How to Find the Right Pre-paid Burial or Funeral Plan
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Saturday, April 24, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Solo Lawyer Gets Added to the ABA Journal Blawg Directory!
Today is a proud moment: The Solo Lawyer was recently added to the ABA Journal Blawg Directory. You can find the listing at http://www.abajournal.com/blawg/The_Solo_Lawyer
The exciting part they tell me is the "ABAJournal.com has created four new features designed for busy lawyer/bloggers like [sic][me] and [sic][my] readers" the biggest one being:
They also have a news widgnet for stories and articles they publish at http://www.abajournal.com/stay_connected/item/headline_widgets/
They have three Twitter feeds you can incorporate into your page:
www.twitter.com/abajournal; www.twitter.com/BlawgWhisperer;
www.twitter.com/LawScribbler.
And there is the ABA Journal Facebook page:
http://facebook.com/ABAJournal
Other attorneys who blog or "blawg" ought to look into adding their blog or blawg to the ABA Journal Blawg Directory. The reason is apparent from what is stated above; but what is more, blogs and blawgs have become great marketing and credibility builders for attorneys also used as a means of directing traffic to their websites. To acheive more exposure good blog/blawg directories are a "common staple" of the process.
The exciting part they tell me is the "ABAJournal.com has created four new features designed for busy lawyer/bloggers like [sic][me] and [sic][my] readers" the biggest one being:
Blawg Search: We've partnered with Justia.com, the leading legal information portal, to create a search engine covering all of the 2,600-plus blogs in our directory -- including yours. It's like Google for lawyers, pinpointing in an instant the most sophisticated and up-to-date commentary by legal professionals on any topic. Use the search box at the top of any of our pages (including our homepage: www.abajournal.com), and on the search results page click on the "Blawg Results" tab. Plus you can subscribe to an RSS feed of any search to follow the results in your feed reader.
They also have a news widgnet for stories and articles they publish at http://www.abajournal.com/stay_connected/item/headline_widgets/
They have three Twitter feeds you can incorporate into your page:
www.twitter.com/abajournal; www.twitter.com/BlawgWhisperer;
www.twitter.com/LawScribbler.
And there is the ABA Journal Facebook page:
http://facebook.com/ABAJournal
Other attorneys who blog or "blawg" ought to look into adding their blog or blawg to the ABA Journal Blawg Directory. The reason is apparent from what is stated above; but what is more, blogs and blawgs have become great marketing and credibility builders for attorneys also used as a means of directing traffic to their websites. To acheive more exposure good blog/blawg directories are a "common staple" of the process.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Data Security is Important for All Attorneys
Even for the small practice attorney, much attention is needed to secure the office's data. While this goes for many businesses, attorneys in recent times have been targeted by scammers seeking client data among other sensative information. The topic of data security came about for this author after reading a good post from another blogger located in New York, who also happens to be an attorney. He writes about how firms have been passed fraudulent settlement checks, and how others have been targeted by hackers in referencing one firm in particular who sued the Chinese government after its Gmail account was hacked into by Chinese activists.
One disadvantage for the small practice or sole practitioner office is we rarely have an IT person on our staff to address the issue of internet security, let alone fix our system when it goes down. Such work is typically outsourced to a third-party company when maintenance or repairs are needed. The question then becomes how can we secure our data in an effective and cost effective manner? If large firms sometimes have data security breaches, certainly the small office is more vulnerable - though a smaller target but a target nonetheless. William Chuang, an attorney who just started a firm, and blogger mentioned, suggests to do the following, which I believe is good advice:
"Make sure the check number on the bottom matches up with the check number printed on top, and that the routing number is nine digits. If it is a large amount, have the client wire the money to you. I had a prospective client who insisted on writing me a big check to hold in escrow for another party. I asked to have the money wired into the account instead of taking a certified check. Never heard from her again.
As far as computer security, all systems should be running fully-patched version of the software, and a anti-virus security suite.
Users should not be running any programs that are not crucial to business functionality on their work systems, such as iTunes and
the like. A file server should be secured against hackers by using non-standard ports, strong passwords, and setting them to reject
IPs with a certain number of bad login attempts. Mail should be hosted with trustworthy companies."
Outside of hacking into email systems and databases, check scams appear to have victimized more attorneys lately. Another good article on how to avoid check scams is at the Oklahoma Bar Association website. "The best practice to be safe is to go to your bank and ask to send the check for 'collection.'" I highly recommend reading the article at Okbar.org to learn more about this measure.
In the end, it is important for the attorney to know the client. So, when interviewing always ask the client how they found you, and be especially cautious if the client came to you off the internet. Ironically, where once people came to us seeking help for being victims of scams, attorneys need to beware themselves.
One disadvantage for the small practice or sole practitioner office is we rarely have an IT person on our staff to address the issue of internet security, let alone fix our system when it goes down. Such work is typically outsourced to a third-party company when maintenance or repairs are needed. The question then becomes how can we secure our data in an effective and cost effective manner? If large firms sometimes have data security breaches, certainly the small office is more vulnerable - though a smaller target but a target nonetheless. William Chuang, an attorney who just started a firm, and blogger mentioned, suggests to do the following, which I believe is good advice:
"Make sure the check number on the bottom matches up with the check number printed on top, and that the routing number is nine digits. If it is a large amount, have the client wire the money to you. I had a prospective client who insisted on writing me a big check to hold in escrow for another party. I asked to have the money wired into the account instead of taking a certified check. Never heard from her again.
As far as computer security, all systems should be running fully-patched version of the software, and a anti-virus security suite.
Users should not be running any programs that are not crucial to business functionality on their work systems, such as iTunes and
the like. A file server should be secured against hackers by using non-standard ports, strong passwords, and setting them to reject
IPs with a certain number of bad login attempts. Mail should be hosted with trustworthy companies."
Outside of hacking into email systems and databases, check scams appear to have victimized more attorneys lately. Another good article on how to avoid check scams is at the Oklahoma Bar Association website. "The best practice to be safe is to go to your bank and ask to send the check for 'collection.'" I highly recommend reading the article at Okbar.org to learn more about this measure.
In the end, it is important for the attorney to know the client. So, when interviewing always ask the client how they found you, and be especially cautious if the client came to you off the internet. Ironically, where once people came to us seeking help for being victims of scams, attorneys need to beware themselves.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Troubled Economic Times Find Lawyers Seeking Other Avenues, Or Underemployed
The tale of two attorneys: one attorney, a recent graduate of Pace Law School in New York, finds himself working as an assistant manager at a local RadioShack, while the other attorney having practiced for four years at a good firm is now laid off. The former is still looking for an offer working 11 hours a day, 6 days per week, carrying over $200,000 in student loans and credit card debt; the latter started his own legal outsourcing company that helps firms to save money for their clients by sending work, such as document review, to lower priced attorneys (usually temps). These stories resonate with many attorneys experiencing the same during this recession, our troubled economic times.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Judges and Election: Politics, Voting, and Controversy
Fort Collins attorney Erik Fischer recently quoted to the local media that judges "Blair and Gilmore have created a stronger scrutiny for all judges to be reviewed, ... All the judges up for retention will likely have at least a more comprehensive review than in any time in the recent past." This was in reference to questions he received in light of having been the public defender representing Tim Masters in what has become one of Fort Collins' most infamous cases.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Finding the Right ‘Niche’: A Short Lesson in 'Niche Marketing'
“Niche marketing” and finding the right niche cannot be overlooked by the sole practitioner. Even in small legal communities there will be significant enough competition to compel both “standing out” and targeting “good clientele” with a limited pool of interested legal service consumers. The crux of the problem lies in attracting good clientele on a frequent basis – part of the solution is in maintaining a marketing plan that focuses on a ‘niche’ or pool within the market who is most likely to seek out your particular services.
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