I certainly understand that when times are tough, one is tempted to get creative and explore new ways to drive business to the practice.  We’re seeing attorneys try all kinds of things to include jumping into the world of social media, taking some aspect of the practice online, creating new and innovative business relationships with other firms or businesses, and the list goes on and on.  Personally, I feel that trying to reinvent one’s practice in order to stay current with the times is a pretty savvy business decision.  My concern, however, is in taking shortcuts to get there and one shortcut that I come across from time to time is one taken with letterhead.

Gavel and Gown Software, known for their Amicus Attorney Software which is a law practice management product, has an affordable subscription practice management package available for the solo or small firm attorney who currently relies on Outlook.  The program, called Credenza, is an Outlook add-in that converts Outlook into a practice management tool.  For those of you who might worry about the changes that would be made, you can continue to use Outlook as you always have.  Credenza’s data is maintained separately from Outlook’s data so your Outlook can be returned to its normal state if you ever decide to uninstall.

This past April, CBS did an investigative story on used copy machines sitting in a warehouse waiting to be sold and the concern raised is one every lawyer should take quite seriously.  Why?  Because there is no exception to our Professional Conduct Rule 1.6 Confidentiality that says the rule doesn’t apply in the digital world.  Of course it applies.  The challenge is in figuring out all the ways one can go astray and, as CBS pointed out; digital copiers are a trap for the unwary.

Allow me to share a few examples of comments that I sometimes hear when the issue of upgrading computer hardware or software has been raised.  “Windows XP is awesome and Vista, well everything I’ve heard is that it’s a piece of crap.  So, I’m staying with what works.”  “Everyone knows that MACs are secure.  Why waste money on all that security software?  If you ask me those security companies are no better than the scammers.  Everything they do is plain old fear mongering.”  “We spent thousands of dollars on new hardware and software in 2002 and that stuff still works so we’re not about to replace it again.  If those other highfalutin firms want to throw money away, let them.”

A question that comes up from time to time, usually after an attorney has read a news story about missing funds in a local law firm’s trust account, concerns insurance coverage for such a loss.  This is a particularly troublesome concern due to the nature of the problem.  Trust account funds are other people’s money and, as a result, having coverage for a theft out of this account is a serious issue.  The ramifications of discovering such a loss are nightmarish.  Not only can the necessity of having to replace the missing funds in order to prevent harm to any client be more than a firm may be able to financially cover; but the firm’s reputation will certainly take a hit, and trust me, bar counsel and/or discipline counsel are going to make their presence known.

Smartphones continue to take an ever more central role in the personal and professional lives of many. In short, they are pocket computers with Internet access and they come with all the benefits and risks inherent with that. Most users enjoy the Internet connectivity that a smartphone brings; but fewer of us understand that mobile phones can be infected with a virus, worm, or Trojan. In fact, malware can be passed along via Bluetooth, by using public Wi-Fi, or simply by falling prey to a social engineering attack and clicking on a link in a text message that wasn’t what you thought it was. There are even programs that allow others to remotely turn on the microphone enabling them to eavesdrop on a conversation.

“The car defines the man.”  I’ve never really bought into this saying or others like it.  I guess I’ve seen too many guys driving cars that they thought made them look cool but, in truth, made them look silly.  Yes, this is a personal opinion, but I strongly suspect that my response to some of these guys over the years was more in line with what others thought than not.

I suspect you might be asking yourself, “what does all this have to do with attorneys?’  Plenty.  Consider what attorneys are doing or not doing with technology and the Internet.  For starters, websites for any business are now a given. 

An interesting call came in yesterday.  A law firm has launched a blog that focuses on one of the hottest areas of legal malpractice, real estate law.  The question presented was, “If we’re sued as a result of our blog, are we covered under our malpractice policy?”  The answer really is “it depends.”  Now, for you non-bloggers out there, I hope you are able to recognize that the caller’s question is relevant to more of us than most might at first realize.  Why?  Because the issue raised applies not only to a blog, but to email or print newsletters, ask a lawyer columns, attorney tweets, articles posted on a website, TV call in shows, and the list goes on and on.

This post reiterates some good old fashioned, plain Jane, down to earth advice that is simply this: take care of yourself.  It sounds simple, and we all have heard it from parents, friends, colleagues, kids and perhaps most often from a significant other.  My travel experience these past eleven years has underscored the importance of this advice, and I am learning to heed it more with every trip I take.

Trust is a very good thing, particularly when properly balanced with a healthy bit of mistrust.  This sentiment couldn’t be truer then today when the “name of the game” in cybercrime is social engineering. Week by week it seems as if the attacks are becoming ever more sophisticated and more frequently targeted toward very specific victim groups.  Although the scam details will differ, as that’s the nature of social engineering, there currently seems to be a common approach toward lawyers.