little-known benefit to having a toll-free number.

The email message is also a great written memorialization of the call which can be easily attached to a client’s electronic case file (or printed out and stuck in the client’s file).  Plus, if the caller is asking something I know the answer to, I can simply reply to the email and ask Ruby to call the person back and deliver a response.  What a time saver!  I can not count the number of times I have sat in court waiting for a case to start, and I have used Ruby to satisfy a client’s desire to have an immediate response regarding some simple question.  I have turned what would have been wasted time sitting in a courtroom into productive, and billable, time.

Even better, I can send a list of calls which I would like Ruby to make, and she will.  For example, each time I have a busy court week I email a list of client names, phone numbers, and the corresponding court dates and times.  Ruby then calls each person and reminds them of their upcoming court date and the need to be there.  Once she is done, I get a full report back by email of who answered, who was left a message, and who says they can not show up that day!  I then attach the report to each person’s electronic case file and I then have documentation showing each person’s knowledge regarding the need to be in court.

Probably the greatest benefit of using Ruby is that my clients absolutely love speaking with her!  My callers get a real-live person listening to them, and assisting them with their problems.  In my experience, clients hate leaving voicemail almost as much as I hate listening to it.  Also, my clients usually get a response from me, through Ruby, a heck of a lot faster than they would get if they had to wait until the end of the day for me to check my voicemail or to read a bunch of pink message slips, and then reply.  Even if I do not have the exact answer for a client, a quick return call from Ruby saying that I have acknowledged their inquiry and will expect to have an answer to them at a specific time does wonders for client satisfaction.

In fact, since I started using Ruby, I believe that my clients’ satisfaction with my firm has gone up tremendously.  I hear compliments about Ruby all of the time.  I especially hear compliments from fellow attorneys and judges who love the professionalism Ruby brings to every one of my calls.  So far, only a few fellow attorneys have figured out that Ruby is not actually in my office.  One figured it out because, as he later explained to me, “no receptionist that good would work in a town this small.”

Ruby is also always pleasant, regardless of whatever mood the caller is in.  Of course, Ruby does not hesitate to let me know about a caller’s impatience or bad attitude on the occasion when that happens, but that is exactly what I need to know.  She also puts comments about other impressions she gathers from speaking with the caller, if relevant (i.e. “she seemed anxious”, “she sounded worried”, “she commented that she did not expect you to call her back today”, et cetera).

Plus, when Ruby connects a call to me, she always sounds so happy!  It is like she actually enjoys being able to connect the call to me!  That is astounding!  I have never had a receptionist as pleasant and joyful as Ruby is every single time!  Ruby apparently never gets “a case of the Mondays” or otherwise has a bad day.  Incredible!  I have to wonder what they put in the water there in Portland, and I wish I could import some of that magic elixir here for my own use!

One of the other greatest things about Ruby (and yes, I know I keep saying the next thing is the greatest thing, but there are just so many great things) is that she works from 7am until 8pm every Monday though Friday (Central Standard Time).  And on Saturdays she works from 11am until 8pm.  After hours and on Sundays, the calls go to a voice mailbox.  Or, I could just un-forward the phone and answer the calls myself.  Keep in mind, too, that Ruby does not take smoke breaks or ask for time off.  She is working constantly, answering my incoming phone calls–even during lunch!  How many receptionists would I have to hire to get this type of telephone coverage day-in and day-out?  At least three, if not four! 

How does Ruby do it?  She has at least 21 receptionists answering my calls, that’s how!  Each one tells me her name when she connects a call to me, and the Ruby website gives a short biographical note on each of them.  What an interesting group of people!  Each one of them alone would be the single best employee I could ever find, and together they form an unbeatable team.

Naturally, one would assume that a service as great as this is prohibitively expensive.  However, I have found the opposite to be true.  I have had in-office receptionists before, many of them.  Before Ruby, that was the only option.  However, I noticed Ruby’s advertising in the Texas Bar Journal some time last year.  I did a lot of research and I liked what I discovered about Ruby.  Ruby has been around for years, and she is not going away anytime soon.  She also has an excellent history of working with small businesses, especially small law firms.

I told myself that the next time I needed a new receptionist, I was going to try out Ruby.  So, when my last receptionist quit suddenly, I needed someone answering those phones quickly!  I called Ruby, and within two days I was forwarding my phone calls and starting my free trial.

Now, granted, I will admit that nothing beats having an actual person in the office to be that “first face” a client sees when they walk in the door.  Also, someone needs to be in the office to speak with visitors when I am not present.  Documents and paperwork just have to be dropped off and picked up sometimes.  Most importantly, payments need to be made.  However, there is no reason that this point-of-contact person has to be the receptionist.  It could just as easily be a legal assistant, or the office manager.  There is just no justification anymore for an on-site receptionist given the quality of service which Ruby provides, not to mention the cost-savings realized by outsourcing that position.

Figure that even paying the minimum wage for a receptionists (and good luck keeping the receptionist if that is all you are willing to pay) at $7.25 an hour.  At that rate, you would pay $290 a week for a 40-hour work week.  Add on the 8.63% that a small business employer pays in taxes over-and-above the hourly rate, and it will cost you $315.03 a week for that 40 hours of receptionist work.  That turns in to $1,365.14 a month, on average.  And that is minimum wage for one employee!

Ruby, on the other hand, costs significantly less.  There are three pricing plans available.  The first option includes only 100 receptionists minutes, and costs $199/month (that is $1.99 for every minute that Ruby herself is working a call).  The second includes 200 receptionists minutes, and it costs $329/month (or, $1.65 a receptionist minute).  The final option includes 500 receptionists minutes, and costs $669/month.  At that rate, it is supposed to be $1.34 a minute for actual receptionist time, though my calculations indicate it may be lower in actual use.

I selected the third option, as I knew I would use at least 500 minutes of receptionist time each month.  Ruby keeps a log of every phone call and message, which is a nice backup tool.  Mainly, though, it helps me analyze how I am using the service.  The following chart shows the number of phone calls I made and received during my first two months of paying for Ruby.  The number in the center indicates the number of calls I received on that day of the week, during each of the last eight weeks which I have been paying for Ruby:

I leave the phones forwarded all of the time, even after hours and on weekends.  So, these numbers also include voicemail calls as well.  Of the 945 calls my firm received during November and December 2009:  646 messages were taken and emailed to me [68%], 246 were connected to me at the office [26%], 41 went to voicemail because it was after hours [4%], 10 were connected to my cell phone [1%], and 2 were hang-up calls [<1%].

A wonderful thing about Ruby, though, is that I only pay Ruby when Ruby herself is working.  Voicemail calls do not cost a cent.  Nor does the time I spend talking to my callers after the call is connected.  Only the actual time that the receptionist is either making or receiving a call and connecting it does it count.  And, Ruby bills in thirty second increments!

My first paying month (after the expiration of my actual first month which was part of the free trial period, though that trial period is now a 14-day trial period instead of the month I received) was November and I used 505.5 receptionist minutes.  The cost was $656.10, partly because my service was prorated because the free trial did not end until the fifth day of November.  As a result, I was billed starting on the 6th day of the month.  During this past month, December, I used 704.5 minutes.  The cost was $844.17, though that bill included the one-time $95 initial setup fee which was assessed after I decided to keep using the service after the first thirty days.

As you can see, instead of paying one minimum-wage earning receptionist $1,400 a month at the very least, I pay Ruby about half of that amount.  And, I get thirteen hours a day during the work-week, and nine hours on Saturdays, of receptionist availability.  That is 74 hours a week, instead of a mere 40 that the one receptionist could provide.  In a month, Ruby gives me over 320 hours of receptionist availability!  If I had to pay Ruby the federal minimum wage for all of that availability, it would cost me over $2,500 a month!

Further, if you count all of the hours that Ruby is available to receive a call; even with the $844.17 cost for the month of December, I actually paid an effective hourly wage of just $2.43 an hour for every hour that she was ready to help (with deducting for that that 8.63% employer tax).

This is important to keep in mind because as we all know, in the typical small law firm the phones are, unfortunately, not ringing off the wall most days.  Just look at the chart above.  One day I received 60 calls, but on another I received only 7 (the day with zero calls was Christmas, the day with one call was Thanksgiving). 

The average call volume for me is 17 calls per day.  Or, if you only count work days, it is an average of 22 calls per day Monday through Friday.  The average call took 1.28 minutes of receptionist time.  That is a total of 28.16 minutes of receptionist time that I have to pay Ruby for each day.  But, with a traditional receptionist I would be paying for a full eight hours—even though the receptionist would be sitting there with nothing to do for 7.5 hours.  With Ruby, unlike with the typical small firm receptionist, I am not paying Ruby to sit around and read magazines or surf the internet for the majority of time each day.  I only pay Ruby when she is actually working for me!

One other thing that bears mentioning is how thoughtful Ruby is.  Of course, this also shows that Ruby is a master of marketing, as well.  During the free trial period, I received a box with a free coffee mug and some coasters—all with the Ruby logo.  It’s a great mug, and I’m glad to use it every day.  Plus, I received at least one note in the mail every day or two from one Ruby or another during those first few weeks.  Each one welcomed me to the Ruby family. 

The cards were small handwritten cards, and each had something nice to say about how much they appreciated me.  Ruby appreciates me?  That’s the craziest idea ever—do they not realize that I appreciate them far more than they could ever appreciate me?!?!  I should be sending them thank you cards every day of the week. 

Also, I should point out that it really is more than just a marketing gimmick.  One Friday morning about a month ago, I had a small automobile accident.  While waiting on law enforcement to show up, I emailed Ruby that I was going to take the rest of the day off to get the car in the repair shop and line-up a rental car.  Imagine my surprise when a few days later I received a hand-written sympathy card in the mail from the Ruby I had communicated with!

During the first 30 days of service, you can cancel Ruby at any time without notice.  After the first 30 days, though, Ruby does require a thirty day notice of cancellation.  Other than that, though, there is no commitment.  It is strictly month-to-month.  I suppose I would be billed a prorated portion of a month for that final part of the 30 days, but I do not intend to ever have to find this out for sure.  I would not quit using Ruby if I had a free receptionists walk in the door right now!

To be fair, I should address the negatives of Ruby, as well.  I have only had one problem, though it has occurred a few times.  On a few occasions, Ruby has managed to get a name wrong.  It is usually close enough that I can figure out who the caller was, or the caller will let me know when I ask for the wrong person when returning a call if it was someone I was not familiar with.  Admittedly, even with normal in-office reception work this is a common mistake.  So, I do not count the occasional mistake by Ruby to be a significant problem. 

On the other hand, I do practice in Central Texas.  As a result of this, I have a fair number of clients who only speak Spanish.  For this reason, I usually have tried to hire a Spanish-speaking receptionist.  As best as I can tell, not too many people in Portland, Oregon, speak Spanish, though.  This has not been a big issue thus far, but it would be a nice addition to Ruby’s repertoire if she could find at least one Spanish speaking receptionist.  Until then, Ruby can simply automatically forward those calls to my legal assistant for direct handling by her.

As I am sure you have already gathered, I enthusiastically endorse and highly recommend Ruby Receptionists.  They have chosen to specialize in answering calls, and I truly believe they are the best in the business.  The next time you find yourself in need of a telephone receptionist, give Ruby a try. 

Even better, Ruby would be a great service to have on stand-by even if you have an in-office receptionist right now.  That’s because Ruby can always take calls for you whenever your receptionist is on break, at lunch, enjoying a Saturday off, or is out of the office on vacation.  Ruby would be a fantastic back-up receptionist, ready to fill-in at a moment’s notice.  All you would have to do is forward your phone when you need her, and un-forward when you are done.

The truth is that I do not intend to ever hire a receptionist again.  I would rather have a legal assistant up front to greet whoever walks in the door.  I much prefer to have Ruby take all of the firm’s calls, and then forward them to the appropriate person.  That way, my callers will always receive a prompt and pleasant greeting from a true professional every time!  The receptionist is the most important employee in any law firm, and with Ruby I always have the best receptionists available.

If you decide to give Ruby Receptionists a try, tell them Jeff Parker referred you to them.  You will get 14 days of unlimited use to try out the service.  If you decide that it is not for you, just say no thanks and it will not cost you a cent.  Plus, you can always “un-forward” your phone calls at any time you decide to stop using Ruby.  However, if you decide to keep using Ruby, I will get a $50 referral fee and you will get good karma.  Now that’s a win-win-win scenario.

During the last session of the Texas Legislature, a bill was passed to allow the creation of special “veterans court programs” in this state.  The governor signed the bill into law on June 19, 2009, and it became effective September 1, 2009.  What that means is that we could have already started this program.

The veterans court program was a small part of a larger law which was designed to address the special needs of the approximately 1.7 million veterans who reside in Texas.  Specifically, the law created the “Fund for Veterans’ Assistance.”  The fund awards grants “to enhance or improve veterans’ assistance programs, including veterans’ representation and counseling, and to make grants to local communities to address veterans’ needs.”  One of the most important improvements, though, was the establishment of special pretrial veterans court programs.

Here’s how the program works:  The first step is for the county commissioners court to authorize the court.  Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 617 authorizes the commissioners court of a county to establish a veterans court program for persons arrested for or charged with any misdemeanor or felony offense.  There are no limits—it could be as simple as a drug or alcohol-related crime, or even domestic violence cases.

However, there are some limits.  A veteran is only eligible to participate in the veterans court program if: 1) the prosecutor agrees to the defendant’s participation in the program and 2) if the court in which the criminal case is pending finds that the defendant is a veteran or current member of the United States armed forces, including a member of the reserves, national guard, or state guard; and that the veteran suffers from a brain injury, mental illness, or mental disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder, that resulted from the defendant’s military service in a combat zone or other similar hazardous duty area and materially affected the defendant’s criminal conduct at issue in the case.  Finally, the veteran ultimately retains the right to choose whether to proceed through the veterans court program or to just go through the regular criminal justice system.

Once the veteran qualifies and agrees to participate, the veteran participates in a special pretrial program.  The prosecutor and the criminal defense attorney are supposed to work together in a “non-adversarial” fashion to create an “individualized treatment plan” for the veteran. 

The individualized treatment plan lasts from a minimum of six months up to the maximum length of probation for whatever offense was charged.  The veteran can choose to withdraw from the program at any time, but then the veteran loses the benefits which would have been gained by successfully completing the pretrial intervention program. 

What are those benefits?  Well, the most important one is that any charges against the veteran would be dismissed.  That’s pretty big.  Also, the veteran is then entitled to go back and have the offense expunged from his criminal history!  That’s a huge one.

The law states that the cost to the veteran for participating in the program can be no more than $1,000; plus the cost of testing, counseling, and treatment fees in whatever amount is necessary to cover the costs of any such testing, counseling, or treatment provided under the program.

It’s also important to note that the veterans court is required by law to take steps to ensure “maximum participation of eligible defendants.”  Not only are our Bell County courts not ensuring maximum participation, they are not even ensuring any participation.  The courts can only ensure participation, though, after the county commissioners court authorizes the program.  Something our county commissioners court has yet to do!

Tarrant County is already going to be the first county to implement this type of program.  That distinction should have been ours.  If we are going to make this county a “great place” for our veterans, we need to implement this program as soon as possible.

Of course, the obvious caveat is that this is just one randomly selected week out of 52 total weeks in a year that our hard-working prosecutors are slaving away for low pay and very little appreciation. 

However, just for fun, it is interesting.  The complete document can be viewed by clicking here.  The breakdown, though, is as follows.  For this one week:

Seven defendants a week for assistant district attorneys versus 52 a week for assistant county attorneys?  Can anyone explain why ADAs earn so much more right off the bat?  It must be exhausting handling those 1.4 different defendants every day!  Whew!

What else is interesting?  How about the number of cases each felony prosecutor has and the corresponding offense levels?  For example, Stephanie Newell has six State Jail felonies this week, four third degrees, one second degree, and one first degree felony.  Here is the breakdown for this week:

And this one, which shows the percentage of pro se defendants each county attorney has to deal with this week, along with the supporting numbers:

One last one is what types of cases each county prosecutor is assigned for this week. I grouped similar offenses together (for example, ABI-FM and ABI were combined as was DWI firsts and DWI seconds, etc.). The numbers represent what percentage of that prosecutors’ caseload is made up of those type of cases (for example, 38% of Anne Jackson’s cases this week are assault-type cases). Here are the rest of the numbers:

The latest report by PCS in entitled One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections.  The One in 31 refers to the fact that 1 out of every 31 adults in the United States is either in prison, on parole, or on probation.  That’s 7.3 million people! 

The report also discusses how less than one-third of those 7.3 million people are behind bars; but that in spite of this, the states spend nearly 90 percent of their corrections budget on prisons.  It’s certainly an interesting read whether you agree with the conclusions or not.

Of most interest, though, is the information on this fact-sheet about Texas.  It should be called One in 22: The Long Reach of Texas Corrections.  Can you believe it?  One out of every 22 Texans is being actively watched and monitored by the government.  Big Brother is a Texan, apparently.  Who knew?  Astonishingly, though, Texas is only the fourth most controlling state in the Union.  We are behind Georgia, Idaho, and Washington, D.C.

Another interesting facts in the report is that in 2008 Texas spent $2.96 billion dollars on corrections, or 6.8 percent of the general fund.  Here is a chart that breaks down the percentages:

For example, they have a brochure entitled, “What to do if you can’t afford a lawyer in Texas.”

Another great brochure is entitled, “Why you need a defense lawyer if you are charged with a misdemeanor in Texas.”

For all of those judges who think indigent defense funds are coming out of their own pockets, it might be educational to read the petition filed in Williamson County on June 12, 2006.