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.
When it comes to running your law office, all apps are not created equal. Some will save you time and money. Others will help keep you organized. And some aren’t worth downloading. From payroll to project management, you can find an online app that promises to make your life easier. But not all apps liv… Read More
A good engagement letter can help you avoid a malpractice claim, but a poorly worded one can cause trouble. That happened recently in Georgia, where an appellate court struck down a key clause in an engagement letter, saying it was ambiguous and not sufficiently prominent to put the opposing party on notice of… Read More
The end of the year is the time to review your firm’s budget and make changes for 2020. But if budgeting is not your bag, take heart. A budget template could make your life much easier. You can find excellent templates online. Best of all, many of them are free. “A business budget template is an e… Read More
When it comes to tech tools, toys and gadgets, you might love them or hate them, but there’s no escaping them. This holiday season, Santa has a sleigh full of cool tech stuff for everyone on your shopping list – from gamers who want more storage space to aching geezers who need a back massage. The… Read More
If you get an email from the “State Bar Association,” do not click on it under any circumstances. There is no such organization, and you’ve just become the target of a phishing scam. Cyber-criminals have sent at least one North Carolina lawyer a phony email in an effort to ensnare them in a … Read More
Tis the season of Black Friday and holiday shopping, but buyer beware: not all bargains are as good as they might appear. In fact, research indicates that 87 percent of popular items can be acquired at a cheaper price at other times of the year. Even so, from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day retailers … Read More
If you’re a North Carolina-licensed lawyer, you won’t be receiving a State Bar membership fee invoice in the mail in 2020. Instead, you’ll get a postcard reminding you to pay your fees. You’ll also get email notices to that effect. This marks a first in North Carolina. Up until now, fe… Read More
Millennial lawyers say the traditional law practice model is broken beyond repair – but even so, many say making partner at their present firm is their number one goal. And three-quarters of them would happily take less pay in exchange for more time off. Those are some of the findings from a survey of y… Read More
Here’s a solid-gold law marketing tip: stop handling cases and start building relationships. It can mean the difference between having a job and launching a career. A case is a linear event. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. Along the way, you do some work and get paid for it. A relationship, by… Read More
A story about learning to be thankful for things that don't necessarily go as planned. Read More
There’s no “right” look for a law firm website – but there’s one thing yours should do, or you might as well take it down. It should tell a story. The goal of the story – like all stories – is to engage the reader. The setting is your law practice. The plot should be … Read More
Two little words – Thank You – can make a big difference in your law practice. Just ask Vinny Gambini. In the cinematic classic “My Cousin Vinny,” the defense lawyer played by Joe Pesci gave a rambling, ludicrous and incoherent opening statement. The judge ordered the entire statement s… Read More
Do you have a policy for responding to online reviews – both good and bad? If not, you could be missing an opportunity to defuse potential problems and attract new business. A huge number of consumers – more than 80 percent, according to this survey – read online reviews for local businesses… Read More
If you get an email from a stranger wanting to join your LinkedIn network, you should think twice before clicking on it. The same goes for emails with LinkedIn subject lines like “See Your Profile Views,” “Join my network,” or “Account Deactivation Request.” Emails with Lin… Read More
A Missouri lawyer accused of taking 22,000 electronic data files on a USB flash drive from her former law firm has been held in contempt, jailed for two days, and ordered to pay the firm more than $775,000. The money will reimburse the firm for attorney fees, plus the costs of investigating the case and retain… Read More
For lawyers handling real estate closings, it’s important to know that seller fraud continues to rise, especially with the upcoming holiday season when distractions are high, and fraudsters are active.
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.