Topics
Ten tips for effective video-conferencing
Even before the onset of a global pandemic that sequestered many lawyers to their homes, remote meetings and videoconference were quickly becoming an important and ubiquitous business tool. Online meetings bring benefits and convenience, but can also increase confusion and frustration. Here are ten tips to help you host effective online meetings, whether with colleagues… Read More »
Categories: Legal Technology, Online OnlyA place for every email and every email in its place: Improving your inbox organization
In a modern law firm, it is not uncommon for the bulk of a file to be located in the lawyer’s inbox. This includes records of client instructions, agreements between counsel, strategy discussions, and scheduling confirmations. This can also include attachments and documents circulated between lawyers and clients that are sometimes never stored in a… Read More »
Categories: Articles, Legal Technology, New Lawyer Issue, Tech TipsPhishing scams: Be the one that got away
Phishing involves the use of an email, text message or phone call that appears to come from a trusted source or institution, vendor or company, but is actually from a third-party impostor. Phishing messages are intended to trick you into giving fraudsters your information by asking you to update or confirm personal or online account… Read More »
Categories: Articles, Cyber dangers, New Lawyer Issue, Tech TipsCommunicating like its 1876: The continuing importance of telephone skills for lawyers
When the Western Union Telegraph Co. famously declined to purchase the telephone patent from Alexander Graham Bell, it was allegedly because they wondered why anyone would want to use such a frivolous and impractical device when a clear and concise written message could just as easily be sent by telegraph. This assessment seems less absurd… Read More »
Categories: Articles, Communications Errors, Content Type, Features, Law students/new lawyers, New Lawyer IssuePlanning to do real estate work? A primer on title insurance and the TitlePLUS program
If you’re planning to do any real estate work when you go into practice, you’ll soon hear about a resource used by many real estate practitioners – title insurance. It’s a type of insurance coverage that lawyers across Canada are telling their clients about to help protect them against some typical problems that might crop… Read More »
Categories: Articles, New Lawyer Issue, Title insurance, TitlePLUSAvailability of insurance coverage for lawyers acting as executor or trustee
Estate lawyers will sometimes be called upon by a client to act as executor or trustee as part of their Professional Services. Depending on the complexity of the estate or trust, these appointments can last for years and involve a substantial time investment. As with other aspects of a legal practice, alleged errors in the… Read More »
Categories: LAWPRO policy, Online Only, Wills & EstatesLaw Is a Buyer’s Market: Building A Client-First Law Firm
Law firms are experiencing a wrenching period of upheaval. Economic crises, technology explosions, and a regulatory revolution have spawned a wave of innovative competitors. Newly empowered clients have adopted aggressive buying behaviours and begun dictating the terms of their relationships to law firms. Faced with this unprecedented competitive landscape and an industry-wide drop in demand… Read More »
Categories: Book, Firm ManagementUnderstanding mental health in the legal profession
Herman Melville wrote that the legal profession is one where “misery hides aloof, so we deem that misery there is none.” In Melville’s story of Bartleby, the Scrivenor, a solicitor watches this silent misery slowly consume and destroy his copyist, Bartleby. Although Melville wrote his tragedy about depression in the legal profession in 1853, it… Read More »
Categories: 2020 January - Finding Your Way, Articles, Wellness, WellnessUsing the MAP to find a healthier way
Although compromised mental health within the legal profession has historically been a widespread and deeply rooted problem, increasing awareness and new resources are building a healthier, more resilient, and stronger profession. That’s where myassistplan.com from the Member Assistance Program (MAP) comes in. The MAP provides Ontario lawyers, paralegals, law students, judges, and family members, with… Read More »
Categories: 2020 January - Finding Your Way, Articles, Wellness, WellnessWarning signs: Why it’s important for lawyers and firms to be proactive about mental health
When lawyers ignore their mental health and fail to act on warning signs, they not only harm their quality-of-life and job satisfaction, they leave themselves open to a claim, or even a cluster of malpractice claims. It’s 10:00 p.m. Do you know where your associates are? A lawyer’s life can be a lonely one. Long… Read More »
Categories: 2020 January - Finding Your Way, Articles, Wellness, Wellness