By Jim Calloway I had no idea how many law firms answered their phones with “Hello L’office” until I went to work for the OBA. But it’s not limited to Oklahoma. I have received the same greeting calling lawyers’ offices in many states. Obviously, the intended greeting is “Hello Law Office,” but when you are…

By Jim Calloway How lawyers handle their billing has long been a topic of discussion in our field. Traditionally, it was a simple process. Record your time. Prepare invoices by listing all these billing entries multiplied by the lawyers’ hourly billing rates and adding expenses clients should pay. Send out the billing on the same…

By Jim Calloway There has never been a time it was more important for lawyers to have good technology skills. The smaller your law firm, the more important this is. What do lawyers need to master for their personal technology skills? That depends on many factors, including the lawyer’s type of practice. Since the theme…

By Jim Calloway One thing you do not learn in law school is what clients you should not represent. Veteran lawyers have hopefully learned what potential clients they should avoid, but it is still not a perfect process. Almost every lawyer has a story of that client they wish they had never represented. I’ve had…

By Jim Calloway A lawyer’s final duty to the clients is often appropriately shutting down their law practice in a way that ensures clients’ interests are protected, which may include providing clients with appropriate departing advice and perhaps a referral to successor counsel. With proper advance planning, this can be handled more efficiently. The closing…

By Jim Calloway Communication is something we all do every day. Some days we do it better than others. We have all had the experience of making some statement we immediately wish we could take back. Most of us would admit we could invest some time improving our communication skills. Managing your professional communications with…

By Jim Calloway Recently, many media outlets covered the plight of Stefan Thomas, the man who, as of January 2021, had $250 million worth of bitcoin trapped in his Bitcoin wallet. He secured the keys to the wallet on an IronKey flash drive. I recall in one 60 tips presentation years ago noting the Mission…

That helpful person calling from Microsoft Tech Support is most likely a scammer. The odds go up to 100% if they tell you they noticed a problem with your computer and are calling to help you fix it. You can easily test that premise by telling them they have just reached an FBI agent and…

Lawyers deal with confidential client information and we have a duty to secure that information. No matter who you are, you wouldn’t want to donate, give away or even discard a computer or phone with information still on the device. No one would want to transfer a computer or phone without making certain the personal…

By Jim Calloway 2020 certainly gave us all a lot to digest. My personal observation working with small to medium-sized law firms was those with digital client files securely available online had a better working experience than those with critical information trapped only in paper files. The most significant observation I have distilled from the…