While stories of foreign hackers and data breaches may seem unlikely in the commonwealth, “it can happen to anyone,” warned John Simek, vice president of Sensei Enterprises, a digital forensics and information security company in Fairfax. Take the example of ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management Technology

In Melissa Howell’s employment law practice, she rarely meets with her clients in her Norfolk office space. Instead, her clients prefer to work with her via phone and email or have her come to them, where she can access employment ...

Tagged with: Ethics Law Office Management Rules of Professional Conduct Technology Virginia State Bar

Lawyers chasing the goal of running a paperless office are finding that both practical and ethical concerns can cause bumps in the road. Are there some documents that must remain in their original – i.e., paper – form? How many ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management Technology

The first and most important step in promoting efficiency is to know your practice areas well. A close second is to aggressively provide training for everyone in your office. Successful firms understand that they must invest in their people, their ...

Tagged with: Elder Law Law Office Management

“This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” You may recall that famous advertising slogan from the 1980s. One could use a similar phrase when describing today’s legal marketplace. Changes in billing methods, improvements in technology, a turbulent economy and the globalization ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management

Keeping control of clients who become difficult to manage and making sure you filter out the not-so-good clients in the first place are essential to maintaining a successful law practice and holding on to your sanity. This can be especially ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management

In the wake of a proposed settlement between credit card-issuers Visa and MasterCard and merchants that would allow vendors to pass along “swipe fees” to their customers, lawyers who accept “plastic” are grappling with the issue of whether such up-charges ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management Legal Ethics Opinion

Employers are increasingly allowing their employees to use their own laptops, tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices for work purposes – and that is creating a plethora of potential legal issues. Employment defense lawyers say that every business should have ...

Tagged with: Employment Law Office Management Technology

The Internet has created a revolution in the way lawyers and clients interact, but the “virtual” lawyer must not lose sight of the “actual” client. The most familiar form of the online revolution’s impact on small and solo law firms ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management Technology

The old school model for staffing in a small law firm was often one secretary or legal assistant per lawyer, perhaps with some additional help from a receptionist or billing clerk. Under this model, the firm’s core delivery of legal ...

Tagged with: Law Office Management