Management Assistance Program
Law Practice Tips
Client Relations
Generational Changes in Communication Styles
By Jim Calloway Technology advances have led to many changes in society. Between text messages, emails and social media, today most of us transmit many digital messages each day and we purchase fewer postage stamps for our personal use. There are noteworthy generational changes in many areas. We differentiate the various generations with words (e.g., Baby Boomers) and...
Tales of Fails in Lawyer Marketing in 2019
By Jim Calloway Everyone’s a critic. I must confess to frequent aggravation as I read some pieces of criticism directed at lawyers in private practice, especially ones written by those who have never spent any time working in a law firm. So, let me open with my response to all of them. If you have...
Technology Competence for the Family Lawyer
By Jim Calloway Some lawyers were concerned when the Model Rules of Professional Conduct were changed to include a comment that competence as a lawyer included an appreciation of “the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.” Many states began adopting this language into their own version of the rules with some variance in language. Now...
Keeping the Customer Satisfied
By Jim Calloway Yes, I know our profession has clients and not customers, but bear with me. “A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all,” according to business book author Michael LeBoeuf. Customer (or client) satisfaction has long been an aspect of business management. Many business empires have been built on good to...
Great Solutions and Happy Clients
By Jim Calloway What does a law firm produce? “Legal services” is a completely accurate, fact-based answer. It also doesn’t communicate very much information. In fact, it is somewhat like asking a meteorologist why it is so hot today and getting back the answer “because the temperature is high.” Well, yes, but… So, should law...
Proposed Rule on Limited Scope Representation
By Jim Calloway Limited scope representation has been authorized under our Rules of Professional Conduct for some time. The Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct provide for this in Rule 1.2. Scope of Representation and Allocation of Authority Between Client and Lawyer. Subsection (c) provides: (c) A lawyer may limit the scope of the representation if...
Client Confidentiality, Personal Privacy and Digital Security
By Jim Calloway We have just emerged from a presidential election that led to more members of the general public becoming aware that email accounts can be hacked and the disclosure of stolen emails can be embarrassing and has profound consequences. Technology professionals and those who follow tech news have been aware of these facts...
Email Attachments vs. Client Portals
By Jim Calloway Let me start by noting this particular column is focused on tools to use in a law practice. As the title suggests, this month I am going to discuss the differences between providing clients documents by sending them as email attachments versus providing the documents through a client portal. Some readers may...
Care and Feeding of the Law Firm Client
By Jim Calloway A lawyer isn’t a practicing lawyer without clients — at least that is the case for lawyers in private practice. The purpose of law firms is to advise clients, attempt to solve clients’ legal problems and represent the clients’ interests. At our recent Opening Your Law Practice program, I spent a great...
New Client Inquiry on Line One
By Jim Calloway It’s the beginning of a new year and most lawyers want to have new clients and new matters to start a new year. And the beginning of a new year is a good time to take stock and make business plans. We hear and read a lot about lawyer marketing these days....