Categories : Wellness
Mindful Minute: Resilience – Finding Ways Forward Through Adversity
By Jim Eischen, Co-Chair, San Diego County Bar Association Wellness Committee
Categories : Legal Ethics
Ethics in Brief: Ethical Pitfalls Arise When Pursuing a Client Agreement that Impedes a State Bar Investigation
By Alara Chilton
When a client files or threatens to file a State Bar complaint alleging a lawyer’s ethical misconduct, a lawyer may be tempted to impede a State Bar investigation by seeking to negotiate an agreement that shields the lawyer from the State Bar’s ability to investigate and prosecute a lawyer’s ethical misconduct. Such agreements are intended to ensure a client’s or former client’s silence regarding the alleged misconduct. However, a lawyer’s efforts to enter into such an agreement may run afoul of Business and Professions Code section 6090.5.
Categories : Law Practice Law+Tech Technology
Microsoft OneDrive Versus SharePoint
We will begin this two-part series on understanding the difference between OneDrive and SharePoint by exploring OneDrive. In part two, we will discuss SharePoint and the differences between them.
Categories : Legal Ethics
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.
Categories : Law Practice Law Practice Management Law+Tech Technology
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).
Categories : Legal Ethics
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.
Categories : Law Practice Law Practice Management Law+Tech Technology
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.
Categories : Wellness
Mindful Minute: Prioritize More Sleep
By Julie Lopez
Lawyers, please go to sleep.
Categories : Law Practice Management Law+Tech
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.
Categories : Law Practice Legal Ethics
Ethics in Brief: What Your Client Doesn’t Know May Hurt Both of You
By Edward McIntyre
Macbeth turned to Sara and Duncan “Pete Moore, a friend, and my go-to AI guru, asked if we could meet. Said it was urgent. I told him to come right over. Are you both free for a few minutes?”