People can turn on you. But you may not have thought that your old copier would turn into an informant against you. But, why not? You've kicked it to the curb, told it to get out of your life, replaced it with a new cuter model and now it is incarcerated in a warehouse with
Risk Management
Bad Check Scams Expanding and “Improving”
By Jim Calloway on
Let me start by saying that whatever you think you know about cashier’s checks and certified checks being secure simply doesn’t apply any more. Some forged bank checks are so good that you cannot distinguish them from the real thing simply by looking at them. Please make sure that your staff, your colleagues, your clients …
Are you securing important data with a weak password?
By Jim Calloway on
Most of us have a lot of passwords now. I wouldn't even hazard a guess as to how many passwords I have for various websites. There's a great temptation to use the same password for several sites. Experts will tell you that this is wrong, and it is. But most of us have a generic…
Get Your Hand Out of My (Law Firm’s) Pocket!
By Jim Calloway on
"Get Your Hand Out of My Pocket" is the title of a great blog post on law firm financial controls by the Alabama Bar's Laura Calloway. As many of you know, Laura was the Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2009. Too many small law firm lawyers feel that they know and trust each other so…
GPSOLO Mag “Small” Issue is Big Hit
By Jim Calloway on
I meant to mention this earlier. The GPSolo Magazine for April/May 2009 has a theme of "small" and a lot of great material worth reading. From small marketing ideas to small town practice to representing small business, this issue certainly delivers. I deem it a big hit. Of particular note are two features: How the…
Your “Out of Office” Voice Mail Message
By Jim Calloway on
OK, after watching someone get an extra complication in their life by not knowing this, I decided to pass along this tip that many lawyers know– just in time for summer. If you are out of the office, your voice message should say when you will return. It should not say when you left.
Correct:: "I…
New Hampshire Bar Issues Metadata Ethics Opinion
By Jim Calloway on
The New Hampshire Bar Association issued Ethics Committee Opinion 2008-2009/4 on April 16, 2009. I've written at length on this subject and one can go here to review my take on all previous bar ethics opinions about metadata. It still bothers me that many of these opinions assume (A) that removing metadata is an expensive…
Practicing Law in Tough Economic Times
By Jim Calloway on
Law firm layoffs, bailouts and bank closings are in the news. It is sometimes hard not to dwell on so many negative events. So I've been doing a lot of thinking about law practice in this economy, as have a lot of others. I've just finished a two part series in the Oklahoma Bar Journal…
When You Go To Heaven, Will Your Practice Go to Hell?
By Jim Calloway on
When You Go To Heaven, Will Your Practice Go to Hell? is an eye-catching title for a nice article on a very serious topic. It was written by Courtney Kennaday, PMA for the South Carolina Bar, and Reid Trautz, PMA for the Association of Immigration Lawyers of America. Sever other blogs have already…
“It’s the Economy, Stupid” Podcast from Atticus
By Jim Calloway on
I participated in the podcast panel discussion "It's the Economy, Stupid" with a stellar group of co-presenters including Mark Powers (President of Atticus), Mark Chinn, William C. Cobb, Professor Kamran Dadkhah and Thomas J. Ahrens. Typically the Atticus coaching firm makes these podcasts available to its graduates. But, given the problems in the economy that we…