Category Archives: Office Procedures

E-Filing Tips.

09 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in E-Filing, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Office Procedures, Technology

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E-Filing Tips for Attorneys, by Smokeball

https://www.smokeball.com/blog/e-filing-tips-for-attorneys/

Are you an e-filing superstar or novice? Regardless of your court jurisdiction, Smokeball has provided tips that cross jurisdictional lines. These are more common-sense suggestions rather than tips specific to a particular court, and worth your time. Smokeball includes a commercial for its product. Even if Smokeball is not your cup of tea, the underlying premise is a good one. -CCE

With the advent of e-filing comes new challenges and opportunities for mistakes. Some e-filling mistakes are caused by poor planning, clunky software or even something as simple as a setting in your inbox. To help you stay on top of your e-filling, here are five e-filing tips to help you avoid e-filing pitfalls.

‘[A] computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history – with the possible exception of handguns and tequila.’[1]

Use a Separate and Distinct E-Filing Email Address

Did you know that the average person receives about 120 emails everyday?

If you are like most people, you have to sift through the clutter to get to emails that are important. But, because you get so many emails everyday, you may overlook or mistakenly delete an important email.

With mandatory e-filing, every attorney is required to provide a primary email address and up to two secondary email addresses on all appearances and documents filed with the court.[2] This means that not only will you electronically file documents, you will also receive documents filed by other parties via email.

As you list your primary email address on your appearance, don’t use your personal email address as your primary address. Create a separate email address for e-filing to help you stay organized. A dedicated email address for e-filing will ensure that all notices are sent to one central address. This allows other members of your firm to access emails and look for notices from the courts specifically for your cases. Also, when you are out of the office, others can cover and look out for any actions taken on cases.

Check Your Junk and Spam Folders

Another simple but overlooked e-filing tip is checking your spam folder.

Everyday you receive junk or spam mail that clogs up your mailbox. Because of the countless number of junk mail we receive each day, our mail servers have filters that uses a set of protocols to determine what is junk and what are legitimate emails. However, there are times that legitimate emails are caught by an aggressive filter. For attorneys, that could potentially be an e-filling.

To ensure that you don’t miss a notice from the court or opposing counsel, make sure to check your junk mail folders. Also, don’t set your junk mail folder to delete automatically. You don’t want to make a mistake of missing a deadline because it was stuck in the junk mail folder and then auto-deleted.

Whitelist Important Senders

A whitelist is a list of email addresses or domain names that you provide that allows your junk mail or spam filter will allow through into your inbox. I recommend that you put the domain names of the courts and clerk’s offices on your whitelist.  Also, enter opposing counsels and key clients on the whitelist to ensure that emails are not blocked. It’s important to keep your whitelist updated as people and organizations change email addresses or domain names.

Check the Online Court Docket

It’s easy to rely on emails and notifications for new events on your cases, but don’t rely on emails to stay on top of your cases. It’s still a best practice to check the court’s docket online to ensure that no new action or orders were entered. There may be instances where emails were blocked, sent to the wrong address, or other technical glitches causing you to not receive a notice. Create a protocol to check the court’s online docket every 2 to 3 weeks on all your active cases.

Don’t Wait ’till the Last Minute

Supreme Court Rule 9(d) provides that you have until midnight to electronically file a document and still have it considered as filed that same day.  However, don’t wait till the last minute to file a document. E-Filing is a new process and there may be technical issues that you will encounter at the last minute. You may lose your internet connection, lose power, have computer issues, etc., which can cause you to miss your deadline.

Make sure your computer is up to date and have your anti-virus updated. Use a legal practice management system to ensure your data is backed up and you can collaborate with other members of your firm just in case something goes wrong with your computer.

E-filing with Legal Practice Management Software

It’s more important with e-filing to have all your case and critical data in a digital file, where you store all documents, emails, and other important case details in one central location. Enter Smokeball.

Smokeball not only allows you to keep all your information in one central place, you have access to over 14,000 automated legal forms, the most comprehensive automated legal forms library in the industry.

For attorneys in Illinois, Smokeball’s integration with InfoTrack allows you e-file directly from your practice management software. To learn more, see the software for yourself.

[1] Mitch Ratcliffe (quoted in Herb Brody, The Pleasure Machine: Computers, Technology Review, Apr. 1992, at 31).

[2] Rule 11, Rule 131(d)(1)

 

Focus!

06 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by in Law Office Management, Office Procedures, Time Management

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New Book on Attention Focusing, by Scott Fruehwald, Legal Skills Prof Blog

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_skills/2018/09/new-book-on-attention-focusing.html

In the legal profession, multi-tasking is considered a required skill for attorneys and staff alike. Depending on the project, there are times when I want – or need – a chunk of uninterrupted time to perform that particular task. At other times, I can easily juggle several things at once. It depends on the task and how many distractions are competing for my attention.

There is an opposite point of view that multi-tasking is a myth. Rather than multi-tasking, they advocate that focusing on one thing at a time is the most efficient use of your time.

This difference of opinion about multi-tasking is why this post caught my eye. We all have days when we wonder whether our brain cells decided to commit mass suicide without warning us. Conversely, there are times when we are solidly in the zone and knock out one assignment after the other.

Professor Fruehwald’s post tweaked my curiosity about a person’s short-term memory and how it works, as well as the title of Chris Bailey’s book, “Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction.” Looks like an excellent read. -CCE

One of the most important aspects of being an effective learner is attention focusing.  Short-term memory has only about 4 to 7 slots, and an effective learner focuses her attention on the task at hand.  Chris Bailey has just published a self-help book on attention focusing for a popular audience: Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction (2018).

From the New York Times:

‘Hyperfocus’ teaches readers to control their limited capacity to focus on and process things in the moment, which he calls our ‘attentional space.’ It turns out our brain’s scratchpad is pretty small and can only hold a handful of tasks at a time. When one of those tasks is complex — like putting together a business proposal or taking care of a toddler — that number dwindles down to one or two.

Why Automatic Deletion of Spam Email Causing Failure to File a Timely Appeal Is Not Excusable Neglect.

30 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by in Calendar/Docketing, Emails, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Office Procedures, Technology

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(With hat tip to William P. Statsky)

My home email software has a spam folder where unwanted emails go to die – eventually. I must deliberately choose to send an email to the spam folder. Then, I must decide whether let it remain in perpetual limbo as spam, block it, or delete it.

Imagine the number of emails routinely sent and received by most law firms.  My computer’s email setup would not be practical.  But, when it comes to email configuration, there are good choices and bad ones. A Florida law firm rejected recommended safeguards to snag spam and allow someone, other than the computer, to decide whether to delete the email. That decision, along with others, turned out to be a bad call.

Here are the facts. The trial court’s court clerk served an order by email on the parties. The order awarded a significant amount of attorney fees to the appellee. The appellant claimed it did not receive the emailed order, which is why it failed timely to file an appeal. What happened? The firm’s email system automatically deleted the court clerk’s email and attached order as spam.

The appellant appealed and asked the court to vacate the original order and reenter the order to allow the appellant to appeal. Its email deletion error was “excusable neglect.” Not so said that trial court, and the Florida’s First District Court of Appeal affirmed.

The appellate court gave several specific reasons for rejecting the appellant’s argument.  First, the review of the court clerk’s email logs confirmed that the email with the court’s order was served and received by the law firm’s server. Second, the law firm’s email configuration made it impossible to determine whether the firm’s server received the email. Third, the law firm’s former IT specialist’s advice against this configuration flaw was deliberately rejected by the law firm because its alternative cost more money.

The trial court concluded the law firm made a conscious decision to use a defective email configuration merely to save money, which was not “excusable neglect.”

Another nail in the coffin was testimony by the appellee’s attorney. His firm assigned a paralegal to check the court’s website every three weeks to safeguard that his firm would not miss any orders or deadlines.  The court held that the appellant had a duty to check the court’s electronic docket.

What’s the moral here? Lawyers must configure their computer systems to prevent this costly error. And they must employ a “meaningful procedure” to prevent the series of events that caused this fatal error.

I rather liked the idea of the paralegal assigned to check the court’s online file. In this instance, the paralegal checked it every three weeks. I would modify this depending on the notice time required by your court’s rules.

I recommend reading the entire opinion for its analysis on “excusable neglect.” You can find the opinion here: http://bit.ly/2xI3gGB. -CCE

Managing Distractions.

06 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by in Law Office Management, Office Procedures, Time Management

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How to Manage Interruptions and Distractions at Work, by Nicola Leach, Alliance Work Partners

https://www.awpnow.com/main/2016/07/07/manage-distractions-at-work

I admit that one of the things I like about working as a paralegal is that I never know exactly what will happen every day. I may have a mental list of target goals I want to accomplish that day. I may even get to start on at least one. But, emails, telephone calls, co-workers, demands of your clients, and unexpected and last-minute assignments often interrupt my work day. It’s what I call a normal day at the office.

I rely on checklists and our office software to keep me apprised of upcoming deadlines and when an average project has turned into a critical one. Prioritizing what comes first can be a challenge. But the biggest challenge I face is interruptions and distractions that eat away at my productivity.

If you have your own office, you can shut your door. If office drama occurs, heading back to your assigned work area and focusing on anything but the uproar is always the best policy.

But, remember that this door swings both ways. If you have no door to shut or share space with someone else, you must remember that you are not alone. Whenever you talk on the phone, mumble to yourself (I often talk to my computer as if it will pay attention to my demands), or make unnecessary noise, YOU have become the distraction.

Checklists work best for me to be prioritize my work load and make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. Your case management software might have built-in checklists you can use. If not, write your own. What works for me may not work for you. Regardless of your method, be faithful and turn it into a habit rather than a chore. -CCE

There’s Positive Stress and Then There’s the Other Kind.

11 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by in Bullying, Employment Law, Harassment, Law Office Management, Marketing, Office Procedures

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Stress at Work: Defining the Line Between Motivation and an Abusive Workplace, by Celeste Duke, Diversity Insight Blog

http://bit.ly/29Nja5b

Regardless of whether you are a lawyer or legal professional, if you have been out there for a while, you have run into a “bad” boss. They are described in different ways – bully, perfectionist, bi-polar, belittling, and just plain unpleasant – but they are all accomplish at least one thing. They chase off good employees, and make an associates’ and staff’s miserable.

Many rules in a law office may not make sense to the uninitiated. Usually strict rules accompanied with micro-management are a red flag. New hires will likely inherit left over residue from a former employee who abused the rules so badly and frequently that management adopted more restrictive rules. It doesn’t matter that the bad apple is no longer there. New employees are stuck with jumping through the hoop actually designed for a former employee.

If you are interviewing and the office manager asks whether you mind working with difficult people, that is clearly a red flag. Ask why a position is open. Often, when all other things are equal, someone who works for a good boss rarely leaves a job.

If you have a boss who is truly making you miserable or has made it clear you are as far up the ladder as you will go, it doesn’t hurt to polish up your resume and stick your toe in the water. As a good friend once said that, when it comes to job hunting, you can always shop but you don’t have to buy.

If you have found that the nice prospective boss in the interview has turned into an extremely difficult tyrant, of course you have options. But, to be on the safe side, you may want to polish your resume and start putting out feelers. There is a difference between positive stress and the extremely destructive kind. Before this boss has destroyed any self-confidence you have left, get out of there.

Happily, not all attorney supervisors believe that intimidation and abusive behavior is the best way to encourage quality work and employees. Some people even thing that positive reinforcement, team work, and mutual respect and consideration actually improve employee performance and enhance the firm’s overall quality. What a concept! – CCE

In the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, Blake is a trainer sent by corporate to motivate a sales team. In addition to offering helpful gems like the acronym ABC to remind the salesmen that they should ‘always be closing,’ he repeatedly berates them and calls them names while bragging about his own success. He tells the team about a new sales competition that week: First place gets a Cadillac, second place gets a set of steak knives, and third place gets fired.

We hope you have never had a boss like Blake, but it’s likely that you recognize shades of his character in past managers, coworkers, or even a current manager in your organization. You want managers to push employees to do good work and get the best results for the company, but it can be hard to know how far is too far. During his ‘motivational’ speech, Blake asks one salesman, ‘You think this is abuse?’ As it turns out, it just might be, and this could be a new frontier in employee claims.

Continue reading →

App Honey Pot for Lawyers and Other Legal Professionals.

13 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by in Apps, Clouds, Document Retention, Dropbox, Evernote, Google, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Management, Marketing, Office Procedures, Technology, Time Management

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50+ Apps and Services to Manage and Grow Your Law Practice, by Tim Baran, Legal Productivity Blog

http://bit.ly/1O8iPGC

[H]ere’s a list culled from feedback from solos and small firm lawyers and administrators, my own experience, and lots of research, that will help to optimize the day-to-day management and growth of your practice. . . .

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More Ways To Use The Versatility of Evernote.

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Evernote, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Note Taking, Office Procedures, Technology

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How Lawyers Use Evernote, by Tim Baran, Legal Productivity®

http://www.legalproductivity.com/practice-management/evernote-lawyers/

Evernote has so much potential. I have barely scratched the surface. This is a tool I definitely want to use and know more about. -CCE

Evernote is more than a note-taking application. We use it to store ideas, recordings, projects, tasks, images…The list is as comprehensive as we want it to be. Evernote allows us to offload our brain and organize our lives.

And how do lawyers use Evernote? I asked a few Evernote-loving lawyers. Here are their stories.

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Going Paperless?

26 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by in Document Retention, File Naming Conventions, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Office Procedures, Technology

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‘Paperless’ Office Doesn’t Really Mean Paperless, But It Does Mean New Processes and Procedures, by Jim Calloway, Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog

http://www.lawpracticetipsblog.com/2015/10/paperless-processes-and-procedures.html

‘Let’s just go paperless. We can free up all that space in the file room and quit paying so much for outside file storage.’

“What a great idea!

*           *           *

Thus begins the perfect storm of a paperless law firm makeover absolutely destined to fail. . . .

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Take Notes By Hand, Not On A Laptop, To Improve Your Memory Retention.

11 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by in Note Taking, Office Procedures

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New Study Finds Taking Notes By Hand “Significantly Improves” Word Recall Compared To Typing, by James B. Levy, Legal Skills Prof Blog

http://tinyurl.com/phpn429

In the old days before laptops and other digital devices were the norm, we took notes by hand. When I took notes rather than observing and listening in a hearing, meeting, or at trial, I thought it helped me to notice more details that stuck in my memory. I have not had the opportunity to use a laptop or other digital device to take notes.  I cannot say whether handwriting or typing improve memory retention. But it is an interesting idea. -CCE

The study was conducted by a team that includes Professor Anne Mangen (U. Stavanger, Norway) who is one of the foremost researchers studying the effect of hardcopy versus screens on comprehension and retention of information.  This new study is called Handwriting versus Keyboard Writing: Effect on Word Recall  and is available at 7(2) Journal of Writing Research 227 (2015) and can also be accessed online here. . . .

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Retooling and Law Office Management Tips From Jim Calloway.

15 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by in Economics, Law Office Management, Management, Marketing, Office Procedures, Technology, Time Management

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Effective Client Intake and the Rise of Firm Pricers, by Jim Calloway, Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog

http://tinyurl.com/pfxnpk5

Effective client intake and law firm pricing may not seem like closely connected topics, but they are connected and will be even more connected in the future. My column in the September Law Practice Magazine is Effective Client Intake and the Rise of Firm Pricers.

Law firms are retooling and reevaluating many of their operations and procedures. How long has it been since you have taken at look at your new client (or new matter for an existing client) intake procedures? . . .

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Big Brother Pilot Program Comes To Watchell Lipton Rosen & Katz.

22 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Management, Office Procedures, Time Management

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Wachtell Lipton To Start Tracking Employee Work Status, by Casey Sullivan, BNA Bloomberg Blog

https://bol.bna.com/wachtell-lipton-to-start-tracking-employee-work-status/

This firm has a philosophy – treat its lawyers like grown ups with no billable hour requirement and other perks. Now they appear to have a problem finding their attorneys.

Who gets the job of tracking the attorneys? Their assistants, of course. Will this encourage a great working relationship between the assistants and their supervising attorneys? Probably not.

How long do you think this pilot program will last, and will other firms follow their example? -CCE

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz will start a pilot program next week, requiring its assistants to report the status and location of the firm’s attorneys each morning, according to an internal memo leaked to the legal blog Above the Law.

Still unknown: how Wachtell plans to use the information it gathers?

From the memo: ‘The lack of awareness of the status and/or location of our colleagues results in staffing and work-related complications and other concerns.’

It also explained the process. The assistants would have an icon on their computers that would include a variety of options, such as ‘working from home,’ ‘traveling on business,’ and ‘leave of absence,’ and they will be required to input the status and location of their assigned attorneys. . . .

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Is It Okay To Wipe A Former Employee’s Computer?

04 Tuesday Aug 2015

Posted by in Discovery, E-Discovery, Evidence, Forensic Evidence, Law Office Management, Litigation Hold, Office Procedures, Preservation, Technology

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Court Denies Request for Sanctions for Routine Deletion of Files of Departed Employees: eDiscovery Case Law, by Doug Austin, eDiscoverydaily

http://tinyurl.com/p2jfsqe

For many employers, it is normal procedure to “wipe” the computer of recently former employees after removing anything not already stored on the employer’s network. Is this a bad practice? -CCE

In Charvat et al. v. Valente et al., 12-5746 (N.D. Ill. July 1, 2015), Illinois Magistrate Judge Mary M. Rowland denied the plaintiff’s request for spoliation sanctions for the defendant’s admitted destruction of computer files belonging to two departed employees, finding that the plaintiff did not provide any evidence that the defendant acted in bad faith. . . .

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Let’s Think About Going Paperless.

19 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by in Economics, File Naming Conventions, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Office Procedures, Scanners, Technology, Technology, Time Management

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How One Law Firm Went Paperless: An Interview with Andrew Kucera, by Tim Baran, Rocket Matter

http://tinyurl.com/noy2suz

For years, law firms have talked about going “paperless.” It took some time to catch on. Scanners were sometimes more trouble than they were worth. It took money and many hours to convert all the files to a paperless system. It sounded like a good idea, but not everyone was convinced.

Things have changed. These days, going paperless makes good sense and good economics. No more filing or indexing pleadings? I can live with that.

This post from Rocket Matter makes good sense. If you decide to go that route, do not start until you look into file naming conventions. Pick one that is logical and easy to understand. Now you are on your way. -CCE

While putting together the Paperless Law Office E-Book, we thought, who better to learn from than a firm who went through the process? So we interviewed Andrew Kucera who was instrumental in helping move six-person Cuttone & Kucera, PC (now, Cuttone & Associates), a real estate and business law firm in Fresno, California, to a paperless operation. . . .

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More File Naming Convention Tips.

07 Saturday Mar 2015

Posted by in File Naming Conventions, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Office Procedures

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File Naming Conventions  

This supplements a previous post listing file naming conventions. See https://researchingparalegal.com/2014/03/29/please-use-electronic-file-naming-conventions/. If none of those were a good fit for you, perhaps one of these will hit the mark. -CCE

Best Practices For File Naming, Stanford University Libraries
http://library.stanford.edu/research/data-management-services/data-best-practices/best-practices-file-naming

File Naming Conventions, Data Management for Undergraduate Researchers, Purdue University Librarians
http://guides.lib.purdue.edu/content.php?pid=440001&sid=4901667

Getting Organized: Great Tips for Better File Names, by Jill Duffy, PC Mag
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385613,00.asp

File Naming Guidelines, The Center for Teaching and Learning, Division of Academic Affairs, UNC Charlotte
http://teaching.uncc.edu/learning-resources/articles-books/best-practice/web-accessibility/file-naming-guidelines

I Have A Little List . . . .

23 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by in Law Office Management, Management, Marketing, Office Procedures, Time Management

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40 Essential Rules Of Client Management (Collected Over 10 Years), by Matthew Stibbe, Bad Language Blog

http://tinyurl.com/kuovcje

For the last decade, I’ve been compiling a list of ‘rules’ for client management based on very personal, subjective reactions to things that happened to me, mainly in the business world. I was partly inspired by NASA’s 100 rules for project managers.

I always meant it to be very personal and some of the rules relate to very specific things that happened to me. But I realised that with proper scrubbing it might be interesting for you too. . . .

Don’t Have A PIN Lock On Your Phone? Hope Your Malpractice Insurance Is Up To Date.

16 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by in Android Phones, Attorney Discipline, Blackberry Phones, Cell Phones, Confidentiality, Cybersecurity, E-Filing, Emails, iPad, iPhones, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Malpractice, Office Procedures, Passwords, Rules of Professional Responsibility, Supervising Support Staff, Technology, Technology

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Most Consumers Don’t Lock Mobile Phone Via PIN, by Ed Hansberry, DARKReading, InformationWeek©

http://tinyurl.com/plw76ut

My guess is that most people who use a smart phone access some kind of confidential information, such as your bank account or conversations with a client or the office. If you do not have a PIN lock on your smart phone, this truly is special kind of stupid.

This is not a hard one to understand. If you use your cell phone to communicate with clients, sync your phone to your office computer and docket, or attach yourself to your office and confidential information – without taking simple, basic security measures – you are  inviting a dangerous breach of confidentiality. -CCE

44% of respondents say it’s too much of a hassle, new survey reports.

People put a lot of sensitive info on their phones, but they often give little though to how secure their data is. In a survey by a security company, over half of the respondents said they didn’t bother with a PIN lock. This takes on a whole new dimension when you begin to understand how many of these people keep corporate data on the device.

Losing an unlocked phone can be far worse than losing a wallet. Emails on the device alone can reveal a wealth of information about the person, including where they bank, where they live, names of family members, and more. If company email is on the device, and it often is, there can be competitive information, salaries, system passwords, etc. If any of those emails contain links, often clicking on it will take you into the website, be it Facebook or a corporate portal.

According to Confident Technologies, 65% of users have corporate data on their phone, even though only 10% actually have a corporate issued device.

For that majority that don’t lock their phone at all, 44% said it is too much of a hassle to lock it and 30% said they weren’t worried about security. These are likely the same people that store things like social security numbers, passwords, and other sensitive information in text files or basic note applications. They may even store their computer’s password on a Post-It Note in their center desk drawer. . . .

Continue reading →

Top Posts for 2014.

01 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by in ALWD, Android Phones, Citations, File Naming Conventions, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Legal Writing, Legalese, Microsoft Office, Office Procedures, Outlook, Readability, The Bluebook

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Here they are – the posts ranked highest during 2014, the first full year for this blog. Posted in order of popularity, it is an interesting mix. Many thanks for stopping by. -CCE

Android Users – Good Advice And Alternative Options For Google Calendar Sync.

https://researchingparalegal.com/2014/07/09/android-users-good-advice-and-alternative-options-for-google-calendar-sync/

Peter Martin’s Introduction to Basic Legal Citation — An ALWD and Bluebook Cheat Sheet.

https://researchingparalegal.com/2013/10/31/peter-martins-introduction-to-basic-legal-citation-an-alwd-and-bluebook-cheat-sheet/

Legal Ethics Head’s Up – Don’t Get Drunk, Move A Dead Body, And Lie To Police.

https://researchingparalegal.com/2014/02/10/legal-ethics-heads-up-dont-get-drunk-move-a-dead-body-and-lie-to-police/

What The Heck Does “SS” In An Affidavit Mean Anyway?

https://researchingparalegal.com/2014/05/25/what-the-heck-does-ss-in-an-affidavit-mean-anyway/

Plain English Tools include Gobbledygook Generator.

https://researchingparalegal.com/2013/11/20/plain-english-tools-include-gobbledygook-generator/

Please Use Electronic File Naming Conventions!

https://researchingparalegal.com/2014/03/29/please-use-electronic-file-naming-conventions/

Sayeth or Saith? Actually, It’s Neither.

 https://researchingparalegal.com/2014/02/22/sayeth-or-saith-actually-its-neither/

It’s Almost The First Of The Year – Time For Strategic Planning Meeting!

25 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by in Disaster Preparedness, Law Office Management, Management, Marketing, Office Procedures, Technology, Time Management

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Leadership for Lawyers: How to Conduct a Strategic Planning Meeting, by Larry Port, Legal Productivity

http://tinyurl.com/o8txfh9

Your office may run perfectly – or so you think. We all have room for improvement. The same goes for the workplace. You may feel that, if there are any changes needed, you’ll make that decision. Fair enough. But is it possible that someone else at your office may have an idea you haven’t considered? You won’t know unless you ask. -CCE

What I’m about to ask you to do may initially seem like madness for an hourly lawyer, but I argue that it’s madness NOT to do it.

For the love of all that’s holy, PLEASE spend a day or two (even three) a year, locked in a room away from your office with the most important people in your law firm.

You need a yearly planning meeting like the one I describe below, and without it you’re spinning in circles without a navigation system. You won’t know where you’re going or when you’ve arrived.

Your annual planning meeting is the most critical conversation you will have all year for your law firm. When well-executed, you will emerge with a blueprint for the future direction of your firm. You’ll lay out concrete initiatives and goals that will, in turn, drive quarterly plans, which trickle down to your everyday to-do list.

Thought of in reverse, every activity you engage in on a daily basis should support a quarterly objective which is derived from the road map you draw in your annual offsite meeting. . . .

Do You Ever CC Clients On Emails? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t.

28 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by in Confidentiality, Emails, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Malpractice, Office Procedures, Rules of Professional Responsibility

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Don’t CC Clients on Emails, by Sam Glover, Lawyerist Blog

http://tinyurl.com/mrm3ucz

This one seems like a no-brainer, but I suspect many lawyers and paralegals alike have not realized the danger in this practice. -CCE

As a general rule, you should not CC your clients on emails.

First, because it gives every other recipient a chance to communicate directly with your client. In fact, it looks like an invitation to do so. Opposing counsel should know better, but even they might use Reply All accidentally, accidentally-on-purpose, or maybe even intending — albeit misguidedly — to be helpful.

In the case of recipients who are not bound by the rules of professional responsibility, you can hardly be surprised if they take the inclusion of your client’s email address as an invitation to keep them in the conversation or communicate with them directly. And remember that the recipient might forward your email, giving anyone not already included the chance to do so. This could be harmless if your email is related to a friendly business transaction. It could also be disastrous.

Don’t forget that clients can make mistakes, too. Even if you BCC your client to avoid the above problems, it could be your client who uses Reply All.

Second, part of your job is to counsel your client, which is difficult to do without providing at least a sentence or two of summary or context or explanation. If all you do is CC your client on every email (or forward every email with little more than “FYI”), you are missing a chance to do your job.

The better practice is usually to wait until the end of the discussion (or at least a decision point), so you can bring your client up to speed with a brief summary, some context, your analysis, the options you need to discuss, etc. Go ahead and include all the back-and-forth if you like, but don’t just hand it off. It is safe to assume given the fact of your representation that your client wants you to use your legal acumen to help them understand what is going on.

So don’t CC your client. There are certainly some exceptions to this ‘rule,’ or times when it doesn’t really matter. But at a minimum you should think twice before adding your client to the CC or BCC field of an email you are about to send.

Why Are U.S. Employees The Weakest Link In America’s Cybersecurity?

27 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by in Cybersecurity, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Malware, Office Procedures, Technology, Trojans, Using Social Media

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U.S. Employees Are Weakest Link In America’s Cybersecurity – Part One, by Ralph Loosey, e-Discovery Team®

http://tinyurl.com/kkltm9p

The Chinese army knows this vulnerability and attacks American employees every day to steal trade secrets and gain commercial advantage for Chinese businesses.

Criminal hackers can cause tremendous damage, whether trained in China or not. If a high level expert, such as any member of China’s elite Unit 61398, aka Comment Crew, gets into your system, they can seize root control, and own it. They can then plant virtually undetectable back doors into your systems. This allows them to later come and go as they please. . . .

Worst Passwords in 2013.

27 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by in File Naming Conventions, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Office Procedures, Passwords

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 The 25 Worst Passwords Of 2013: ‘Password’ Gets Dethroned, by Jared Newman, PC World

http://bit.ly/1ePbr3c

‘123456’ is finally getting some time in the spotlight as the world’s worst password, after spending years in the shadow of ‘password.’

Security firm Splashdata, which every year compiles a list of the most common stolen passwords, found that ‘123456’ moved into the number one slot in 2013. Previously, ‘password’ had dominated the rankings.

The change in leadership is largely thanks to Adobe, whose major security breach in October affected upwards of 48 million users. A list of passwords from the Adobe breach had ‘123456’ on top, followed by ‘123456789’ and ‘password.’ The magnitude of the breach had a major impact on Splashdata’s results, explaining why ‘photoshop’ and ‘adobe123’ worked their way onto this year’s list.

Fans of ‘password’ could reasonably petition for an asterisk, however, given that the stolen Adobe passwords included close to 100 million test accounts and inactive accounts. Counting those passwords on the list is kind of like setting a home run record during batting practice. Don’t be surprised if “password” regains the throne in 2014. . . .

The Mashable Hit List.

13 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by in Android Phones, Apps, Cell Phones, Clouds, Computer Virus, Disaster Preparedness, Dropbox, Emails, Encryption, Google, Heartbleed, Identity Theft, Law Firm Web Sites, Law Office Management, Legal Blogs, Legal Technology, Malware, Office Procedures, Passwords, PC Computers, Search Enginges, Technology, Using Social Media

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The Heartbleed Hit List: The Passwords You Need to Change Right Now, The Mashable Team

http://mashable.com/2014/04/09/heartbleed-bug-websites-affected/

If you wondered whether any main specific websites are affected, such as Yahoo, this list will help you.  It will also help explain the Heartbleed bug,  and why you should pay attention to what it is. If you want to know whether your specific bank was compromised, this list may not answer all your questions. So, if you’re not sure whether you should change your password, go ahead and do it.

Even better, find a password manager in this list of the best of the best from PC Magazine by Neil J. Rubenking — http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407168,00.asp. If you use one password for more than one website — and lots of people do — this is a good solution and a wise move regardless of the Heartbleed bug. -CCE

 

Please Use Electronic File Naming Conventions!

29 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by in File Naming Conventions, Law Office Management, Office Procedures

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Electronic File Naming Conventions

Is there anything more frustrating than trying to find a document on the computer when everyone names files any old way they want?  File naming conventions do not have to be difficult.  A few simple, logical rules used consistently by everyone is usually sufficient.  In bigger companies where electronic discovery is a way of life, strict requirements for consistent file naming conventions are a must.

I am a fan of what I call “one stop clicking.” By that, I mean that I can tell by reading the name of the saved file whether it is the document I need.  I want file naming conventions that are specific enough to identify what the document is, who wrote it, the date of the document, and what it is about. Repeatedly opening and closing documents to find what I want is a waste of billable time.

If necessary, create a list of acceptable abbreviations for everyone to use – no exceptions! But, if you do, please keep it simple and logical. There is no reason to re-invent the wheel or make this more difficult.

Here is a list of file-naming conventions. Regardless of whether your firm has already created file-naming conventions, you might want to look over the different versions below. Who knows? You might find a better idea for the system you are using now. -CCE

Records Management Tip #1: Electronic File Naming Posted, by Lawrence Giffin, Records Services Archivist, For The Record Blog

http://tinyurl.com/n3zjyry

Getting Organized: Great Tips for Better File Names, by Jill Duffy, PC Magazine

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385613,00.asp

Standard Naming Conventions for Electronic Records, Records Management Section, The University of Edinburgh

http://tinyurl.com/nv463

Electronic Records Management Guidelines, Minnesota Historical Society

http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/records/electronicrecords/erfnaming.html

If Your Copier Has A Hard Drive, Is Its Stored Data Susceptible to E-Discovery?

09 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by in Confidentiality, Databases, Discovery, E-Discovery, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Litigation Hold, Metadata, Native Format, Office Procedures, Preservation, Sanctions, Technology

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Be Aware: Copying Machines Can Have Hard Drives And Store Copies – That’s Potential Out-Of-The-Box Discovery, by Adolph J. Levy, Out-Of-The-Box Lawyering Blog

http://tinyurl.com/mmpkd5h

Did you know that some copying machines have hard drives and store digital copies of the copies they have made? Or that the hard drives could even contain 25,000 copies that have been made? Copier + Hard Drive: A Dangerous Combination.

Lawyers are used to discovering e-mail, but now what about using discovery to find copies that a opposing party made over time? Wouldn’t you like to be at your opponent’s office and see the originals of all the copies that were being made?

Well, now, fortunately — or unfortunately — you might be able to. . . .

Time Management Tips From Jim Calloway.

09 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by in Apps, Emails, iPad, iPhones, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Malpractice, Microsoft Office, Office Procedures, Outlook, Tablets

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Time Management by Buckets and Lists, by Jim Calloway, Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog

http://tinyurl.com/lbgd94z

How much time is wasted prioritizing ever-changing deadlines, projects, and e-mail? As always, Mr. Calloway provides common sense approach to time management, including management of e-mail, to-do lists, and more. -CCE

Time management is a challenge for us all these days. There are so many more distractions and so many more electronic avenues for assignments to come our way. It is a constant struggle to maintain productivity and a constant goal to improve. Missing a calendar entry can be critical in a law firm, so we live by our calendars. But making certain that critical tasks are completed promptly is equally important. Many lawyers put critical to-do items or deadlines on their calendars, even though they should be in a task list.