A busy legal office requires a well-stocked supply closet full of the legal equipment and supplies that most businesses reach for every day - pens, highlighters, paper, stamps and stickers. But for a law office, just everyday office supplies won't do. Legal offices require supplies that you can't find at most typical office supply stores, such as legal pads and specialty items such as stock certificates and evidence stickers.

Your business office manager will most likely need to shop in several different office supply and law equipment stores to find the legal office supplies that each lawyer requires (or just desires, such as a favorite type of pen.) But you'll be pleased to find many legal supplies right online, and easily be able to comparison shop for the best quality and value.

When you're exploring potential applications and uses for legal equipment and supplies, consider the following points.

1. Shop around for the best deals on legal business supplies; you can get better deals by buying in larger quantities.

2. Gather opinions on what supplies your lawyers prefer to use.

3. Keep your legal supplies regularly stocked so you won't run out at a crucial time, such as a deposition.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Keep lawyer supplies such as legal pads handy for your office staff

Legal offices can run through plenty of paper in the form of legal pads, which are paper bound at the top, allowing lawyers and their staff members to take down notes and keep careful track of their cases. Legal pads allow lawyers to conduct their work in a safe and secure way, and are safer than loose-leaf sheets that can get lost or misplaced.

I recommend: The Ampad Evidence Brand Dual Pads have exceptionally strong cardboard backing for writing support on the go. You can order a 12-pack of ecologically friendly legal pads from Staples, the office supply store, and have it delivered to your office door. Alternatively, the Society of Legal Learning Professionals discusses how you can make an effort to reduce your reliance on paper and move toward a paperless office.

Stock up on lawyer supplies, such as legal-sized folders

Filing tools are necessary for keeping legal cases organized, and because of the longer length of legal documents, require special sizes of folders. Consider green ways you can improve your efforts to preserve relevant research with tools you can easily access through your computer, such as saving an article on 'Favorites' in Internet Explorer rather than printing it out.

I recommend: E-Legal Supply has a supply of tabs in different styles of letters, numbers and Roman numerals. All-State Legal Supply has a large stock of expandable legal files in a variety of colors for organization help. The ESQlawtech Weekly has expert advice on making your computer work for you in the legal office.

Rely on law equipment and supplies that will increase productivity

Among law office supplies, some of the most important time-savers for lawyers are dictation tools that allow for easy transcription of notes and dictation of briefs. Law supplies that help further productivity include speech recognition software that can make short work of your dictation.

I recommend: ABA Law Practice Today discusses the pros and cons of several different voice recognition software within a law office. Dragon Naturally Speaking Speech Recognition Software can turn your voice into text three times as fast as most people can type. Productive Tech Legal Technical Solutions offer a variety of dictation tools for the legal community, including remote dictation devices that can take your spoken words and turn them into text.

Stock up on the legal equipment and supplies your law firm needs on any given day to make the office run more smoothly. There is no worse feeling for an attorney or his assistant than trying to meet a deadline and realizing at the last minute they are lacking the one item needed to pull the document together.

With so many choices of binders, labels and folders, it is hard to know which will work best for your firm. Talk to the people in your office who use the legal supplies to get their opinion and shop around for the best deals. Keep in mind the following as you take on the task of filling the supply closet:

1. Not all office supply companies sell legal office supplies.

2. You can order discount office supplies online to save your firm money.

3. Ordering supplies in bulk may save you even more.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find a company that specializes in law supplies

Law firms have different needs than most other offices. Find a supply company that is more familiar with those differences and compare their services to find the best prices.

I recommend: LegalStore.com offers a variety of office supplies for attorneys that other office supply companies do not. Click the product type on the left of the screen to view all products in that category. eLegalSupply.com allows you browse or search for specific law equipment.

Use discount suppliers for common items so you can spend more on expensive legal business supplies

Everyone in the firm, from the senior attorneys down to the messengers, has ideas about the best law office supplies for their needs. Make sure they are all happy without breaking the bank by shopping discount companies for items such as paper and post-its, which do not have to be oriented for a law practice.

I recommend: Discount Office Supplies may not have the variety of legal equipment and supplies that a legal supply company does, but they offer other commonly used products and free shipping for large orders. Quill also offers free shipping on orders over a certain amount, excluding furniture.

Buy legal supplies and other office supplies in bulk to save time and money

Buying multiples of items you know your office will use just makes good sense. It saves money per item and prevents you from having to make purchases as often.

I recommend: Request a quote from InstaOffice or BulkOfficeSupply.com to see how much you can save by shopping in bulk.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Do not be afraid to ask your supply company for a discount. If you purchase enough law equipment and supplies, they may be willing to work with you to keep your business.
• •  Organize a checklist of desired supplies by polling the firm for suggestions. Assign one employee the task of monitoring the law office equipment and lawyer supplies on the check list to make sure you are always fully stocked.

Every business needs equipment to get up and running, including law offices. Whether you are starting up, moving or updating your law supplies and equipment, it is important to know where you can find cost effective and functional law equipment and supplies for everyday use. It is important to have the right law supplies in your office in order to ensure maximum office efficiency and productivity.

There are a number of resources regarding legal equipment and supplies for beginners to utilize. Businesses in the market for law equipment might benefit most from choosing to:

1. Find computers and software program law equipment and supplies.

2. Purchase furniture as necessary law office equipment.

3. Order paper, pens and other basic lawyer supplies for the office.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Buy technical legal office supplies

There are many technical legal office equipment options for law-related offices to consider. The most popular among these includes computers and applicable software programs. Such law office equipment is vital in today's modern work industry, but this does not mean that a business needs to pay an arm and a leg to get them. There are plenty of resources on the Internet which allow for the purchase of discount legal supplies and wholesale costs on technical supply and equipment purchases.

I recommend: Technical law office supplies may be purchased at CompUSA.com. This business offers computers and software programs at highly competitive prices, which helps to ensure that businesses will get the most for their money. Also available on this website are printers, phones and other useful technical equipment. For computer parts and software purchases at highly affordable prices, consider NewEgg.com.

Obtain law equipment and furnishings that will help make your office complete

It would be pretty difficult to do much work in one's office without a desk. Many professionals also find it important to have chairs and furniture available for potential clients.

I recommend: OfficeFurniture.com has a very nice selection of desks, drawers, hutches and cabinets for sale at discount prices. Meanwhile, HON.com offers business desks, chairs, storage and filing cabinets, cubicles and tables, in addition to keys and other office accessories.

Acquire practical law supplies to meet everyday needs

In many instances, the most common office supplies for attorneys are the most basic. These are the items almost any office would need in order to run properly. Examples of the most sensible and useful law supplies would include papers, pens, paperclips, staplers, staples, tape, legal notepads and binders or portfolios. Still, these items are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to potential legal supplies and there are plenty of websites to help offer more suggestions of purchasable products for use in your law office.

I recommend: It's important not to overlook the simple things. Legal office supplies can be purchased easily for low prices and in bulk online. Shoplet.com has a large selection of such products. Additional products may be found at WholesaleWarehouseSupply.com.

Legal firms need a lot of specialty items, in addition to standard office supplies, that often can't be found at a regular office supply store. All documents related to legal cases must be kept safe, confidential and easy to find quickly. Law firms need special equipment to help with out-of-office tasks like trials and other assignments that require traveling. Forms and software to track billable hours and case notes may be needed. In addition, all correspondence that legal firms send out must reflect professionalism and quality. There are many specialty items available for the legal industry. Get to know some of the key terms to find the equipment and supplies needed by your office.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Intellectual property folders

Intellectual property folders include patent applications, foreign patent and U.S. Trademark folders. They include space to record responses and fasteners or pockets to hold additional correspondence or drawings.

I recommend: See Baron for a selection of intellectual property folders.

Litigation bags

Litigation bags are designed to hold legal-sized files and folders. Most of them have wheels and telescoping handles to make transport easier.

I recommend: Check out various sizes and designs of litigation bags at eLegalSupply.

Tabs

Labeled tabs are used for filing court and case documents. They include numbers, exhibit filing, Roman numerals and editorial headings. Tabs make case files, and individual components within them, easy to find.

I recommend: View lettered, numbered and exhibit tabs at Legal Dimensions.

Filing

In addition to tabs, legal firms require other specialty items for filing documents. These include files with pockets to hold related items, legal-sized file folders and jackets, filing carts and expandable files.

I recommend: View a selection of filing supplies for the legal profession at All-State International.

Envelopes and backers

Legal envelopes are a more official and professional alternative to regular envelopes. They are usually marked to indicate that the contents are legal documents and may contain space to include a description of the contents. Backers and manuscript covers have a top tab that folds over to contain official legal documents and present them in an organized and professional manner.

I recommend: View legal document envelopes and backers at Blackstone Legal Supplies.

Software

Off-the-shelf specialty software for law offices is used to keep track of cases and allocate time effectively for client billing. Software is also available to simplify the process of preparing wills and real estate and other legal documents.

I recommend: Check the Market Center at FindLaw to review legal software products for case management, time and billing, document presentation and other tasks.