Scott E. Vincent is the founding member of Vincent Law, LLC in Kansas City.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit recently affirmed a 41-month prison sentence imposed on a dentist convicted of tax evasion. In U.S. v. Ulibarri,¹ the court rejected the dentist’s arguments that the sentence was not reasonable due to his reliance on a tax scheme promoter’s alternative tax mitigation strategy and business trust structure to eliminate federal taxes.

Ulibarri serves as a reminder to lawyers that the IRS pursues clients of tax scheme promoters, particularly when they significantly and repeatedly utilize the scheme.

Background

Ryan Ulibarri, a dentist licensed in Colorado, owned and operated Ulibarri Family Dentistry starting in 2014. After establishing the dental practice, Ulibarri attended a seminar led by associates of Larry Conner purporting to teach business owners how to eliminate federal income taxes on business income using Conner’s alternative tax-mitigation strategy, which was determined to be an abusive trust tax scheme. Against the advice of his lawyers and accountants, Ulibarri used Conner’s unlawful tax shelter for over seven years.

Using Conner’s strategy, Ulibarri funneled his business earnings through a series of “sham trusts.” To effectuate the scheme, Ulibarri assigned ownership of Ulibarri Family Dentistry to a business trust, which distributed income to a family trust, which then distributed income to a charitable trust. Ulibarri’s family spending was covered by funds held in the trust accounts, and Ulibarri then improperly claimed these personal expenses as deductions.

The trust tax returns reported distributions and deductions matching or exceeding the reported income, with the net positive income ultimately “donated” to a tax-exempt private family foundation. The foundation also loaned funds back to the sham trusts, allowing Ulibarri full control and beneficial use of the dental practice income without any tax liability.

From 2016-2023, the scheme enabled Ulibarri to avoid more than $1.6 million in taxes on $5.3 million in earnings from the dental practice.² During this time, Ulibarri concealed the scheme from his banks and the IRS by using nominal grantors to sign documents and providing misleading and deceptive information about his income, assets, and trusts. He continued using the scheme even after repeated warnings from lawyers, bookkeepers, and lenders, and even after his initial indictment.

In 2024, Ulibarri was indicted by a grand jury on six counts of tax evasion for his 2017-2022 tax years. He ultimately pled guilty. The district court determined Ulibarri’s offense level, made adjustments, and then sentenced Ulibarri to 41 months of imprisonment, three months supervised release, over $1.6 million in restitution, and a fine of $150,000. This was the maximum imprisonment under the range for the applicable guidelines.

Ulibarri appealed to challenge his sentence as procedurally and substantively unreasonable.

10th Circuit analysis and decision

The 10th Circuit addressed both Ulibarri’s procedural and substantive unreasonableness claims but ultimately affirmed the district court’s ruling.

Procedural reasonableness

The 10th Circuit first reviewed Ulibarri’s procedural claim, noting that a sentence is procedurally unreasonable if the district court incorrectly calculates the guidelines sentence, treats the guidelines as mandatory, fails to consider statutory sentencing factors, relies on clearly erroneous facts, or does not adequately explain the sentence.

In this case, Ulibarri contended that the district court abused its discretion in misapplying the sentencing guidelines by improperly including, and miscalculating, a 2023 tax loss. He also contended that the district court improperly assessed a two-level “sophisticated means” enhancement.

Ulibarri was not indicted for the 2023 tax period, but the district court had included the 2023 loss in his sentencing. Ulibarri argued that his 2023 tax loss was not related to the tax scheme conduct. The 10th Circuit reviewed IRS testimony and district court findings to the contrary, which indicated the 2023 tax loss resulted from continuing to implement the tax scheme by using the sham trusts.

The 10th Circuit found that the district court did not err in finding that the sham trust usage in 2023 was part of the same course of conduct and aggregating it with the other loss amounts for the years in question.

In calculating the 2023 tax loss, the IRS agent used a guidelines method for unfiled returns treating the tax loss as 20% of gross income, less tax withheld or paid. Ulibarri made several arguments about the practice gross receipts and cost of goods deductions calculations done by the IRS agent under this method. However, the 10th Circuit noted that the guidelines contemplate a reasonable estimate based on available facts and found that the district court’s calculation of the 2023 tax loss was a reasonable estimate under that standard.

Finally, the guidelines provide a two-level sentence enhancement for an offense involving “sophisticated means,” which is especially complex or intricate conduct in execution or concealment of an offense. Ulibarri argued the tax scheme was not “sophisticated” and did not involve elaborate planning or concealment on his part; he had merely purchased Conner’s tax shelter services and relied on financial advice as a client.

The 10th Circuit had no trouble finding that Ulibarri’s offenses involved sophisticated means, noting he misused multiple financial accounts, sham trusts, and grantors, and went to elaborate lengths to hide more than $5 million in business income from the IRS.

The 10th Circuit also rejected Ulibarri’s effort to shift blame to the tax shelter promoter, noting that he continued using the tax shelter scheme despite clear and repeated warnings from his lawyers and accountants that the conduct was unlawful.

Based on these findings, the 10th Circuit concluded that the district did not err in applying a sophisticated means sentencing enhancement.

Substantive reasonableness

The 10th Circuit next addressed whether the district court abused its discretion in applying the following U.S. Code § 3553(a) factors to impose an unduly long sentence:

• The nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant
• The need for a sentence to reflect the seriousness of the crime, deter future criminal conduct, prevent the defendant from committing more crimes, and provide rehabilitation
• The sentences that are legally available
• The sentencing guidelines
• The Sentencing Commission’s policy statements
• The need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities
• The need for restitution

Ulibarri argued that the district court did not give adequate weight to certain factors, including the compromise to his personal and professional reputation, the conviction itself as general deterrence without a custodial sentence, unfair sentencing disparity relative to similarly situated defendants, and his inability to work while incarcerated which delayed restitution payment.

The 10th Circuit found that all of Ulibarri's factors were argued at length during the sentencing hearing and further found that “re-weighing” the § 3553(a) factors would be "beyond the ambit of our review."

The 10th Circuit concluded that the sentence imposed was within the guidelines range and presumptively reasonable, and the sentence, therefore, was not substantively unreasonable.

Conclusion

The 10th Circuit decision in Ulibarri shows the difficulty in challenging district court discretion in applying sentencing guidelines. The decision also rejects the idea that a taxpayer can simply rely on a tax shelter promoter or professional advisor in structuring and implementing a tax shelter scheme.

Endnotes
1 2026 PTC 130; 10th Cir. 2026.
2 Id.

Paul Unger is a lawyer, speaker, and author in the field of legal technology. He has lectured in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Contact Unger at punger@affinityconsulting.com.

If you get 150 emails, 50 messages, 20 telephone calls, 15 walk-in interruptions, 25 social media notifications, and 50 email or internet curiosity breaks, that totals 310 digital interruptions. Divide that into 480 workday minutes and you have an interruption every 1.5 minutes! 

A 2025 Microsoft study indicated the average American worker is interrupted every two to three minutes — 275 times a day — by meetings, emails, or chats during core work hours.¹ Researchers in a 2007 Microsoft study concluded that it takes about 15 minutes to return back to work following an electronic-based interruption.² 

If lawyers are interrupted every two minutes, and it takes 15 minutes to return back to work they were performing, it can feel almost impossible to get anything done during the workday. This is why you may look at your timesheet some days at 5 p.m. and see only two hours of billable time, but feel like you put in a 14-hour day. 

The reality is we live in an age of information overload. We are constantly connected to the world, from smartphones, social media, 24-hour news networks, tablets, and computers. Unfortunately, this constant information overload may worsen our attention span. 

Between document filing deadlines, meetings with clients, case law research, and other tasks, an interruption every couple of minutes could greatly hinder a lawyer’s ability to effectively practice law and serve their clients. 

One way lawyers can help overcome the inability to focus is by learning attention management skills. Here are five attention management tips you can implement today that are easy, practical, and will make a big impact on your ability to focus and practice law. 

1. Turn off ALL notifications 

Why would you want to give the world a hotline to your brain? Turn all notifications off, and I mean all of them. 

In Microsoft Outlook, email notifications can be turned off by navigating to “File” > “Options” > “Mail” and deselecting the four different methods of notifications when a new message arrives. On an iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications and turn off notifications by app. As a recent Microsoft article notes: “The inbox may still be the front door to work, but too often it opens to a flood of unprioritized chaos.”³ 

You can also schedule “Do Not Disturb” times on your phone and computer to limit the texts, calls, and other notifications you receive. 

2. Practice single-tasking 

Clear your desk and your multiple monitors of information that is not directly relevant to the project you are executing. 

For example, email creates distraction explosions every 30 seconds to five minutes. How can lawyers possibly focus if they see those explosions hit in their inboxes? You should always minimize your email platform on your monitor unless you are batch processing emails or planning upcoming tasks.

Just because you have two or three monitors doesn’t mean you need to have something displayed on them, especially if the information displayed derails your ability to focus on the task in front of you. 

3. Use the Pomodoro method 

Pomodoro is a technique that utilizes a 25-minute timer. You work on a single task, preferably deep-thought work, for 25 minutes and then take a break and do whatever you want for five minutes. In other words, work in intervals. 

The human brain functions well when maintaining attention to a single task for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, studies show workers begin to lose focus. By giving yourself a five-minute break, you can return to deep-thought legal work for another 25 minutes easily. 

Once you get a little momentum going and are immersed in the project, it becomes a lot easier to make progress on the task at hand. 

This technique can make a huge impact on productivity and help combat procrastination. 

4. Tackle deep-thought work early in the day 

Dive into deep-thought work, writing, or projects in the morning. Our brains function better following quiet time or sleep. In addition, this is theoretically the time before other tasks pop up throughout the day that could derail your attention. This can be one of the most productive times of the day since there could be far fewer interruptions. 

5. Create rituals 

Rituals are small checklists or short rigid schedules designed to execute the same desired tasks during a set period of time. Rituals can help form positive habits and prevent you from taking email or internet curiosity breaks. They also remind us to do things we frequently forget. 

By adding rituals and checklists, lawyers can greatly enhance their ability to focus and do those things that seem to always fall off their radars. 

By implementing these five attention management tips, lawyers can take back control of their workdays, make progress on their to-do lists, and continue to serve their clients in a timely and ethical manner.

Endnotes
1 MICROSOFT, 2025 WORK TREND INDEX ANNUAL REPORT: 2025: THE YEAR THE FRONTIER FIRM IS BORN (April 2025), https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/2025-the-year-the-frontier-firm-is-born.
2 Steve Lohr, Slow down, brave multitasker, and don’t read this in traffic, N.Y. Times (March 25, 2007), https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/business/25multi.html.
3 Breaking down the infinite workday, MICROSOFT (June 17, 2025), https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/breaking-down-infinite-workday.

Jeffrey Schoenberger is a senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group LLC.

Artificial intelligence is everywhere. According to a Forbes Advisor survey, 97% of business owners believe tools like ChatGPT will help their businesses.¹ At the American Bar Association’s TECHSHOW in March, there were more than 15 sessions about AI.² And yet, lawyers continue to make headlines for citing cases that never existed — because an AI platform confidently made them up. 

That contrast tells us something important. AI is powerful, but it is not magical. Like any other tool in your firm, AI can help or hurt depending on how — and where — you use it.

The goal is not simply to “use AI,” but instead to leverage AI effectively in certain situations, with minimal risks and maximum results. 

Start with the right model 

Different AI tools generally serve different purposes, and many can outperform traditional search engines when you want an answer that synthesizes several sources. Below are five “general-purpose” AIs and how they may help your firm — without using them for legal research or analysis. 

• ChatGPT has become a household name and excels at more general inquiries like brainstorming, outlining, and producing first drafts.
• Claude tends to be more cautious, more structured, and better with long inputs. It is less “salesy” and more deliberate.
• Google Gemini has the advantage of access to Google’s ecosystem and your stored data.
• Microsoft Copilot shines inside Microsoft 365 — summarizing email threads, manipulating Excel data, and helping draft responses in Outlook or Word.
• Perplexity combines AI summaries with citations, which is helpful for market research, tech evaluations, and comparisons. 

These tools are not designed to do legal research or final-form legal writing. Treating AI platforms as substitutes for legal judgment is how lawyers could end up embarrassing themselves — and worse, explaining themselves to disciplinary authorities. 

The safest and most effective approach is simple: 

• Use AI for administrative work or for early drafts in areas where you are already knowledgeable.
• If you can confidently spot errors, omissions, or bad advice, you are in the right territory. 

Example 1: marketing 

Many lawyers know what they want to say but dread sitting down to write it. Marketing content, such as blog posts, newsletters, and social media, often stalls out at the blank page stage. 

That is where AI earns its keep. 

In this example, start by asking ChatGPT for ideas. The quality of the results depends on the prompt.

An OK prompt: “Give me ideas for social media posts for an estate planning firm.” 

A better prompt: “I am the owner of a solo estate planning firm. I primarily work with single mothers, and I am a single mother myself. I need ideas for blog posts aimed at single mothers who do not yet have an estate plan.” 

Specific context produces better output. Once you find an idea you like, ask ChatGPT for a draft. If the draft misses the mark, tell it why and ask for a rewrite. 

You will still need to edit and factcheck. But if writer’s block is your bottleneck, AI can get you moving. 

Rule of thumb: If something feels wrong, fix it. If you are unsure, verify it or remove it. 

Example 2: writing email responses 

Not every email requires legal analysis. Many require clarity, tone control, or a nudge toward action. 

For example, Copilot can help by drafting a response based on your instructions: “I need to follow up politely but firmly and ask the client to respond.” 

That differs from asking for legal advice. Used this way, Copilot may save time and reduce friction. 

This can work particularly well for re-engaging clients who have gone silent for months. Sometimes the hardest part is figuring out what to say and how to say it. AI can help you get over that hump. 

Example 3: drafting firm policies 

Policies are another area where AI can provide leverage without undue risk. 

For example, suppose you want to formalize a work-from-home policy. You already know the rules: 

• Two days remote per week
• Three days in the office, and
• Two weeks’ advance notice for planned remote days. 

Feed that information into ChatGPT and ask it to draft the policy. You will likely receive a surprisingly thorough draft covering objectives, eligibility, approval processes, communication expectations, equipment, security, and acknowledgments. 

Will it make assumptions? Yes. 

Will it include things you do not want? Probably. 

But reviewing and refining a draft is far easier than starting from scratch. It may also surface issues you had not considered. 

A critical rule: Always start fresh 

One final operational note that matters more than people realize: When you switch topics, start a new chat in the AI platform. 

Reusing an existing conversation confuses the model and degrades output quality. Treat each task as a clean slate. You will get better results faster and with less frustration. 

The takeaway 

AI is neither a silver bullet nor a ticking time bomb. It is a productivity tool — one that rewards clear thinking, good judgment, and appropriate boundaries. 

Start by using it where the stakes are low and your expertise is high. That is how you can transform your legal practice using AI without becoming an example in an ethics presentation.

Endnotes 
1 Katherine Haan and Rob Watts, How Businesses Are Using Artificial Intelligence, FORBES (April 24, 2023), https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/ software/ai-in-business. 
2 American Bar Association, TECHSHOW, Chicago, Ill. (March 25-28, 2026), https://www. techshow.com.

From St. Louis to Kansas City to Springfield and across the whole country, one issue that seems to unite lawyers is this: We’re not great at billing our clients.

We didn’t go to law school to learn how to become bill collectors, and my school certainly didn’t offer many “how to run a law firm” management courses. So, when and how exactly are we supposed to pick up the details on invoicing?

Because of this, many firm owners learn receivables by trial and error (legal pun intended). With that in mind, here are a few billing tips and tricks to help along the way:

Three tried and true billing tips for Missouri law firms
1. It’s a mental game.

Clients come to you at some of the worst moments in their lives. The least lawyers can do is be predictable in our billing schedule.

Clients shouldn’t be waiting months to receive an invoice, and sending bills sporadically doesn’t foster confidence (or trust) between you and your client. Whether you bill monthly or on another cadence, the key is consistency.

A practical rule of thumb: send invoices around the 4th of every month. If the client gets paid on the 1st, their paycheck has likely cleared by the time your bill arrives, making yours one of the first bills they’ll pay rather than something that gets pushed to “later.”

2. The call is coming from inside the house (yes, you).

Often, the real reason firms fall behind on billing is simple: hours don’t get logged. We’ve all been there; waiting until the end of the month to input time, only to realize we’re trying to reconstruct an entire month of work like it’s a missing evidence timeline.

The problem is that it’s nearly impossible to recreate every billable increment for a month. We forget details. You log six hours for a day that happened two weeks ago, but you know you were at the office for ten. Now you’re losing revenue for the firm — and for yourself.

You and your staff need a rule for tracking time. Ideally, this happens daily, but weekly is more realistic for many firms.

And if you have a few “problem children” at your firm who struggle to track time consistently, consider adopting Smokeball’s Autotime feature. It runs in the background and tracks what you’re doing and for which matters.

3. It’s time to join the modern day

Lawyers are not always known for being early adopters of change, but if there’s one place where modernizing pays off quickly, it’s billing.

It’s time to adopt technology that can automate the most frustrating parts of the process. Your firm administrator will thank you. Your future self will, too.

That means using software like Smokeball, which lets you:

— Print prebills in bulk (and separated by lawyer)

— Automate invoice creation

— Send bills to clients all at once — without going case-by-case

Instead of manually pushing invoices one matter at a time, you can press a button, and your bills go out in a batch.

And if you bill hourly, it’s also worth thinking about adopting an evergreen retainer policy, which can also be automated with the right system.

Bottom line for law firm billing

Billing doesn’t have to be the headache it was back in the day. Technology exists now to make it easier and more consistent.

Try it and give yourself one less thing to chase at the end of every month.

Trust accounting and billing software by Smokeball

As a member of The Missouri Bar, you get access to Smokeball’s trust accounting and billing software at no cost, valued at $588/user/year, to help you manage your trust accounting compliantly and bill easily. Click on this link to access your software: https://bit.ly/mobarbill-blog-0226.

Jordan Turk is a practicing lawyer in Texas and Smokeball’s director of education and attorney development. Smokeball is cloud-based legal practice management software. 

Jeffrey Schoenberger is a senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group LLC.

The Supreme Court of Missouri entered an order Dec. 16, 2025, that, in part, simplified redaction instructions and enhanced the process for correcting redaction. As you review your redaction process, remember Adobe Acrobat Pro has a built-in redaction tool you can use to help protect your clients’ sensitive information. 

Whether you’ve used Acrobat for a while or are just getting started, here is the six-step process to most effectively use its tools to remove not only text, but AI metadata.

1. Open the PDF you want to redact in Adobe Acrobat Pro 
 

2. Activate the redaction tool 

a. Go to the “All tools” pane on the left (or select “All tools” from the top menu bar). 

b. Scroll down and locate the “Redact a PDF” tool, then click it. If you don’t see “Redact a PDF,” you may need to click the blue “View more” link at the bottom to see the option. Alternatively, you can click the magnifying glass on the top right of the toolbar and search for “Redact,” then click “Redact text and images.” 

c. A new “Redact a PDF” pane will open on the left-hand side.

3. Mark content for redaction

Acrobat lets you redact text and images in three ways. You can select text or images piecemeal, you can redact entire pages, or you can have Acrobat search your document for words or phrases (e.g., social security numbers, account numbers, children’s names) and mark those for redaction. Note that the third option, called “Find text and redact,” only works in PDFs with optical character recognition, meaning you can search and copy and paste text in the PDFs. 

For this example, we’ll do “Redact text and images.”

a. Click the “Redact text and images” button in the “Redact a PDF” pane. 

b. Use your mouse to select text or images you want to redact. For text, click and drag to highlight what you want to redact. For images, click directly on the image or area. Your selection should be surrounded by a red border. Hovering over it should turn the text or image solid black.

4. Preview and apply the redactions 

a. Once you’ve marked all areas, click “Apply” at the bottom right of the “Redact a PDF” pane. 

b. A prompt will ask if you’re certain you want to permanently redact the content. You also will have a toggle switch to “Sanitize and remove hidden information.” It’s generally recommended to enable “Sanitize and remove hidden information,” since it now removes embedded AI-generated metadata that may not be visible but could contain sensitive prompts or summaries. By toggling this switch on, in addition to performing your redactions, Acrobat will search your document for metadata (e.g., comments, bookmarks, attachments, form fields, and AI content) and remove it. 

c. Click “Continue.”

5. Save the redacted PDF

Acrobat will prompt you to save a copy of the document with a file suffix of “Redacted.” Navigate to your preferred saving location and click “Save.” 

Acrobat will also ask you to save a second copy, because redactions are permanent and irreversible. You now have two PDF documents: the original with all sensitive information intact; and the redacted one, with sensitive information removed, suitable for filing or distribution.

6. Review the document to ensure all sensitive content is correctly redacted 

Properly redacting private information protects your clients, complies with confidentiality rules, and guards against sanctions or malpractice claims. Many firms now add redaction checks to their internal audit trail. Schedule in time to double-check your work — and Acrobat’s.

Conclusion 

With these steps in Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can securely remove confidential content and protect your clients’ information. If you have questions, Adobe provides a redaction guide on its website. 
To help you even better serve your clients, access no-cost comparison charts, white papers, checklists, and more at MoBar.org/LPM.

Jeffrey S. Krause is a senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group LLC.

There is a common misperception that solo and small firm lawyers cannot afford the same level of tech security as larger firms. While it is true that firms with larger budgets can afford a larger security infrastructure, it does not necessarily mean their security is better than what a smaller firm can obtain. 

More likely, a larger security infrastructure results from more employees, including those whose job it is to maintain security, and from being a more prominent target. Small firms can also implement robust security to protect their firms and clients. Smaller firms may have fewer weak spots to protect, but they need to know those weak spots and implement security to guard them. They might also find they already pay for the tools they need.

Here are some easy ways to greatly enhance your firm’s security going into 2026 while spending little-to-no money. 

Duty 

One thing is clear: All lawyers have a duty to protect their clients’ data. The Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 4-1.6(c) states: “A lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of the client.”

Unless you want to argue about reasonableness, Rule 4-1.6(c) does not provide an exception for solo and small firm lawyers, giving them leeway due to firm size or budget. The duty is the same — you must take reasonable steps to protect client information. In doing so, you are also taking reasonable steps to protect business and personal information. 

Security weak spots 

High-profile security breaches are often reported as if a genius hacker cracked an elaborate system designed to prevent unauthorized access. While this occasionally happens, most security breaches are much less interesting. Users are careless with already-weak passwords that they may use on multiple sites. 

For example, an employee’s password to the firm’s Clio may be the same as their Netflix password, their Facebook login, and, most dangerously, that one sketchy website they visited four years ago. Affinity Consulting’s resource on password managers, located in the connect.MOBAR forms bank, can help you familiarize yourself with good password principles and password management programs. 

Some organizations do not require strong passwords or an additional layer of security if a password is compromised. Devices may be lost without the data being properly secured. In other words, solo and small firm data security is about protecting data from our own mistakes. 

Microsoft 365 

The good news is that you likely have the tools to provide sophisticated security to your clients and their data. Microsoft 365 is nearly ubiquitous among solo and small firms and provides many of the features needed to protect data. Microsoft 365 Business Standard costs $12.50 per user per month and provides almost everything you need. You might also consider Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which has additional features related to security, at $22 per user per month. 

Both the standard and premium plans include multi-factor authentication and an extensive list of security defaults. Both plans provide anti-spam, anti-malware, and anti-phishing features, and allow users to control access to SharePoint and OneDrive files. Correctly using these features provides a significant level of security.

The premium plan adds conditional access features, advanced anti-phishing, safe links and safe attachments, sensitivity labels, and data loss prevention services. You may decide the $9.50 per user per month is worth it to protect yourself from unforced errors. For example, the data loss prevention service notifies you when you attempt to share credit card numbers or content falling under HIPAA and may catch you from sharing that information in an insecure way. The service also provides a report of any information you shared. Proactive features like this help prevent errors, break bad sharing habits, and give you a list of information you have released “into the wild.” 

Passwords and multi-factor authentication 

An easy way to address security weak spots is to consider password strength. With any Microsoft 365 plan, you can set password policies. Interestingly, Microsoft’s guidance regarding passwords is different than what you may have heard previously. While it does caution against easy-to-guess passwords or passphrases, it does not state that longer is necessarily better, complex character requirements are necessary, or periodic resets serve a purpose. Instead, much of the guidance centers around multi-factor authentication. 

Most of us are familiar with MFA. It requires the user to provide two or more verification factors to gain access. For example, when a user attempts to log in from a new device or location, they enter their login and password as normal. If this information is correct, a message is sent to their phone. The message contains a code that must be entered before the user can proceed. 

Not only does Microsoft include MFA for Microsoft 365 components, MFA can also be configured to work with other applications via Azure AD (Active Directory). In addition to text message-based codes, many sites offer software-based codes, which can be stored and viewed in programs such as Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator, or Twilio’s Authy. 

With MFA, compromised passwords cannot be used to gain full access unless the bad actor also possesses and is able to successfully log in to the device to which the message is sent. This is where device encryption comes in. 

Device encryption 

Encrypting your computers, laptops, tablets, and phones is another critical step in protecting data. If you enter a code to access your tablet or phone, you are already using encryption. Entering the wrong code too many times can lock or even erase the device. Good luck getting the MFA code from a locked phone. This simple encryption protects against a lost or stolen phone being used to compromise your data.

For computers and laptops, a little more work is required. For Windows Pro devices, turn on BitLocker to encrypt the device hard drive. It does not stop someone with the credentials from accessing the computer. However, a thief would have to know how to access the stolen laptop. If they do not know the credentials, they may attempt to remove the hard drive and access data that way. They cannot do this without the BitLocker code. A similar encryption tool, FileVault, is available for Mac users. 

Conclusion 

No security is bulletproof, and a short article cannot cover every aspect of security. However, Microsoft 365 and Windows, which most solo and small firms already use, offer powerful security features. Implementing just a few of them can fortify the most common weak points in your firm’s security. Combined with strong passwords, your security fortifications will rival most firms, irrespective of size.

Jeffrey R. Schoenberger is a senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group LLC.

When you think about being micromanaged, you might feel frustrated and annoyed. However, as legal professionals serving clients, micromanaging their experiences will not only result in happy clients, but also great referral sources. 

Micromanaging the client experience is mostly about managing expectations, looking at how your firm delivers service, and being willing to make changes in your approach or process for the benefit of your clients. Put simply, leave nothing to chance when it comes to the experience a client will have with your firm.

1. Respond to inquiries timely — and completely.

Don’t just answer one of the three questions they asked you. Take the time to make sure you address everything they asked — even if the question can’t be answered without a formal meeting or more information. Skipping questions will make you appear as if you don’t know or are avoiding the question.

2. Consider how your phones are being answered.

Do prospective clients feel welcome when they call? Is there a friendly voice on the other end of the phone? Next time you walk through your firm’s front door, look around. Try to see what a prospective client would see. First impressions are a very important part of micromanaging the client experience.

3. Schedule follow-ups with prospective clients quickly. 

It’s not about hounding them to become your client — it’s about showing you are committed to their issue and want to ensure they partner with the right law firm to protect their rights and interests. 

4. Send a retainer letter.

In the letter, explain to the prospective client the way your firm operates: how you communicate, how you bill, how often you will provide status updates on their case, who will work on their case, and what your collections policy is. And then do what you say.

5. Update your clients at least weekly, even when not much has happened with their cases.

Never make the client ask you for a status update. 

6. Offer opportunities throughout the case for clients to provide feedback.

Ask, “How are we doing? Are you happy with the level of communication? How else can we help?” If you know your client spoke with one of your associates earlier this week, ask about their interaction. At the end of the case, ask the client about their intake process experience, if they would recommend your firm, etc. If given the opportunity, clients may provide valuable feedback about the way you or your team is performing. Never hesitate to ask because you are afraid of the answer. 

7. Follow up even after a case closes — a month later, three months later, etc. 

“How are things? Need anything else? Don’t forget we are here for you no matter the situation.” 

Micromanaging the client experience will position you as a trusted advisor for your clients, and their instinct will be to call you no matter what they need. People want to do business with people they like, and they want to feel heard. Don’t be afraid to overcommunicate, ask for feedback, and adjust your and your team’s processes if the client feedback suggests you should.

Annual Law Update: June 13, 18, 23, 26

10.0 MCLE | 1.0 Ethics

7:40 a.m.-6:07 p.m.| Virtual

This virtual program covers key legal areas such as appellate, civil trial, employment, workers' compensation, family, bankruptcy, real estate, probate, torts, criminal law, and ethics. Industry professionals from prominent Missouri firms will provide updates and insights, making it an essential opportunity for lawyers to fulfill their MCLE needs. Register for 2025 Annual Law Update

CLE Express: June 11, 17, 21, 25

15.5 MCLE | 4.1 ethics | 1.0 Elimination of Bias 

7 a.m.-8:42 p.m. | Virtual

Lawyers can earn all 15 hours of MCLE for the compliance year in this one-day virtual program. Learn about updates to various areas of law, U.S. Supreme Court Highlights, and ethical dilemmas. 

Register for 2025 CLE Express

Ethics Express: June 12, 24, 28, 30

3.0 MCLE | 3.0 Ethics | 1.0 Elimination of Bias

9-11:44 a.m. (June 12, 24, 28, and first June 30 session); Second June 30 session: Noon-2:44 p.m. | Virtual

Need to complete your MCLE ethics requirements? This virtual program is the perfect opportunity to take care of your ethics credits in less than three hours. 

Learn from these topics:

- Shakira, secrets and scandals: Attorney ethics and the world of offshore deals
- The rise and fall of Rudy Giuliani: Lessons in legal ethics from a public scandal
- Harmony in justice: Using R&B to address bias and diversity in the legal profession

Register for 2025 Ethics Express

Pre-litigation investigations: June 11

1.1 MCLE

9-9:54 a.m. | Virtual

Refresh your knowledge and skills in this virtual program on an overview of what lawyers should consider investigating prior to filing suit or taking a case. This program will cover steps to take to set your client and case up for success when first receiving a potential claim, including saving evidence, securing witness information, determining expert needs, and defining a strategy early. Register for virtual program

Cognitive biases and their effect on negotiations and decision-making: June 16, 26

1.1 MCLE | 1.1 Ethics | 1.1 Elimination of Bias 

June 16: 10-10:54 a.m. and June 26: noon-12:54 p.m. | Virtual

As human beings, our brains are wired to make cognitive shortcuts based on our previous experiences and unconscious assumptions. Learn how implicit cognitive biases can negatively affect the ability of lawyers and their clients to effectively interpret information and make objective decisions in the mediation context, including way to improve decision-making abilities. Register for virtual program

YLS Trial Skills Workshop: June 20

8.0 MCLE

9 a.m.-3:49 p.m. | Virtual

Join this virtual program focused on essential trial skills! Whether you’re new to the profession or a seasoned pro, you’ll learn from a distinguished panel of speakers who will cover everything from voir dire to closing statements.

Register for 2025 YLS Trial Skills Workshop

Successful succession: Make a plan for your firm: June 25

1.0 MCLE | 1.0 Ethics

9-9:52 a.m. | Virtual

Plan ahead for your firm and safeguard your professional legacy. Without proactive planning, the abrupt sale or closure of a firm can have disastrous consequences — not only for your clients but also for your family and colleagues.

In this program, you'll learn:

- Ethical considerations surrounding proper client communication in the event of sale or incapacity
- Proper retention and destruction policies for client files
- How to designate a trustee in the event of incapacity or inability to continue practicing
- What to consider when you want to sell your practice

Register for 2024 Successful succession

Bots and boundaries: Ethical considerations in a world of rapidly evolving legal AI usage: June 27 

1.0 MCLE | 1.0 Ethics 

noon-12:50 p.m. | Virtual

Hear about the importance of carefully considering ethical rules and risks in making AI choices as it rapidly evolves in the legal industry. Register for 2025 Bots and Boundaries

Click here for a full list of MoBarCLE programs in June. Visit MoBar.org/MCLE to record your hours, file your My MCLE annual compliance report, and read frequently asked questions.

Jeffrey S. Krause is a senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group LLC.

Jeffrey R. Schoenberger is a senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group LLC.

For lawyers, relationships are not just important — they are fundamental to success and longevity. While most of the business world uses customer relationship management software, the legal industry has been slow to adopt it, despite the undeniable importance of relationships in legal practice. 

This slow adoption represents a missed opportunity. CRM software can provide essential tools for lawyers to track important information about the people they meet and turn that information into mutually beneficial business relationships, helping foster strong, long-lasting connections. 

Keep track of facts 

You know the names of your client Sally’s spouse and children, her hobbies, favorite sports teams, and so on. Knowing that Sally’s spouse is Jim, she has a son, Thomas, in high school who plays volleyball, and she enjoys building ships in bottles has no bearing on legal work for her small business. But, of course, it’s courteous, it could be interesting — maybe you like ships in bottles, too — and it builds connections and rapport. 

For basic facts like these, you don’t need a heavyweight program. David Rockefeller, chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation, did it all with Rolodex cards.¹ 

Whether you use Apple or Google Contacts, Microsoft Outlook, or just a folder with text files in your default notes app, capture the relevant information in a way that makes sense to you. Complexity can hinder, especially if you value mobile access. 

In Apple Contacts, for example, in addition to name, phone, email, and address, it includes a “related name” field. Based on the example above, you could add two related names and relationships: “spouse” for Jim and “son” for Thomas. The related name field can hold whatever you like. Instead of just Thomas, you could write “Thomas (volleyball; middle blocker).” It’s just a text field. Outlook contains a similar feature. 

What about hobbies (ships in bottles), business wins, or other news Sally shares? You will find contact apps limiting. You could use a combination of the notes fields and a TextExpander snippet to keep a log of events, as one example. Suppose Sally said September was her business’s first month of $200,000-plus sales. You could open Contacts, click in the “note” section, type the date, and then type “first month of over $200,000 revenue.”

Whether it’s Apple Contacts, Outlook, or a cross-platform notes app, this system travels with you.

Use facts for business growth 

What the above-described system offers in simplicity, speed, and mobility, it sacrifices in flexibility, reporting, and automation. For example, to us humans, “court clerk,” “ct clerk,” and “clerk of courts” are the same person or office. Not to a computer. If you wanted to create an email list of everyone you noted talking to about an issue with the court clerk’s office, it’d be a mess to pull together because the data isn’t “sanitized.” You’re looking at a labor-intensive process to assemble an email list. 

Programs like Clio Grow, Lawmatics, and HubSpot provide organizational structure, reporting, and communications tools that humble contacts apps cannot match. Fullfledged CRM programs manage all stages of recruiting a new client or a new matter for an existing client. Suppose Sally wants to buy the building she currently rents for her business. You would create a new matter in Lawmatics (or an intake in Clio Grow) and add Sally as the contact. You can now track all interactions with Sally in persuading her to hire your firm to handle the commercial real estate purchase. 

CRM software tracks matter stages such as new lead, under review, engagement agreement, and retained. Each matter contains a calendar-centric timeline where you can add notes, schedule appointments, track emails, assign tasks, and send and receive documents. 

These capabilities may remind you of practice management software. While there are similarities, significant distinctions come in reporting and marketing tools. The more you use the CRM software, the more you can report on — for example, what percent of commercial real estate prospects greater than $500,000 become clients. Or how many inquiries resulted from an educational event you held at the community center. Or the average estimated value of clients who hire you versus those who do not. Where do you see the best return on your time? Does reporting show that Sally introduces you to lots of individuals who become clients? 

This is where CRM software shines. Lawyers traditionally market in one of two ways. One way is loud. They broadcast their name in any way they can, obtain a large number of leads, and hope that some are of sufficient quality. The other way is to quietly rely on word of mouth. Not as many leads come in, but they tend to be of higher quality. Unfortunately, neither of these methods are very targeted.

CRM software allows you to identify patterns you might miss and take advantage of them. If you market loudly, is your television ad working as well as your radio ad or your billboard? Which timeslot is working best? If you market quietly, what patterns can you identify in your best referral sources? Which sources are providing you with the best referrals? What patterns exist in those referrals and the work you do for them? This type of information lets you put your marketing dollars to work where they are most effective. 

Where practice management software focuses on handling matters for clients, CRM software focuses on the steps from prospect to signed client. In our example, once Sally agrees to representation on the purchase, a CRM tool like Lawmatics can send an engagement agreement template for her to electronically sign along with an option to pay any retainer. It can then transfer the collected information to practice management programs. 

Get started

For facts and mobility, start with either Apple Contacts or Google Contacts. Both support related names and notes. Google Contacts also supports user-defined fields. Each is accessible from the web. 

For a complete CRM solution, look for one that connects with your practice management system. A robust integration will save you time as you turn more tidbits into leads into clients.

Endnotes 
1 Joann S. Lublin, David Rockefeller’s Rolodex Was the Stuff of Legend. Here’s a First Peek. The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 5, 2017), www.wsj.com/articles/davidrockefellers-famous-rolodex-is-astonishing-heres-a-first-peek-1512494592.

The Missouri Bar and Smokeball recognize the important role solo and small firms play in every local community. By providing Smokeball Bill at no cost, all members of The Missouri Bar will now have access to a user-friendly software solution that ensures trust accounting compliance and simplifies billing.  

“By providing Smokeball Bill at no cost to all Missouri Bar members, we hope to assist them with running efficient and compliant law firms so they can even better serve their clients,” said Shelly Dreyer, 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president.

Manually managing trust accounting can lead to compliance errors and malpractice claims. Smokeball Bill makes it simple for members to easily comply with trust accounting regulations. The software also helps firms send and collect invoices and bills.

“By providing Smokeball Bill software, which typically costs $588 per user/per year, at no cost to Missouri Bar members, we aim to enhance the resources accessible to the legal community as a whole and to the clients they serve,” said Jane Oxley, CRO and co-founder of Smokeball.

This is Smokeball's 14th no-cost product partnership with a state bar, following the announcement of partnerships with state bars including the State Bar of Texas and the Oklahoma Bar Association. To learn more about Smokeball’s no-cost product offering with The Missouri Bar or to sign up, please visit www.smokeball.com/missouribill.

About Smokeball - Smokeball is your partner to drive your law firm into the future. As the industry's leading cloud-based legal practice management software, Smokeball empowers you to run your firm specific to your area of law. Our platform gives you all the insights and tools you need to work smarter, not harder: automatic time tracking and invoicing, streamlined workflows for your specific practice area, a library of over 20,000 standard legal forms and documents, and actionable reports. Smokeball is a member benefit of over 20 U.S. bar associations. Learn how to run your best firm at smokeball.com.

About The Missouri Bar - The Missouri Bar was created in 1944 by order of the Supreme Court of Missouri. Its mission is to improve the legal profession, the administration of justice, and the law on behalf of the public. Through educational programs, publications, and more, The Missouri Bar serves as a valuable resource for members — and for the citizens of Missouri.

Chances are you have a credit card in your wallet right now. And I would bet you have an expectation that merchants will regularly accept your card as payment for goods and services. Your law firm’s clients are no different. Credit cards are a modern way of transacting business in 2024, and by not accepting credit cards, you are almost sending the message that your firm is behind the times. And quite frankly, that is not a good message to send out to the prospective client public, especially the growing millennial and even Generation Z client base. Whether your firm regularly deals with individuals or companies, offering the option of paying your firm’s bills and/or retainer requests by credit card is simply expected.

Your clients expect it in 2024

If you walked into a local merchant, selected items for purchase and then walked up to a payment register, most of us would expect the merchant to take credit cards and would likely be taken aback if asked to pay by cash or check only. Now, there are some businesses that still operate this way, but most throughout the world now transact business with credit cards. Law firms should be no different. Asking your client to pay you by cash or check only makes doing business with your firm harder and could, in the near future, cause a client to think twice about doing business with your firm. Further, credit card payments typically permit your client to extend their payment terms beyond the charge date, allowing your firm to get paid faster.

Get paid faster: control your cash flow

Too many lawyers look at the balance in their operating account as a barometer of business success. The better barometer is cash flow. How regularly are your invoices going out and how quickly are those invoices being “relieved” or paid? Delivering invoices quickly and accurately is the first step but making it easy for your clients to remit payment is just as important, if not more important. Simply put, accepting credit cards improves cash flow which is more important than cash in the bank. Cash flow is an analysis of current cash on hand, payables due to vendors, receivables expected from clients and anticipated billing in future periods.

Because firms primarily work on a “bills out, money in” basis, you want to shorten the time between the two actions.

Cost is simply the cost of doing business

This writer believes we should just buck up and eat those credit card processing fees. Getting paid faster is worth the 2-3% fee. And don’t pass that fee along to your clients — that’s again, in this writer’s opinion, petty and borders on ridiculous. If you’re accepting a $30,000 retainer, amounting to, let’s say, a $900 processing fee – i.e. 3%, you may want to simply ask your client to remit payment by check, but don’t refuse that retainer because it’s being paid by credit card. 97% of a retainer is much better than zero. And remember, the 2-3% fee is typically considered a normal business expense and tax deductible. Note, however, that there are some legal and ethical considerations.

Use credit card processing tools built into your law practice management software or deal with a merchant processing company that deals with law firms

You may use a law practice management software (LPMS) to track important case-related information like contacts, calendar appointments, documents, case facts, and communications including emails and texts. Examples of such products include Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther, Rocket Matter, and Smokeball. Of that sample, four of them have credit card processing built in. Smokeball, while having no built-in tool, tightly integrates with LawPay, as does MyCase, which is owned by LawPay’s parent company. While they still charge the typical credit card processing fee, they connect seamlessly to your LPMS-generated invoices and make it easy to include ePayment links in invoice emails. As a member of The Missouri Bar, you can receive discounts on certain products. Click here to view your member benefits.

If you do not use an LPMS, or yours lacks a built-in ePayment tool, you can still take advantage of credit card payments via a merchant processor.

Consider LawPay, Law Charge, or LexCharge, as they specifically deal with law firms. That means, for example, they’ll understand what an attorney’s trust account is and that there can be no merchant processing fees associated with it. Also, you would not have to deal with your banking institution’s in-house or preferred provider. Just about any credit card processing company can work with your firm and deliver fast payments to its bank accounts — operating and/or trust.

Every study of the subject tells us law firms that make it easy to pay by credit card are more likely to be paid faster and in full. Make it easier on the client and yourself by charging ahead.

Last year, Microsoft rolled out a new Outlook interface that closely mirrors its web interface. For now, the new interface is optional for those on a business or enterprise Microsoft 365 plan, but there will come a time when everyone is pushed over to the new interface.

As a legal professional, time can feel scarce. Learn how to use the new Outlook effectively and be prepared for the changes so you don’t waste time looking for features that were moved or done away with.

New features

The interface comes with some exciting features that weren’t previously available in the desktop application, including tools for handling an onslaught of email.

Snoozing emails

Snoozing emails temporarily moves them out of your inbox. They will reappear in your inbox at the time you set. If you need a snoozed email earlier, you’ll find them in your “snoozed” folder.

Pinning emails

You will be able to pin emails you want to be able to quickly reference to the top of your inbox.

Message reminders

Want to be reminded of emails you need to reply to or emails you haven’t received a response to? You can turn on message reminders to bring those emails to the top of your inbox. You’ll find this option under “mail settings” on the layout page.

Undo send

You no longer need a rule to delay sending emails. The new Outlook has a setting to delay every email from being sent for up to 10 seconds. If you turn this setting on, you will get an undo button at the bottom of the screen after you send a message.

You’ll find this option under the mail settings on the compose and reply page.

Customize actions

The new Outlook comes with more options for the actions and add-ins you’ll see when you select a message to read. You’ll find these actions in the upper right corner of an email. Customize these to include the actions you take most often and save yourself time when processing emails.

These options are under the mail settings on the customize actions page.

Differences

Some things won’t work the same way in the new Outlook.

Read/unread quick filters

The read/unread quick filters will be gone from the top of the inbox. To quickly filter for unread email, you will need to click on the funnel icon at the top right of your emails list.

Dragging and dropping email

You can’t drag and drop emails to the calendar or task icons to quickly create a new appointment or task. You can, however, drag and drop emails to the “My Day” panel to create new appointments and tasks.

Tasks replaced by To Do

With the new Outlook interface, tasks will no longer be available. They will be replaced with To Do. To Do offers task management with a more modern interface, including a mobile app for easy task list management on your phone.

With To Do, you can easily create shared task lists, delegate tasks to others, and add tasks to your “My Day” list.

Your Outlook tasks will also automatically be brought into To Do, so you don’t have to worry about missing anything with the transition.

Shared inboxes

If you use shared inboxes, you’ll discover you can no longer add those to your favorites lists. You can’t move them to the top of your folders list either. You’ll find your shared inboxes under a “shared with me” folder.

Consider assigning yourself a daily task or calendar appointment to remind yourself to check the shared inbox. Alternatively, you could set up a rule to forward all of those emails to your regular inbox, but neither of these options are ideal.

Focused inbox

The focused inbox works the same as before, but the on/off switch for it has been moved to the settings dialog under Mail.

Add-ins

Many traditional Outlook add-ins are “COM add-ins.” Things like your PDF editing software, document management system, and practice management system likely use COM add-ins to help you deal with emails faster.

COM add-ins are not supported in the new Outlook. Some software vendors have already made the switch to the newer, modern add-ins supported by the new Outlook. Others are actively working on a new add-in. A few are discontinuing support for their Outlook add-in.

Check with your preferred vendor to see when support will be available for the new Outlook.

Get ready

Whether you’re excited for a more modern interface or dread having to make the change, the new Outlook interface is eventually coming to you. Microsoft will continue to develop the interface, making improvements and adding in new features. Keep an eye on it, because we’ll all be forced over to it eventually.

Jeffrey S. Krause is senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group LLC.

Then, after you go out of your way to help them, they dispute the bill and only pay after demanding you write off some of your valuable time. 

Securing and maintaining clients can be hard, so you try to be flexible and accommodating. On the other hand, working with difficult clients can be a major source of stress for you and your team. 

The good news is that losing difficult clients may not be as damaging for your revenue and profitability as you think. What you need is a system for assessing your clients and moving them either up the satisfaction scale or out of your life. 

Understand your numbers 

Your firm generates “leads,” and you turn a certain percentage (conversion rate) of those leads into clients. Each client comes to you with a “number of transactions” and spends a certain “amount per transaction.” This generates revenue, and you get to keep some of it (margin). What is left is profit. The formula looks like this:

Leads x Conversion rate (%) = Clients 
Clients x Number of transactions x Dollars per transaction = Revenue 
Revenue x Margin (%) = Profit 

The genius of this profit formula is that it gives us insight into what drives profitability. Most of us believe that more clients or more revenue makes us more profitable. While that is true, clients and revenue are products of other inputs. For example, the number of clients derives from how many leads your firm generates and what percentage it turns into clients. Clients that come back often and spend more generate more revenue. Conversely, clients that increase overhead, waste time, demand discounts, or pay late decrease your profitability. 

Armed with this data, you should see difficult clients in a different light. This knowledge is the first step in the process of moving clients up or out. 

Grade your clients 

Grading your clients is the process of scoring them to determine where they fall on a scale of A through F. 

Starting from the bottom, clients who score an F include those who are abusive to you or your staff, and you should stop taking new work from them immediately. Clients who score a D waste your time, dispute bills, and pay late. Clients who score a C sometimes do these disruptive things. Clients who receive a B rating rarely do these things and only when justified. And clients who score an A on the scale are polite, communicative, and refer other A and B clients to your firm. 

While your staff and your intuition help when grading clients, the best place to start is with your technology. Running productivity and realization reports will quickly tell you which clients you are discounting, writing down, or writing off and how often you are doing so. This data will often confirm what you already suspect. 

Other than those who are clearly irretrievable, your goal is to move clients up the scale. 

Up or out 

Moving clients up the scale is about setting ground rules and sticking to them. If a client is calling constantly and then disputing their bill, make it clear that calls are billable. Also, make it clear that properly documenting the call requires you to spend and bill a minimum of 15 minutes per call. Stick to this and send them the resulting bill. Do not automatically discount because you think someone will not pay. If they balk at paying, offer a one-time write-off while stressing that, in the future, your billing policies will be followed. 

For clients who do not pay on time, establish and follow a system of reminders. A bit of directness goes a long way. You may even find that you have inadvertently allowed your clients to think it is OK to pay late or not pay at all. It is time to break that cycle. 

Most clients move themselves up the grading scale. Once they know the rules, they will call when necessary but avoid incurring a charge just to vent or complain. If they want to continue working with you, they will do so on your terms. 

Once you make these changes, you will also notice a few clients will move themselves out. 

If you are worried that this may lose you a few clients, you are right. However, this also frees you to do your best work for your remaining clients. 

Conclusion 

It’s frustrating working with clients who are a wrong fit for your practice. Once you realize that losing a client is not the end of the world, you can create a system that nurtures the best ones. Start moving your clients up or out today. Your future self will thank you for it. 
 

If an unforeseen emergency – like another pandemic – occurred, would you already have contingency plans in place? If you retired, would the law firm continue operating smoothly? Strategic succession and contingency planning can help you prepare for the future so you can even better serve your clients without disruption.

Contingency planning prepares you for the unknown, the unplanned. Succession planning, on the other hand, is the preparation for a planned exit from the firm (most often retirement). The two go hand-in-hand.

When considering what the future might hold, you must think about the people who will carry the torch in your absence, the core processes that keep business running smoothly, and how to transition work and clients seamlessly.

First-rate players

You can’t plan for the future without planning for those who will succeed you or take over in the event of an unplanned absence. Early identification of star players provides you with time to mold them into stellar leaders and rainmakers. The sooner you start working with these key players, the more time you have available to help shape them into whom the firm needs them to be.

Fundamental processes

Numerous fundamental processes drive every firm. Strategic planning requires identifying those processes and documenting every step, from client intake to closing letters. Process documentation has immediate benefits. New hire onboarding is more efficient, and process documentation helps get everyone in the firm on the same page.

While documenting processes, look for areas of potential improvement and gaps in the firm’s coverage. Ensure that there is a back-up for each task. Should someone suddenly leave the firm, you don’t want to be left in the lurch.

Future transitions

Transitioning work and clients is never easy. The most successful transitions start before retirement is on the horizon and must begin before an emergency is upon the firm. Ensure that every client works with and trusts at least two lawyers in the firm. Clients must be comfortable with your replacement long before you decide to retire.

Train associates to handle every type of matter that comes in. Work side-by-side on the complicated matters and provide them guidance on how to handle the thorniest issues. Then, when you are ready to retire or an emergency arises, they will be prepared to handle the workload.

This type of planning isn’t easy. Keep succession and contingency planning in mind with every decision your firm makes so you – and your clients – don’t have to worry in the future.

For more resources on contingency and succession planning, visit The Missouri Bar’s Law Practice Management Resource Center.

Do you have a nagging suspicion that you’re missing something when running your firm? Maybe some key insight that would make your firm more competitive. Or perhaps a way to run your firm more efficiently to even better serve your clients. Here are three steps to help you get on the right track – taking your firm from surviving to thriving.

Step 1: Gain clarity

Positive change starts with absolute clarity. Cut through the noise and identify the root causes of the issues keeping you up at night, not just the symptoms. Clarity comes from avoiding superficial answers.

Maybe everyone in the office knows that something “takes too long.” We know intuitively that the answer isn’t “do it faster.” If that would fix it, it would be fixed. More often, something “taking too long” has more to do with repeated, disparate interruptions than with a lax worker or slow technology, for example. If one person answers the phone, greets visitors, and prepares letters for mailing or emailing, then letters being slow to mail probably isn’t the result of the person or internet speed.

Step 2: Get insight

Leverage the power of perspective to change how you think about your firm’s future. Tap into the wisdom within your firm and uncover better, smarter ways of working. Generally, the people doing a process daily, such as paralegals, intake personnel, and receptionists, have the best understanding of how client-facing interactions really go. Better understanding how things happen or are handled now in the present day is a more valuable starting point than the memorialized platonic ideal stored in a 10-year-old binder on a dusty shelf.

Step 3: Develop your roadmap

Finally, understand where you’re going and how to get there. Your detailed, actionable practice analysis report empowers you to confidently take your next steps toward an efficient, highly successful practice. 

Profound transformations start with a crystal-clear understanding of your most significant challenges and exciting opportunities. Focus on the following three key areas of your practice.

People

Your people – your employees and clients – are your greatest asset and greatest source of insight. Open dialogue is critical to the success of organizational change. Take the time to listen to, document, and thoroughly explore challenges, suggestions, and concerns offered by your team and clients. Go beyond the “what” to understand and communicate the “why.” Using a people-first approach, you turn skeptics into champions for change.

Process

“The way we’ve always done it” is the enemy of efficiency. Sometimes, it just takes a fresh pair of eyes to see your processes’ time- and energy-wasters. Think of process steps as puzzle pieces. How can they best fit together? Document how you do things now. Do this in a thorough, detailed way. Once you know the step-by-step of how you do things now, which sometimes differs markedly from existing written procedures, then it’s time to find levers to adjust, goals to change, and measurements of success.

The ultimate goal is to eliminate waste, cut procedural clutter, improve efficiency, and document everything to ensure that folks complete things the same way every time. Or at least most of the time.

Technology

Even the best, most expensive technology can’t save you from underlying process inefficiencies. That’s why you must start with people and processes and then explore technology solutions.

This approach lets you deploy technology precisely in line with what you need — nothing more. Sometimes, a team simply needs more training on your existing solution. Sometimes, a reconfiguration of a current solution does the trick. Whether it’s new software, a complete system overhaul, or optimizing what you already have, your target should be to get the most for your technology investment.

Conclusion

Identify and prioritize your firm’s steps to advance from surviving to thriving. Get the right people in the right roles following the right processes and having solid tech support. Then, you’ll go from feeling overwhelmed and stuck to empowered, confident, and optimistic about your firm’s future.

For more resources to help you build, manage, and protect your practice, visit The Missouri Bar’s Law Practice Management Resource Center.

Lawyers and their firms interact with all manner of websites and services, and care that private information is safely managed. We also operate websites and services where consumers and our clients expect the same.

In this environment of ever-increasing data collection and aggregation and concomitant breaches, regulating bodies are starting to respond to consumer complaints and have begun to act. Your law firm’s website may soon be in their crosshairs, impacting your engagement and reach with current and potential clients.

Websites know no geographic boundaries, lawyers so regulations related to data collection affects lawyers in three ways:

1) what we disclose to website visitors about data-collection practices;

2) the ability of an individual to obtain a copy of that collected data; and

3) the ability of individuals to erase that data under limited circumstances. The most important of these is disclosure of data collection.

Data collection and cookies

Websites store information about visitors and track their interactions via tiny text files called “cookies.” Cookies are not inherently malicious and are often helpful. Amazon uses them so you can store contents in your shopping cart while continuing to click around. Cookies are also why you’re able to stay logged in to password-protected websites.

The privacy concerns with cookies arise from “tracking cookies” or “third-party tracking cookies.” These cookies “follow” you around the internet as you browse websites and build a more intimate and complete picture of you. Have you noticed how, when you search Google or Amazon for “Sonicare toothbrush,” you subsequently see electronic toothbrush ads on other websites you visit? You’ve experienced the power and reach of tracking cookies.

Go to wikihow.com/View-Cookies to learn how to review the cookies on your computer’s web browsers.

Requirements

To comply with the recent government regulations, websites must disclose their use of cookies. This is why, in visiting websites in the last couple of years, you’ve seen more and more “pop-up” disclosures regarding data collection and cookies.

What do you and your website need to do then?

- Your website must provide visitors with accurate and specific information about what every cookie your website uses does.

- You must obtain a website visitor’s consent before using any cookies beyond those necessary for essential website functions, such as allowing users to stay logged in as they bounce around and return to your website.

- Once the visitor consents, you must document and store that consent.

- Visitors must be able to access your site even if they reject certain types of nonessential cookies.

- Visitors must be able to withdraw or change their consent easily.

It’s entirely likely and reasonable that you don’t have the foggiest idea what cookies your website uses or what’s stored in those cookies on visitors’ computers. That’s OK. There are several websites that will examine your website for compliance and tell you where you are deficient. If you are responsible for your website’s backend, there are tools available for WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace.

If you have no idea what the preceding sentence means, there are plenty of companies willing to walk you through the process, such as OneTrust.

Missouri data disclosure laws

While Missouri has no laws specifically governing data disclosure, § 407.1500 RSMo. regulates consumer notifications of actual data breaches. The statue defines a breach as “unauthorized access to and unauthorized acquisition of personal information maintained in computerized form by a person that compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of the personal information.”

Personal information is an“individual's first name or first initial and last name plus one or more of the following:

- social security number,

- driver’s license number or other government identifying number,

- financial account numbers (in combination with a PIN or other access credentials),

- unique electronic identifier or routing code (in combination with a PIN or other access credentials),

- medical information, or

- health insurance information.

The statute provides two exceptions as to whether accessing such information qualifies as a breach. First, good faith access is not a breach. Second, a reportable breach occurs only if the accessed personal information is “not encrypted, redacted, or otherwise altered by any method or technology in such a manner that the name or data elements are unreadable or unusable.” A breach of encrypted information need not be reported if the encryption key was not compromised.

Additionally, a breached party’s notification obligations may be tolled based on a law enforcement request (e.g., an ongoing investigation) or superseded by another law (e.g., HIPAA for healthcare organizations).

Notifications from the breached party to affected individuals must happen within 45 days of the breach’s discovery, which could be long after the breach’s occurrence. If the breach impacts more than 500 state residents, the business must notify the attorney general’s office.

Finally, the law provides a private right of action under which individuals may sue. Only those whose data was breached may sue for damages, and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office may also act.

For more resources about keeping your and your clients’ information safe, visit The Missouri Bar’s Law Practice Management Resource Center.

Document management solutions are critical to the success of today’s law firm. Legal specific document management eliminates the wild, wild west approach to document storage and security and significantly improves the efficiency and productivity of legal professionals.

 Selecting a document management system (DMS) can be daunting, but here are four simple steps to get you started on the path to selecting the perfect DMS for your firm or legal department.

Identify core features of your DMS

Understand the real needs of your firm before looking at a document management system. Does your firm have issues capturing emails? Are your challenges with finding documents? Are there difficulties with saving documents consistently and naming conventions? Truly recognizing the needs of your firm or department is the first step to understanding and selecting the features needed in a DMS.

Rank feature importance

One document management solution will probably not provide you with EVERYTHING on your list. Ranking your requirements will help. Know what features are critical to your firm or department. Know which ones you’d like to have but could live without and which ones you definitely do not want or need. It may be necessary to trade off some features that mean little to your process in place of ones that cannot be compromised.

Evaluate on premise solutions versus hosted, cloud-based solutions

Understand your choices when selecting the DMS configuration that’s best for your firm. Keep in mind that the number of on-premises vendors diminishes each year. Most investment and development focus on hosted (AKA cloud-based) solutions.

With on-premises solutions, you’ll need to consider whether you have someone with the knowledge to set-up and maintain the system, plus hardware/software costs and specialized manpower for maintenance. You also want a clear sense of the vendor’s long-term strategy for its on-premises product. If you must have an on-premises DMS, perhaps for regulatory reasons, ensure you understand the vendor’s commitment to future support for and investment in their on-premises products.

For hosted solutions, consider recurring costs (usually monthly, quarterly, or annually) to maintain servers and warehouse your documents, understand your data will live elsewhere, and maintain a strong internet connection.

Identify the choice that best meets your needs and budget.

Explore solutions via demo

Document management solutions should enhance the work your firm is doing, not add more steps or additional challenges. By watching an actual demonstration and seeing how a document management system’s features are performed, you’ll see which system will make your teams more productive and efficient.

Also, if a DMS indicates it can perform a critical function, ask the demonstrator to show you how it’s done.

For more resources on opening, building, managing, protecting, and winding down a law practice, visit The Missouri Bar’s Law Practice Management Resource Center.

That’s where legal outsourcing comes in.

What is legal outsourcing and why should you consider it?

Legal outsourcing means having someone else—typically another company or independent contractor—take on specific responsibilities for your firm.

If you’re new to legal outsourcing, you may be wondering what the process really entails and if it’s the right fit for your practice.

Is outsourcing worth the expense?

What are the pros and cons of outsourcing a function rather than hiring someone to manage it in-house?

By delegating the right processes to the right contract attorneys, paralegals, paraprofessionals, and service providers, law firms can focus on what they do best: practicing law. Legal outsourcing for small law firms can be particularly transformative, enabling two- to 15-person teams and solo attorneys to serve clients at otherwise unachievable scales and speeds.

At a high level, legal outsourcing is a good idea when you need cost-effective expertise on demand. You can optimize processes such as marketing or client service, for instance, at a fraction of the cost of an employee’s salary. In many instances, it’s cheaper and more efficient for attorneys to outsource these kinds of tasks rather than hire additional staff.

Further benefits of legal outsourcing include:

• Sustainable staffing—you don’t need to worry about training, turnover, or extended leaves.
• 24/7 coverage—you can use outsourcing to ensure someone is handling key processes, such as client communication, during and beyond business hours.
• Peace of mind and focus—you can rest assured qualified professionals are taking care of things that would otherwise distract you from your work.

How lawyers and law firms make use of legal outsourcing

 
Outsourcing is less established within the legal world as compared to other industries. But over the last few decades, lawyers have begun to see the value in delegating aspects of work that once seemed intrinsic to their roles.

Such activities include, but are not limited to:

·         Drafting agreements, motions, memos, and briefs

·         Filing motions and petitions

·         Editing and proofreading documents

·         Conducting discovery

·         Performing due diligence

·         Managing billing and payment

·         Growing a firm’s presence through marketing, advertising, and business development

·         Communicating with callers and website visitors

Often referred to as legal process outsourcing (LPO), the fragmentation of legal work and the availability of on-demand support has fueled growth for small firms that lack the resources of their Big Law counterparts. Indeed, many attorneys rely on outsourcing to stay in business. It’s no surprise the sector is poised for explosive growth in the 2020s.

Where to begin with legal outsourcing

 
As a lawyer working within a small firm, perhaps you’re used to doing everything yourself and you’re not sure how to split your workflow into discrete tasks.

We don’t recommend outsourcing anything and everything all at once. To minimize complexity and make the transition a positive one for yourself, your firm, and the people you serve, start with those processes that have the greatest impact on your productivity at this very moment.

Losing billable hours to unexpected interruptions such as phone calls? Outsource those calls to a receptionist service.

Distracted by multiple caseloads, client needs, and administrative tasks better left to associate attorneys and paralegals? Look into a flexible staffing solution.

Ask yourself, what do you or your team spend too much time doing? What distracts the most from billable hours? If it’s not related to your core areas of focus, consider outsourcing it.

Learn more in the definitive guide to legal outsourcing for small firms.

 
This is just a brief overview of legal outsourcing. For more information, a complete look at benefits and drawbacks, and tips for getting started, check out Hire an Esquire and Ruby’s definitive guide.

Split into seven chapters, the guide covers:

·         What legal outsourcing is

·         How legal outsourcing works

·         Processes law firms should consider outsourcing

·         Pros and cons of legal outsourcing

·         Outsourcing and client experience

·         Outsourcing with contract attorneys

·         Getting started with legal outsourcing

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on ruby.com

Ruby delivers exceptional experiences to callers and website visitors, building trust and long-lasting client relationships. Ruby’s highly trained US-based virtual receptionists and chat specialists answer calls and chats live, 24/7/365, saving small law firms time to focus on what they do best. Learn how Ruby's virtual receptionist solutions can grow your practice. 

The Missouri Bar members save 10% with promo code MOBAR or by signing up here.

Growing your law firm requires careful planning and strategizing. If you started your firm as a solo practitioner, you may already have completed some of these exercises, but now it’s time to think bigger about growth. 

Each firm will find a unique path forward to success, but these steps will help ease your law firm’s growing pains. 

Develop a growth strategy 
Before you take any steps forward, create a clear plan that outlines your law firm’s goals for the next one, five, and 10 years, as well as the resources needed to implement those changes. Because they’re so busy with the daily work of practicing law, many firms don’t take time to strategize for the future. But a plan that features guiding principles and goals sets the foundation for how your business decisions should be made; without it, strategic growth is nearly impossible. 

Include a detailed organizational chart while forming your strategy. This document forecasts each department’s development and expansion, as well as the number of projected employees needed for it. Correlate each stage of law firm growth with the necessary resources and budget. 

Build a successful culture
Before adding new staff, establish a positive, supportive work culture for existing employees that reflects your firm’s values. A written mission statement is an important first step. Then lay the groundwork for a culture that engenders pride, loyalty, and enthusiasm. Focus on work-life balance and workplace equality, the two issues employees most often report as lacking. Make sure to regularly reevaluate your culture and adjust your policies and processes at every stage of your firm’s growth to support a business that works for everyone. 

Bring business skills and tools to the table 
Because lawyers are not typically trained as businesspeople, formal learning and development will also help your firm grow as a business. Look to continuing legal education programs, as well as formal business management courses for your partners and senior lawyers. 

To be most effective, this business acumen must be paired with the technology and tools to run your firm like a business. These include: 

• Time tracking and billing: Adopting a system that records every action taken within your software not only reduces time spent on manual billing and time tracking, but also churns out valuable metrics that inform your growth. Unless your hours are accurately recorded and billed, your progress will be stymied. 
   
• Task management: As your firm grows, automating workflows and assigning tasks to appropriate staff ensures your firm can improve efficiency. Streamlined collaboration leverages employees’ skills and improves performance across the board. Delegation becomes not only easy, but second nature, when tasks, deadlines, and reminders are mechanized. 

Hire strategically
Rely on your growth strategy to determine which positions to fill so hiring is balanced across your organization. Seek people who are not only qualified for your positions, but those who want to advance within your firm. 

If you don’t already employ non-legal staff, start with an office manager who coordinates and implements your strategy across the firm. You also need human resources support via an internal HR position or an outsourced contract position. HR handles office conflicts, disciplinary proceedings, compliance, insurance, and policies covering discrimination, diversity, and harassment. A good HR team will also provide employee training and implement your firm’s policies, including creating an employee handbook. 

Focus on existing clients
Client retention is crucial to law firm growth — otherwise your firm will constantly be focused on replacing them. Identify your most profitable cases and clients, evaluate their needs, and plan to support them as you grow. This may include:  

• Providing consistent communication with clients 
• Offering convenient online payment options and administrative processes 
• Keeping a friendly, hospitable in-person experience 

Develop new clients
With your existing clients securely in place, it’s time to attract new ones. Apply metrics captured by your legal practice’s management software to calculate the percentage of leads who make appointments, appear for appointments, and sign with your firm. Then, isolate your most effective demographics to make your marketing more targeted and effective.  

Identify the types of new clients your firm wishes to attract to focus your growth. Many firms focus on increasing the number of overall clients, but don’t overlook a strategy that concentrates on fewer clients with bigger projects. 

Utilize marketing and branding 
Once your firm has identified your ideal marketing segments, focus on the features that make your firm unique, including your services and reputation. Use those characteristics as a springboard for your marketing program. Hire professional marketing and branding assistance to build an effective website, digital marketing, social media, SEO, and content marketing. While these services come at a price, they also give your firm a professional polish, helping you generate more leads and firmly establish your firm’s long-term market success.  

With a clear growth plan, the right hires, and the implementation of efficient technological tools and processes, your law firm can expand and profit for many years to come. 

Through The Missouri Bar, Missouri lawyers receive a 10% discount from Smokeball in the member benefits program. The Missouri Bar also has resources available for members interested in building their practice. Members also have no-cost access to the experts at Affinity Consulting through email or unlimited 30-minute virtual visits. Reprinted with permission of Smokeball. Originally published here.  

Creating and editing PDFs is a crucial set of skills in any professional setting. From basic editing to redacting sensitive information, anyone who works frequently with PDF documents can benefit from learning about new features that increase efficiency and reduce paper usage. Keep reading to take advantage of everything your PDF editing software offers. 

Note: if you are using a free PDF reader, it probably lacks the features discussed here. I highly recommend upgrading to professional PDF editing software. While Adobe Acrobat has gone to a subscription model, they now include the ability to send documents out for e-signature as part of your monthly fee. Foxit PDF Editor Pro and Kofax Power PDF are two great alternatives that you can buy outright. Explore our PDF Programs Comparison Chart to determine the best program for your needs.  

1. Annotate 

Do you still print documents to mark them up by hand? Use your PDF editing software instead. Chances are high that your software has built-in annotation tools to allow you to add comments, highlight text, and draw shapes. Save paper and reduce clutter on your desk by marking up documents digitally. 

2. Combine documents 

Instead of printing and scanning multiple documents together to create a single PDF, use your editing software to combine documents electronically. Most editing programs have a thumbnail or panel where you can drag and drop pages from one document to another. You can also use the “add pages” or “create a new PDF from multiple documents” features (frequently found in the thumbnail/pages panel or the file menu) to combine documents. Another option is to select multiple documents in File Explorer and right-click to combine. 

3. Redact  

If you ever need to redact a document, it is critical you do it properly. All too often, lawyers end up in the news for accidentally disclosing sensitive details. To prevent this from happening to you, make sure you’re using a program with the ability to correctly redact information. Many PDF editing programs have two versions - a professional version and a standard version, the difference between them often being the software's ability to properly redact and bates number. If the tool you are using isn't specifically labeled “redaction,” it isn't the right one. 

Often found on a protection or security ribbon, proper redaction takes two steps. First, mark the PDF for redaction. Then, apply the redaction. When a redaction is properly applied, it burns a digital hole in the document. This way, no matter what software someone has, they won't be able to recover the removed content. 

If you’re interested in learning more, head over to Affinity Insight and register for unlimited access to on-demand videos and step-by-step manuals on the software mentioned above. As a Missouri lawyer, you get unlimited no-cost access to the complete library of videos and manuals. Use the coupon code MOBARMEMBER at checkout for free access. Affinity Insight Standard is included as a Missouri lawyer benefit at no additional cost. 

Need additional help selecting the best PDF software for your needs? Missouri Bar members can schedule a free consultation through the Ask an Expert page or by emailing MoBarLPM@affinityconsulting.com.  

Does your law firm utilize technology that eases your workload by simplifying processes ranging from client intake to final billing? If not, you’re losing valuable time by relying on systems that are both outdated and unrewarding. 

A robust tech stack, or group of technologies a company uses to build or run a project, will help your law firm run smoothly. The first step in identifying the technology that will be most useful to your firm is to conduct a tech audit.  

We’ve put together a list of the technologies you need to ensure streamlined productivity and business continuity.  

Computer hardware: this includes desktops, laptops, scanners, printers, and other peripherals.  

Client intake forms: online intake forms simplify the process of taking on new clients and make it easy for potential clients to provide contact information via your law firm’s website at any time, day or night.  

Lead management: lead management features centralize data and help your firm streamline intake and tracking processes. Additionally, analytic tools track and provide insight into leads as they’re added and converted.  

VOIP software and virtual receptionists: these tools facilitate communication from any location regardless of the circumstances and ensure your law firm never misses a call.  

Contact management: a contact management system connects all your firm’s contacts to the relevant files in your system, ensuring that client and contact information are readily accessible.  

Legal calendaring: online legal calendaring tools help manage deadlines. By providing oversight features and shared calendar access to all firm members, everyone is on the same page and crucial tasks are never forgotten. 

Document management: legal document management software provides 24/7 access to your law firm’s documents and a built-in organizational system.  

Document automation: document automation makes it easy to create document templates, which can be used to create new documents such as intake forms, retainer agreements, and pleadings.  

E-signature: use E-signature  to get documents signed online by adding a signature template into a document.  

Automated task management and workflows: use task management tools to track projects or create case workflows so you never miss important deadlines. 

Time-tracking tools: record all billable activities by tracking and entering time contemporaneously from any location, at any time of any day.  

Online invoicing: create client invoices quickly and easily, and share them instantaneously with clients. 

Online payment processing: set up online payment processing tools so your clients can easily pay legal bills via ACH (e-check) or credit card payments. 

Client portals: offer clients instant access to information about their cases with client portals so they can quickly and easily find answers to their questions. 

Online Fax: online faxing makes it easy to send and receive documents in a digital format. Documents can be exchanged via email, an online portal, or via a smartphone app. 

Real-time chat: real-time chat allows lawyers to instantly communicate and collaborate with their colleagues. 

Video conferencing: use video conferencing to have secure, encrypted face-to-face video meetings with clients, work colleagues, and co-counsel.  

Law practice management software: law practice management software centralizes law firm data, including contacts, calendars, invoicing, time-tracking, documents, internal and external communications, and financial data.  

Missouri Bar members receive discounted rates on top practice management solutions, including a 10% discount on MyCase.  

Missouri Bar members have access to more than a 100 white papers, comparison charts, and checklists to help identify the tech-related needs of their firm, research and compare solutions, and implement these solutions through Missouri Bar Practice Management. Have legal technology or practice management questions? Members can schedule a no-cost, one-on-one consultation with the experts from Affinity Consulting.  

Reprinted with permission of MyCase. Originally published here. 

1. Microsoft Word – spell check words in all caps 

By default, Word does not spell check words that are in all caps. If you have headings or pleading titles in all caps, it’s possible to end up with typos in your document despite using spell check. You can easily fix this setting in Word’s proofing options. 

2. Microsoft Word – set new default fonts 

Every Word document has a default font. But if you simply adjust a document’s font using the dropdown on the home ribbon or font dialog, you haven’t actually changed the default font. When a document’s standard font and the font you want to use aren’t in agreement, the default will continue popping up throughout the document. Fix this problem by clicking on the default font button from the font dialog, then set a new default to the one you want to use. 

3. Microsoft Word – keep text together with the ‘Keep with Next’ feature 

Signature blocks breaking across pages, as well as headings falling at the bottom of a page, have irritated Word users for decades. A common solution is using the enter key to get the text lined up. By doing so, however, you can end up with annoying gaps that require you to adjust the number of returns for each heading and signature block when you attempt to edit the document. Instead, use Word’s ‘Keep with Next’ setting to glue headings to a paragraph and keep lines in a signature block together. You’ll find this feature in the paragraph dialog on the line and page breaks tab.  

4. Outlook – use the ‘Quick Steps’ shortcut to save time 

Outlook ‘Quick Steps’ consolidates several actions into a single click. For example, if you frequently forward emails to someone else to handle and then move the original email into a folder for delegated emails, that can take a lot of time. Instead, use ‘Quick Steps’ to turn a series of actions (such as forwarding an email to a specific recipient, entering specified text into the body of the email, automatically sending an email, marking the original email as read, and moving the original email into a folder) into a single click. Get started from the Quick Step gallery on the home ribbon. Once your Quick Step is set up, you only need to select which email to forward, and then click on the name of your Quick Step on the home ribbon.  

5. Outlook – set up ‘Rules’ 

Outlook ‘Rules’ scans your incoming (or outgoing) emails. When specified criteria are met, the rule activates, automatically handling emails for you. If, for example, you want to move all emails from a client into a specific  Outlook folder, you can set a rule to do that automatically. To get started, click on ‘rules’ from the home ribbon. Once a rule is specified and turned on, it runs in the background, helping you process emails 24/7.  

6. Excel – use ‘AutoFill’ 

Whether you’re entering data or creating formulas, the work you do in Excel can often be redundant. ‘AutoFill’ replicates formulas or sequences (such as dates or numbers) across columns and rows with ease. Drag and drop the bottom right-hand corner (the “Fill Handle”) of a cell to replicate a formula. Select two cells in a sequence, then drag and drop the Fill Handle to continue the series.  

7. Excel – take advantage of ‘AutoSum’ 

When totaling rows or columns in Excel, take advantage of the ‘AutoSum’ button to let Excel write the formula for you. Click in the cell where you want the total to appear, then click on the AutoSum button on the home ribbon. Excel will analyze the data around the cell and write the formula for you. You just need to hit enter to finish it.  

If you’re not taking advantage of all these features, it might be time for training to get more out of what you use every day. Affinity Insight provides you and your team with access to in-depth, self-guided legal tech training. This includes more than 150 hours of content, covering over 30 different software products (including those mentioned in this blog), and access to the entire library of Affinity Consulting software manuals for legal professionals. Missouri Bar members can subscribe to an Affinity Insight Standard Plan at no cost with code MOBARMEMBER. 

Collaboration happens in two forms: asynchronous and real-time. We generally prefer asynchronous communication – text messages, emails, and voicemails – over real-time communication. How often do you text or email from your smartphone compared to making actual phone calls in a day?

Asynchronous

Asynchronous collaboration allows people to work from anywhere at a time convenient to them. Early birds can collaborate with night owls. New Yorkers can collaborate with counterparts in the Far East. Time zones don’t matter. Here are tips to make asynchronous collaboration better:

Share basic documents

1. If you’re not on the paperless bandwagon, start by getting a scanner to turn important papers into something that can be shared easily. After scanning the document, programs like Adobe Acrobat or ABBYY FineReader can convert a PDF to an editable Microsoft Word document.
2. To collaborate over the Internet, your document must be accessible to your collaborator. The easiest sharing platform is Dropbox, although there are plenty of competitors in this market. In fact, Apple (iCloud Drive), Google (G Drive), and Microsoft (OneDrive) all offer free space, but I think they’re just a bit more challenging to share from compared to Dropbox.
3. Apple’s Pages, Google’s Docs, and Microsoft Word offer free web-based versions of their respective word processors. If your collaborator doesn’t have the same word processor as you, they can access these free versions to edit the document you share, although they must create an account with the vendor if they don’t already have one.
4. Each person can now edit the document. Some word processors also allow several individuals track their suggested edits.

Share information rather than a document

1. Microsoft’s OneNote is the most cross-platform of the note-taking or “everything bucket” solutions. Create a notebook, share it with your collaborator, and either of you can put just about anything you can imagine in there: lists; checklists; images (whose in-image text, like a billboard or street sign, is searchable like typed text); other documents like Word, Excel, or PDF files; and even handwritten notes from an Apple Pencil (via the OneNote iPad app) or Surface Pen (via a Microsoft Surface device). OneNote is available on all the major platforms (Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android). There’s even a web-based version if you’re collaborating with someone who doesn’t want to download the free app.
2. All major web-based practice management platforms offer some version of a client portal, but don’t be limited by the word “client.” These portals are shared spaces where anyone you allow can see and interact with information you choose to make available from your practice management program. Vendors offer a wide array of features under the umbrella term of “client portal.” Clio, for example, lets you share just about anything through the portal. Clients can even upload documents and send you secure communications through it. Cosmolex offers a similarly rich portal experience. Actionstep’s portal, on the other hand, is restricted to document sharing. Visit our Practice Management Center to get an idea of features, comparisons, and considerations regarding client portal services. If you decide to buy, the bar’s Member Benefits page provides discounts for many top contenders.

Real-time collaboration

If you and your collaborator need to work on the same document simultaneously, I have two questions for you: 1) how tech-savvy is your collaborator, and 2) how complex is the shared document (e.g., complex formatting, lots of images, etc.)?

Technophobe collaborators
If the person you’re sharing the document with is not a technophile like you, then the easiest thing to do is a web meeting where one of you opens the document and shares your screen. You can even grant keyboard and mouse control to your fellow participant, so that person can edit and navigate the document while the document resides on your computer. All major web meeting platforms support screen and control sharing, though many require a paid account. If you’ve made it this far into the pandemic without a paid account at Zoom, WebEx, or similar, this comparison chart will help you choose one. And, once you’ve made that choice, read up on video conferencing professionally and get a pair of good headphones. Although you don’t need it for mere document collaboration, I recommend getting a high-quality webcam. The ones built into laptops are not good, a fact even the Wall Street Journal confirmed. I have and like Logitech’s Brio Ultra HD Pro Business, personally. Despite the alphabet-soup of a name, it works wonderfully, has 4K resolution, a built-in microphone, a privacy shutter (great if your office doubles as a bedroom), and supports Windows Hello. Plus, it’s actually in stock now.

Complex documents
Complex documents share best in their native formats. In the legal world, this usually means Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Luckily, sharing is easy for these programs, and your collaborator doesn’t have to own (or subscribe to) Microsoft Office. Here are the steps to share a Microsoft Office document via OneDrive (or OneDrive for Business or SharePoint) so that others can open and edit it at the same time as you, so that you see each other’s changes as they happen:

1. Save your document to OneDrive.
2. Open the document via the Office desktop app or the Office web app.
3. Click the “Share” button in the top right of the Office app.
4. Enter the email address of your collaborator. Type a message if you like. Then click “Send.”
5. As an alternative to the step above, you can choose “Copy link” if you’d prefer to send the person a web link via a text message or other means.
6. The collaborator receives a link he or she can click to access and edit the document.
7. When you both have the document open simultaneously, you will see a circle with initials of others in the document in the top right of the app or web app window. Clicking on a pair of initials reveals what page of the document that person is currently viewing or editing.

Mix and match

Depending on the information you’re sharing and the tech skills of your collaboration counterparts, one method may make more sense than another. In my experience, older clients prefer web meetings where you control everything as they comment or dictate text. Other folks prefer asynchronous document sharing because, like text messages or emails, they can review the documents at a time convenient to them.

The Manage a Practice page of the Practice Management Center contains scores of white papers, checklists, charts, and other articles relating to this topic. Missouri Bar members can also schedule a free consultation through the Ask an Expert page or by emailing MoBarLPM@affinityconsulting.com.

Depending on your firm’s size, you may be one of several people, one of a few, or the only person who know how to do important firm tasks. This compartmentalization has strengths and weaknesses. For example, limiting access to financial accounts reduces the possibility of theft or falling victim to a phishing or wire fraud scheme. Compartmentalization is a form of security. On the other hand, core business functions must continue even if the managing partner, office manager, or other high-ranking employee is unavailable or compelled to take an extended, unplanned absence. Most such events are unhappy occasions – perhaps an illness impacting the employee or an elderly parent’s health. You can’t put off payroll, health insurance premiums, or rent payments indefinitely because the person who “always does that” is unavailable for an indefinite period.

Moving from the grim to the practical, unlock the knowledge stored in each staffer’s head, including your own, by documenting fundamental business processes. This brings several advantages:

1. Nobody needs to be interrupted while on vacation because a coworker couldn’t complete a form or find something;
2. The firm has a resource to help train new hires;
3. The simple act of documenting your processes naturally leads you and your team to evaluate whether that process still makes sense; and
4. If you are a solo or small firm, when you choose to retire, your “process cookbook” adds value to the firm, offering interested parties something beyond a rolodex to buy (see this related blog on succession planning for lawyers firms).

Step by step

When working with firms to create good processes, I’ve found it helpful to speak in terms of a “cookbook” and “recipes” rather than “manuals” or “process maps.” Familiar vocabulary helps make what could be seen as a remote and unfamiliar activity more approachable. We’ve listed out what you need to complete a task (“ingredients”) and the order in which you do things to get the right result (the “steps” in our “recipe”). We’ll also group similar recipes together for easier locating later (our “cookbook”). Here’s an example:

Returning original documents to a client
Hopefully your firm has embraced paperless practicing. (If not, see this blog to get started down that path.) A core part of a paperless firm (or paper less if you’re still transitioning) is keeping those original documents you need for specific reasons – such as something that statutorily requires an original document – and returning all other original documents to the client.

Ingredients
To send originals back to the client, we need the following ingredients:

• the original documents;
• name and address of the client;
• a cover letter;
• a mailing label; and
• an appropriate envelope or other shipping container.

Steps
Here are the steps to prepare and mail the documents:

1. Confirm that the documents are scanned and in the firm’s document repository.
2. Decide how documents will be sent (e.g., US Mail, UPS, etc.).
3. Place documents in an appropriate envelope or shipping container.
4. Prepare a mailing label with the appropriate delivery service.
5. Open the cover letter template. If your firm doesn’t use document templates, see the Why Template Building is Critical for All Law Offices white paper and the “how to” checklist on Getting Started with Document Automation.
6. Type in the client’s information, method of delivery, and delivery tracking information.
7. If you don’t have a digital signature stamp, print the document for the sender to sign. If you do have digital signature stamps, apply the appropriate stamp to the document and print the letter. To learn more about digital signatures, take this CLE.
8. Place the cover letter in the envelope or shipping container.
9. Seal the envelope or container.
10. Place the mailing label on the envelope or container.
11. Place the envelope or container in the outbox or call for a pickup, as appropriate.

With that, we’ve written our first recipe together or, in business-speak, mapped our first process. You can probably already imagine similar recipes or processes that would accompany this one in a cookbook or employee manual: sending and receiving intake forms from new clients; sending and receiving discovery documents; and sending paper invoices and receipts of payment.

Learning along the way

The first time you and your team sit down and document the steps in fundamental processes – such as taking information from a client and generating draft corporate formation documents or estate planning documents for a lawyer to review – will take a while. Here are two tips to make this process easier:

Tip 1: Have the people who do the work lead that portion of the mapping. In our “returning originals” recipe above, if one person is responsible for drafting correspondence, that person takes the lead in outlining what happens currently. You gain nothing substantive by just having higher-ups guess or declaim what the process is or should be. There’s a reason the process works this way now. It could be good. For example, the typist always asks the lawyer for the client’s address because the firm’s central client address book is reliably inaccurate or incomplete. Or it could be bad. For example, the typist doesn’t look up the address in the central client address book because that person was never trained how to do so or lacks access to the system. The first step is knowing what happens now.

Tip 2: Through the process mapping exercise, you will discover things you’ll want to note for later examination or remediation. In reading our “returning originals” recipe above, maybe you learned about document templates for the first time. Creating a template so typists don’t continually recreate cover letters from scratch would save time. Same thing with digital signature stamps. Make a note and set it aside as two things to investigate for process improvement.

In the case of our typist lacking training or access to the client address book, that’s a remediation issue. Granting access is likely either a few clicks or the purchase of an additional license. If it’s a training issue, most vendors are happy to help train employees on their products. It’s a simple thing to solve.

Having the employees on the “front lines” leading the relevant process mapping gives you an honest view of what happens now, offering you the clearest perspective of where potential changes might bring great long-term gains or quickly eliminate initially unnoticed bottlenecks.

Getting started

Head over to our Practice Management Center to get started making your recipes for business success. Here are resources to guide the way:

• Everything has a Process Part 1 - How to Identify Yours: This whitepaper includes process mapping tips.
• Everything has a Process Part 2 - How to Improve Yours: This whitepaper discusses breaking large processes into smaller ones.
• Process Workflow Worksheet with Sample Workflow: This Excel document will guide you through documenting each step in a process.

Missouri Bar members have access to hundreds of white papers, checklists, comparison charts, and articles for those looking to open, build, manage, protect, or wind down a law practice. Have questions? At no cost, members can ask an expert their legal technology or practice management questions via email or by scheduling a one-on-one, remote consultation.

The American Bar Association recently released its 2021 Profile of the Profession, which compiles data the ABA collected from several surveys, most of which were conducted in 2020-2021. The report includes valuable information relating to the legal profession, including lawyer demographics and diversity, the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the practice of law, lawyers’ perspectives on retirement and the future, and more.

The report also includes interesting data about lawyers’ use of technology. Some of the most notable statistics from this year’s report provide insight into how lawyers use online legal resources, their cybersecurity efforts, and the hardware and software choices they make. No matter how you look at it, the data from the report offers evidence of an important lesson for lawyers: technology is no longer an option and instead is a pivotal component of a successful law practice.

Online legal resources

The legal research statistics from this year’s report are particularly interesting, in part because legal research was one of the first law firm processes to be impacted by technology. The transition to online legal research occurred decades ago, and since that time legal research efficiency has increased significantly. Despite the increased efficiency, according to the report, lawyers still spend a big chunk of their time – 18% of each workday – conducting legal research. For nearly a third of the lawyers surveyed, the starting point for most legal research projects is a free search engine such as Google. Another third (30%) turn to paid online search tools before conducting any other type of legal research.

Lawyers also obtain most of their daily legal news online from a variety of sources. Nearly half of lawyers surveyed shared that Law360 was their top legal news source (41%). Next was the Wall Street Journal (22%), followed by Bloomberg Law News at 8% and Bloomberg at 6%.

The online world has also made its mark when it comes to legal marketing. Gone are the days of relying solely on the Yellow Pages, park benches, billboards, and costly television ads for lawyer advertising. In 2021 – especially while we’re in the middle of a worldwide pandemic – the internet is where it’s at. According to the survey results, virtual and in-person event sponsorships were the top way that lawyers marketed their firms (48%), followed by three web-based marketing opportunities: LinkedIn (42%), email (41%), and Facebook (33%). Other less popular marketing methods included print (21%), Twitter (16%), and direct mail (14%).

Cybersecurity

In 2021, lawyers are more aware than ever of the importance of implementing strong cybersecurity measures. The reason for this newfound vigilance is due to the increase in cyberattacks in recent years. Notably, however, the increased focus on cybersecurity is paying off, and the lawyers surveyed reported lower numbers of viruses, spyware, and malware.

Specifically, 36% of lawyers shared that their law firms were affected by cyberattacks in 2020, down from 40% in 2018 and 43% in 2017. Law firms took several steps – including spam filters (81%), anti-spyware (76%), firewalls (74%), and popup blockers (72%) – to prevent such attacks.

Another noteworthy finding from the survey was that solo attorneys fared better than their larger firm counterparts when it came to cyberattacks. According to the report, only 19% of solos reported that they had experienced a breach, compared to 42% of lawyers from firms with 10-49 lawyers.

Hardware And software choices

Finally, let’s turn to the technologies lawyers used, starting with hardware. When it comes to smartphones, 79% of lawyers surveyed reported iPhones were their preferred smartphones. Android phones came in second at 18%, and the once-popular BlackBerry is used by only 1% of lawyers surveyed.

Lawyers also relied on mobile tools more, which wasn’t surprising given the increase in remote work due to the pandemic. According to the report, lawyers used their laptops significantly more in the past year; nearly half (47%) of lawyers reported that their laptops were their primary work computers, compared to 39% in 2017. In comparison, less than half (49%) of surveyed lawyers used desktops as their main work computers, compared to 60% in 2017. Finally, only 1% of lawyers used tablets as their primary computers.

Next up, let’s take a look at the legal software statistics. As part of the survey, lawyers were asked about the legal software available at law firms. Conflict checking software and case management or law practice management software were the top software surveyed lawyers used. Other types of software that lawyers reported their law firms offered were specialized practice software (37%) and rules-based calendaring software (38%).

Missouri Bar members receive discounted rates from top practice management solutions, including a 10% discount on MyCase. 

The Missouri Bar’s Manage a Practice section of its Practice Management site has everything you need to select a new laptop, move to a new practice management solution, and much more. Have legal technology or practice management questions? Members can schedule a no-cost, one-on-one consultation with the experts at Affinity Consulting Group. 

Reprinted with permission of MyCase. Originally published here.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of mobility and the ability to work from anywhere. Before the pandemic, when we presented on "mobile lawyering" topics, we would spend 20% of the presentation preaching the virtues of being able to access matter information wherever you were (that doesn’t mean being “always available”). Examples included looking up facts or phone numbers at court or feeling comfortable leaving work early to attend a child's sporting event. The COVID-19 pandemic added a new spin on the importance of being able to "pick up and go."

Depending on the sophistication of your pre-pandemic setup, you may have felt some acute pains or noticed technology gaps. Below are ideas to address potential gaps.

It's not all or nothing

Don't think of going paperless, or "paper less" to start, as akin to extreme dieting. You don't have to throw out all your legal pads as though they were Halloween candy, just sitting there tempting you. If you are a fan of handwritten notes, and many studies extol handwritten over typed notes for recollection or "stickiness" in memory, then a good start would be to scan handwritten notes and file them on your computer with the other electronic documents for that matter.

If you don't have a high-quality, easy-to-use desktop scanner, we recommend the Fujitsu ScanSnap line. Their latest model, the ScanSnap iX1600, can usually be found on Amazon for about $400 and works with Windows PCs and Apple Macs. For those with mobile scanning needs, we recommend the ScanSnap S1300i and the ScanSnap iX100. Another portable option is the camera on your smartphone. Both Apple and Android app stores have several mobile apps that make it easy to scan multipage documents, use optical character recognition, and upload them to cloud storage services. SwiftScan is an excellent app for this purpose. It works on iOS and Android. An annual subscription to unlock all features costs $35.

Start with what you already have

Although full-featured document management systems ("DMS") like NetDocuments, iManage, and Worldox have wonderful, valuable features, the first step to paperless doesn't have to be opening your wallet.

If you are a solo or small firm, starting with a sync storage service places you on the right path for having the most recent version of files accessible everywhere. If you subscribe to Microsoft 365, you already have a terabyte of OneDrive space per person included in your plan. If you subscribe to Google Workspace, formerly G Suite, you have two terabytes of space per person already. If you subscribe to neither and just need cloud sync space, Dropbox's business plans start at three terabytes for $200 per year.

These offerings act as giant hard drives that save data from your computer to their servers while ensuring that any computers you connect to the service have access to the most recent versions of every saved file. The Missouri Bar's Practice Management site has an article with guidelines for managing your documents without a DMS, so the storage space has an understandable organization.

If you go this route, we recommend investing in a high-quality search program to help you locate documents. For Windows users, we suggest Copernic Professional Edition for $25 per year. For macOS, HoudahSpot is the way to go, for $35.

Meet PDF, your new pal

Going "paper less" means spending more time working with PDFs. Most legal professionals are comfortable downloading and reading PDFs, but less so with creating and customizing PDFs. Both Windows 10 and macOS can create PDFs as easily as printing to paper. You don't have to print a document and scan it back into the computer. Use the free functionality to create a PDF. Click here to learn what free PDF software can do for you.

More elaborate things with PDFs, like creating bookmarks to different pages or restricting how someone might edit the PDF you make, require spending some money to get a PDF editing program.

Everyone has heard of Adobe Acrobat, the granddaddy of PDF software. Adobe Acrobat Pro is available only as a subscription for $15 per user per month. That $15 per month subscription also includes access to Adobe Sign, Adobe's legally binding e-signature platform. If $15 per month is too much, or you dislike having more subscriptions, many PDF programs are available with the same features as Acrobat Pro (other than Adobe Sign) that you can buy on a traditional "pay once" model. Visit the PDF Programs Comparison Chart for more information.

Besides a good PDF program with editing features to replace your red markup pen, some legal professionals have found it helpful to rotate one of their computer monitors from landscape (wide) to portrait (tall). Rotating a monitor better reflects looking at a real piece of paper. Doing so is a two-step process. First, you must rotate the monitor physically. Most monitors support this out-of-the-box, but not all do. If your monitors do not rotate but do support VESA mounting, like a flat-screen TV, then a $40 stand from Vivo gets you over that hump. Second, you must tell the computer that you flipped the monitor; otherwise, everything will be sideways. Both Windows and macOS make this easy.

A potpourri of paperless practice pointers

• Audit History: For paper documents, you can't easily know who touched them last or perhaps who lost them entirely. Electronic documents stored in a cloud-sync service can keep a trail of who made what changes when. Dropbox's file recovery feature, for example, lets you look back and undo file changes for up to 180 days. Full DMS programs like NetDocuments take auditing, recovering, and restoring files to a whole other level of capability and security.
• iPractice on iPad: Once you become comfortable with digital files, if you want to set the legal pad and fountain pen aside, we recommend an iPad and Apple Pencil as your new notebook and pen. The Apple Pencil is key. No other stylus comes close. A base iPad Air ($600) with a second-generation Apple Pencil ($129) combined with either GoodNotes ($8) or Notability ($9) is a game-changer for handwriting fans. GoodNotes and Notability even search your chicken-scratch handwriting as if it were typed text and do a shockingly good job of it.
• PDF Bonus: Many full-featured PDF programs offer integration with Outlook on Windows, giving you the ability to save an email and its attachments to a "PDF-like" container where the email text is a PDF but the attachments remain in their native formats (e.g., Word, Excel, JPEG, etc.). You can save the email and its attachments as a single bundle.

Have questions? At no cost, members can ask an expert their legal technology or practice management questions via email or by scheduling a one-on-one, remote consultation.

Lawyers have an ethical obligation to preserve client confidentiality. For that reason, the need to protect client information has always been a top priority for lawyers. This means that when lawyers and their staff work remotely – a practice that has become commonplace due to the pandemic – it’s all the more imperative for lawyers to ensure that confidential client data is protected when communicating electronically. 

Because so many lawyers and staff have worked remotely over the past year, law firms have increasingly relied on online communication and collaboration tools when interacting with clients. Of course, this newfound uptick in the use of electronic communication methods has impacted the ethical obligations that lawyers have when it comes to preserving client confidentiality. That’s why it’s important for law firm leaders to understand cybersecurity issues and how those problems may affect their displaced workforces, especially since lawyers and other law firm employees will likely continue working remotely and communicating electronically for many more months. The good news is law firms have solid options when it comes to secure online communication. 

Client portals: a more secure option than email 

Since the mid-1990s, lawyers have communicated with clients via electronic means, and for many years email was an accepted way to interact with clients electronically. However, because email is inherently unsecure and is like sending a hand-written postcard through the post office, it has begun to fall out of favor – both ethically and practically – as technology continues to improve. 

That’s why ethics committees and cybersecurity security experts have increasingly recommended methods other than unencrypted email when communicating and collaborating with clients online. For example, in 2017, the American Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics concluded in ABA Opinion 477R that due to “cyber-threats and (the fact that) the proliferation of electronic communications devices have changed the landscape … it is not always reasonable to rely on the use of unencrypted email.” Instead, the committee recommended that for particularly sensitive matters, lawyers should consider using encrypted communications, including encrypted email and the encrypted client communication portals built into law practice management software. 

Florida issues secure communication guide 

Recently, The Florida Bar issued an updated secure communications guide that included recommendations relating to remote work during the pandemic. This comprehensive guide, “Best Practices for Professional Electronic Communication,”offers an in-depth overview of the issues that arise when lawyers communicate and collaborate with clients electronically. The types of electronic communications addressed in the guide include texting, email, social media, telephones and cellphones, laptops, and court appearances via videoconference. 

Email is easily hacked 

The authors of The Florida Bar’s communications guide focused on the technology issues that lawyers need to keep in mind when communicating with clients through unencrypted email. An important factor emphasized in the guide was the need for lawyers to understand the risks associated with using technology, including email. The authors emphasized how unsecure traditional email is and encouraged lawyers to find a more secure way of communicating with clients. 

As they explained, the reason for this recommendation is that email is easily hacked. That’s why, according to the authors, if the situation should arise where a lawyer must use email, it’s important to scan each and every email that is received and sent: “Attachments may contain malicious software code. Use scanning software for both outbound and inbound emails.” 

Emails can be easily intercepted 

The authors also addressed the likelihood of bad actors interfering when using email. They cautioned that because email is inherently unsecure, it can be easily intercepted. Fortunately, they explained, one way to mitigate that risk is to use an encrypted email service: “There is always a chance that your email may be intercepted. Many of these risks are mitigated if not entirely eradicated when using an encrypted email service.” 

Of course, email encryption technology often requires the assistance of an IT expert with the ability to set up this type of system – something that can oftentimes be a complex endeavor. Nevertheless, for some law firms, encrypted email can be a viable option. 

Client ports are a secure and easy-to-use form of communication 

The authors also turned to secure client portals. Due to the risks inherent in email, they recommended that lawyers consider using secure client portals like the ones built into law practice management software. They shared that client portals are a secure, safe, and easy-to-use alternative that is one of the best ways to ensure that confidential information is preserved whenever you communicate and collaborate online with clients: “Secure client portals are an emerging and safe alternative to email. There are many case and practice management systems that offer a client portal component. You should seriously consider this option as a method of communication for confidential information.” 

Missouri Bar members receive discounted rates from top practice management solutions including MyCase. To find the practice management solution that’s best for you, check out The Missouri Bar’s practice management features checklist, cloud-based practice management comparison chart and traditional practice management comparison chart. Need additional help selecting a practice management solution? Members can schedule a no-cost, one-on-one consultation with the experts at Affinity Consulting Group.  

Reprinted with permission of MyCase. 

For example, the rule seeks to prohibit a lawyer who formerly worked for the government from improperly using confidential government information, say for the advantage of a future private client. The rule attempts to limit potential problems without unduly hampering the government’s ability to recruit good lawyers, primarily by loosening the strict imputation rule.

The Rule

It may be helpful to categorize Rule 4-1.11’s lettered subsections. Subsections (a), (b), and (c) are directed to lawyers who formerly served as government officers or employees. Subsection (d) addresses lawyers currently serving as government officers or employees. Subsection (e) applies to lawyers holding public office. Subsection (f) defines “matter” as it is used in Rule 4-1.11.

Subsection (a) prohibits a former employee of the government from representing a client in a matter in which the lawyer personally and substantially² participated when the lawyer worked for the government, unless the government gives informed consent,³ confirmed in writing,⁴ to the representation. Additionally, the former government lawyer is subject to Rule 4-1.9(c), which prohibits use or revelation of information relating to a matter in which the lawyer formerly represented a client.

An example of a scenario contemplated by subparagraph (a) follows. Unless the Missouri Department of Natural Resources gives written, informed consent, a former staff lawyer for the department who, while a department lawyer, worked on a case alleging a company released pollutants into the waterways in violation of state regulations is prohibited, or should be disqualified, from defending the company against those allegations after going to work for a law firm.

In accordance with subparagraph (b), the law firm, which had been defending the company before it hired the lawyer from DNR’s ranks, may continue representing the company if it promptly notifies DNR that the lawyer has become associated with the firm and timely screens the lawyer from any participation in the matter.⁵ The notice is intended to allow the government agency the opportunity to assure itself that proper screening has occurred. Further, the disqualified lawyer is prohibited from receiving any part of the fee directly relating to the representation.⁶ Continued representation by other lawyers in the firm, with notice and screening, is allowed here while it is not in a private practice to private practice scenario, where disqualification is imputed to all the lawyers in the new firm.⁷ The rationale for not imposing strict imputation in the government to private practice scenario is discussed in Comment 4. One factor is the fear that the stricter rule would inhibit government recruiting of qualified lawyers, who might shy away from government service if their future job prospects in the private sector are constrained by the prospect of a firm’s loss of clients due to strict imputation.

Subsection (c) prohibits a lawyer who previously worked for the government, and who acquired “confidential government information”⁸ about a “person” while so employed, from representing a client whose interests are adverse to that person in a matter in which the confidential government information could be used to the material disadvantage of that person. The firm with which the disqualified lawyer is now associated is permitted the continued representation if the disqualified lawyer is screened and is apportioned no part of the fee directly related to the representation.

As an example, if a lawyer learns, while working as an assistant attorney general, that the individual is about to be indicted for tax fraud, the now former assistant attorney general could not use that confidential information, say in settlement negotiations, to the material disadvantage of the individual in the course of litigation while practicing in his or her new firm. Again, the restriction is not imputed to other members of the firm, who may litigate against the individual so long as the former assistant attorney general is screened and apportioned no fee directly from the litigation.

Subsection (d) applies to lawyers currently serving as public officers or employees and addresses conflicts the lawyers may have with former client matters. The lawyers now working for the government are subject to Rule 4-1.7, the concurrent conflict of interest rule. The lawyer is also subject to all the provisions of Rule 4-1.9. Subsection (d) thus counsels a lawyer moving from private practice into government service from handling matters the lawyer participated in “personally and substantially” while in private practice. For example, a private practice lawyer who was defending a client in a criminal case should not continue the representation after taking a position as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the county where the charges were pending.⁹

A more complicated scenario occurs when a lawyer leaves a position as a government employee and moves to another government job, specifically when a public defender moves to a prosecuting attorney’s office. The Supreme Court of Missouri, in State v. Lemasters,¹⁰ discussed Rule 4-1.11 in the context of a lawyer who left the public defender’s office and went to work as an assistant prosecutor in the same county where she had been defending a client against criminal charges. The former client, Lemasters, moved to disqualify all of the lawyers in the prosecuting attorney’s office on the grounds that his former lawyer’s conflict disqualified all of the lawyers in the office.

The court found that Lemasters’ former lawyer, who was a former government lawyer due to her prior position in the Missouri State Public Defender system, was disqualified by Rule 4-1.11(a) from participating in any way in Lemasters’ prosecution. Rule 4-1.11(a)(1) also prohibited the lawyer from revealing any information relating to Lemasters to her new colleagues or using any information to Lemasters’ disadvantage. The evidence showed the new prosecutor had complied with these obligations.¹¹

Lemasters nevertheless argued that his former lawyer’s conflict should be imputed to all the lawyers in the prosecutor’s office. In analyzing Lemasters’ claim, the court found Rule 4-1.11(b)’s conflict imputation language did not apply to the “public defender to prosecutor” scenario because that subsection applies to a job move to a “firm,” a word that does not include lawyers working together as government employees, such as in a county prosecutor’s office.¹² Instead, the court found Rule 4-1.11(d), “which deals with conflicts arising from prior representations by current public officers or employees,” (emphasis in original) applied to the Lemasters scenario. The court noted there was no imputation language in Rule 4-1.11(d) and cited the language in Comment 2, which states the subsection does not impute the conflicts of a lawyer currently serving as a government employee to associated employees, while noting that screening would be prudent.¹³

Rule 4-1.11(d)(2)(ii) prohibits a lawyer currently working for the government from negotiating for a job with a party in a matter in which the lawyer is participating “personally and substantially.” An exception is made for judicial law clerks, so long as the clerk notifies the judge about the job negotiation.¹⁴

Subsection (e) addresses lawyers who “also hold public office” and prohibits engagement in activities in which the lawyer’s personal or professional interests conflict with the lawyer’s “official duties or responsibilities.”¹⁵ Comment 11 notes a public official’s position on policy matters may conflict with a client’s interests. Nor is the lawyer holding public office permitted to “attempt to influence any agency of any political subdivision” for which the lawyer serves as a public officer, except as part of the lawyer’s official duties or as authorized by §§ 105.450 RSMo to 105.496 RSMo.¹⁶ Other lawyers in a firm in which the lawyer holding public office is associated may continue or undertake a matter the public officer would be disqualified from pursuing so long as that lawyer is screened.¹⁷

Subsection (f) defines “matter” for the purposes of Rule 4-1.11. Notably, matter is defined to include decisions involving a specific party or parties, which may be a narrower definition than is found in Rule 4-1.9.¹⁸

Conclusion

Conflicts analysis can be complicated. Supreme Court Rule 4-1.11 specifically applies to a lawyer who leaves government service to work in the private sector, who leaves a private practice to join the government, or who moves between government positions. The rule should be read, and reread, by lawyers transitioning into and away from government service.

Endnotes

1 Sharon K. Weedin is staff counsel for the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel in Jefferson City.

2  Rule 4-1.0(l).

3  Rule 4-1.0(e).  See also Rule 4-1.11, Comment 1, where it is acknowledged that statutes or regulations may inhibit a government agency’s authority to give consent.

4  Rule 4-1.0(b).

5  Rule 4-1.0(k), and Rule 4-1.11, Comments 9, 10, and 11.

6  Rule 4-1.11, Comment 6 clarifies that the disqualified lawyer may receive any salary or partnership share established by independent agreement.

7  Rule 4-1.10, the general rule concerning imputation of conflicts of interest. In most cases, the conflicts of an incoming lawyer are imputed to all members of the firm, without the possibility of screening. Rule 4-1.10(d) specifically carves out an exception to the strict imputation rule for former or current government lawyers and cites Rule 4-1.11.

8  Confidential government information is defined in Rule 4-1.11(c) as “information that has been obtained under governmental authority” and which, at the time the rule is being applied, the government is prohibited from disclosing and is not otherwise available to the public.

9   In re Smith, 29 So.3d 1232 (La. 2010).

10 State v. Lemasters, 456 S.W.3d 416 (Mo. banc 2015).

11 Id. at *420.

12 Id. at *421.

13 The Court confirmed its Lemasters reasoning in State ex rel. Peters-Baker v. Round, 561S.W.3d 380 (Mo. banc 2018), in which a defendant unsuccessfully argued for the imputed disqualification of an entire prosecutor’s office due to his former public defender’s move to that office.

14 Rule 4-1.11(d)(2)(ii); Rule 4-1.12(b).

15 See Rule 4-1.7.  Subsection (e) in Missouri’s Rule 4-1.11 is not found in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. 

16 Chapter 105, Public Officers and Employees, RSMo.

17 Rule 4-1.11, Comment 10, provides context for the word “matter” as it is used in this subsection.

18 See ABA Comm. On Ethics and Professional Responsibility Formal Op. 97-409 (1997).

Have you tried to compare products or services slightly off the beaten consumer path? Or well-known products for a non-marquee feature? Despite that product’s market being worth tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, the information is difficult to come by. 

If you’re in the market for a pillow or bedsheets, there are obvious sources of information such as the website Consumer Reports that rate pillows and bedsheets on relevant categories like softness, durability, and ease of cleaning, for example. Easy enough. But suppose you want to buy a pillow made in America or in a union shop? It’s harder to come by that information in part because most buyers are not including those features in their buying decisions. In that case, your best recourse is to look for manufacturers who brag about location or employees. You could also look to sites that promote “Made in America” products. 

The same information gap occurs with tech products too. To begin with, honest feature comparison sites that aren’t littered with ads are hard to come by for the general consumer. And once found, those sites target the broadly relevant features. Websites like PC Magazine or CNET will compare Dropbox, OneDrive, and G Drive, but they’re unlikely to do so with a legal professional in mind. General audience news sources will talk price, speed, and ease of use, all relevant to legal professionals as well as the general public, but they won’t address more esoteric things important to lawyers. A PC Magazine comparison won’t address data center locations, what the service does when served with a subpoena or warrant, or how you could use a “roll your own” encryption on top of the service. 

For legal-specific products, the problem is worse. While potential buyers can compare Dropbox, OneDrive, and G Drive, software and services targeted at legal professionals have websites and marketing materials that often offer vague descriptions of capabilities, lacking important caveats, and many times hide pricing behind a “Request a Consultation” form that results in a sales call. 

These problems are exacerbated because lawyers, particularly those new to the profession or unaccustomed to comparing and choosing software, may lack a good idea of what features they want in a practice management solution, for example. 

Using Your Resources to Make Good Legal Tech Decisions 

That’s where the Law Practice Management Resource Center come into play. We’ve collected and analyzed information in key law practice tech areas so you don’t have to. Let’s walk through an example: 

Suppose you find your case and matter organization lacking. You can’t access documents unless you’re in the office. You rely on one or more people to figure out what, if anything, a client owes you and how much, if anything, the client has in their trust account. A client calls, texts, or emails you inquiring about case statuses, and you spend time rifling through emails, handwritten notes, and your memory to give updates. You talked with clients all day but, at the end of the day, are hard-pressed to remember who you talked to for how long and what was discussed. The clients are happy, but poor recollection has cost you billable time. Not good! 

If we treat this like a law school exam, we can unpack it and get an idea of issues this law office should address when evaluating a new practice management system. 

• Document access: You want to be able to access documents from outside the office. Is it just documents or do you also want access to case information? How important is it that access works well on tablets or iPhones, or is good laptop access enough? 

• Accounting: You want to know what the client owes and what’s in his trust account irrespective of whether the bookkeeper or support staffer, if any, is reachable. Do you want to know other financial information as well, like upcoming rent or office supply bills in the same program? If not, what accounting program do you use now, and will it share data with your prospective practice management program? Should clients be able to see and pay bills over the internet? 

• Case status: Most practice management programs hold general case information, party contact information, calendar dates, and tasks. Most also have some form of document storage. All would be an improvement over the “rifling lawyer” in our hypothetical scenario, but there are wrinkles in the options. How important is mobile access and from what device? Many programs can capture email and sync calendars and contacts but are you a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace firm? Many products, particularly the web-based ones, offer client portals where the client can see upcoming appointments, share documents, exchange secure messages with the lawyer, and see bills. Is this case status “self-help” a feature you want? Some programs integrate with voice over internet phone (VOIP) systems so phone call numbers and length become proposed time entries, so you don’t lose billable time as in our hypothetical situation. How valuable is that? 

As with a law school exam, our one paragraph hypothetical became three paragraphs of additional questions and considerations. You don’t want to do all the leg work yourself! 

Our Law Practice Management Resource Center offers checklists and whitepapers to spur these types of questions. Find the checklists (here and here) and whitepaper relevant to practice management software on our Law Practice Management website. Once you’ve picked your “must have” features and prioritized their importance, then head over to the Checklists and Charts resource, scroll down to the “Manage a Practice” heading, and you’ll find two relevant comparison charts. The “Practice Management Server-based” comparison chart compares vendors offering software that would install on a desktop or server that you maintain. This route is popular with lawyers who have more complex needs, want to integrate with other desktop software such as PCLaw or Microsoft Word, and those who don’t want client data stored with a cloud-based provider. The “Practice Management Cloud-based” comparison chart compares vendors whose offerings run in a web browser, requiring little to no software maintenance on the user’s side. This route is better for lawyers newer to practice, those who are more mobile, those who desire tablet or smartphone apps, and those who don’t want to make an upfront investment in software and hardware to run traditional software. 

The comparison chart organization makes feature analysis easy. For example, if you are committed to desktop/server software over a web-based solution but want the ability to email or text appointment reminders to clients, then Coyote Analytics is your answer. Or if you’re committed to a web-based offering but want offline access to case information because you have spotty internet, then Smokeball is your answer. Missouri Bar members receive discounts on many top practice management programs, including Smokeball, at the Member Benefits section of the bar’s website. 

Finally, once you’ve selected a practice management solution, be sure to clean up your data before moving case and billing information to the new system. 

Much More to Discover 

Practice management software is just one example of high-value, legal tech decisions that the comparison charts can help you make. Comparisons exist for everything from document management solutions (that can talk to your practice management solution) to document assembly tools (that can pull information from practice management software into documents) to voice over internet phone (VOIP) that can automatically create times from phone calls. Visit all the checklists and comparison charts available for bar members. 

If you have any questions or want information from experts who’ve implemented these solutions for law practices and legal organizations, visit LPM’s Ask an Expert to email questions or schedule a phone or video call. 

Kayla Kemp

Kayla Kemp is staff counsel at the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel.¹

Thankfully, there are an abundance of resources and technological solutions which can be utilized to facilitate practicing during a pandemic. As lawyers, we must be mindful to ensure that as we adapt, we must continue to meet our ethical duties under the Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct (“Rules”). 

Planning for Incapacitation During a Pandemic

Lawyers should be prepared to adapt to a rapidly changing environment, whether that be a natural disaster, pandemic, or some other act of God. Not only do we need to be prepared for abrupt changes to the ways in which we meet with clients or appear before courts, but we also need to be prepared for incapacity, more so now than ever before. Like the general population, our profession’s population is increasingly aging. According to the 2020 American Bar Association Profile of the Legal Profession, the median age of lawyers as of 2019 was 47.5 years old.² Nearly one in six lawyers are 65 or older.³ This is notable because the Center for Disease Control (CDC) warns the risk for severe illness with COVID-19 increases with age. Those who are 50-64 years of age are four times more likely to be hospitalized than the comparison group, which consisted of those 18-29 years old. The risk of death was 30 times higher for those 50-64 years old compared to the comparison group.⁴ Those figures increase with each following age group. Nonetheless, every lawyer must consider the possibility of becoming incapacitated with little to no notice.

Lawyers should ensure that, in the event of incapacity, they are comporting with ethical obligations. One way to ensure compliance is to have a succession plan in place. Rule 5.26 allows lawyers to take an important step in ensuring that representation is not disrupted by sudden incapacity. Now is a good time to consider designating a trustee pursuant to Rule 5.26, which allows a lawyer to choose someone who can take over the lawyer’s legal practice upon an unexpected absence. By selecting a trustee, you can involve that same trustee in your succession plan. By actively preparing for the possibility of incapacity, a lawyer can better facilitate a smooth transition in the event the unexpected occurred. Aside from designating a trustee, a plan should be developed for any event which may keep you out of your physical office. This plan should encompass how your usual means of communication will continue to be monitored. Someone will need to go to your physical office to check mail, voicemails, or faxes. Also, be sure to include clear instructions regarding receiving and retaining client records and property. For additional resources in succession planning, visit The Missouri Bar’s website, MoBar.org.⁵

Mental Health Concerns

The physical threat COVID-19 presents is not the only health risk. On Feb. 19, 2020, the American Lawyer released the results of its year-long “Mental Health and Substance Abuse Survey,” which found that 31.2% of the more than 3,800 respondents surveyed reported they were depressed. Additionally, 64% reported anxiety, 10.1% reported an alcohol problem, and 2.8% reported a drug problem.⁶ These findings predate the onset of the pandemic in the United States.

The CDC released findings noting that in June of 2020 the rates of depression and anxiety amongst adults in the United States were three to four times higher than the corresponding point in 2019.⁷ Approximately 40% of those surveyed reported struggling with mental health or substance abuse. According to the same study, rates of suicidal ideation, substance abuse, and alcohol consumption are steadily rising. Lawyers should familiarize themselves with the mental health and substance use resources available through The Missouri Bar.⁸ Depression and anxiety can result in lawyers neglecting their responsibilities and, therefore, harming their clients. Just as lawyers ought to be proactive in planning for physical incapacitation, lawyers should also be proactive in caring for their mental well-being. A lawyer who is grappling with these serious health issues needs to make every effort to seek help, such as through the Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program (MOLAP).⁹ Through MOLAP, all Missouri Bar members can speak with a licensed clinical social worker by calling 800-688-7859. The program is free and confidential.

Competence Amidst Chaos

The first obligation set forth in the Rules is that of competence. Rule 4-1.1 – Competence – Comment [6] dictates “[t]o maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology ... .”

Keeping abreast of changes to the practice of law necessities brings an awareness of the risks associated with working remotely. Despite the challenges presented during the current pandemic, lawyers have the duty to remain competent. Comment [3] to Rule 4-1.1 provides guidance on a lawyer’s ethical obligation during such a situation as a global pandemic:

In an emergency a lawyer may give advice or assistance in a matter in which the lawyer does not have the skill ordinarily required where referral to or consultation or association with another lawyer would be impractical. Even in an emergency, however, assistance should be limited to that reasonably necessary in the circumstances, for ill-considered action under emergency conditions can jeopardize the client’s interest.

In the event of an emergency, a lawyer may give advice in a matter the lawyer does not possess the skill ordinarily needed to provide such advice. Of course, advising without the necessary skill is only acceptable where referral or consultation with another lawyer is impractical.

Lawyers must continue to educate themselves on technological innovations which can be utilized to virtually serve their clients. Also, lawyers need to stay current on any legal changes that allow them to continue to meet clients’ needs to enter into contracts, update wills, or create personal health care directives.

Remote Notarization

On April 6, 2020, Gov. Mike Parson issued Executive Order 20-08 suspending a statutory requirement that a notary public must conduct such notarization of official documents while the signer personally appears. Executive Order 20-08 was set to expire June 15, 2020; then, Executive Order 20-12 extended remote notarization to Aug. 28, 2020. Subsequently, Executive Order 20-14 and Executive Order 20-19 extended remote notarizations until March 31, 2021.

The practice of remote notarization provides a secure and safe method to execute legal documents. Notarization can occur while utilizing audio-video technology, provided certain conditions are met: 

(1) If the signatory is not personally or otherwise known to the notary, the signatory must display a valid photo ID to the notary during the video conference;

(2) The signatory must affirmatively represent that they are physically situated in the State of Missouri, and the notary must be physically located in the State of Missouri and say in which county they are physically located for the jurisdiction on the notarial certificate;

(3) The video conference must be a live and interactive audio-visual communication between the signatory, notary, and any other necessary persons to allow for direct interaction at the time of signing;

(4) The notary must record in their journal the exact time and software used to perform the notarial act, along with all other required information; and

(5) The document must contain a notarial certificate, a jurat, or acknowledgement, which states that the signatory appeared remotely pursuant to Executive Order 20-14.

Electronic Notarization

While Missouri already permits electronic notarization, which is the use of electronic signatures and seals, Executive Order 20-14 allows for remote and electronic notarization to occur together when:

(1) The notary public is registered as an electronic notary public with the Missouri Secretary of State;

(2) The document must be electronically signed with a software approved by the Missouri Secretary of State; and

(3) The notary must affix the electronic notary seal to the electronic document.

Lawyers should do their due diligence and check with the Missouri Secretary of State to confirm they are using a registered remote notary¹⁰ and the software used to electronically sign the document¹¹ is approved.

Cyber Security

While there are many benefits to utilizing technology to facilitate legal services, there are also risks. For example, Zoom – a platform used to facilitate virtual audio and visual meetings – has had security breaches. In July 2019, a vulnerability in Zoom’s Macintosh desktop client was found which let malicious websites turn on a Macintosh user’s webcam without that user’s knowledge.¹² Then, in January 2020, another vulnerability was discovered. Unauthorized users could enter Zoom meetings that were not password protected and did not have Zoom’s Waiting Room feature – which allows for manual admission into Zoom meetings – enabled. Security flaws such as these are not unique to Zoom. Consequently, when utilizing third-party platforms, lawyers ought to take precautions such as using updated software and taking reasonable security measures.

Rule 4-1.6(c) specifies “[a] lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information of the client.” Comment [15] details the factors to be considered in determining whether a lawyer acted completely by undertaking reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of information related to client representation. The ABA’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 477R, “Securing Communication of Protected Client Information,” which provides guidance as to security measures that should be employed given the ever-increasing cybersecurity threats that exist when transmitting information over the internet:¹³

However, cyber-threats and the proliferation of electronic communications devices have changed the landscape and it is not always reasonable to rely on the use of unencrypted email. For example, electronic communication through certain mobile applications or on message boards or via unsecured networks may lack the basic expectation of privacy afforded to email communications.¹⁴

While cyber security was a matter of grave concern in 2017, the threat of harm has only increased.¹⁵ In 2019, there were more than 5,000 data breaches reported.¹⁶ These breaches amounted to approximately 8 billion exposed records. Educating yourself on the various types of cyberattacks which can leave your client-confidential information vulnerable is the first step.¹⁷

Third-party Service Providers

For those lawyers whose devices are managed by a third party, include explicit terms in your contracts detailing which security practices are to be followed. These security features can include audits that report security status and the health of your devices. The National Institute for Standards and Technology and the Institute for Standards Organization provide best practices for guidance on how to strengthen your network’s defenses. Lawyers should consider including clauses in their contracts which detail how third parties will secure remote access. Methods to help secure remote access to your network include VPNs, multi-factor authentication, and rotating strong passwords. After all, Comment [1] to Rule 4-5.3 – Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants requires lawyers with managerial authority make reasonable assurances that the nonlawyers in the firm and those who work outside the firm act in a way compatible with the ethical obligations of the lawyer.

As technology evolves, so does our obligation to act reasonably under the Rules of Professional Conduct. And as we adapt, we must consider what further efforts we can take to meet our ethical duties. The current global pandemic has shifted our way of life, both at work and at home. It is important for every lawyer to understand the resources available to help alleviate the burden they may feel.

Endnotes

1 Kayla Kemp is staff counsel at the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel. Special thanks to Melinda J. Bentley, legal ethics counsel, whose presentation, “Ethical Considerations for Missouri Lawyers Practicing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Conversation with the Chief Disciplinary Counsel & Ethics Counsel,” was invaluable.

2 Am. Bar Ass’n, 2020 American Bar Association Profile of the Legal Profession (2020), https://www.americanbar.org/news/reporter_resources/profile-of-profession/.

3 Am. Bar Ass’n, 2020 American Bar Association Profile of the Legal Profession (2020), https://www.americanbar.org/news/reporter_resources/profile-of-profession/.

4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19: Older Adults (2020), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/older-adults.html.

5 The Missouri Bar, Planning Ahead: A Guide to Protect Your Clients’ and You Survivors’ Interests in the Event of Your Disability of Death (2005).

6 Lizzy McLellan, Lawyers Reveal True Depth of Mental Health Struggles, Law.com (Feb. 19, 2020, 11:00 AM), https://www.law.com/2020/02/19/lawyers-reveal-true-depth-of-the-mental-health-struggles/.

7 Czeisler MÉ et al., Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic – United States, June 24–30, 2020, MMWR Morb. Mortal Wkly. Rep. 2020;69:1049-1057 (2020). 

8 Coronavirus Resource Center for Lawyers, https://mobar.org/site/content/Lawyer-Resources/Coronavirus_Resource_Center_for_Lawyers.aspx?WebsiteKey=dd54fe1d-87c8-4d7e-9547-e59fcd729541 (last visited Jan. 11, 2021).

9 Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program, https://mobar.org/molap/ (last visited Jan. 11, 2021).

10 Registered Electronic Notaries, https://www.sos.mo.gov/RegisteredElectronicNotary (last visited Jan. 11, 2021).

11 Approved Notary Software Vendors, https://s1.sos.mo.gov/Business/Notary/softwarevendors (last visited Jan. 11, 2021).

12 Jonathan Leitschuh, Zoom Zero Day: 4+ Million Webcams & Maybe an RCE? Just Get Them to Your Website!, Medium.com (July 8, 2019), https://medium.com/bugbountywriteup/zoom-zero-day-4-million-webcams-maybe-an-rce-just-get-them-to-visit-your-website-ac75c83f4ef5.

13 ABA Committee on Ethics & Pro. Resp., Formal Op. 477R (2017).

14 Id. at pg. 5.

15 Microsoft Digital Defense Report, September 2020, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/business/security-intelligence-report (last visited Jan. 11, 2021).

16 Rae Hodge, 2019 Data Breach Hall of Shame, cnet.com (Dec. 27, 2019, 4:00 AM), https://www.cnet.com/news/2019-data-breach-hall-of-shame-these-were-the-biggest-data-breaches-of-the-year/.

17 See Melinda J. Bentley, Ethics: The Ethical Implications of Technology in Your Law Practice: Understanding the Rules of Professional Conduct Can Prevent Potential Problems, 76 J.MoBar (2020).