By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director I recently attended an online seminar by Barron Henley that focused on common Microsoft Word formatting frustrations lawyers face daily. It was a great reminder that many of the preset defaults in Word seem almost designed to aggravate us when drafting pleadings, contracts, or any lengthy legal…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Navigating the digital landscape is no longer optional for law firms, particularly solo or small firms. A couple of weeks ago I discussed the use of Facebook and this made me think about metrics. A strong social media presence can help build credibility, expand your reach, and,…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Our members receive free access to vLex Fastcase, a legal research tool that includes cases, statutes, regulations, and more. You can search by keyword, citation, or natural language, and the platform’s new Cert Citator helps you quickly confirm whether a case is still good law. Limited AI-generated…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director The legal profession and social media are a tricky mix. Facebook can be a great way for lawyers to connect with their communities and share their expertise. Yet here we are in 2025, and I still need to say this: blending personal and professional lives online is…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director For years, law offices ran almost exclusively on Windows PCs. Now, more lawyers, especially those just out of law school, are walking in with MacBooks and making them part of their daily practice. For many, it’s simply the final piece in an Apple ecosystem they already use…

By Julie Bays, Management Assistance Program Director The Microsoft 365 Copilot app provides a comprehensive set of productivity tools intended to help lawyers handle their daily tasks with increased efficiency. By integrating features such as document scanning, automated text extraction, and dictation, the app centralizes key functions within a single platform. Legal professionals can digitize…

When Jim Calloway announced his retirement, I had a moment of panic. After working alongside him since 2018, I knew his departure would leave a gap in institutional knowledge, long-standing relationships, and organizational history. Even though I was ultimately chosen to lead the Management Assistance Program, that moment made me reflect on how lawyers and…

By Julie Bays, Director, OBA Management Assistance Program The move away from Windows 10 is not optional. After October 14, 2025, unsupported systems in your firm will become a liability, technically, ethically, and possibly legally. This is more than an IT issue. It could be a risk to client confidentiality, compliance, and your ethical duties under…

By Julie Bays, OBA Practice Management Advisor Last week, attorneys gathered at the stunning OKANA Resort in Oklahoma City for the OBA Solo & Small Firm Conference, and it exceeded expectations. The venue’s indoor water park and resort amenities provided a refreshing and inspiring backdrop for two days of CLE and professional connection. Kenton Brice…

By Julie Bays, OBA Practice Management Advisor If you’ve ever spent a day avoiding that one tough task such as drafting a complicated motion, responding to a sticky client issue, or dealing with overdue billing, you’re not alone. But research consistently shows that putting off mentally taxing work increases stress and drains productivity. Lawyers, especially…

By OBA Practice Management Advisor, Julie Bays On October 10, 2022, the Oklahoma Supreme Court approved changes to Rule 1.15 of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct, which governs the safekeeping of client property. These changes went into effect in 2023. Under the revised rule, lawyers may only hold IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts)…

By OBA Practice Management Advisor, Julie Bays If it feels like Microsoft 365 changes every time you open it, you’re not imagining things. Between frequent updates to core apps and the rollout of features like the New Outlook, lawyers are often left trying to hit a moving target while managing critical client work. At this…

By OBA Practice Management Advisor, Julie Bays If you haven’t claimed your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), you could be missing out on potential clients actively searching for legal help in your area. These free listings appear prominently in Google Search and Maps results, often displayed before law firm websites in local searches….

By OBA Practice Management Advisor, Julie Bays If you’re looking to grow your law practice with insights from those who’ve mastered the art, consider Be That Lawyer: 101 Top Rainmakers’ Secrets to Growing a Successful Law Practice by Steve Fretzin. Released on May 1, 2025, this book compiles actionable strategies from 101 accomplished attorneys, covering…

By OBA Practice Management Advisor Julie Bays Scammers don’t take a summer vacation, but they may count on you taking one. Each year, as temperatures rise, so does scam activity targeting small businesses, and that includes law firms. Employees are out of the office, firms run leaner operations, and distracted professionals are more likely to…

By Julie Bays, Practice Management Advisor The FBI has issued a warning about a cybercriminal group known as the Silent Ransom Group (SRG), also called Luna Moth or Chatty Spider, which is actively targeting U.S. law firms. These attackers are using convincing email and phone scams to trick staff into giving them remote access to…

By Julie Bays, Practice Management Advisor In the legal profession, success isn’t just about what you know, it’s also about who you know and how you stay connected. Building and nurturing a strong professional network can open doors to new career opportunities, facilitate trusted referrals, and provide access to a wealth of knowledge and experience…

By Jim Calloway Artificial intelligence has generated significant interest and debate within the legal profession. The initial exposure many attorneys had to AI was reading of instances where lawyers were sanctioned by courts for utilizing AI to draft briefs but failing to check the cited sources. We all learned about AI hallucinations. So, lawyers’ apprehensions…

By Jim Calloway Dragon Naturallyspeaking® allowed me to co-author three books for the American Bar Association. Given my typing speed, I would not have written those books without speech recognition. But I’ve long since left that tool. After Microsoft embedded Dictate in Word and Outlook which did speech recognition almost as accurately as Dragon at…

By Jim Calloway Imagine the potential awkwardness when you are advising a client about a serious matter and Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri responds aloud, chiming in about the things you are discussing. Some readers need not imagine! The client may then have concerns about how many electronic devices are listening to their confidential conversations….