Small ideas on legal practice, research and technology

Archive for ‘Practice’

Do Something Different!

♫ So put me on a highway
And show me a sign
And take it to the limit one more time…♫

Lyrics and music: Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Glenn Lewis Frey, Donald Hugh Henley, recorded by The Eagles.  Thanks Glenn for all the great music.

 

(image by Wade M – CC BY-SA 2.0 licence)

This is a new year’s resolution of a different sort.  All of us resolve to get healthier, to live better lives and to do better this year than last.  How many of us resolve to keep our minds sharp and agile?  Here are some …

Posted in: Practice

Use a Screensaver to Protect Client Confidentiality

Legal professionals properly place high priority on securing our computer infrastructures to protect client confidentiality.

Our desktop screens, however, are often overlooked, as a source of potential security breaches.

Is your computer screen visible to visitors to your office? Are wandering eyes able to catch a glimpse of confidential information on your desktop?

There’s an easy solution to avoid inadvertent lapses in confidentiality that can happen when screens are exposed.

Use a screensaver to protect the data on your screen.

Whether it’s a built-in screensaver that ships with your operating system, or one of the numerous installables that is available …

Posted in: Practice

How to Keep Those New Year Resolutions!

♫  We made our resolution for our brand new year:
No more letting days go by…♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by The Limousines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So many of us resolve to do things better in the New Year even if we don’t make formal New Year’s Resolutions.  Problem is that good intentions die hard.  How can you increase your chances for a positive change and outcome?  Here are a number of suggestions put forward to increase your chances for a real positive change:

  • Start Small: Rome wasn’t built in a day and changes take time.
Posted in: Practice

Keep a “Happy Client Folder”

I’m sorry if this sounds like a cheesy idea, but it’s a good one nonetheless.

There will be inevitable slings and arrows in the life of any professional. Hopefully, the good days will outnumber the bad.

Some days,  you may need a positive reminder, though

Thankfully, there will always be clients who are good enough to let you know that they feel you’ve done a good job, that they are happy with the results you’ve achieved, and that they truly appreciate your hard work and good service.

For the last little while, I’ve been copying all those thank you emails …

Posted in: Practice

Some Good Advice

♫ Get a leg up
What’s the matter
Are you shy, shy, shy? ♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by: John Mellencamp.

In an article entitled: 5 Rules for When to Listen to Advice (And When Not To) in Inc. Magazine,  Matthew Swyers, the Founder of The Trademark Company

 stated (here I am just going to summarize) the rules as to determine if advice is worth anything:

  1. Context: Determine the weight to be given to advice from the context in which it is given.
  2. Unsolicited Advice: Determine why someone is giving you advice.
  3. Motivation: What is the person seeking
Posted in: Practice

How to Deal With Difficult People

♫ The wheels on the bus go round and round,
round and round,
round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
all through the town…♫

Lyrics and music by: Lydia Ulsaker, sung by teachers, parents and children everywhere.

(image by: LaurMG, used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)

James C. Collins wrote the best seller: “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Other’s Don’t.”  It has stood the test of time and sold over 4 million copies according to Wikipedia.

Jim has some very good advice that …

Posted in: Practice

The Growing Movement to Online Courts

♫ Light gives way to darkness
Unless we come alive.
So be the change you need to see.
Let yourself ignite…♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by Heartist.

(image by Erralix)

In the UK, “The Lord Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls, as Head of Civil Justice, have asked Lord Justice Briggs to carry out an urgent review of the structure of the courts which deliver civil justice.” As part of this review is the consideration of the creation of an on-line court (“OC”) for ‘lower value disputes’. (http://www.chba.org.uk/news/civil-court-structure-review )

It is designed primarily for use …

Posted in: Practice

Law Firm Marketing: Finding an Online/Offline Balance

There is no shortage of evangelism out there on the importance of the Internet as a platform for marketing law firms. I’ve certainly attempted to be a strong voice on this topic for well over a decade.

According to Toronto law firm marketing consultant, Sandra Bekhor, however, the legal marketing landscape has evolved, and the question has now shifted.

The importance of a well-positioned, frequently updated online footprint remains a given for law firm marketing.

The critical question today is whether that, alone, will be enough to guarantee success. In other words, can we do it all via …

Posted in: Practice

Map Your Future

♫ Is the glass half full or half empty ?
It’s based on your perspective quite simply
We’re the same and we’re not, know what I’m saying, listen
Son, I ain’t better than you, I just think different…♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by Nujabes.

Image created by: Nicoguaro.

“Think Different” was the slogan for Apple, Inc at one time.  Steve Jobs said in the “One Last Thing” documentary:

When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not

Posted in: Practice

CPD Tips for the Law Society of Upper Canada

I’ll be tuning into the videocast of Barry Fisher’s 16th Annual Employment Law Summit in a few hours, so I suppose I have CPD on my mind.

Today’s post might be half rant, half tip, but I do have a few suggestions on Ontario’s CPD program for the LSUC that I will take the liberty of outlining:

  1. As your technology departments are capable of the miracle that brings CPD programmes directly to our video screens in real time, surely they can also develop a simple protocol to automatically post our LSUC CPD hours directly to the LSUC portal once a 
Posted in: Practice