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. [ABA Site-tation] Friday PMA Blog Roundup - 11/20/09 Body: Another great week's worth of posts from the law practice management advisors: Sheila Blackford blogged about billing and the billable hour, and added an additional post on delivering legal services online. Beverly Michaelis posted about electronic return receipts versus the traditional paper . . . Read More... [Thoughtful Legal Management] Some Great Advice… ♫ Every day I wander in negative disposition, as I’m bombarded by superlatives, realizing very well that I am not alone, introverted i look to tomorrow for salvation, but I’m thinking altruistically, and a wave of overwhelming doubt turns me to stone and I guess it struck a nerve…. . . Read More... [Law Practice Tips Blog] Home Sweet Office I never blogged about my Home Sweet Office article due to some technical issues here. But it is clear more and more lawyers are considering an office-based practice. I find it interesting that many of the success stories involve an.... . . Read More... [Law Practice Tips Blog] Sites for Sore Eyes: Windows 7 Ready or Not? In this month's edition of Sites for Sore Eyes, Windows 7 Ready or Not?, my co-author Courtney Kennaday and I explore a few sites to help you decide if Windows 7 is right for you, which version to buy and.... . . Read More... [Compujurist] Not so fast Mr. Employeer – You may not have a right to read my personal email. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, some courts are backing away from the blanket concept that all emails sent using company equipment and networks are company property.. . . Read More... [Just Oregon Lawyers Blog] Virtually Yours – welcome to the new world of lawyering The eLawyering Taskforce of the ABA Law Practice Management Section has a draft proposed set of guidelines for lawyers establishing virtual offices on the internet: Suggested Minimum Requirements for Law Firms Delivering Legal Services Online. The guidelines should prove useful for lawyers who wish . . . Read More... [ABA Site-tation] Introducing ABA TechEZ: Tech-Savvy Savings for ABA Members Body: The ABA has launched ABA TechEZ, www.abanet.org/techez, a directory of technology-related discounts for ABA members. Discounted products and services are divided into a wide range of categories including smartphones, encryption, website design, practice management, internet fax, online backup . . . Read More... [Law Practice Advisor] Guest Post: The Solo and Small Firm Advantage: Leverage Your Alternative Billing Advantage When Big Firms Can't, or Won't We are fortunate to welcome Stephen E. Seckler, principal of Seckler Legal Consulting, as a guest blogger. Stephen is an attorney coach with twenty years experience in consulting with lawyers. (Stephen's full profile is available at his website.) Stephen maintains his own main blog, Counsel to Couns. . . Read More... [Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success] The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Success Now Available Through Amazon We are pleased to note that The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Success: Essential Tips to Power Your Practice is now available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters (in Canada) and other book e-tailers. Although the book has been available via the ABA Webstore, it is now available for less than the. . . Read More... [PA Law Practice Management] Free Case Research on Google Scholar On November 17th, Google announced its latest offering: Google Scholar — a place where one can find and read full text legal opinions from U.S. federal and state district, appellate and supreme courts, all for free.. . . Read More... [Compujurist] Great tip – using Google Local Business Center to attract new clients Lawyerist.com has a great tip in its post here on taking advantage of Google's free Local Business Center to attract new clients. Using the Google Local Business Center, you can customize how your business listing appears in Google and Google maps.. . . Read More... [ABA Site-tation] Google Scholar Legal Opinion and Journal Search, ABA LTRC Free Full-Text Law Review/Law Journal Search Body: Google officially announced adding legal opinion and journal search features to Google Scholar this week, following the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center's announcement of the release of a free full-text online law review/law journal search engine created using Google Custom Search. What. . . Read More... [Compujurist] LexisNexis Sells HotDocs Software Business to UK Company LexisNexis announced today that Capsoft of Scotland has purchased the HotDocs software business from LexisNexis. LexisNexis retains its Automated Forms group and will continue to provide HotDocs enabled forms including those found on its LexisONE website. Read the full press release after the break. . . Read More... [Thoughtful Legal Management] Luddites in the Dust… ♫ Dust in the Wind All we are is dust in the wind…♫ Lyrics and Music by Kerry Livgren, recorded by Kansas. I wish to say thanks to the Lawyers Weekly and Valerie Mutton for including me along with Jennifer Gray, Technology Integration Specialist at McInnes, Cooper in Halifax and Lawrence P. . . Read More... [Law Practice Tips Blog] Google Scholar Adds Legal Journals and Opinions In a move with possible profound implications, Google Scholar has added a dedicated search for legal journals and court opinions. Check it out here. Apparently they have the entire Heinonline database included as I located a couple of articles I.... . . Read More... [Law Practice Tips Blog] High Tech Toys for the Holidays and Other Holiday Gift Ideas I cannot believe they are already playing Christmas music in the malls! But the change of season also brings two great online resources for ideas for gifts for lawyers (or just for yourself if you have been good.) Sharon Nelson.... . . Read More... [Compujurist] Alternative Tools for Running your Practice (& Your Life) The Codswallop blog has a great list of 100 alternative tools for collaboration, organization, calendaring and more in the article The Freelancer’s Toolset: 100 Web Apps for Everything You Will Possibly Need.. . . Read More... [PA Law Practice Management] Independent Contractors A number of law firms choose to classify part-time employees as Independent Contractors because it’s easier than adding them to payroll, or dealing with tax deductions, workers compensation, and benefit decisions based on part-time or erratic hours of service. But what are the risks involved?. . . Read More... [PMATips] Secure Your Passwords - 11/17/09 Secure your passwords.. . . Read More... [Just Oregon Lawyers Blog] Billing: Starting With and Going Beyond the Billable Hour One of the areas of greatest interest to lawyers starting their law practice is billing for legal services. Most lawyers determine a hourly rate for their services following the factors sets out in Oregon Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5 Fees, (b) …”Factors to be considered as guides in . . . Read More... [Oregon Law Practice Management] Electronic Receipts: Legally Sufficient in Oregon? Preparing return receipt certified mailings is a hassle. It’s time consuming, costly, not exactly sustainable, and often guaranteed to make your staff tear their hair out. Enter the green alternative: the electronic return receipt. Earlier this year, Washington state paved the way for use of elect. . . Read More... [Reid My Blog] The 2009 Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers The Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers is back for the fifth year with all new and unique gift ideas for lawyers and law firms. I’ve been gathering ideas from many sources, ripping pages from catalogs and magazines, talking to lawyers, combing through e-mails from PR types, bookmarking websites, and t. . . Read More... [Thoughtful Legal Management] A Couple of Updates.. ♫ It takes two, baby, It takes two…♫ Music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman. Of course you can access past issues on their website as well as sign up for their newsletter by email. A couple of updates: One: OnPoint Legal Research’s Take Five Newsletter is now up f. . . Read More... [Compujurist] Marketing Tip: Create a marketing plan. This doesn’t have to be a tome, but should layout specific steps to take each month. Dedicate a set time each week and month to execute the plan i.e. every Monday from 11AM-Noon. . . Read More... [ABA Site-tation] Be Careful! Twitter Phishing Catches Lawyers, Too Body: Twitter, the well known microblogging/social media tool, has become popular with lawyers over the past year. It's used to build professional networks, to share ideas and articles, to expand conference experiences, and according to some, it's even used to find clients. But Twitter's casual atmo. . . Read More... [ABA Site-tation] Free Full-text Online Law Review/Law Journal Search Engine Body:  The ABA Legal Technology Resource Center has created a free full-text online law review/law journal search engine that searches the free full-text of over 300 online law reviews and law journals, as well as document repositories hosting academic papers and related publications such as Con. . . Read More... [Reid My Blog] The Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success Now Available on Amazon I am pleased to announce that The Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success: Essential Tips to Power Your Practice is now available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters (in Canada) and other book e-tailers. Although the book has been available via the ABA Webstore, it is now available for less than the ABA. . . Read More... [Oregon Law Practice Management] The Ethics of Social Media In her column, A Word of Caution: Social Media for Lawyers, Oregon State Bar Deputy General Counsel Helen Hierschbiel shares six cardinal rules for lawyers using social media. The advice is spot-on. If you or your clients are using Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, or any other social networkin. . . Read More... [Law Practice Tips Blog] Simple Rules for Better Jury Selection by Mark Bennett Some interesting (and fun) ideas about jury selection are contained in the feature Simple Rules for Better Jury Selection by Houston criminal defense lawyer Mark Bennett.. . . Read More... [Law Practice Advisor] There’s Apps for Those, Too: The iPhone is Not the Only Well-App-Ointed Smart Phone I’d like to thank Sudbay Motors of Gloucester for providing wireless internet in their waiting room, so that I could research and draft part of this blog while I waited for a small repair to be made on my gallant Jeep Commander (I love this car) this Valentine’s Day, er, I mean . . . Veteran’s. . . Read More... [The Last Word] Smartphone Shootout – Which Is Best For You? Big-firm-lawyers with BlackBerrys are so common that the image this phrase conjures up is almost a cliché. And many solo practitioners have been quick to adopt the stylish iPhone, so that they can keep on top of calls and email with a minimum of assistance from staff. After all, solos don’t h. . . Read More... [Reid My Blog] My Fifth Annual Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers is coming this Monday . . . I'm busier than a elf at the North Pole, but come rain, sleet, or snow, the 2009 edition of my holiday gift guide will be out on November 16th so look for it before you go shopping for the lawyers in your life!. . . Read More... [PA Law Practice Management] Peace of Mind from Blackberry BlackBerrys have a special security feature that will send out an emergency notification if you type in a password under duress.. . . Read More... [PA Law Practice Management] Judge Rules FTC Cannot Make Lawyers Comply With Identity Theft Laws The new Red Flags Rules which went into effect on November 1, 2009 were supposed to apply to lawyers, according to the FTC. Just two days ahead of the deadline, a federal judge at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted lawyers a reprieve.. . . Read More... [Avoid a Claim] Legal malpractice risks change in tough times (But not risk management strategies) The issues that arise when dealing with clients in hard times have come up in a few of my recent discussions with lawyers and in some of the claims LAWPRO is now seeing. This prompted me to think about an article that recently appeared in LAWPRO’s new Webzine.) I posted a link to the article [. . . Read More... [Avoid a Claim] Trusts And Estates Practitioners Need To Be Aware Of Family Law Act Cross posted at Slaw.ca There is a fantastic article by John Harvey at page 12 in the October 26 issue of Law Times. (Sorry I can’t give you a public link – unfortunately it is locked up for Law Times subscribers – They can access it in the Law Times Digital Edition here. While written for [... . . Read More... [SC Small Firm] Open sesame! Open multiple files and file types at one time. Whenever you start a dialog box to navigate to and select files, you always have the option of selecting multiple files to perform the same operation on. Hold down the Control Key and click the files you want to see. Move the cursor over one of [...]. . . Read More... [PMATips] Looking for Help With a Software Application? Try YouTube! - 11-10-09 If you are looking for a tutorial or “how to” for a specific software application feature, search on YouTube.. . . Read More... [Avoid a Claim] LSUC Residential Real Estate Transactions Practice Guidelines and Title Insurance The Residential Real Estate Transactions Practice Guidelines, adopted by the Law Society of Upper Canada in January, 2007 (the “Practice Guidelines”), provide guidance to lawyers in residential practice in a world where title insurance has become the norm. The Law Society of Upper Canada. . . Read More... [Oregon Law Practice Management] Should You Be Charging Flat Fees? A recent Business Journal post suggests that the number of clients requesting flat fee arrangements in Oregon has doubled in the past year. Why would clients prefer a flat fee? Certainty – the client knows up front exactly what your services will cost. Budgeting – if the client knows wha. . . Read More... [Thoughtful Legal Management] A New Portal… ♫ Feel in my heart the start of something new…♫ Lyrics and music by: Matthew Gerrard & Robbie Nevil, from High School Musical. The BC Courthouse Library Society is launching their new website today (http://www.courthouselibrary.ca/cms/) which should be ‘live’ shortly (the . . . Read More... [Reid My Blog] Verizon's Droid: Not Ready for Primetime? The Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg tries to love the new Motorola Droid, but his integrity shines through his prose and he is really letting readers know the new phone is not ready to take on the iPhone. But is Walter's review written with an eye to the future of all Android phones? I'm guess. . . Read More... [Law Practice Advisor] Time in a Bottleneck: Online Scheduling Tools Make Meetings Happen Getting a large number of people together for a meeting is like herding cats into a bathtub. When you’re talking busy cats . . . I mean, people . . . it’s even worse. Grease those cats. Now, give those greased cats business suits and a knowledge of how to exploit loopholes. Lawyers are some of t. . . Read More... [Avoid a Claim] Form Of Order In Applications To Prove A Lost Will Under Ontario Rule 75.02 Cross-posted on the SLAW blog (www.slaw.ca) As part of a brief endorsement dated November 3, 2009 in RE: IN THE ESTATE OF Evelyn O’Reilly, et. al., Justice D. M. Brown of the Superior Court Of Justice–Ontario provided some useful direction on the form and content of an order in applications to p. . . Read More... [PA Law Practice Management] Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) goes into effect on November 21, 2009. You will need to replace your federal employment rights poster(s) at your office in order to remain in compliance.. . . Read More... [The Last Word] When It’s Time to Say “So Long…” From time to time I get calls from lawyers who are looking for information on shuttering their practices. Sometimes it’s for happy reasons, like appointment or election to a judgeship or a long-awaited retirement. Other times it involves a family relocation and, sometimes, small firms just don. . . Read More... [Avoid a Claim] Lawyer/Client Communication Errors Are The Biggest Cause Of Malpractice Claims For my first real post to AvoidAClaim, I want to focus on the biggest cause of malpractice claims: lawyer/client communication-related errors. Over the last eleven years, by cost and count, more than one-third of LAWPRO claims involved this type of error – almost $25 million or close to 8,200 clai. . . Read More... [Just Oregon Lawyers Blog] The Importance of Planning I spoke at the The Oregon Minority Lawyers Association (OMLA) and the Multnomah Bar Association (MBA) Hanging Out Your Shingle yesterday with two successful Portland, Oregon solo practitioners, Ken Mitchell-Phillips of Mitchell Phillips Law PC and John Kodachi of John A. Kodachi, PC. Our panel was m. . . Read More... [Oregon Law Practice Management] Fourth Amendment Does Not Protect Third Party E-Mail Excerpt from New York Court Scores Over Oregon In Recent Email Privacy Opinions by Jennifer Granick Last week, two new district court opinions took opposing views on the question of whether the Fourth Amendment protects stored email. One of the cases easily adopted the prevailing view that the Const. . . Read More... [Oregon Law Practice Management] Lessons from Solo and Small Firm Bootcamp Last week I spoke at the King County Bar Association Solo/Small Firm Success Strategies CLE. I participated in the Basic Training/Bootcamp Track for newly admitted lawyers, and was fortunate enough to follow Joseph Shaub, a terrific speaker. Joe’s presentation was peppered with great marketing tip. . . Read More... [SC Small Firm] Lawyer to Lawyer Occasionally I get calls from lawyers, both new and not so new, with a legal question. Fortunately for me (and them) I can give them the same answer every time. Use the Lawyer-to-Lawyer Directory. It’s part of the Lawyers Desk Book every year. It’s a list of lawyers who have experience i. . . Read More... [Law Practice Advisor] That’s a Wicked Google-y!: Refine Your Googling with Search Operators and Latent Functionality I’ve written previously here at the blog about some of the nifty applications and programs that the folks over at Google have introduced. Not that I ever really get into web stuff, but I have been generally impressed with Google. My like affair began when I made two almost concurrent moves: I stop. . . Read More... [Thoughtful Legal Management] The Future of Lawyers? ♫ I’ve seen the future, baby: it is murder. Things are going to slide …♫ Lyrics, music and recorded by Leonard Cohen. I had the pleasure of attending The Futures conference in Denver CO recently that was part of the College of Law Practice Management’s Annual General Meeting. S. . . Read More... [Just Oregon Lawyers Blog] Remembering the first year of law practice– a call to mentor our new lawyers. When I was in my last year of McGeorge Law School in Sacramento, California, I decided to start my own law practice. Along with my law books, I toted Jay Foonberg’s “How to Start & Build a Law Practice,” getting myself ready to run my own show. Jay was my mentor. Then I moved [. . . Read More... [The Last Word] ABA TECHSHOW Discounts, Plus Best of TECHSHOW It’s time to start thinking about making plans to attend ABA TECHSHOW 2010. For those who are not familiar with it, TECHSHOW is the ABA Law Practice Management Section’s annual two and a half day CLE program and vendor expo centered around practice management and the use of technology in. . . Read More... [Law Practice Matters] Evernote for Lawyers and Law Practice Today Folks who follow me on Twitter (@erikmazzone) know that I love Evernote. They also know I drink too much coffee and hate Notre Dame and the Red Sox. But I digress. If you are curious about Evernote - what it is and how you might use it - I wrote an article in the October issue of Law Practice Today . . . Read More... [PMATips] Value Decisions - 10/27/09 Should you negotiate a fee reduction for your service?. . . Read More... [Law Practice Matters] Stay Closer to Clients - 4 Tips for Better Email Newsletters I have a love-hate thing with email newsletters. On the one hand, I am consititutionally incapable of refraining from signing up for an email newsletter from any business I patronize. Erik see sign up list. Erik sign up. On the other, I occassionally stare at my overstuffed Gmail inbox with the inte. . . Read More... [Just Oregon Lawyers Blog] Getting Control of Email Glut on a Monday Morning/Afternoon Had a -first-thing-Monday-morning appointment in Portland, Oregon. Rain-swollen streets made me look forward to getting into my dry office in Tigard. Until I fired up my computer and saw 399 unread emails waiting for me. Email glut on gray Monday morning is especially dreary. I know that a big chunc. . . Read More... [The Last Word] A Tale of Two Emails or I Don’t Talk to Strangers I received two email messages recently. Each was from someone I did not know. Both posed a single, easy-to-answer question, but it’s amazing how different my reaction was to each. The first contained nothing but the question and the sender’s name and city. The question challenged somethi. . . Read More... [Law Practice Advisor] Preach What You Practice: LOMAP Debuts New Podcast, "The UnBillable Hour" Back in July (which seems like it was just yesterday, given our being recently hit with a heat wave two days following a snowstorm--the Spirit works in mysterious ways, does he not), Rodney wrote here at the blog about the importance of listening to podcasts. Taking not wanting to be hypocritical to. . . Read More... [The Last Word] Windows 7 Arrives. Should You Invite It In? Windows 7, Microsoft’s latest operating system, went on sale today. While people are not lining up around the block to purchase a copy, many lawyers may be wondering whether it would be worth their time, money and trouble to upgrade from XP or Vista. Like most questions raised in the law offic. . . Read More... [SC Small Firm] Outlook contacts If you’re like me, you have created multiple folders under your main address book in Outlook. I store my personal contacts in the default Contacts address book, which I can access from my Windows Mobile device. However, I created additional folders for groups of other contacts by going to Contacts. . . Read More... [SC Small Firm] Read Out Loud Adobe Acrobat Standard and Professional versions will read PDF files to you! This feature is called Read Out Loud and it is easy to use. Using the feature is a two-step process. First the feature is activated; next you command it to read. To use the feature open a PDF: 1. Click on View>Activate . . . Read More... [PMATips] Read Out Loud - 10/19/09 Adobe Acrobat Standard will read PDF files to you! This feature is called Read Out Loud and it is easy to use.. . . Read More... [PMATips] 70 Sizzling & Lawyer Friendly Apps - 10/13/09 G.M. Filisko has written a well organized compilation of “70 Sizzling & Lawyer Friendly Apps” for the October issue of the ABA Journal Magazine.. . . Read More... [SC Small Firm] Word 2007’s extra space Stop the annoying extra line after a paragraph!. . . Read More... [Reid My Blog] Carolyn Elefant Takes a Final Bow at Legal Blog Watch After 1,680 blog posts at Legal Blog Watch, Carolyn Elefant has decided to take a well-deserved break from the daily grind of blogging. Blogging consistently is not easy, but Carolyn and her blog partner Bob Ambrogi have not only done it consistently, but have achieved consistent excellence in the i. . . Read More... [Law Practice Matters] In Defense of Multi-tasking, or How I Justify Driving and Texting     Not really. It's hard to text at 80mph. Kidding. Sort of. But that's between me and my traffic attorney. (Thanks, Timothy!) Recently, multitasking - that darling of 80's productivity - has gotten a bad rap. It turns out that multittasking makes it harder for your brain to focus or swi. . . Read More... [Law Practice Matters] Niche Marketing for the Small Law Firm   Sometimes you learn something brand new. Other times you find a new way to look at something old. The other day I was at a meeting (no surprise there; Bar Association life includes a LOT of meetings...) of the NCBA Law Practice Management Section Council. Our new section chair is my friend L. . . Read More... [Law Practice Matters] Is There a Time Bomb in your LinkedIn Profile? I got an interesting email the other day. It was from a North Carolina lawyer asking me my opinion about a facet of LinkedIn profiles. The question was (paraphrasing): do you think social networking profiles that ask users to list their "specialties" could yield potential violations of Rule 7.4 of . . . Read More... [Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success] Free MP3 of LAWPRO’s Special Webinar: Fraud-How You Can Avoid Being Its Next Victim On May 26 LAWPRO put on a special webinar aimed at helping lawyers to avoid being the victims of fraud. It was hosted and broadcast by the Ontario Bar Association. You can now listen to a free MP3 of this program, and follow along with the program PowerPoint. While frauds targeting lawyers have not . . . Read More... [Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success] How to Succeed in the Practice of Law When You Are “Suddenly Solo” The latest issue of Law Practice Today (www.lawpracticetoday.org), the ABA Law Practice Management’s webzine was published today. This blockbuster issue has all sorts of great articles for the “suddenly solo” lawyer. This is new lawyer starting out as a solo because they didn’t get a job at . . . Read More... [Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success] Eight Time-Saving, Productivity-Enhancing Management Tips for Busy Bar Leaders I recently had the opportunity to address the incoming national and chapter leadership of the American Immigration Lawyers Association at the annual meeting in Las Vegas. It was a great event, and I want to salute the hard work of these lawyers who, in addition to having busy law practices, help our. . . Read More... [Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success] Success is Now 20% Off ABA Publishing just announced a special 20% discount on all ABA books, including The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Success: Essential Tips to Power Your Practice, now through July 24, 2009. The price of Success has never been lower. Of course, while price is important, the we believe the value reader. . . Read More...