I recently met an attorney that was considering open his own practice. He didn’t believe he could do it, because he didn’t have the capital to invest. “Maybe if I had $500,000 I would do it,” he said. He is certainly not the only one that shares the opinion that you need a lot of money to start a law practice. However, others believe that a law practice can actually be a very inexpensive business to start....
When a lawyer launches a website, he or she obviously needs content. Search engines scan your page for content, and those with fresh, relevant, and insightful offerings get a bump in the search result rankings. Where does that content come from? If you’re smart, you’ll handle it yourself, or have a trusted member of your staff write it. But no matter what, never plagiarize. Not only does Google penalize duplicate content, but the original author will find out....
Apart from the usual tips that go along with opening and running a virtual law firm, there are some serious practical considerations. If you won’t actually have an office, you may want to check to ensure that’s ethical. However, most states have found shared virtual office services to be acceptable. If you opt for one of these arrangements, below you’ll find five important tips for running your virtual practice. If you can operate a virtual law firm, you better be able to operate some basic online cybersecurity software....
A lot actually. It might sound like a Herculean task, especially for less tech-savvy attorneys. But protecting your client’s and your own data is easy and important. The FBI states that law firms are considered prey for hackers. The valuable personal and corporate data stored in every attorney’s computer makes them targets for back door attacks. But you can thwart many of these attempts by just following these simple tips....
While whistleblower laws have been in existence for some time, the passage of Dodd-Frank has changed the legal landscape for dealing with whistleblowers. The SEC has created incentives for whistleblowers, including rewards, and anti-retaliation measures. Because of these incentives, we’re likely to see an increase in whistleblower cases. The ACC Docket published an article, “Strategies for Keeping a Whistleblower In-House,” and we were inspired to share some ways that your legal department should prepare for, and train employees for dealing with whistleblowers....
What’s the quickest way to get yourself sued, for the most amount of money, advertising-wise? It’s as simple as picking up the phone (or fax). Unsolicited calls, texts, and faxes, which are often made in bulk, can lead to statutory damages of between $500 and $1,500 per violation. We’ve seen plenty of appellate cases dealing with the nuances of the law and regulations. And as you might expect, appellate courts have little sympathy for telemarketers and junk faxers....
Whether it’s making sure we get through all our necessary tasks, prioritize important projects, or simply stop wasting time on Facebook, pretty much every legal professional could improve their time management skills. And you can. If you want to improve your time management skills, approach it like you would go about getting into better shape. (No, we don’t mean signing up for a gym membership you never use.) Make a few small changes and start building “healthy habits” in order to improve your overall effectiveness and productivity....
We’re gadget geeks, so we wait around for every Apple event, but today’s event promised big things for even all you normal folks with friends: upgraded Macs. Why is that important? Because Windows 8 is terrible, Windows 10 is a year away, and you might need to upgrade your computers now. Or maybe you’re one of the many folks who run Mac in your law office. Either way, today’s event had a lot of new goodies of business users, as well as incremental upgrades for the company’s iPad line....
In re: Wilborn, No. 09-20415, involved an interlocutory appeal from the bankruptcy court’s certification of a class action in an adversary proceeding. The Fifth Circuit vacated the order, on the ground that a bankruptcy judge may certify a class of debtors under appropriate circumstances but that the proposed class in this case did not satisfy the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and Federal Bankruptcy Rule of Procedure 7023....
In mid-November a photo of a sign at Burger King that stated, “Now hiring must be Mexican” went viral – and not in a good way. Burger King quickly replied by issuing a statement explaining that it was an old photo that was taken by a disgruntled employee; they also noted that it happened at a location owned by a franchisee, but was assured that the employee was “immediately terminated as a result....
What is a “career offender” and how easy is it to overturn a that determination? The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed this issue and vacated a lower court judgment, ordering the district court to have another go at it. The defendant, Darryl Lee Johnson, was ruled a career offender and was sentenced to one hundred and fifty one months in prison. He pled guilty to drug charges, namely the possession of heroin with the intent to distribute....
Everybody knows that the IT guy can make or break a computer system. Everybody also knows he’s not supposed to break it on purpose. Michael Thomas, however, apparently didn’t get that memo. Thomas, chief technology officer for a software company, said he had permission to damage the system. In United States of America v. Thomas, the jury and the courts said, “uh, no.” Electronic Time Bomb Thomas was working for ClickMotive, a software and web hosting company, when he found out a coworker had been fired....
It’s been two weeks. Two weeks running Apple’s beta version of OS X 10.10 Yosemite, set for wide release this fall. (Well, almost two weeks – it took 24 hours to actually download the software, but I digress.) Two weeks of flat design, upgraded features, and surprisingly few bugs for a beta version. What’s the verdict? OS X 10.10 is the iOS-ification of the desktop operating system: flat design, thinner fonts, and a few other features pulled from the mobile OS, and it’s surprisingly fantastic....
They say there’s no rest for the wicked, and that would include hackers. No sooner do the experts figure out the FaceTime bug, than researchers discover a vulnerability in the 5G network. That’s the high-speed protocol set to roll out in a matter of months. The vulnerability allows potential data thieves to steal information off the airwaves. Wicked thieves. Airwave Vulnerability According to ZDNet, hackers can exploit a security flaw in 5G, 4G, and 3G airwaves....
Imagine the world’s most powerful library catalog. Not only can you search by title, author, or type of book, but you can search for actual text, such as books discussing the culture of rural West Virginia mountain people during the Revolutionary War. Oh wait, we have that. It’s called Google Books. You can run such a search, and you get snippets from such titles as “A History of Appalachia” or “West Virginia: A History....
Courtroom attire is, like any field of fashion, evolving. And depending on the hipness of your locale, you may be able to ride the bleeding edge of fashion while in court. And while bow ties are currently riding a Wes Anderson-sized wave of nostalgia-based popularity, here is our definitive guide to this court fashion question: Neckties or bow ties? Old timey gender-based fashion expectations are at an all time high in most courtrooms, and many attorneys choose to mesh with these expectations rather than stick out like a sore thumb....
You don’t have to go to Austin or Portland to hear about the importance of “keeping it weird.” In many companies, cultivating an office culture of “weirdness” is seen as a way of fostering creativity and increasing employee satisfaction. Apparently having a foosball table and bean bags isn’t enough these days. Of course, like many other office culture issues, there are legal risks that any good GC should address before clearing out everyone in khaki....
You are running a law practice, and you want to buy the latest, greatest technology to get the job done. You order new software online regularly. You want these tech tools to help your law practice. Beware of having too many cooks on your desktop, though. More or new isn’t always better. There’s often no need to take on the expense and time necessary to change or install new software. Taking on the expense and time necessary to change or install new software doesn’t always fix everything....
There’s zealous advocacy on behalf of a client and then there’s harnessing the power of the Internet to influence a legal proceeding. The first? Fine. The second – well, it could get you in trouble, as the case of Joyce McCool makes clear. McCool, a Louisiana lawyer, has been disbarred after using social media in an attempt to influence a case. Not fined or suspended – disbarred. McCool lost her license to practice after she took to Twitter and a Change....
Creating a unique and inspiring law firm commercial seems to be a lost art nowadays. Nothing is more disappointing than seeing a lawyer advertisement with VHS camcorder video quality or a thirty-second spot of a guy standing in front of a bookcase talking about how he helps his clients. Then again, if it weren’t for 2 a.m. ambulance chaser ads, what would we mock at 2 p.m. on a blog?...
