We’re
all taking advantage of it; in fact many of us say we couldn’t live
without it. We use technology throughout the day to help us stay in
touch and communicate. We can text, e-mail, Facebook and blog (like
I’m doing right now.) from just about any place with our
smartphones and laptops. When it comes to handling a busy practice,
the efficiency and convince this can create are indisputable.
However, it has changed our work pace and our work place and
perhaps not always for the better. Are you addicted to checking
your e-mail at all hours of the day and night? Can you unplug when
on vacation or a family outing? And what about the pace….do you
feel compelled to respond right away even though you may have been
working on another task or...
Love
My Smartphone: What’s not to love about a smartphone,
it’s a great tool for keeping up while on the go. And smartphones
aren’t just phones, they’re computers. The use of smart phones and
other mobile devices like iPads is pervasive, and lawyers too have
embraced these devices. But like all technology used by lawyers, we
have certain ethical duties that apply. State bars have
consistently held that the use of technology, such as e-mail,
cloud-computing and portable devices requires consideration of the
rules of professional responsibility addressing competency and
confidentiality. Specifically, layers using this technology should
be competent in understanding the technology (Rule 1.1
Competence) and how its use might impact the client...
Recently
one of ALPS' Claims Attorneys, Mike Flaherty, presented to the
Knoxville Chapter of the ALA on the issue of suing your clients for
fees. I developed content for that presentation and heard from Mike
that the session was well attended by ALA members. In fact, Mike
was slated for a 30 minute presentation, but because there were so
many questions, he stayed for a full hour. Obviously this is a
burning topic for legal administrators and attorneys right now. I’d
like to share my tips on this issue to help you avoid the risks
that are incurred if you are faced with suing your clients for
fees. In addition to the tips below for collecting your fees, take
a look at ALPS Risk Management Report on Billing and
Collection.
Suing your client for...
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Recently
a lawyer called to ask whether or not intake forms are useful. As
is often the case the answer to that is “it depends.”
A basic intake form that is very general in content may do little to improve your intake process. But a well thought out intake form focused on a particular practice area can be very beneficial for streamlining and gathering useful information from the client.
To be used effectively you should develop a different intake form for different areas of practice. This will allow you to obtain the types of information required for each area of practice. For example, if you practice in wills and trusts, business formation, and family law, these areas each require different types of information. In a wills and trusts...
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