Ethics in Brief: Caputo – A Cautionary Tale with Costly Consequences

By Valerie Silverman Massey 

Scenario: As a senior or supervising attorney, you are preparing to file a document with a court. A more junior attorney prepares the document using prior office writings/research or conducting new research and preparing the document from scratch. Your name is on the caption and the signature line.  Read More

Upping Your Security Game with MFA

In today’s security landscape, there’s no such thing as “too careful.” With so many of us still working from home, devices scattered around cities and states, and malicious actors on the rise seeking to take advantage of the situation, it’s more important than ever for lawyers and law firms to be on top of their security game. One simple and effective step to take? Implement multifactor authentication (MFA). Read More

Ethics in Brief: The First Amendment on Trial in State Bar Court

By David C. Carr

Introduction

The First Amendment guarantees free speech, which is one of our most cherished freedoms. Yet, as we all know, it is not absolute. Recently, the First Amendment has played a more significant role in the jurisprudence of lawyer discipline. Lawyers, after all, are speech warriors. Fueled by new and more effective modes of communication and the breakdown in norms of restraint, First Amendment issues are coming to the surface more often in State Bar Court. This leads to different results as the nuances of the First Amendment collide with the professional obligations of the lawyers. This edition of “Ethics in Brief” briefly examines three recent decisions of the State Bar Court where the First Amendment was raised as a defense. Read More

Ways to Create a Digital Signature

A digital signature is almost imperative for working remotely and online these days. Electronic signatures are a convenient, legally binding way to apply your consent to an electronic form or document. Having a copy of your digital signature handy can save time and money as you skip printing and mailing paper or printing, signing, and scanning documents.  Read More

Understanding Microsoft Copilot: A Guide for Legal Professionals

In this series of tips, we will explore how Microsoft 365 can help law firms be more efficient, secure, and efficient. Your firm’s software and service subscriptions are a valuable business resource that you should understand, just like your firm’s operating and trust accounts. Be sure to read our previous posts about Microsoft365 to be sure you are using the best account type for your law practice and understand which Microsoft subscription you are using. In this post, we will discuss your options for using and subscribing to Microsoft Copilot.  Read More

Understanding Microsoft Subscription Plans: A Guide for Legal Professionals

In this series of tips, we will explore how Microsoft 365 can help law firms be more efficient, secure, and efficient. Your firm’s software and service subscriptions are a valuable business resource that you should understand, just like your firm’s operating and trust accounts. To start, you need to know what kind of account you and/or your firm have; we covered that topic in a previous post. In this post, we will discuss your options for subscription plans to Microsoft 365.  Read More