Recent news regarding legal mishaps reveals that mistakes can be avoided if proper systems and procedures are in place. For instance, a court ruled that a client forwarding an email to a third party waived privilege. A lawyer was sanctioned for plagiarism of another attorney’s brief. A firm had to file notice of data breach due to an unencrypted USB…
Today’s smartphones are millions of times more powerful than the Apollo 11 guidance computers. While they still can’t take us to the moon, these small but mighty computers give us the world of work (and play) in our pockets. How can you apply protections to ensure that your device is properly secured against exposure of confidential client and personal information?…
Returning original documents to clients is now the best practice in law firms. However, when a family member contacts the firm and says, “do you know where my mom’s will is?” or a small business asks “do you have my articles of incorporation” most firms want to be helpful, but the matter is literally out of their hands. There are…
The security landscape has become overwhelming for many lawyers. The last 10 years have witnessed an increasing awareness that a lack of compliance with security best practices may put lawyers and their clients at elevated risk. The updates to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct in 2012, now adopted by nearly 39 states, served as a wake-up call to…
By Catherine Sanders Reach and Roberta Tepper When lawyers hear the term “succession planning”, many automatically think of planning for retirement or closing a practice due to death or disability. But succession planning encompasses far more than closing. A robust succession plan should include a plan by which the practice or firm can continue to operate notwithstanding seemingly catastrophic changes—it…
There are many times you need to ask that your clients send you files. Most everyone knows how to attach files and send via email, but is there a better way? Are there a lot of files? Large files? Do the files hold sensitive information like bank records, taxes, or insurance claims? There are many ways to securely request files…
Whether you are preparing for retirement, already retired, or just cleaning up old files that have long passed the retention period you probably have some documents that need shredding. What are the ethical requirements and the practical realities of shredding old legal documents? Read on! Keep, Toss, or Shred? In a private law firm records include, but are not limited…
Securing and protecting your firm’s data are essential. Client files, important communications, and valuable work product often exist exclusively in digital format today, and thus a major data loss could have catastrophic professional and ethical ramifications. Whether you are creating a plan for business continuity that contemplates natural disasters, fabricated disasters, pandemics, or other things that go bump in the…
If an attorney or support team member is terminated or quits, law firms should have a checklist of items that need to be acted on to ensure that firm and client data is not compromised and ensure client needs are met. Offboarding Checklists Most firms and businesses hold exit interviews. However, that is just one of many things to do…
Using templates for word processing documents is a wonderful way to maintain consistent formatting, reduce errors and improve efficiency. However, two “ripped from the headlines” examples serve as reminders of how templates can be a powerful risk management tool or lead to costly and embarrassing risk exposure. What Are Templates? There are many ways to leverage templates in the tools…