Jay Reeves practiced law in North Carolina and South Carolina. He was Legal Editor at Lawyers Weekly and Risk Manager at Lawyers Mutual. He is the author of The Most Powerful Attorney in the World, a collection of short stories from a law life well-lived, which as the seasons pass becomes less about law and liability and more about loss, love, longing, laughter and life's lasting luminescence.
Planning a Fall Cleanup at your office? Better be careful how you dispose of that old office equipment. If it happens to fall into the wrong hands, you could find yourself in trouble with the State Bar and your malpractice carrier. “If someone gets to your information in a disposed piece of equipment, i… Read More
Follow the money. That phrase is often applied to the investigation of political scandals. But it also applies to the tactics of cyber-scammers. “Following the money” is the approach used by online fraudsters. Initially they attempted to hack into the systems of the lenders until the lenders began… Read More
Ethics pop quiz: is blaming the “generation gap” a valid defense to a Bar complaint that accuses you of inappropriate behavior with court employees? Answer: who knows? But we might soon get some clues from Skokie, Illinois, where a lawyer is facing disciplinary charges for persisting in “fli… Read More
If you’re like most people, you probably use the same password for more than one online account. That’s a mistake. “Password security has always been relevant, but it has become even more so today as cybercriminals continue to think of new and innovative ways to hack accounts and g… Read More
Selling legal services is not like selling widgets. A bevy of ethical rules and professional restraints limit what lawyers can do and say in marketing their practices. Some rules – such as the mandatory disclosures required for solicitation letters and prohibitions on touting legal skills in unver… Read More
Your law office and computer system might be cyber safe, but what about your vendors? If they’re vulnerable, you might be too. These days, law firms use a panoply of companies for cloud data storage, case management, payroll, cybersecurity, tech support and assisting with almost every function in the la… Read More
Cyber scams are so rampant it’s become risky to even deliver a pizza. In July, the Federal Trade Commission warned consumers of a current scam that targets drivers for food delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats. From the FTC: “Scammers posing as ‘support’ from food delivery ser… Read More
Want to rejuvenate your Law Life? Stop working so hard and start playing more. The key to a saner, safer and more sensational Law Life might just be to have more fun, not bill more hours. And there’s a growing body of evidence to back that up. Read More
If you think complying with your Client Trust Account obligations in North Carolina is stressful, be thankful you’re not in California. More than 1,700 attorneys in the Golden State have been administratively suspended for failing to comply with that state’s new trust account rules. The rules were … Read More
If you practice family law, you might have noticed your clientele is becoming grayer. That’s because the divorce rate for seniors has reached an all-time high, and the consequences are rippling through healthcare, housing and divorce court. More than one-third of people who file for divorce are 50 or ol… Read More
Want to bring your remote workers back into the office? Consider paying them to move closer to their cubicle. It worked for venture capitalist and billionaire Peter Thiel, who paid his employees an extra $1,000 a month for living nearby. Thiel himself lives 400 yards away. “Thiel gave worke… Read More
As you implement your firm’s marketing plan, be sure to keep the 90-9-1 rule top of mind. The rule – also known as the Participation Inequality Rule – is credited to internet researcher Jakob Nielson, who posited that 90 percent of online users are lurkers who consume content, nine percent ar… Read More
Lawyers Mutual congratulates Asheville attorney Andy Banzhoff, who was elected in June as the new President of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. A partner at Devereux & Banzhoff, PLLC, he will be the 49th president of the NCAJ. “The members of this organization participate in legal proceedin… Read More
Colorectal cancer is the medical diagnosis that is most often missed in patient visits to outpatient settings. Lung cancer, breast cancer, heart attack and prostate cancer round out the top five. That’s according to a study by the JAMA Network. “Combing through data from patient safety incid… Read More
Has the concept of retirement become a dinosaur? Sure seems that way, in light of a recent survey in which almost a third of workers under 55 said, “I don’t think I will ever retire.” “Asked why not, three-quarters of the never-retire group said they could not afford to stop work… Read More
Lawyers Mutual has published previous alerts regarding the new filing requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) that went into effect January 1, 2024. After reviewing additional resources, we want to emphasize concerns that we have about the risks and increased potential liability for lawyers undertaking the reporting requirements. This is especially true for the continuing reporting requirements after entity formation and initial reporting.
The North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) recently announced additional go-live plans for counties transitioning from paper files to Enterprise Justice (Odyssey), which currently serves Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Mecklenburg and Wake counties. Twelve northeastern counties comprising Track 3, as previously announced, will go live on February 5, and 10 counties comprising Track 4 (Alamance, Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Guilford, Orange, Person, Vance and Warren) will go live on April 29.