By Jim Calloway The end of the calendar year is an important time for law firms. Some firms have many client projects that must be completed by year’s end. For larger law firms, it is often the time to contact business clients carrying outstanding balances on their bills. Paying deductible business expenses before year’s end...

By Jim Calloway Some lawyers use Excel. Many do not use it or use it only rarely. I have to confess that, like many lawyers, I avoided Excel if I could accomplish most of what I wanted by building a table in Word. The YouTube video, These 10 Shortcuts Will Save You HOURS in Excel,...

By Jim Calloway Many lawyers use Facebook for marketing or personal use. The Facebook “Violations Detected on Your Page” scam is proliferating this Fall. It begins with a message like the one you see below telling you your Facebook page has been suspended and if you do not respond within 24 hours, your account would...

By Jim Calloway This warning is legitimate – unlike other “urgent” warnings we see on social media platforms. It applies to those who have not used their Google accounts for two years. Google has been sending warnings both to the Gmail account and the recovery email if one was provided. Avoiding the deletion is simple...

By Jim Calloway Google is now airing TV commercials about Best Take, an AI-powered feature, on the Google Pixel 8 phone. It can be challenging to take a group shot without someone with their eyes closed or an awkward expression, particularly if children are involved. We all have learned to take several pictures and pick...

By Julie Bays As a legal professional, you should understand the importance of staying up-to-date with the latest technologies in your field. That’s why I’m excited to invite you to ABA TECHSHOW 2024 – the premier legal technology event of the year! ABA TECHSHOW will take place from February 14-17, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency...

By Jim Calloway Among those who prefer to work from home, missing time-wasting meetings is often cited as a positive. Back at the office, many mid-level managers view meetings as the way they supervise the work, so that is in conflict. Best practices for better meetings include: Always circulating an agenda in advance that includes...

By Julie Bays Building a Justice-Conscious Practice was the subject of remarks by Jessica Bednarz, the Director of Legal Services and the Profession at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS), at last week’s Oklahoma Access to Justice Summit. During the panel session she mentioned her work on the Pricing Toolkit....

By Jim Calloway Post-representation contact with former clients is generally permitted under the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct.  But sales pitches are uncomfortable for many lawyers and likely not particularly effective. Instead, consider sharing valuable information they will appreciate and find useful. They will remember their lawyer providing free information. The US Federal Trade Commission...

By Jim Calloway We all make lists, from grocery lists to “to do” lists to lists of legal project tasks. In the past these lists were all on paper. Now there are options to keep lists on digital devices. Many lists are transitory and discarded after the items are completed. Others are worth saving for...

By Jim Calloway Keyboard shortcuts are useful timesavers. It is easy to remember the ones we use all the time (Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, Ctrl + Z) but harder to remember those that are used less frequently. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a shortcut to the shortcuts? Try this. Open any Word…

By Jim Calloway How much should a lawyer be paid and how does a law firm calculate that? We sometimes get questions about how to determine salary for newly hired associates.  Unfortunately, there is little available data about that in our state. Typically, a lawyer’s compensation is based on an annual salary plus an unspecified end-of-year…

By Jim Calloway Online marketing can be a challenge. Paying for professional assistance is often expensive. Improving lawyer’s website bios should be low cost or no cost. We have learned that attorney bio pages that would impress your law school classmates might not be the best approach to inspire potential clients to retain you. Potential…

By Jim Calloway Attorney client privilege is a valued tradition and an important protection for lawyers’ clients. Sophisticated clients understand that enhances the value of our services over “non-privileged advisors.” Every lawyer must have systems in place that protect attorney-client privilege. We at OBA MAP believe you should not only explain to each person working…

By Jim Calloway Technology innovations and artificial intelligence tools have generated much discussion this year. There have been many truly amazing uses for AI demonstrated and many of the tools we currently use are now adding AI components. This is a perfect time to attend ABA TECHSHOW 2024, scheduled February 14-17, 2024, at the Hyatt…

By Jim Calloway This week’s post highlights a resource that you may already know about. I’ve mentioned it several times over the years. But it is worth noting again that lawyers who use iPhones and iPads simply won’t find a better resource than Jeff Richardson’s iPhoneJD. Jeff reviews apps that a lawyer might use along…

By Jim Calloway Technology advances change many things. A few decades ago, most lawyers would likely have rejected the idea that it would ever be a good idea to record a conversation between an attorney and a client. There would have been numerous philosophical objections and practical objections, including the cost to transcribe the recordings….

By Jim Calloway In private practice, I was threatened several times, always related to domestic and protective order cases. I didn’t consider any of them serious and took no action. But that was decades ago. Today we need to appreciate that threats must be taken seriously. Have you had a conversation with all of the…

By Jim Calloway An iPhone’s volume buttons serve an obvious purpose. But some are not aware of the other functions that can be accessed more easily by using the volume buttons. Almost everyone takes photos and videos with their iPhone. But it can be awkward to hold the phone steady while simultaneously tapping on a…

By Jim Calloway Should you upgrade to Windows 11? If you are buying a new computer, in my opinion, you absolutely should only buy a Windows 11 computer. Microsoft has announced the end of support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. That is too short a time frame when purchasing new hardware. You also…