YourABA July 2019

Practice Technology

7 Signs your law firm’s technology is outdated

By Lucy Taylor, Legal Technology Today

There’s never a dull moment in a law firm. Everyone is busy, and a lot of the work they need to do revolves around the technology they have. Outdated technology can hold your law firm back.

Model Rules of Professional Conduct

The details are always in the fees

By Dennis Rendleman, ABA Ethics Counsel, ABA Center for Professional Responsibility

The connection between the two items discussed below is tenuous at best, but since they involve, directly or indirectly, a lawyer’s fees, they are more than “something completely different.”

Leadership Development

Legendary attorney to receive ABA’s highest honor

The American Bar Association will honor San Francisco attorney Dale Minami, a lifelong champion of the civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans and other minorities, with the ABA Medal — the association’s highest honor.

Ethics

Mistake? Here’s your next steps

All lawyers make mistakes and it does not matter how long you have been practicing, where you went to school, how many hours you bill or how hard you try,” said Michael S. LeBoff, partner at Klein & Wilson, Newport Beach, Calif., during the ABA webinar "Oops: What to Do When an Attorney or Expert Screws Up."

Practice Marketing

Explained: Update to advertising, marketing rules

At its 2018 Annual Meeting, the ABA House of Delegates passed changes to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, modernizing those rules relating to the often-confusing issues of lawyer marketing, advertising and solicitation.

Practice Management

6 tips to ensure success of your freelancer

The gig economy is one of the fastest growing sectors of the U.S. economy, and outsourcing by hiring freelance lawyers is a great way to expand your firm’s business.

Career

Primer on emeritus attorney rules

Whether you are at the end of your law practice career or wanting to fulfill a goal of why you went to law school in the first place – such as to help those in need – retired or inactive attorneys can do pro bono work under a relatively new program rule that’s designed to make it easier for people without a lot of resources to get access to justice.

Disability

Reject efforts to abolish insanity defense, ABA urges High Court

The American Bar Association filed an amicus brief in June with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to reverse a Kansas court decision rejecting the traditional insanity defense in a capital murder case.

Professional Development

Study reveals ‘chronic’ legal workplace harassment; Young Lawyers take action

In 2016 the International Bar Association (IBA) wanted to do some research on the barriers women face in the legal profession, given that there has been gender parity at law schools for about 20 years, yet male partners still far outnumber female partners at law firms.