Encryption, Privacy and the Dark Side of the Internet

Encryption, Privacy and the Dark Side of the Internet was written by Duane Croft, a Norman, Oklahoma lawyer with an engineering background. This Oklahoma Bar Journal article covers encryption in depth, while still being readable for the lawyer with only basic knowledge on the topic. Certainly today's lawyer does need to understand the basics of encryption, even if he or she does not care to know the mechanics.

I hesitate to keep labeling things "must reading" but I think you will learn quite a bit from this piece and especially his comments on “scary-level” encryption. So check it out: Download Encryption Privacy and Dark Side of Internet.Croft.OklaBarJ (PDF File)

I also have some companion resources for you. Not Just For Paranoids: 4 Reasons To Encrypt Your Digital Life is a nice article from MakeUseOf.com that does a fine job of pointing out why you would want to encrypt files. It also has some links to additional basic encryption articles.

Encryption Made Simple for Lawyers was published late last fall in GPSOLO magazine. It was written by David G. Ries and John W. Simek. These two colleagues are quite the experts in this field.

Hopefully this trio of resources will give readers some comprehensive information about this subject, which is becoming more significant every day, especially for professionals that deal with confidential, private or privileged information in digital files.

Opening a New Law Practice - New resources

The articles from "Opening a Law Practice" issue of the Oklahoma Bar Journal, published in October 2012 are now all available online. Enjoy and share this post with others, especially a lawyer or law student who is contemplating setting up a law practice.   
• Starting Solo - From Oath to My Own Office
        - by Byron J. Will
• Equipping the Law Office 2012 - by Jim Calloway
• Going With the Flow -- The Truth About Cash Flow
        Management - by Douglas Gierhart
• Great Resources Abound but Time Does Not
        - by Jim Calloway
• Insurance for Lawyers and Law Offices -- From the
        Basics to "I Didn't Know You Could Insure That!" -
        by Jennifer Beale
• Professional Liability Insurance - The Rest of the
        Story - by Alison A. Cave
• Success in Solo and Small Firm Settings
        - by Jennifer Kirkpatrick
• Ten Things to Know When Starting a Small-Town
        Practice - by Stephen D. Beam and Jon K. Parsley
• The Agony and the Ecstasy - Tips on Starting Your
        Own Law Practice - by Tracey Garrison
• The Non-Tech Side of Starting Your Own Practice
        - by Michelle Harrington
• What's Your Exit Strategy - by D. Scott
        Pappas
• Trust Accounting 101 - by OBA Ethics Counsel Travis Pickens

 

Twelve Ethics Tips for the First-Rate Lawyer

Legal ethics advice can sometimes be dry and off-putting. No one likes to be lectured to, especially about not stealing, lying or misbehaving. Oklahoma Bar Association Ethics Counsel Travis Pickens gives us twelve practical suggestions about maintaining ethical standards and improving our law practices at the same time. (I will note that I introduced Travis to the subject matter for tip #9.) Read "Mere Professional Conduct" by Travis Pickens and share the link with a first-rate lawyer you know. 

Taking a Charge

This weekend I am going to spend some time watching the NBA playoffs on TV. Some might say too much time, but that would just be an opinion, not a fact. I'm not alone in having this weekend plan in my state.

Perhaps that is one reason that I was inspired to write "Taking a Charge" for the Oklahoma Bar Journal this week. The column is not mainly about basketball, but refers to the fact that lawyers so often have to "take a charge" and absorb punishment on behalf of their client. It could be the lawyer defending a high profile client where the community is already convinced of guilt or any number of difficult things that happen in contested family law matters. It may be that a client has disregarded the lawyer's directions and now the lawyer is forced to take the heat for it. Over time taking all of this stress can have very negative consequences for the lawyer, including stress-related illnesses or burnout.

You cannot take care of your family and clients if you do not take care of yourself. I hope you download and enjoy this column. Try to take care of yourself. It is OK to take some time off to watch some hoops--or do whatever it is you enjoy. Download TakingACharge.Calloway.oklabarj

His First Jury Trial

Trial lawyers have great stories. Veteran Oklahoma City trial lawyer Rex Travis shares the story of his first jury trial. I pass this along not as a long practice management tip, but just because it is a great story. Download FirstTrial.Travis.OklahomaBar

Oklahoma Bar Solo & Small Firm Conference Combines Education and Fun

What Oklahoma event featured football legends Barry Switzer and Billy Sims, along with rock stars Tina Turner and Mick Jagger? The surprising answer is the 2011 OBA Solo and Small Firm Conference. The football legends both attended in person, while the rock stars were there via homages from our outstanding musical entertainment, New Odyssey.

Solo and small firm lawyers wear many hats. They are management and labor. They are professional service providers who also have all of the roles of any small business owner. On any given day, they may serve as chief marketing officer, chief information officer, budget director and custodian.

Juggling all of these various roles while serving clients can be challenging. The OBA Solo and Small Firm Conference is designed to help these lawyers with information about managing their practices and updates on substantive law. Read the rest of this story at http://www.okbar.org/news/front/2011/06/21-solo-success.htm. 

Check out the photos from the conference at http://albums.okbar.org/2011/SSF-2011 Our photographers did a great job of capturing the conference this year. There are photos of many of the attendees and speakers, as well as our special guest presenters, Tom Mighell and Sarah J. Read.

Oklahoma Bar Solo & Small Firm Conference 2011

Next week many of us will be at the Oklahoma Bar Association Solo & Small Firm Conference at the Downsteam Resort near Quapaw, Oklahoma.

We have more choice in sessions than in the last several years. One of our guests will be Tom Mighell, longer time blogger and author of the new book iPad in One Hour for Lawyers. He will discuss several technology topics and even share the podium with me for some of them.

Another special guest is Sarah Read, who will be discussing client communications issues. While this will be my first time learning from her, she comes highly reccomended.

But we have a lot of great sessions and social events planned. Check out the CLE programming here and other event details here. it will be a great event.

The Attorney's Speech by Travis Pickens

Can you spot all of the ethcial violations in the relatively short telephone conversation in the attached article from Oklahoma Bar Association Ethics Counsel Travis Pickens?  Download The Attorneys Speech - Travis Pickens - April 2011 OBJ Reviewing this very short article might give you some good reminders about keeping out of ethical hot water in your client communcations.

OBA's Opening Your Law Practice Program

I'll be spending the day tomorrow speaking to impressionable young lawyers, along with some more experienced lawyers. The Oklahoma Bar Association is putting on our free program Opening Your Law Practice in Tulsa, with the Oklahoma City session scheduled next week. We do one program in the spring and these two in the fall. (We renamed our New Lawyer Experience Program to this more accurate title as about 1/3rd of the attendees were veteran lawyers, retiring judges and the like.) You can read more about the program here and see the complete schedule here. To my fellow bar association executives, you really need to offer one of these programs if you do not. In these economic times, many young lawyers are opening a law office directly out of law school, whether they intended to or not. If you help them with this major challenge, they will not forget it in the future.

Hot Legs(?) and Customer Service

Dan Hull, on his What About Clients?™ blog, featured a Rod Stewart video with his post Hot Legs: Great--and Enduring--Customer Service Sites. I am honored that he included my blog in a fairly long list of blogs that "feature useful models, ideas, best practices and tips on effective customer service" in Dan's words. Check out these blogs, which include many of my "must read" blogs.

This morning a number of new Oklahoma lawyers are being sworn in as new lawyers. Some of them have jobs, but too many still do not. On the next two Tuesdays, some of them attend a program called Opening Your Law Practice, which is provided as a free service from the Oklahoma Bar Association. One of the messages that they will hear from me is about providing great client service. Most lawyers do their jobs well. One of the distinguishing factors between lawyers is superior client service. Whether your clients will refer others to you, "dis" you or just forget about you after their matter is over depends more on their perception of how they were treated than on any other factor. Doing great legal work in the mimimum requirement. But for you to succeed with your future plans and goals, all of your clients should receive courteous, timely service. They should clearly understand what is happening with their matter as free of legal jargon as possible. They should be regularly informed of the status of their matter. And they should know that you care about them and their matter.