Popular Articles from the CPM ICYMI Newsletter (May 2023 – August 2023)
Every week subscribers receive the ICYMI enewsletter from the NCBA Center for Practice Management. The newsletter highlights tips, tools, trends, and techniques to help your law practice. The following are a few popular links from the past issues of the newsletter.
The Top Four Trends in Law Firm Sales 8/25
If you are planning for retirement and think you may sell your firm to a young associate, you may want to test that assumption. This article reveals that post-2020 changes may suggest that may not be the case. This article points to some trends in valuing and preparing a law firm for eventual sale and what you need to do to make your firm an attractive purchase proposition.
4 Note-Taking Tips That Can Change Your Life 8/18
Whether you are a fan of OneNote, Evernote, Google Keep, Pocket, or any of the hundreds of note taking apps that help you keep random thoughts, information, and articles tucked into one place for reference later, this article has some good advice for being strategic about the notes you take so you can leverage the utility of these tools and increase your ability to recall information when you need it.
Documenting File Destruction 8/4
Are you documenting your file destruction based on record retention requirements? Depending on the number of variables there are several methods to make sure that you have the necessary information to verify what has been destroyed and when.
7 Tips for Using Microsoft OneNote as Your To-Do List 7/28
If you are a Microsoft OneNote user this article provides step by step guidance and shortcuts on generating a checklist, embedding files, adding a project plan, and integrating with Outlook and Microsoft To Do. Whether a to-do list, a project planner, an SOP or other application, this guide gives you a lot of ways to improve your use of OneNote.
The Rise of the “Human Skills” Lawyer 7/21
Will AI take my job? No, but you might want to polish up your human skills. Jordan Furlong explains that human skills, also referred to as “soft skills”, will separate your work from the robots. What are human skills? Judgement, empathy, cultural fluency, conflict management, persuasion, “reading the room” are just some of the skills listed that lawyers should further develop to maintain relevancy in the coming days.
Concerns About Office-Sharing Arrangements Addressed in New ABA Ethics Opinion 7/14
ABA Formal Opinion 507, issued on July 12, addresses confidentiality concerns in office sharing arrangements with other lawyers. Whether the shared office space consists of separate practices, renting unused space from unaffiliated lawyers, or sharing resources like receptionists and conference rooms, this new Opinion addresses confidentiality, supervision, and conflicts of interest.
5 Online Tools to Save You a Lot of Time 6/23
This is a random list of some nifty tools. For research, the residential proxies’ tool is interesting for gathering public data. Hopper looks like a robust social media and reputation management product. Blocksite Chrome extension helps you cut out distracting websites. Pomodoro helps you focus on work sprints. Trello is for the visual project management oriented.
24 Microsoft Word Tips to Make Your Life Easier 6/16
Who doesn’t love a tip? Even though many lawyers spend considerable time in Microsoft Word there is always something new to learn. This list starts with the improved search and then reminds us of tools we might have forgotten like changing capitalizations with a click, the “show formatting” command, keyboard commands, auto-formatting fixes, and much more!
Manage Email Before and After Vacations 6/2
Going on vacation this summer? If you are a Microsoft Outlook user, this article suggests a few ways to manage email with automatic replies and rules while you are away. Then, when you come back, use a sort/filter/search/group system to triage your messages upon your return. Don’t let your habit of checking your email while on vacation sabotage your presence on a family vacation.
On Boating and Hiring Lawyers 5/26
Erik Mazzone, writing for Lawyers Mutual, explains how hiring in law firms echoes his father-in-law’s words: “the two best days in a boat owner’s life are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell it.” He suggests firms hire slow, fire fast, determine KPIs in advance and view your hire as an investment.
Do You Still Believe These 19 Ridiculous Tech Myths? 5/12
Do you think using Incognito mode in your browser increases your privacy online? That your laptop battery develops a “memory”, and you should discharge down to 0% so the battery will last longer? That 5G towers make you sick? That smartphone manufacturers build in planned obsolescence? Read this article to get the answers. Although, despite what this article says, #5 seems plausible.