By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director In my August Oklahoma Bar Journal Law Practice Tips article, I wrote about clients using AI tools, including AI notetakers. That got me thinking about the other side of the conversation. Lawyers are beginning to use these tools too. Some AI notetakers join an online meeting as…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director This week, I taught a four-hour Microsoft Word class for lawyers, and it was a good reminder that everyone comes to Word with a different comfort level. Some participants were less experienced users, while others were ready for more advanced tips. Next time, we may want to…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Lawyers often think about client communication as something that begins after the lawyer is hired. But for a prospective client, it begins with the first telephone call to the office. People looking for a lawyer frequently call several law offices. If they reach voicemail, an automated menu…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Imagine that you are unexpectedly unavailable for several days or perhaps much longer. Would your staff or another lawyer know where to find the information needed to protect your clients and keep your practice operating? In many law offices, essential information is scattered among emails, filing cabinets,…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Artificial Intelligence may be getting most of the attention these days, but lawyers still spend a good part of every workday in Microsoft Word. We use it to draft contracts, pleadings, briefs, letters, discovery and many other documents. Yet most of us never received any real training…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Summer is in full swing, and many lawyers and law firm staff are taking well-deserved time away from the office. Before you set your out-of-office autoreply and head out the door, take a quick look at what that message actually says. Out-of-office replies are useful. They help…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Lawyers often build their practices one matter at a time. Over the years, those individual decisions become the firm’s systems: intake forms, engagement letters, billing practices, client updates and file-closing procedures. But many firms never intentionally design those systems from the client’s point of view. Clients may…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Lawyers are trained to work in the practice. They answer client calls, prepare for hearings, draft documents, negotiate, solve problems and meet deadlines. Those tasks are urgent, visible and necessary. Most lawyers are incredibly good at them. But a stable law practice also requires time working on…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director The biggest AI risk for many law offices is not the technology itself. It is using it without clear expectations. Lawyers are already trying AI tools, and in many offices staff members are too. The real question is whether the lawyer has set those expectations before confidential…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Summer vacations can reveal whether a law office has systems or simply has very capable people remembering how everything works. Every firm has those tasks that “only one person knows how to do.” That may work most days. But it becomes a risk when that person is…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Lawyers receive a lot of email. Client messages, court notices, opposing counsel, calendar reminders, newsletters, vendor updates, bar communications and automated notifications all arrive in the same place. Even useful information can begin to feel like clutter when the inbox is already full. That is why Catherine…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director With all the attention on artificial intelligence and emerging legal technology, it is easy to overlook one of the tools lawyers use every day: Microsoft Word. But for many lawyers and legal staff, Word remains the place where pleadings, contracts, letters, briefs and forms are drafted, revised…

By Julie Bays Lawyers who are exploring generative AI may feel like they finally learned what a “prompt” is, only to hear that prompts are being replaced by skills, agents, workflows, Gems, custom GPTs, Projects and Copilots. That is a lot to keep up with. Catherine Sanders Reach, Director of the North Carolina Bar Association…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director School is ending, summer schedules are changing and many lawyers will soon be working from places that are not their law offices. That may mean checking email from a hotel room, reviewing a document at a ball tournament, answering a client from the lake house or joining…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director Many Oklahoma lawyers, especially solo and small firm lawyers, have used LawPay for years. LawPay has long been one of the best-known payment processing tools for lawyers because it was designed with law firm trust accounting concerns in mind. So, this latest news is worth noting. Bob…

By Julie Bays I spent several days out of town a couple of weeks ago for a meeting. It was a good meeting and well worth attending. But every lawyer knows what happens when you are away from the office for several days. The work does not stop. Emails keep coming. Decisions are waiting for…

By Julie Bays The legal profession is changing quickly. New technology, evolving client expectations, cybersecurity risks, leadership challenges, and constant legal developments mean that staying current is no longer optional. The Oklahoma Bar Association’s Midyear Conference is designed to help Oklahoma lawyers meet those challenges with practical ideas, timely education, and valuable professional connections. A…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director For more than two years, courts have warned lawyers that artificial intelligence can be a useful tool, but it is not a substitute for professional judgment. Recent decisions suggest many judges have reached a new stage of frustration: they are tired of seeing lawyers submit inaccurate research,…

By Julie Bays Every year at ABA TECHSHOW, one of the most entertaining and surprisingly insightful events happens before the sessions begin. The Startup Alley competition gives legal tech companies just three minutes to pitch their ideas to a room full of lawyers, who then vote on the winner. This year’s winner, CollBox, caught my…

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director If you’ve been practicing for a while, you’ve likely noticed that discovery is starting to look a little different. That shift is not accidental. The Oklahoma Discovery Code already builds in the concept of proportionality. Discovery must be tailored to the needs of the case, taking into…