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Proposed Agenda for Your Law Office Retreat
By Jim Calloway This probably seems like a presumptuous title. Every law firm is a little bit different, so there are different items they may want to focus on during a law firm planning retreat. But many law firms also have reinvention and repurposing challenges they need to consider. It seems like an agenda on…
You Are Not Paranoid If They Really Are Watching You Attorney-Client Privilege, Confidentiality and Cybersecurity in the 21st Century
By Jim Calloway “The government is watching me all the time. They have implanted devices to eavesdrop on me.” It used to be when a client or friend made this type of statement to you, it was time to gently steer them toward a mental-health evaluation. After sitting through multiple sessions at ABA TECHSHOW 2016…
Reimagine Your Law Practice at the OBA Solo & Small Firm Conference 2016
By Jim Calloway On June 23-25, 2016, the OBA Solo & Small Firm Conference returns to the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant. If you haven’t been to this venue since our last conference there, you may not recognize the place. They have remodeled with greatly improved meeting facilities, expanded spa facilities, four movie theaters showing…
The Grind
By Jim Calloway An ancient bit of large law firm wisdom was that there were three types of lawyers: finders, minders and grinders. The first term referred to those rainmakers who were great at new client development. The second term, minders, referred to the law firm leadership, including those who headed up practice groups. And…
Thoughts on Social Media: Risks, Rewards and Uncertainties
By Jim Calloway As I was finalizing this column, there were news reports that the so-called “affluenza teen” Ethan Couch and his mother had been arrested in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Readers will recall this young man stole beer from a Walmart and crashed his father’s truck into some stopped vehicles on a country road. Four…
2015 Year-End Roundup
By Jim Calloway This year I have been writing a lot about change in law offices. If you missed reading any of the prior Law Practice Tips columns in the Oklahoma Bar Journal they are online. I’m sure that some readers are tired of hearing about systemic change in the legal marketplace and wondering how changes…
Strategy and Tactics: Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan
By Jim Calloway Adopting a strategic plan for your law practice probably doesn’t sound like an exciting proposition to many lawyers. This is particularly true if some eager beaver wants to schedule a mandatory weekend retreat for the entire law firm to work on a strategic plan. No one would dispute the need for a…
How is Your Law Practice Going to Change?
By Jim Calloway Ideas about the delivery of legal services are certainly changing. Some of the changes are not going to be good for lawyers. Many of the changes will be challenging for lawyers. But some of the changes will assist lawyers who are paying attention to the changing landscape. And, of course, there will…
‘Paperless’ Office Doesn’t Really Mean Paperless, It Does Mean New Processes and Procedures
By Jim Calloway “Let’s just go paperless. We can free up all that space in the file room and quit paying so much for outside file storage.” “What a great idea! We’ve already got those big, expensive printer-scanner-document senders in the hallways on every floor. So, let’s send out a memo! Effective Monday, we’re going…
The Smoke Clears…After the Practice Management Shootout at the OK Bar
By Jim Calloway A great, enthusiastic crowd attended our Practice Management Shootout at the OK Bar at the 2015 OBA Solo & Small Firm Conference. Read on to learn how we are sharing this information with the other OBA members. First of all, thanks to the representatives for our six participants: MyCase, Firm Manager, Firm…