Today’s practice tip is get ready for change, because sometime soon, eCourts may be arriving in Canada.

It may seem like equal parts pipe dream and unscheduled inevitability, but in the context of an acknowledged access to justice crisis in Canada, the call for technological modernization of our nation`s courts seems to be approaching critical mass.

What will this brave new future look like? How can we ready our practices?

The recent Report of the Court Processes Simplification Working Group, delivered by the National Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters, articulates a …

Sooner or later all of us will be facing a big decision.

Most of us put off making that big decision for a number of reasons…we fear making the wrong decision, we feel we don’t (yet) have enough information, we fear that we may be making the decision for the wrong reasons or we fear offending the feelings of those that are near to us by our choice (that may conflict with their views of what you should do).

Having done considerable research into this area just recently – in reading many papers, blogs and advice sites (and compared their …

Have you ever been at court or a critical meeting and wished you had a document with you that was still tucked away at your office?

Here’s a tip that will ensure you always have every document in your client file handy, wherever you are.  Copy your entire client folder to Dropbox (or Google Drive) the day before any court appearance or other major event.  Your client folder will then be available to you remotely, via the Cloud, if you need to check any documents that you left behind.

Dropbox and Google Drive are free online services that allow …

All of us have to manage our time and our deadlines.  At this point in my career, I think I have tried out a fair number of the alternatives:  a DayTimer paper calendar, a paper notebook, Microsoft Outlook as well as other various appointment programs etc etc etc.. I think my all-time favourite was a very good personal information program entitled EccoPro (which was unfortunately dropped by the developer but I now see it has been kept alive by a strong user group at http://www.compusol.org/ecco/).

So the search went on.  That was, until I found Wunderlist.

An …

With tax season either just behind us (or just ahead, depending on your filing date), it’s an ideal time of year to review all things accounting and financial at your firm.

What’s your assessment – are your bookkeeping and accounting systems working for you and your practice?  Could some basic financial planning make a difference in the year ahead?

With tax-time 2014 – and the regulatory and financial well-being of our practices – in mind, here are a few questions we could benefit from pondering (and acting upon):

• Are your firm’s financial records Law Society-compliant and up-to-date? Are there any

This upcoming monday I will be presenting at a CLE-BC seminar on the new Limitation Act here in British Columbia.

In advance of that presentation, I am taking a snippet from my paper on how to use Microsoft Outlook to manage limitation dates.

Of all the tasks that must be done in a law office, few of them have such long reaching professional implications as missing a limitation date. Missing a limitation date involves significant personal and professional embarrassment, loss of trust with the client, possible negligence liability, having to report to your Insurance Fund and not the least of …

It may be a sign of our times, but one of the more complex work-life balance questions I face every year –  a couple of times at least, thankfully – is the appropriate level of work-life balance to maintain while I’m on vacation.

There is no actual paradox in this seeming contradiction in terms. The reality is I have no inclination to wholly disconnect, and I’m pretty sure I am not alone on that.

True confession time – I still work a bit while I’m away.    I’d rather set aside an hour or so a day while I’m on vacation …

Having had the benefit of a few days of reflection after attending ABA TECHSHOW 2013 in Chicago last week, I thought I would highlight certain aspects and themes arising from the conference and in particular, why lawyers should be attending this or similar conferences (and indeed why it may be obligatory to do so).

The Borg

Prepare to be assimilated.  Only in this case The Borg = The Cloud.   This was particularly brought home in the session with Wells Anderson and Catherine Sanders Reach.  Microsoft is moving to a monthly subscription model.  The benefits to users to going to Office …

For the next 2 1/2 days, ABA TECHSHOW will be taking place in Chicago, Illinois. This year there are sessions over 8 tracks ranging from Advanced IT to Cloud & Collaboration, e-discovery, iOS, Large Firm, Litigation, Mac, Social Media, Solo and Small Firm (I and II), Tech Grab Bag, Tablets & Smartphones and others all on the theme: “Bringing Lawyers and Technology Together”.

If you can be there, you can experience the incredible range of sessions, speakers and topics that are the hallmark of ABA TECSHOW.  Sessions such as 60 Sites in 60 Minutes and 60 Tips in 60 Minutes …

Garry Wise: Last week, my co-scribe, Mr. David Bilinsky, posed a particularly simple, yet oh-so-important question:

What do you think that lawyers can do to make theirs – their client’s and their regulator’s – life a bit easier?

It all starts with communications.

And, when it comes to communications, I think I can actually answer David’s question – or begin to – in a short, but worthy SlawTip:

Once a practice has matured, no lawyer can do it alone. The solution to the communications conundrum is probably as simple as this – develop good communications systems for …