CHAPTER 14 OFFICE ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

This chapter is designed to give you an insight into both the organizational makeup of naval legal service offices and the major elements that an office manager must deal with to have an effective and well-run office. As a senior LN, you will probably be in charge of a staff judge advocate (SJA) office or a naval legal service office (NAVLEGSVCOFF or NLSO for short) division and have a title such as administrative supervisor or administrative assistant. Just because you have reached this level does not mean you can sit back and he a supervisor. To ensure an efficient office, you must be aggressively involved in its operations. Involvement is the key to effective management. Your involvement starts at the top and carries through the entire command structure. You have to know not only your command's organizational structure but also its mission.

How many times during your career have you experienced effective and ineffective management techniques by superiors that can only be termed as unforgettable? You should learn from both good and bad experiences. As you progress through your career, apply all your experiences and strive to achieve the best possible results from any situation.

Good office managers keep their minds open and have the ability to make changes when they arc needed. Before you make any changes to your office, you must first understand exactly how it operates. Analyze the office and the functions it performs in the light of how performance can be improved. You may not be able to change the present organization, nor may you want to; however, you must understand it thoroughly. This is where involvement is important. For instance, there may be many occasions where you will have to perform the work as well as supervise the work of your subordinates. After it is clear in your mind what is to be done and by whom, you may want to consider modification, consolidation, or reorganization of your office. Knowing how your office currently operates is the first step in managing it yourself. And remember that you must always consider your office's operation within the larger context of your command's overall mission.

ORGANIZATION OF THE NAVAL LEGAL SERVICE COMMAND

The Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy has the additional duty to the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) as the Commander, Naval Legal Service Command. In this capacity he or she administers the legal services program and provides command direction for all naval legal service activities and resources. The Commander, Naval Legal Service Command has command over all NLSOs. Each NLSO is headed by a commanding officer (CO). Most NLSOs also have detachment and branch offices under them that are commanded by officers in charge (OICs).

The primary purpose of the Naval Legal Service Command and its subordinate offices is to provide necessary legal services to commands and personnel in specified geographical areas. This service is done with a minimum of judge advocates through consolidation of available legal resources at locations with a high concentration of naval commands and personnel. It also places defense counsel under the authority of the Commander, Naval Legal Service Command to nullify any possibility of command control in their defense of court-martial accused.

NAVAL LEGAL SERVICE OFFICES

NLSOs, under the command of the Commander, Naval Legal Service Command, are placed throughout the world to meet Navy needs. Every NLSO provides legal as well as administrative and educational services for naval activities and personnel within its specified geographical area.

NLSOs provide all necessary legal services and counsel for command legal matters such as military justice, investigations, claims, legal assistance, and administrative proceedings. NLSOs also perform the following functions:

l Provide clerical assistance in the preparation of records and board hearings

l Process and adjudicate claims within the limits of assigned authority

Review court-martial records, records of investigation, and nonjudicial punishment appeals

Provide advice on all legal matters, including legal assistance

Maintain liaison with local, state, and federal courts and law enforcement agencies

When appropriate, provide advice on admiralty matters, international law, environmental law, labor law, litigation, and jurisdictional questions

NLSOs provide the previous services as requested by commands when the requesting command does not have the necessary legal personnel assigned. Functional responsibilities do not include business and commercial law matters under the cognizance of the Office of _{General Counsel.} Each NLSO has five major departments within its organizational structure: Military Justice, Command Services/Administrative Law, Claims, Command Administration, and Legal Assistance. Additional or fewer departments may he necessary as determined by local conditions.

When a detachment or branch office is assigned to an NLSO, these offices provide the services required to help the parent NLSO meet its responsibilities. The detachment acts as an extension of the parent NLSO and is directly responsible to the CO of the parent NLSO.

SHIP, STATION, OR STAFF JUDGE ADVOCATE OFFICE

In addition to NLSOs and their detachments, you may work at a ship, station, or an SJA office, usually at the convening authority (CA) or officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction (OEGCMJ) level. OEGCMJs are the reviewing authorities for the CAs placed under their jurisdiction. These offices are usually small, independent offices. They provide the primary legal advice and services required by the commands to which they are assigned or, as in the case of reviewing authorities, are the offices that handle all reviewing requirements for the CAs under their command. You may have one or two LNs assigned to you, but it is just as likely that you maybe the only LN at the command. Most of the work in these offices concerns military justice and investigations, but you should also know how to handle claims and legal assistance.

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

When you begin work in a new billet, whether it be in an NLSO or an SJA office, one of your first jobs is to learn as much as possible about your organization. You should learn what the primary functions of your office arc and what duties it performs as well as its relationship to the overall command organization. After you understand the function of your office; for example, claims, military justice, or legal assistance, you will see how your own duties, and those of your subordinates, fit into these functions.

Thinking of your office in relation to your ship or station, you should study the ship or station organization, and the names, titles, and ranks of those above your office in the chain of command. You should know which other offices relate to yours in their duties. You also should learn what reports arc due and in what form. To understand the Navywide program of which you are a part, study the publications related to your work. Remember, as the supervisor it will be ultimately your responsibility to be sure each of your subordinates is knowledgeable in these areas as well.

OFFICE MANAGER

Traditionally, an office manager's job has been viewed as the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of his or her operations so the activity can carry out its mission.

Many modern management authorities consider this concept inadequate because it fails to recognize the major role people play in achieving the objectives of the activity. To get the job done, managers organize, direct, and attempt to control the activities of people. Therefore, many management authorities prefer a concept of a manager as someone who is responsible for matching the interests and needs of the people with those of the activity or command. Assuming enough resources are available, managing people is the central and most important managerial task.

ASSIGNING PERSONNEL

After interviewing your personnel and reviewing their service records, you should have a good idea of their experience level, past performance, and knowledge of the duties associated with the LN rating.

All LNs are expected to perform the duties of their rating at the rate level they hold. This is a necessary condition of naval organizations, but it should not prevent you from remembering that each individual has special talents or pReferences. A good supervisor always finds out what each person likes to do well enough to put extra effort into it. You cannot make all assignments on this basis, particularly when manning levels and office workload override individual desires. However, it does pay dividends in quantity and quality of work and better office morale if individuals are able to work at some of the tasks they do and like better than others.

Since transfers, leave, temporary additional duty, or hospitalization will cause changes of personnel within your office, rotate your subordinates in the various jobs occasionally. By doing this you will take the first step in preventing office routine from breaking down when a key person is absent and be able to give each individual an insight into how each task contributes to the overall function of the office. Prepare for the unexpected by training your people to replace each other and to replace you.

One method to make sure individuals clearly understand their job assignments is to establish those assignments in writing. By establishing job assignments for each desk in your office, you will make sure each individual is fully aware of his or her responsibilities and you will provide for a smooth and orderly transition when they are relieved or rotated to other assignments. It also will help you make sure those tasks that are done once a month are not forgotten. A formal memo is not necessary to set up the requirements of a job. Just make a list on the desk leaf or directly in front of the desk where the work is done. You should keep a copy of the list so you can refer to it as necessary.

When you assign duties, give similar or related tasks to the same person. Proper combination of duties speeds up operations by cutting out wasted motion and improving accuracy. Divide the workload as fairly as possible. An uneven workload lowers morale and creates bottlenecks that decrease office productivity.