Law Practice Management Welcome to the Practice Management Advisor Pipes Feed brought to you by the Law Office Technology & Management Section of the Tennessee Bar Association. “PMA Pipes” is an RSS newsfeed that was designed by the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center. It combines posts from the blogs of Practice Management Advisors from across the United States, as well as the ABA’s Site-tation blog, into one convenient location. Regardless of the size of your firm, “PMA Pipes” is a great source of content on all issues affecting law practice management. The blogs brought to you by this feed include: Law Practice Matters, Reid My Blog, Law Practice Tips, Law Practice Advisor, The Last Word, Thoughtful Legal Management, and Compujurist, among others. [Law Practice Advisor] Tarheel, Boy: North Carolina Bar Association Proposed Ethics Opinion Helpful for Compliance with Massachusetts Data Privacy Law Before we get started, I’d like to direct your attention to a really great cause (keep reading, this will cost you no money) that my friend Jamie alerted me to:The Cystic Fybrosis Foundation is seeking $250,000 through the Pepsi Refresh Project to purchase and distribute breathing devices for infa. . . Read More... [ABA Site-tation] ABA TechEZ Training: Microsoft Quick Parts and Google Tricks Body: Two new ABA TechEZ Training Tuesdays recordings are now available for ABA Members: Efficient Drafting with Microsoft Office Quick PartsIn this Training Tuesday session we look at ways to cut down on the time required for drafting e-mail messages and Word documents by using Microsoft Office's Q. . . Read More... [Slaw: Dan Pinnington] Get on the Partnership Track With the CBA Partnership Toolkit The Canadian Bar Association’s new Partnership Toolkit is a comprehensive collection of information aimed at lawyers trying to navigate the oftentimes confusing and difficult path to partnership. Lawyers will find a wealth of advice here in the form of self assessments, audio podcasts and arti. . . Read More... [Avoid a Claim] Get on the partnership track with the CBA Partnership Toolkit The Canadian Bar Association’s new Partnership Toolkit is a comprehensive collection of information aimed at lawyers trying to navigate the oftentimes confusing and difficult path to partnership. Lawyers will find a wealth of advice here in the form of self assessments, audio podcasts and arti. . . Read More... [Reid My Blog] Unique Pro Bono Consortium Resolves I-35 Bridge Collapse Litigation I was proud to read in the National Law Journal that my friend and law school classmate, Chris Messerly, led a unique consortium of 17 pro bono law firms to settle the lawsuits resulting from the August 2007 Interstate 35W bridge collapse over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.Chris is with Robin. . . Read More... [ABA Site-tation] Facebook Places Body: The recently launched location based service Facebook Places allows you to see where your friends are and share your location in the real world. If you are at a conference and Facebook Places reveals that some of your best friends are at the same conference, this can be a great thing. The Fac. . . Read More... [PMATips] Can’t Read It! – 08/30/10 Would you like to read articles on the web without the surrounding clutter? Would you like to control the relative size of the text in web page articles? Would you like to print only the article in a format that is truly readable?. . . Read More... [Reid My Blog] Revisiting America at the Minnesota State Fair Yesterday my youngest son Kendall and I visited the Minnesota State Fair, a 149 year tradition that has been at the same fairgrounds in a suburb of St. Paul (about 4 miles from where I grew up) for over 100 years. It was our first visit in 5 years.The Minnesota State Fair is 320 acres of food, fun, . . . Read More... [Law Practice Advisor] Legal Productivity: The Blog, Not (Necessarily) The Thing This late August, Rocket Matter, purveyors of legal productivity software (or, “practice management software”, as we frequently refer to it here), launched a new blog, labeled, aptly (see, I wasn’t kidding): “Legal Productivity”.The Legal Productivity blog promises much and many good posti. . . Read More... [Law Practice Tips Blog] Cool Tools - Sprint Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile HotSpot Recently I was in a hotel room checking something online with my laptop when my teenaged son noted the unfairness of the situation. We had two laptops (one PC and one Mac) plus an iTouch and iPad in the room..... . . Read More... [Oregon Law Practice Management] Accounts Receivable Do Not Improve Like Fine Wine Unlike a fine cabernet sauvignon, your accounts receivable are at their best when less than 30 days old – and they definitely do not improve with age. Quite the opposite, in fact. The older you allow your accounts receivable to become, the more they cost you and the less likely your chance of 100%. . . Read More... [Reid My Blog] Kudos to the ABA for Representing Our Profession Against Unwarranted Regulation Kudos to the ABA for standing up to the FTC who want to add another layer of regulation on lawyers. The FTC wants to include lawyers in their "Red Flag" financial rule, but a D.C. Court ruled earlier this year that the FTC has no authority to regulate lawyers. So the FTC decided to appeal. Leading t. . . Read More... [Law Practice Advisor] Finders’ Keep: The Use of Naming Conventions Within Records Management You can chock this posting, as well as my many others, up to my essential laziness. Yes, it’s true, I am, in fact, essentially lazy: I’d rather be lying on my couch, eating chips (and picking the stray chip pieces out of my chest hair--no, those don’t get thrown away) and watching SportsCenter. . . Read More... [The Last Word] Save Your Bacon – Or Cook Your Goose? A blog post by Jan Berinstein with those eye-catching words in the title grabbed my attention this morning. So much so that it inspired me to shake off the blahs I’ve had during these dog days of summer and do a related post of my own. But first, the original inspiration. Ms. Berinstein, who i. . . Read More... [ABA Site-tation] Lawyers and Smartphones Body: The results of the 2010 Legal Technology Survey Report indicate that more than three-fourths (76%) of respondents personally use smartphones, up from 64% in the 2009 survey. The brands most often cited by survey respondents were BlackBerry/RIM (66%), followed by the iPhone (20%) and Palm (9%). . . Read More... [Avoid a Claim] Update on ongoing collaborative family law agreement frauds The following is the text of the August 26 2010 e-blast LAWPRO sent to Ontario lawyers warning them about an ongoing collaborative family law cheque scam. Almost every day LAWPRO® hears from lawyers who find themselves the targets of various kinds of frauds. While this message is not a full fraud a. . . Read More... [Reid My Blog] When Lawyer Advertising Seems Too Good to be True . . . Radio and TV advertisements seem to be dominated by recession inspired debt reduction and tax reduction services that claim to save a person thousands of dollars or extract them from huge IRS liabilities for just pennies on the dollar. I've always wondered how that can be true. Well, maybe it's not!. . . Read More... [Just Oregon Lawyers Blog] Nothing Lasts Forever: The Importance of Planning Ahead When launching a new law practice, take time to plan ahead for when your law practice will end. You may have every intention of running your firm until you are in your 70s or 80s. But what happens to your law firm if you are suddenly gravely ill and in the hospital? What happens if [...]. . . Read More... [Law Practice Advisor] Just a Couple of Business Card Sharks . . . : More on Business Card Optimization This week, Jim Calloway, Director of the Oklahoma Bar Association's Management Assistance Program, and I were quoted together in "Business Card Sharks: A Creative Business Card Can Be The Ace Up Your Sleeve", an entertaining and informative article, written by Michael Rappaport for The Canadian Bar . . . Read More... [Law Practice Tips Blog] Site of the Week: Unsuck it.com The Website of the Week this week is Unsuckit.com. The site's function is "What terrible business jargon do you need unsucked?" But it may work for legal jargon, too. Some examples: Low-Hanging Fruit e.g. Our budget’s tight on this one,.... . . Read More... [PMATips] Go Out to Lunch – Don’t Go Out for Lunch – 08/24/10 Go out to lunch - Don't go out to lunch - which decision will serve you the best results?. . . Read More... [ABA Site-tation] Google Bookmarks--Storing Internet Bookmarks Online Body: Internet bookmarks can be useful for keeping track of websites when doing research online. One inconvenience of traditional browser-based bookmarks is that they are stored locally and available only on a single computer. In contrast, several online/social bookmarking services such as Delic. . . Read More... [Oregon Law Practice Management] Know Who You Hire The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Love him or hate him, this quote from Dr. Phil says it all when it comes to hiring legal support staff. Before joining the Professional Liability Fund in 1996, I operated the Multnomah Bar Association’s Legal Placement Service. During my . . . Read More... [ABA Site-tation] Friday PMA Blog Roundup - 08/20/10 Body: As always, lots of great content from the law practice management advisors. Here's what you may have missed: Jim Calloway was busy, writing posts on legal citations, the dangers of geographic tagging (or geotagging) in photos, the extremely useful DropBox tool for document syncing/sharing, Twi. . . Read More... [Just Oregon Lawyers Blog] Managing Your Client’s Expectations For many clients, the decision to get a lawyer is a scary one. How much will it cost me? When do I have to pay? Will the lawyer be able to help me? What will the lawyer do to fix my problem? How long will this take? All questions that run through your client’s mind [...]. . . Read More... [Law Practice Tips Blog] How to........ From GPSolo Magazine Words rarely fail me, but I cannot say enough good things about the July/August 2010 ABA GPSolo Magazine with a theme of "How To." Every lawyer should look over this edition of the magazine and all of the articles are.... . . Read More... [Oregon Law Practice Management] Pilot Project for Expedited Jury Trials Multnomah County is offering an expedited track for civil jury trials effective immediately pursuant to UTCR 5.150, adopted out-of-cycle by the Oregon Supreme Court on May 6, 2010. In it’s Justice Media Release, the Oregon Supreme Court stated “The goal is to provide speedy and economi. . . Read More... [Oregon Law Practice Management] Fourth Judicial District Draft Rules Available for Review The Fourth Judicial District draft Supplementary Local Rules are available for examination here. The rules will be reviewed at the next meeting of the Uniform Trial Court Rules Committee and will become effective February 1, 2011.. . . Read More... [Law Practice Tips Blog] Follow Me On Twitter @jimcalloway (and stop by LexTweet) In preparing for an American Bar Association online webinar on social media, I stopped by LexTweet. LexTweet is a service of LexBlog that aggregates and ranks lawyers and others associated with the legal profession who use Twitter. I was impressed.... . . Read More... [Law Practice Advisor] Prefab Modules: Legal Workspace Offers Hosted Desktop Solution for Lawyers Legal software takes time to download. It also costs money to update. And, even if you don’t know that, your IT guy does. You know, the guy that bills you for that stuff. But, if you want an alternative method for establishing and updating your desktop legal software platform, there is, potential. . . Read More... [Oregon Law Practice Management] Why Do Today What You Can Put Off Until Tomorrow This was a sign proudly displayed in the office of a lawyer I visited some years ago. At the time, the lawyer was still relatively successful and held out the habit of procrastination as if it were a badge of honor. A failed relationship and nearly 20 legal malpractice claims later, the sign is no l. . . Read More... [Law Practice Tips Blog] Cool Tools - Dropbox I've decided to create a new category today called Cool Tools. These tools will primarily be very useful and practical tools that can be used in a law practice, but I reserve the right to post about some tools just.... . . Read More... [PMATips] The iPad Show – 08/17/10 If you have jumped aboard the iPad train, using the powerful adaptability of this device, you may be interested in the iPad Show.. . . Read More... [Just Oregon Lawyers Blog] Scammers Never Rest: 5 Tips to Protect You & Your Clients Despite the lazy days of summer, scammers never rest. Neither should we when it comes to protecting our clients’ and our own personal information. In the June 21, 2010 Lawyers USA Online article by Nora Tooher, “Online bandits pilfer client trust account,” we learned about the risk. . . Read More... [PMATips] The Ultimate Guide to Gmail – 08/10/10 The Ultimate Guide to Gmail by Taty Sena is a handy, very informative PDF guide to using Gmail. It also includes valuable links to Gmail shortcuts and a Gmail cheat-sheet. It explains labels, setting, advanced settings, filters and more. If you are using Google Docs, Google Calendar, Tasks, or need . . . Read More... [Reid My Blog] If You Wonder if Someone is Watching You, Click Here The Wall Street Journal just finished running a fascinating and downright scary investigative series revealing how our privacy is compromised when we are surfing the Internet or using a cell phone, and how big players such as Microsoft have purposely failed to provide tools to protect our data in or. . . Read More... [PMATips] Three Tips in One – 08/04/10 Three Tips in One TIP ONE – Practice Management Advisor Reba Nance from the Colorado Bar recently wrote this great tip for sending email directly from Word. Composing and Sending an E-Mail Without Ever Leaving Microsoft Word – Word 2007, 2003 and 2000 Many of us spend much of our time in Wor. . . Read More... [PA Law Practice Management] Free Cleaning Service for Women Undergoing Chemo As a cancer survivor, I know that something as mundane as cleaning the home becomes an insurmountable task during chemo, and I wish I had known about this when I underwent my treatment.. . . Read More... [Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success] 7 Reasons to Take Your Practice Digital In his July Lawyers USA column, our good friend Jim Calloway strongly encourages law firms to move away from paper files to digital files, and provides seven compelling reasons to make the move now. I’ve been an advocate of this too, but not as strongly or cogently as Jim puts forth in his col. . . Read More... [SC Small Firm] Law firm Websites I find that many small law firms have reserved a domain name and have set up their email to use that name, but they have no Web page yet. I think that it’s really important to have some kind of Web presence if you are giving out your email address and it ends in something [...]. . . Read More... [Compujurist] Do You Know What to Do if You or a Client are Attacked on the Web? If you've ever had to try and get someone who is posting your materials on their site without permissioin or someone who has posted malicious information on the web dealt with, it can be a confusing and daunting task. The Law Technology News Daily alert email has a link to How to Protect Client Repu. . . Read More... [Compujurist] Outlook Tip: Quickly Delete Outlook Emails Permanently Most people delete Outlook email messages by clicking on the Delete command or using the Delete key on their keyboard. However, this doesn't permanently delete the message; rather, it sends it to the Outlook Deleted items folder. And there it sits in most cases, waiting to be permanently deleted whe. . . Read More... [The Last Word] Save 20% – But Only for One More Week I couldn’t do my job without the great books that LPM Publishing puts out, which is why I want to pass on the word that the ABA Webstore is offering a 20% discount on all it’s books and CLE products through July 30th. (As is always the case with discounts, some restrictions apply.) I try. . . Read More... [Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success] Success Costs 20% Less This Week Only! All ABA books including the Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Success: Essential Tips to Power Your Practice are discounted 20% through July 30, 2010. Head to the ABA Webstore and check out our book and other terrific books–including some of our favorites from Jim Calloway & Mark Robertson, Den. . . Read More... [Thoughtful Legal Management] Tip: Composing an E-Mail Without Leaving MS Word ♫ You know its gonna make it that much better … Wouldn’t it be nice …♫ Music and Lyrics by: Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, Mike Love, recorded by The Beach Boys. This is a “Tip” from my colleague and friend, Reba Nance, who is a fellow PMA (Practice Management Advisor) f. . . Read More... [Thoughtful Legal Management] Energizers and Sappers… ♫ Taking all of my energy, energy, energy Taking all of my energy…♫ Lyrics and Music by: Louis Biancaniello, Rico Love, Sam Watters, Wayne Wilkins; recorded by: Keri Hilson. This guest post is courtesy of Beth Flynn of the Ohio State University Leadership Center and is one of her “Le. . . Read More... [The Last Word] Improving Your Practice With Checklists – And More Back in March, when I attended ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago, I left my keys in a desk drawer in my room at the Hilton. Needless to say, when I arrived at the park-and-ride lot at the airport in Atlanta and had no car keys – with darkness falling and a three hour drive back to [...]. . . Read More... [SC Small Firm] Old hard drives A few years back, a professor at a well-known law school told me how his university dealt with old computer hard drives. “We used to pay students to smash them with sledge hammers,” he recalled, “until someone got a piece of metal in his eye. Then we stopped.” Around the same time I heard th. . . Read More... [Compujurist] Hey, job applicant and employees – don’t forget your wall! Here's some advice for both job applicants and employers doing the interviewing - don't forget social networking sites! There have been a number of stries over the past 18 months about job applicants who have had potentail job prospects crash and burn after less than thoughtful tweets and Facebook p. . . Read More... [Compujurist] Read ‘Avoiding ethical pitfalls with electronic documents’ co-authored with Bryan Sims The State Bar of Wisconsin has published a two part article I co-authored with Bryan Sims of The Connected Lawyer in the July editions of its InsideTrack e-newsletter. Titled 'Avoiding ethical pitfalls with electronic documents' , part 1 is on Metadata and part 2 is on Redaction.. . . Read More... [Law Practice Matters] Gear Review: Tom Bihn Empire Builder I'm a bit of a bag geek. I really like briefcases, luggage, messenger bags, backpacks, man purses, and all manner of vaguely embarrassing ways to cart my junk around. I even know where to find cool bags on Etsy, which I am pretty sure could get me kicked out of my fantasy football league. I have lot. . . Read More... [Avoid a Claim] New on the AvoidAClaim blogroll: The Ethical Quandary I am pleased to add The Ethical Quandary blog to the AvoidAClaim blogroll. The Ethical Quandary features posts on legal ethics and litigation issues by Michael Downeyand several other Hinshaw Culbertson LLP lawyers. This blog has great posts on legal, ethics, discipline, risk management, and related. . . Read More... [Avoid a Claim] Law Practice Magazine: Recognizing Risks and Avoiding Malpractice Claims Do you know where the greatest risks of a malpractice claim come from? More importantly—did you know there are simple steps you can take to reduce the risk of a claim being made against you? The July/August issue of Law Practice Magazine is devoted to helping you avoid the dreaded allegation of le. . . Read More... [Law Practice Matters] What Will Be Your Legacy? I've been interested in the idea of legacy for a long time, probably since I first read Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The topic became a lot more concrete and real to me a few months ago when my dad passed away. As I have dealt with my own grief over his loss and tried to . . . Read More... [Compujurist] 10 Great Expert Tips for Word 2010 PCMAG.COM has a great article on 10 useful Word 2010 power tips titled 10 Expert Tips For Microsoft Word 2010 . These tips go to core features that will have an impact every time you open a document based on the default template. Whether you're an expert user or someone just starting to use Word 201. . . Read More... [Thoughtful Legal Management] Can One be Too Frugal? ♬ Your a mean one, Mr. Grinch You really are a heel Your as cuddly as a cactus Your as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch…♬ Lyrics by Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, music by Albert Hague, performed by Thurl Ravenscroft. Anyone who runs a business knows that it is profitable only if yo. . . Read More... [Avoid a Claim] practicePRO and AvoidAClaim Blog mentioned in MAsses of Info e-newsletter I was pleased and honoured to see a profile of practicePRO and its claim prevention resources, including the AvoidAClaim blog, in the Summer issue of MAsses of Info, the e-newsletter of the Massachusetts LOMAP program. The text of the article appears here: LOMAPs Around the World! We have, it appear. . . Read More... [PA Law Practice Management] PCI Compliance for Firms Which Accept Credit Card Payments Does your firm allow or require clients to pay by credit card? If so, you want to make sure you're meeting the requirements created by recent federal legislation regarding credit card companies. The new standards apply to anyone who accepts credit cards, including lawyers and law firms.. . . Read More... [The Last Word] Don’t Get Caught With Your [Redacted] Down! With the advent of e-filing, e-discovery and e-production, redaction has moved from something any lawyer can do with a big, fat black Magic Marker to a techno-legal skill-set that has become more complicated and, potentially, more dangerous. After all, what could be more embarrassing to you or damag. . . Read More... [Law Practice Matters] Happy Independence Day . . . Read More... [Thoughtful Legal Management] HST Resources A collection of HST resources for lawyers in British Columbia.. . . Read More... [Law Practice Matters] Resources for Lawyers Using Macs Over the past few years, I have been getting more and more questions from lawyers who want to run their practices on Macs. Often these questions are from new solo practitioners, but increasingly I hear similar things from managing partners in larger firms. Small wonder, really. Between Windows Vista. . . Read More... [PA Law Practice Management] More on the Apple iPhone 4 For those of you who have interest in the iPhone 4 and haven't made a move, PCMag.com has provided some additional resources for your researching pleasure.. . . Read More... [Thoughtful Legal Management] WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION Bob Denny's [of Robert Denney Associates, Inc.] June 2010 report on What's Hot and What's Not in the Legal Profession.. . . Read More... [PA Law Practice Management] Ready to Buy the iPhone 4? Here's a great article from CNet News providing all the FAQ about your upgrade options and pricing. The new iPhone goes on sale June 24th.. . . Read More... [SC Small Firm] Are you Ergo? Ergonomic, that is. I don’t need statistics to convince you that anyone who works in a law office spends a huge portion of her (and his) time sitting at a desk. I do, and I’m guessing you do too. Studies have found that ergonomic disorders are practically a pandemic problem in the U.S. What you . . . Read More... [SC Small Firm] Directory Are you having challenges marketing your firm? Many lawyers feel that most referrals come from other lawyers. If you are a South Carolina Bar member practicing alone or in a firm with five or fewer lawyers, include yourself in the Solo and Small Firm Section’s Solo and Small Firm Practice Area. . . Read More... [PA Law Practice Management] Who Uses iPad? Has AT&T’s Security Breach Left Them Vulnerable? The iPad is sellling like hotcakes. Despite tepid advance reviews, the techno-users keep gobbling them up. Sales are strong home and abroad. But the recent security breach of AT&T's web site devoted to iPad users, has most users feeling very uneasy.. . . Read More... [Just Oregon Lawyers Blog] Who Inspires Your Ideas? When you are starting a new venture, you need ideas — lots of them! Who inspires your ideas? Do you have a friend, colleague, or mentor who can plug into what you’re thinking about and help you with the inspiration of new ideas? If so, try to have lunch with this person as soon as [...]. . . Read More... [The Last Word] Can John Wooden’s Seven Principles Make You a Better Lawyer? The airwaves on Saturday were filled with the sad news of the death of John Wooden, legendary coach of the UCLA basketball team. I’m not a huge sports fan, but as I began to hear the reports detailing Coach Wooden’s life and achievements (including 10 NCAA national championships in 12 ye. . . Read More... [Just Oregon Lawyers Blog] Lawyers Leaving Firms – Happy or Otherwise Lawyers leaving their firms are on my mind today. Seems like stressful conditions financially are big contributor. There is more movement of lawyers from firm to firm. This raises issues of ethics and professionalism. 1. The Client is not property. The client gets to decide whether to leave the firm. . . Read More... [Law Practice Matters] 4 Tips For Lawyers to Effectively Use Social Media Matt Silverman wrote an insightful article on Mashable containing four tips (with real-life examples) for lawyers to use social media as part of their business development strategy: While most law firms, big and small, tend to err on the traditional side, social media has created new opportunities f. . . Read More... [Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success] Provincial, Territorial and State Lawyer Licensing Databases I have had calls from lawyers in the midst of handling apparent fraud attempts that were wanting to verify whether the lawyers named as the drafter of the collaborative family law agreements presented to them by the fraudsters were in fact real lawyers. There were names and signatures in the agreeme. . . Read More... [Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success] We Love Facebook, But Beware The Growing Fraudsters Dan has written extensively on this blog, his PracticePro blog, and on Slaw.ca about the cheque fraud that is claiming victims across the legal profession in the U.S. and Canada. That fraudulent activity has yet to abate, and we are now faced with another type of fraud: Fake and stolen Facebook acco. . . Read More... [SC Small Firm] Hobnob This Wednesday, April 28, 2010, the South Carolina Bar is hosting a legislative reception from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The reception is at University House at 911 South Stadium Road. And it’s free! So come on Bar members – here’s your chance to rub elbows with the big wigs from the Stateh. . . Read More... [Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success] What to keep in your employee files: A small law firm’s guide Our very good friend Jim Calloway wrote a great column for the April 22, 2010 LawyersUSA. It covers what should be in small law firm employee files. In many small law firms there is no formal personnel file or other records for employees besides payroll and tax records. Jim’s article suggests that. . . Read More...