•Communicates priorities and direction •Focuses on improving processes, not functions •Aligns operational activity with strategic goals •Provides necessary leverage for change

The benefits of such an approach can be financially dramatic. It has been estimated that impact of adopting a balanced approach to measurement (in legal department alone) is a profitability increase of between 15% and 25% for a typical Fortune 500 company.

The balanced Scorecard (R. Kaplan and D. Norton, Harvard Business Review 1992) is one such a framework.

About The Balanced Scorecard Methodology

The Balanced Scorecard methodology, developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton, translates an organization’s business strategy into an understandable action plan. Using Balanced Scorecard technique, an organization can clearly define strategic concepts like value, quality and satisfaction. The Balanced Scorecard then becomes a framework for implementing strategies related to those concepts. This range of uses makes Balanced Scorecard an integration hub for strategic management.

With balanced scorecard, corporate legal managers can measure how outside entities and individuals create value for department and organization as a whole. They can determine what department must invest in or take away from to improve that performance. While maintaining an interest in financial returns, Balanced Scorecard reveals non-financial drivers of superior, long-term value creation.

In addition, The Balanced Scorecard enables legal managers to view well being of organization from four important perspectives or quadrants. Each quadrant of scorecard reports performance measures in form of key performance measures or indicators (KPI). The Balanced Scorecard is a mechanism for translating an organization’s vision and strategy into a coherent set of objectives and performance measures. It uses measurement to communicate drivers of current and future success.

Read about Balanced Scorecard Perspectives in Part 2 of “Balancing Your Legal Scorecard”

5) Make it easy for people you Living Trusted to deal with your financial matters.

1.Make sure they know where to find your advisors. 2.If you have your own business, make a plan to deal with your death, beginning with first day after your death. 3.Make a list of investments (name of institution, account numbers) so your assets can be found. (Bank / stock accounts, retirement plans, life insurance, safe deposit box, etc.) 4.If all information is in your computer, make sure that an appropriate Living Trustworthy person has access to password.

6) Make sure that your assets which have any form of registration are properly titled in your Living Trust. These assets include bank accounts, stock, and real estate. Now is a good time to verify that all such assets are held properly. You also will receive Forms 1099 showing interest or dividends received during past year, and K-1s for Partnerships. Check each real property tax bill, Form 1099, and K-1 to ensure that it reads something along lines of: John and Mary Doe, Trustees of Living Trust of John and Mary Doe, dated January 1, 2004.

There may be other property which should also be in Living Trust but may not provide annual reporting, such as stock which does not pay dividends and, therefore, no 1099 is provided. You should also verify that Pension Plans, IRAs, and Life Insurance beneficiaries are properly designated.

Creditors (such as your mortgage holder and credit cards) do not need to know about Living Trust. Only those holding your property should have notice.

If you inherited any property or received a substantial gift since formation of Living Trust, you should consider its status and your plans for it. Likewise, ramifications of a change in your marital status since formation of Living Trust should be considered.

If you refinanced your property since doing Living Trust, bought new property, or opened new investment accounts, you should verify that property is back in Living Trust. As a good idea to remove all uncertainty with regard to current and up-to-date nature of information in your Living Trust, you might want to sign a statement each year informing that all personal property is listed in Living Trust. Also, review your estate plan yearly to make sure that you still trust people you have chosen to act on your behalf after your death.

Note that Legal Helper Corp. provides an easy-to-use, quick, and economical online method for creating completed revocable living trust. - http://www.legalhelpmate.com/living-trust-online.aspx

Jeffrey Broobin is a free-lance writer on family and finance issues; his main goal is to help people during their complicated period of life.