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…

By Jim Calloway Lawyers in private practice will tell you that their professional lives revolve around their clients and taking care of client needs. But do the lawyers’ clients feel the same way? If they regularly must wait 4 or 5 days for a response to a request for information, they may not feel they…

By Jim Calloway Office Sharing Arrangements with Other Lawyers was the subject of American Bar Association Formal Opinion 507, released July 12, 2023. The opinion “addresses some minimum ethical requirements and suggested practices arising in the office sharing context, particularly in the areas of confidentiality, conflicts of interest, supervision, and communications concerning a lawyer’s services.”…

By OBA Practice Management Advisor Julie Bays Have you ever wanted to turn your paper into a presentation without spending hours on formatting and design? Avoid many hours of copy-pasting your Word document content into PowerPoint slides with the new, improved Export to PowerPoint feature. With it, you can transform your paper into a presentation…

By Jim Calloway The heat of summer and sites of jammed airports are already upon us. As many lawyers prepare for a relaxing summer vacation or family gathering, one thought is in many of their heads – “How many times will I have my vacation interrupted by work?” There are many techniques to limit vacation…

By Jim Calloway As you know, many of the biggest threats to your law firm’s data security arrive frequently in your inbox. We have learned to be cautious about unexpected emails with attachments to open or links to click. One of the most important self-protection techniques is to place your cursor on the link so…

By Jim Calloway “Lawyers have hated passwords since passwords first made their appearance,” some of my colleagues recently wrote. So true. Emerging AI tools mean it is easier to crack passwords. So, the standard advice for strong passwords is now at least 15 characters, with requirements of upper-case and lower-case letters, numbers, symbols and maybe…

By Jim Calloway Attorneys need to know about ChatGPT and other AI tools because your clients will use them and at some point there will be a legal issue. So it’s important to understand the basics. Some lawyers tell me they have never heard of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence tool from OpenAI, released late last…

By Julie Bays, OBA Practice Management Advisor Online marketing today is critical for law firms of all sizes. After all, few consumers even have a copy of the Yellow Pages and many small town and regional newspapers have folded or increased their ad rates significantly. So, a website is important for you to have not only…

By Jim Calloway I must confess that, although the Attorney@Work website is one of my top resources, I’ve rarely cared for some posts by Analog Attorney. Call it “digital bias” if you wish. But sometimes the pieces seem to strain to do something the traditional way, even when digital methods are preferable. That is noted…