Posts Tagged ‘online communication’

A Little History (& Perspective) for Your eLawyering Bookshelf

Consider adding the books below to your reading list.  They are not new.  They are a piece of history and offer a unique perspective on the digital revolution and how we communicate.  It’s great to look forward, but looking back has its value as well. These authors motivate me to think outside the box and to rely on my own [...]

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Potential New Regulation of Online Advertising Will Negatively Impact Solo and Small Firm Virtual Law Offices

There are two weeks left to submit comments to the ABA Ethics Commission 20/20 regarding its two issues papers related to cloud computing and online marketing.  I wrote about the cloud computing issues paper here, but as several fellow virtual law practitioners have pointed out to me, it is the second issues paper on the use [...]

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No Substitute for an Attorney

During yesterday’s ABA ELawyering Task Force call, we discussed the recent settlement agreement entered into by LegalZoom and the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. In an Assurance of Discontinuation, the online legal services company must not state in advertising to the public that its services are less expensive than those of a law firm without [...]

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Social Media for the Legal Professional

This past weekend I presented a CLE session for the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys (NCAWA) annual meeting on the topic of social media for legal professionals. Anyone involved in virtual law practice needs to understand social media and how it can be used to market a virtual law office, but also about how [...]

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Following the Virtual Lawyer Mindset

Jay Fleischman has a thought-provoking post up on his blog entitled “Being a Virtual Lawyer is all Mindset, Not Technology.”  You can read my comment below the post. Jay writes that regardless of the form of technology you use to operate a virtual law office, the key is having the right attitude to go with it.  He’s right.  [...]

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Secure Client Portals to Deliver Legal Services Online

The delivery of legal services online depends on the use of a secure client portal where the attorney and client can interact. This is the key feature of a virtual law practice and what distinguishes it from other online legal services and law firms that claim to be “virtual” by using unencrypted email. I’ve noticed [...]

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Pop-Up Disclaimers on Florida Attorney Websites?

Take a look at the new Florida State Bar rule on attorney online advertising, 4-7.6 “Computer Accessed Communications.”  In particular take a look at page 10 of the PDF. The ABA Journal also ran an article this week on the rule. Fortunately, the State Bar is holding off on the rule enactment until August 16th [...]

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Another Opinion Related to Residency Requirements

If you are keeping up with developments in the bona fide office rules or residency requirements of state bars that govern the practice of law, you might want to read through this recent opinion: In the Matter of the APPLICATION OF CARLTON, No. 10-mc-160 U.S. District Court D. Maryland (April 26, 2010).  I’ve only got the Westlaw citation for [...]

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Does the Internet Make You Feel Risky?

Oh, yet another excuse to not take responsibility for individual action and blame it on the technology instead.  *sigh*  Seriously, this article just annoyed me to no end.  The National Law Journal published an article entitled “Lawyers’ Ethical Stumbles Increase Online” and then proceeded to give the most outrageous example of an incredibly irresponsible attorney using email to share [...]

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Ethics Reminder for Unbundling Legal Services Online

If you are providing unbundled legal services online — whether you are providing pro bono unbundled assistance or charging a fee for your services, you might want to read through this opinion (Thigpen v. Banas) that was issued in the Northern District of Illinios in February. The case is related to ghostwriting/unbundling of legal services.  [...]

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