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.
Attention, tech geeks: Superapps are coming to a law firm near you. What’s a Superapp? It’s a merger of the best features of multiple mobile apps – messaging, invoicing, payments, calendaring – into one simple interface. “A superapp is like a Swiss army knife — with a ran… Read More
Associate diversity has made significant gains in recent years, but partner diversity continues to lag. That’s according to the annual Report on Diversity at U.S. Law Firms from the NALP Directory of Legal Employers. “Overall gains continued to be made in the representation of women, people of col… Read More
Do you deliver client service on a silver platter or in a crumpled paper bag? The answer could determine whether your law practice is soaring or stagnant. As an illustration, consider the following Tale of Two Glasses. Read More
To tip or not to tip, that is the question – and the answer has gotten a lot more difficult in this age of digital tipping. We’ve all been there. We order a latte, pay with a credit card, and the touch screen is spun around to face us. With the employee hovering right there watching, we have to dec… Read More
Charles Hardee, J. Anderson Little and Mike McIntyre are the 2023 recipients of the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award. The honorees, who were announced in December, were lauded for their years of outstanding contributions to their clients, the public and the profession. Below are biographies on the … Read More
Lots of things can go wrong on a Zoom call, and the most serious mishaps are usually self-inflicted. A case in point comes from Chicago, where an unmuted attorney uttered profanity and a racist slur while waiting for her client to appear on a Zoom call. The judge and others on the call heard the comments. The… Read More
If your New Year’s Resolution was to stop procrastinating but you’ve haven’t gotten around to starting yet, you’ve come to the right place. The solution to your procrastination lies in one simple question: Why? And the answer is probably not laziness. “Knowing why you procrasti… Read More
Ready or not, here come the robot lawyers. In February, a pro se client will use an AI-powered “robot lawyer” earpiece to receive advice on contesting a traffic ticket in court, according to news reports. The technology comes from DoNotPay, a company that provides AI-powered assistance to clients w… Read More
If you want to live for 100-plus years, start spending more time on service work and helping others. And eat more chocolate. That formula worked for Sister André of France, who was the oldest person on the planet (according to Guinness World Records) at the time of her death in January at age 118.… Read More
Want to create a Modern Law Firm? Here’s how to get started. Step one is to adopt a “modern law” mindset. That means centering your practice on client satisfaction, not billable time. It means embracing technology to deliver more effective and efficient services. And it means seeing yourself … Read More
The North Carolina eCourts File & Serve initiative is soon going live in four pilot counties. On February 13, File & Serve will debut in Wake, Harnett, Lee and Johnston counties. Attorneys and pro se litigants in those counties, in addition to outside attorneys filing cases in the pilot countie… Read More
Cyber-criminals are launching strikes against government record sites nationwide, temporarily crippling the Register of Deeds offices in 13 North Carolina counties.Beginning in late 2022, records offices across the country were knocked offline – for hours, days or weeks – affecting marriage licenses… Read More
Are there any cat fanciers in your law office? If so, are they “conscientious caretakers” or “tolerant guardians?” Or maybe they’re “laissez-faire landlords?” The answer, though feline-based, might also shed light on the person’s strengths and weaknesses at work… Read More
Here’s great news if you need last-minute CLE for 2022 and want to take your practice to the next level in 2023. The popular Lawyers Mutual “Put Into Practice” CLE road show is coming to a location near you. The live, in-person seminars are FREE for Lawyers Mutual insureds and staff. Topic… Read More
Despite sweeping changes in law office technology, one thing hasn’t changed: clients still want and expect excellent service. And if your firm doesn’t deliver it, they’ll find one that does. That’s where law office technology can become your best friend. “The challenge is that as … 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.