Children Responsible for Parental Debt

I never heard of the “filial responsibility” laws.  Until I read about a PA resident who must pay for Mom’s $93,000 Nursing Home bill.  Now that I’ve read about it, I’m sure glad my sister has the “deep pocket” in our family.

I thought my first post when I returned from TechShow would be about one of the many wonderful lessons learned.  I was in fact going to post diligently from there.  But the Chicago Hilton has about the worst Wi-Fi access I’ve encountered.  It was tough just getting a cell phone signal.  It was fairly humorous to see so many lawyers with cell phones to their ears and bodies literally plastered to the windows like some sort of human antennae.  At night, when I got back to the room after the myriad of social events, I was just too tired to think, let alone write.

Now that I’m back I’m anxious to share, but an article in the Anderson Elder Law Newsletter entitled “Son Liable for Mom’s $93,000 Nursing Home Bill Under ‘Filial Responsibility’ Law” really caught my attention.  How could that be?  Well, it be!  And I am so shocked by this, I feel compelled to share it right now.  The article explains:

Some 29 states currently have laws making adult children responsible for their parents if their parents can’t afford to take care of themselves. These “filial responsibility” laws have rarely been enforced, but six years ago when federal rules made it more difficult to qualify for Medicaid long-term care coverage, some elder law attorneys predicted that nursing homes would start using the laws as a way to get care paid for.

And it was precisely the application of this law which caused the son to be forced to take financial responsibility.  Unbelievably, the law does not require it to consider other sources of income or to wait until a parent’s Medicaid claim is resolved.  Even more pernicious is that the law permits the nursing home to choose which family members to pursue for the money owed.  In this particular case, they ignored a spouse and other siblings, and went after the apparent ”deep pocket.”

Linda Anderson notes that after Pennsylvania re-enacted its filial support law in the mid-2000s, Williamsport attorney Jeffrey A. Marshall forecast that the new Medicaid law would trigger a wave of lawsuits involving adult children.  Obviously, he was correct, and this is just the beginning of what may become a tidal wave of lawsuits.  In Marshall’s blog post about this court decision he writes:

Children are often surprised to learn that they can be held responsible for their parent’s unpaid medical and care related expenses. It just doesn’t seem fair. But, whether fair or not, the Pittas case shows that the child’s support obligation to the parent is the law in Pennsylvania.  Children: be warned. If your parent needs long term care and may someday be unable to pay for it, you should find out about your potential financial liability and what to do about it.

So what is the son supposed to do, now that he has lost his appeal?  Is he to sue his father and siblings for their “fair share” of the debt?  Declare bankruptcy?  I’m just thinking out loud on this, while I shake my head in disbelief.  Our lives are already so stressful . . . raising children in a two-income household, trying to care for aging parents, trying to save for retirement in an ever-increasing financially hostile future environment, and to have some quality of life and semblance of balance in the current moment.  Is this the straw which breaks the back of American families?

I am so grateful I “strongly encouraged” my mom to purchase optional Long Term Care Insurance through her employer’s Cafeteria Plan some 30 years ago, so that it’s there if she needs it.   We found out from personal experience about 2 years ago how quickly the bills can mount after my mother suffered a fall at home.  The nursing home costs, followed by rehab at home, and then extended personal care until she was recovered enough to be completely on her own again, added up to a huge amount of money which her Medicare and additional excess policy didn’t cover.   They paid plenty, don’t get me wrong.  But there was a lot of uncovered additional expense, especially the personal in-home care, which cost a fortune.  At least the Long Term Care contributed toward some of that once the elimination period was passed.  (Although I admit I had to really duke it out with them to get her benefit paid, despite her making premium payments like clockwork for 30 years.  But hey, don’t even get me started on the topic of insurance companies!    )

If you have living parents, this is not something you can afford to ignore.  Make sure they have adequate insurance coverage, and talk to an Elder Care attorney just to see what risks you face, and how you might avoid them.  The investment to protect yourself now is a pittance compared to the potential exposure later.

Cyberattacks on U.S. Banks – Are You Safe?

McAfee warned of this months ago, and their predictions are coming true.  U.S. Banks are under attack.  As are some cloud providers, for that matter.  The attacks are more massive and organized than ever before.  An article in CNet News on December 13, 2012 revealed that a report released by McAfee Labs predicted an impending attack on U.S. financial institutions — dubbed Project Blitzkrieg — was a “credible threat.”

Project Blitzkrieg is believed to be headed by an individual known as vorVzakone, according to McAfee. In September, vorVzakone announced a massive fraud campaign to be launched against 30 U.S. banks in spring 2013. VorVzakone also put out a call to arms for fellow hackers to join his cause. The attacks are said to be done with a highly developed Trojan that could infect victims’ computers, plant software, and allow cybercriminals to steal information and money.

Rather than being a sweeping attack, McAfee said the campaign will selectively target accounts at investment banks, consumer banks, and credit unions. Going after selected groups makes it easier for vorVzakone to stay under the radar and not be detected by network defenses, according to McAfee.

The attack was to expected to hit hard in Spring, 2013.  But it looks like plans have moved up a bit.  And are not being executed as predicted.  A January 10, 2013 article in the Philadelphia Business Journal carried the title “PNC, Wells Fargo Cyberattacks Work of Iran, U.S. Believes. “  The real story is based on a January 8, 2013 article in the New York Times entitled “Bank Hacking Was the Work of Iranians, Officials Say“:

But there was something disturbingly different about the wave of online attacks on American banks in recent weeks. Security researchers say that instead of exploiting individual computers, the attackers engineered networks of computers in data centers, transforming the online equivalent of a few yapping Chihuahuas into a pack of fire-breathing Godzillas.

The skill required to carry out attacks on this scale has convinced United States government officials and security researchers that they are the work of Iran, most likely in retaliation for economic sanctions and online attacks by the United States.

Since September, intruders have caused major disruptions to the online banking sites of Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, PNC, Capital One, Fifth Third Bank, BB&T and HSBC.

A hacker group calling itself Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters has claimed in online posts that it was responsible for the attacks. . . . But American intelligence officials say the group is actually a cover for Iran. They claim Iran is waging the attacks in retaliation for Western economic sanctions and for a series of cyberattacks on its own systems.

Iranian officials emphatically deny any connection with the attacks.  However, the attackers allegedly stated last week that they had no intention of halting their campaign. “Officials of American banks must expect our massive attacks,” they wrote. “From now on, none of the U.S. banks will be safe.”

I don’t know what I believe about who or what is behind these attacks.  I do believe that the threat, no matter the source, is very real.  Thus far there has been no theft; simply a consistent disabling of the bank’s abilities to service online customers.  However, I have no doubt that this is camouflage designed to distract security professionals from the eventual real consequences of these attacks, which has the potential to create havoc with assets of individuals and businesses. 

What do you need to do? 

1. Be mindful of the insurance limits which apply to all of your combined accounts.  (Excluding IOLTA.  See “Unlimited FDIC Insurance on IOLTA Accounts Due to Expire” for further details about this issue.) 
2. Make sure that you are not dependent on online banking for essential transactions.  Even if you do your deposits and bill paying remotely, have good old-fashioned deposit slips and checks handy. 
3. Be sure you print out your monthly statements if you do electronic review.  You may need to access your information quickly at a time when your financial institution is trying to clean up a mess.  Those with an audit trail of their own will always fare better.
4. Be careful about where you conduct your business.  Never log onto your secure encrypted accounts from a public computer, or over a public WiFi connection.
5. If you don’t have a password on your smartphone, netbook and/or tablet, put one on immediately.  Yes, I know it’s a pain that after 3 – 10 minutes of idle time you have to put in a password to resume work.  On the other hand, no one can pick up your device when you’re not looking, and find your autologin information for your bank!
6. Be especially wary of any so-called email communications from your banking institutions asking you to logon and reset your password, enter your SSN, or other sensitive information, and especially if they provide you with a link to do so.  Verify the legitimacy of the request by calling the institution on the phone before clicking on the link.  Nowadays sophisticated fraudsters create web sites that are so close to the real thing it can fool most people into entering sensitive information.

These are just a few quick thoughts to get this issue on your personal radar screen.  I encourage you to add your thoughts in terms of what we need to do to protect our firms, ourselves, and our clients.

Gaze Into the Crystal Ball at 2013

I would love your perspective on what you think are going to be the top issues law firms and individual lawyers will be wrestling with in 2013.  I’m researching for an article which will appear in The Pennsylvania Lawyer.  I would do it from my own perspective alone, but then again, I predicted the Beatles would never catch on, and since then I have been reluctant to trust my instincts alone to predict the future. 

Of course there will be obvious issues: profitability, marketing, increased competition for clients and even jobs.  And then I am hoping some of you will tackle the more subtle issues, such as what seems the decline of civility, reduction in face-to-face communications, and so forth.

I will gladly provide attribution if you indicate I can quote you, and I choose to do so.   So gaze into your crystal ball and predict what you see coming in 2013, and more importantly, share what keeps you up at night regarding 2013 and beyond.

Supply and Demand

Supply and demand.  Buyer’s vs Seller’s market.  These fundamental economic concepts are learned early. Where’s the legal industry now?  Where is it headed?  We know that we headed into a Buyer’s market long before the economic downturn.  As we entered the new century, we encountered increasing numbers of client RFPs which boldly laid out the new terms of engagement.  We endured beauty contests.  We submitted to electronic billing and auditing.  We modified billing systems to produce what clients wanted.  We timidly stepped into the uncertain waters of alternative billing.  Adapt or starve.  That simple.

There is no doubt that there is a current imbalance between supply and demand.  We’ve been reading articles about the big lie that law schools have told to prospective students about the percentages of graduates obtaining jobs which require a legal degree.  Scandalous scoundrels.  A few singled out under the bright light of scrutiny to pay for this misstep. 

Let’s take a look at the statistics presented in a Washington Post article entitled “Will law school students have jobs after they graduate?”

In 2011, more than 44,000 students graduated from the 200-odd U.S. law schools accredited by the American Bar Association. Nine months after graduation, only a bit more than half had found full-time jobs as lawyers.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts 73,600 new lawyer jobs from 2010 to 2020. But just three years into that decade, about 132,757 new lawyers have hit the job market.

While not every new JD seeks employment as a lawyer, it is safe to say that planning to work as an attorney is not rare among law students. But perhaps it should be. Data from the National Association of Legal Career Professionals indicate that since 2010, about 75,000 new law grads have found full-time jobs as lawyers.

So, in theory, all of the BLS-forecasted job openings through 2020 have already been filled, and 59,157 new lawyers are still looking for “real” law jobs.

Yes, of course some of the JD graduates this year and in the years to come will find high-paying, partner-track jobs at big firms and elsewhere. But the scale of the imbalance over a decade gives some indication of just how tough it is — and will be — as armies of newly minted JDs rise every year. By 2020, about 300,000 additional grads will join those 59,157 in a hunt for jobs that, statistically, are not to be found.

Those are pretty grim numbers.  And they’re mostly believable.  An ABA Journal Law News Now article entitled “Law School by the Numbers: 300K Additional Law Grads by 2020; 73K New Jobs Forecast for Decade” reported on the Washington Post article.  They noted that

Mark Medice, national program director for a Thomson Reuters unit that tracks jobs and pay at large law firms. . . believes a new legal education model may be needed that emphasizes specific skills such as discovery, regulatory matters and litigation support. The cost would be relatively cheap and the focus would be on jobs that are available.

Yikes!  What a terrible idea.  Well, not terrible from the perspective that one would likely get a job.  But it would be a greatly downgraded job.  And a cubby-hole career-wise.  This would likely hasten the further commoditizing of legal services.  Commoditizing = devaluation from my perspective.

What I don’t know is whether the statistics take into account the massive number of baby boomers who are set to retire over the coming two decades.  I have to just “assume” that is the case.  But even if not, that mathematical correction would not be enough to swing the pendulum back into a Seller’s market.  So what are tomorrow’s grads to do?

1. Put every single molecule of energy into graduating at the highest possible ranking.  Although it is not a determinant of career success in the long run, most law firms see class ranking as an factor in candidate desirability.  Remember, you have to actually have a job as a lawyer to demonstrate how skilled a lawyer you can be.
2. Pick your focus carefully, and early.  Too many graduates have no idea what type of law they want to practice.  They accept jobs which often cubby-hole them.  Too often they become trapped  in practice areas which may forever doom them to higher hours and lower wages.  Serendipity is not an acceptable career strategy, in my book.
3. Prepare to hang out your own shingle.  Don’t be dissuaded by condescending or pessimistic professors, partners at large firms where you intern, or overly concerned judges where you may be fortunate enough to clerk, that going out on your own without spending time in someone else’s firm first is a formula for malpractice.  Just be sure that you connect with other more experienced solo and small firm attorneys through your bar association.  The Pennsylvania Bar Association has both a Young Lawyer’s Division, and the Solo & Small Firm Section.  Belonging and participating in both should be an essential part of your career.
4. Nurture the business side of your practice.  The legal industry is unique in that it is both a profession and  a business.  You can’t have one without the other.  So avail yourself of the law practice management resources available through the Pennsylvania Bar Association (or whatever your state bar is), as well as the resources of the American Bar Association. 
5. If you’re determined to work for another firm you can greatly increase your success in finding a job by focusing on smaller firms in smaller towns.  Find the law firms online, and send your resume to every firm.  Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.  Contact the executive director at the local bar and find out if they have a job bank, a way to circulate your resume or advertise your availability, or know of any openings.  Remember that small-town firms usually provide more opportunities for direct client contact, rainmaking, and variety of assignments.  The pay is lower, but after a few years you can — notice I didn’t say will — have the skills necessary to locate a more desirable situation, or open your own practice in the location you desire.  And there’s a distinct possibility you may learn you actually like small-town practice and life.
6. Learn to market.  For a small percentage of lucky individuals, it is natural.  For the vast majority it is learned.  Just as you learn to become a skilled lawyer by practicing your trade, you learn to become a successful rainmaker by practicing your marketing skills.  It gets easier, and you get better, over time.  Networking.   Teaching. Publishing.  Leadership.  Community Service.  All of these are still successful methods.  Except now you can — and should — leverage yourself with social media tools as well. 
7. Find your value proposition.  Somehow you have to find a way to differentiate yourself from the mass of other attorneys trying to attract attention in a crowded marketplace.  How will your voice be heard?  If it is somehow different, it will be.  Focus on responsiveness, creative pricing strategies — note I didn’t say cheap, which is different — which are based on leveraging your intellectual property to the max and running a highly efficient operation, and helping the client focus on value provided instead of hours x cost. 

Today’s grads think it’s tough?  The road ahead for future grads will be tougher.  Don’t wallow in self-pity.  Don’t be passive or weak in your efforts to get your career going.  Most people are, even while thinking they’re not.  Finding a job is a full-time job.   Get active about creating your future. 

If law school is ahead of you, put thought into where you want to be when you graduate.  Take courses, even undergraduate courses, appropriately.  And for goodness sake, don’t go to law school just because it seems like a good idea.  I see too many graduates who land a job only to learn, after all that time and effort and expense, that they really don’t like being a lawyer at all.  Don’t choose law school because you don’t have a better plan.  Choose law school because you’re passionate about becoming a member of the profession, with an open eye toward all that entails in a world of supply and demand.

Law Firms and Disaster Recovery

Following disasters such as Hurricane Sandy, community residents struggle to get back on their feet.  They are in need of all sorts of assistance, including legal services.  Will you be one of those who step up to the plate?  Sure, you probably already have a ton of your own issues to deal with.  But at times like this I am reminded of Bradford County lawyer James R. Carroll Jr., who received special recognition at the May, 2012 Pennsylvania Bar Association Annual Meeting.  The Special Achievement Award was an acknowledgement of the extensive legal assistance he provided pro bono at Red Cross shelters and at Federal Emergency Management Agency and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency relief sites to victims of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee flooding the previous fall.

I had the pleasure of speaking with attorney Carroll after the award was bestowed.   He was so self-deprecating about the significance of his contribution to the community.  As he tells it, his office was destroyed by the flood.  He was “camping out” at FEMA and PEMA sites while he attempted to get his law practice back in operation.   It just so happened that he managed to take time to assist hundreds of individuals he encountered at those sites with urgent legal needs.   I’m sure that no one in the community who was assisted by him will ever forget him.  And I have no doubt he made an impact on their lives with his assistance. 

If you’re thinking of helping out, you will no doubt have questions.  So you may want to look at the Allegheny County Bar Association‘s Disaster Legal Assistance Manual for Volunteer Attorneys which is available here. 

One concept I have learned over several decades of providing law practice management assistance, is something called the window of opportunity.  That is the brief period of time when the lawyers in a firm are “open” to discussing whatever issue they have been avoiding for some time.  It doesn’t matter whether it is about new computers, lateral hires, or a disaster recovery plan initiative.  The simple fact is that lawyers will prioritize their management time and budget dollars based on their own priorities and desires, usually without regard to what “non-lawyers” think are more important.  So when the time finally arrives when they are actually open to hearing what you have to say — usually prompted by some outside influence — one has to be ready with all the facts and information, and leap through the window with it in hand, before it slams shut again.

I’m willing to bet that given the events of this past week, the window of opportunity is open to discussing creation of a disaster recovery plan for your firm.  Most PA firms have experienced sufficient “pain” to realize this should be on the priority list.  Hey, I’ve been on the soapbox about this for the almost 14 years I’ve been with the Bar Association.  And before that when I privately managed firms.  It took a 500 mile long storm with 80+ mph wind gusts, followed by days without electric power, to get your attention at long last.  Better late than never.

Let me make this really easy for you.  Probably 1 in 10 readers has attended my Disaster Prevention and Recovery seminar at their local county bar association.  So they know it’s not that hard to prepare. The rest of you have to take my word for it.  You just have to make up your mind to do it.  That’s all.  Start by taking a look at the 44-page ABA publication entitled “Surviving a Disaster: A Lawyer’s Guide to Disaster Planning” which is available online here.  PBA members can follow up by contacting me at the Bar Association for additional assistance at no charge.

ABA Provides Resource Center for Solo and Small Firm Lawyers

Most PA attorneys are not members of ABA, in my experience. That’s likely a result of the fact that most firms are solos/smalls, and paying dues at the local and/or state level is daunting enough, leaving little room in the budget for dues at the national level.   But that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of much of ABA’s vast wealth of resources.  I have participated in their LawTech Listserv for years, and find the information flow and available expertise invaluable. Although I am a member in good standing now, I participated in the Listserv for many years before taking the leap.  You should take time to check out the vast wealth of resources yourself.

New PA Bar Institute president, Sara Austin, recently brought to my attention the relatively new ABA Solo and Small Firm Resource Center.  It is in its infancy, but is growing and maturing rapidly.  It contains information on practice management and career services, technology, products, CLE, news and articles.  All appropriate for solo and small firms.  Check it out.  And don’t forget, if you’re a PA Bar Association member, our members-only Law Practice Management Section has a considerable array of resources, too.

Why Your Firm Needs a Written Partnership / Shareholder Agreement

We know the adage about the shoemaker’s children running barefoot.  In the law firm the equivalent is a firm built on a handshake and nod, without the benefit of a written agreement.  The result?  Just as dangerous as those shoemaker’s children running around barefoot on a bed of broken glass and rusty nails.  Aw comeon, you’re thinking, we’ve operated that way for years and it’s working just fine.  Hey, good for you.  The problem is what happens when you’re not getting along just fine.

The time to agree about things is when everyone is feeling agreeable.  When times are good.  That’s when people are most likely to be reasonable.  And that’s when you should nail down details that will be vital should things devolve into something less agreeable.  Let’s be honest, we are seeing a decided uptick in law firm dissolutions, defections, implosions, explosions, and outright financial failures.  Without a written agreement which spells out some critical actions, you will likely end up in court, or at least in the newspapers.

For example, read this recent article from the ABA Journal Law News Now entitled “Suit Claims Former Partners of Dissolved Law Firm Won’t Leave.”  I admit I laughed out loud when attorney Ronald Minkoff, a partner at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz who represents lawyers in partnership disputes, was quoted as saying that it is “unusual in this day and age” not to have a partnership agreement.  Ok, remember back in law school when you were told to look to your left, and to your right, and realize that by the end of 3 years only one of you would be remaining and passing the bar?  Same exercise, only this time it’s less than one of you will have a written agreement with your business partners.

You may be wondering what the big deal is . . . we’ll just go our own way, right?  Nope.  In all likelihood it will be getting nasty fairly quickly.  You may find yourself in the headlines.  You will certainly lose tons of time and energy which could be better used transitioning your clients to a new practice with you.  It will cost you legal fees in addition to emotional trauma.  And you may wind up with disciplinary issues and/or malpractice claims to boot.  Need examples of the issues which crop up the most?

Malpractice insurance coverage after the lights go out. 

Many of you immediately recognize we’re talking about “the tail” or what is otherwise known as an Extended Reporting Period Endorsement.  Malpractice insurance policies for lawyers are almost exclusively written on a “claims-made” basis.  This means that if you don’t report a claim within your policy period, or an act, error, or omission which you know about which may reasonably give rise to a claim in the future, you will have no coverage if a claim arises after the policy period expires.  For many lawyers, it is a rude awakening to find out that their new law firm home may have a policy which excludes prior acts coverage.  If you wind up on your own, you may not be able to afford a policy with full prior acts coverage.  The best policy for all concerned is to require the dissolving firm to purchase the tail, in order to protect everyone going forward.  However, absent a written requirement, I can assure you that it rarely happens, as those departing refuse to pay their fair portion of the premium.

Retention and disposition of remaining client files.

This is a complex and problematic area.  Just because a law firm closes doesn’t mean the firm is relieved of its obligation under Rule 1.15 [Safekeeping Client Property].  In fact, those obligations continue and can — and have in the past — impacted even former partners of a dissolved firm with disciplinary action if ignored. 

A few years ago I read about a dissolving New York firm which could not get the partners to agree to pay for a storage facility for all the closed client files.  The debate became heated.  No one wanted to pay to store files for former partners, let alone their own former clients.  Eventually, the few partners who stayed behind, responsible for winding things down, became sufficiently disgusted and literally threw away all the files. Ultimately, all partners who had left files behind, even those who had departed before the closing of the firm was announced, were disciplined for failure to properly safeguard client property. 

On top of these issues, firms must be concerned about discovery and possible accusations of spoliation if client records are dealt with inconsistently.  When it is left to individual attorneys to determine what gets saved and what gets destroyed at a given interval, every inconsistency becomes suspect under the bright glare of litigation discovery.

Future liabilities and audits.

When a firm winds down, unpaid liabilities can rear their ugly head.  While not every nuance can be anticipated, you want to make sure that any departed partners remain liable for their share of any back taxes, penalties and interest, defaulted loan payments, unpaid vendor bills, or whatever later arises from a period in which they were a member of the firm.  Gone should never mean off the hook for these obligations.  Look to your partnership or shareholder agreement to make this obligation clear.

These represent just three examples off the top of my head of what can — and frequently does — rear its ugly head in the absence of a written partnership agreement, when a firm dissolves.  If I didn’t have a backlog of work calling my name right now, I’d delve even into how a firm’s ability to nimbly realign and implement change in response to an evolving marketplace can be seriously hampered when there is no partnership agreement spelling out how decisions get made.  If you’re relying on 100% consensus to accomplish everything, you better hope you never disagree.  Because when you do (notice I didn’t say if) you will be thwarted by decision paralysis.

If you’re not convinced, search Google News for past headlines regarding law firm dissolutions and the thorny and ugly issues which emerged. You will find a common theme in most — the lack of a written agreement between members of the firm.  Don’t let your future follow a similar path.

Why PA Needs CLE Credit for Practice Management Education

I have been asserting that PA should provide full CLE credit for practice management education since I joined the PA Bar Association in 1999.  Here’s just a bit more proof of why.  Take a look at this recent blog post by highly-respected marketing consultant Dustin Cole, entitled “Of the Top 10 Causes of Malpractice & Grievances — 8 Are Sloppy Housekeeping!“  From his post, here are the top 8 of 10 reasons for malpractice / grievance claims in Florida:

1. Failure to manage time/procrastination
2. Failure to docket – identify/document deadlines
3. Failure to manage information
4. Failure to obtain client consent
5. Failure to file documents timely
6. Missed or unresolved Conflict of Interest
7. Poor communications with client
8. Failure to follow client instructions

Any of this look familiar?  Yep, if you look at the top causes of claims in PA, you will see the same causes, perhaps labeled slightly differently, or in different order.  The truth is that most attorneys and law firms get themselves in trouble because of poor business practices, including disorganization, lack of follow-up, absence of codified procedures, inadequate internal training and oversight, and often an absence of any semblance of good customer service practices. 

Really smart and talented lawyers can look like fools to clients, when they lack savvy on the business side of the practice.  Really smart and talented lawyers lose clients when they fail to provide high-quality customer service.  What is that?  Responding to telephone calls and emails promptly.  Keeping the client informed.  Letting the client know what’s happening before they have to pick up the phone and ask.

Right now, most states will provide CLE credit for any education which improves an attorney’s legal skills OR practice management skills.  But in PA, the only way to obtain CLE credit is for substantive practice skill education, or ethical / malpractice avoidance training.  I have managed to create a wealth of seminars over the years which qualify for ethics credit, but I can’t say it’s not difficult and very limiting in terms of the content I can present.  How I long to present a seminar for CLE credit which is about nothing more than nuts and bolts of how to properly manage aspects of ones practice.

I guarantee that lawyers would enjoy their practice more, be more profitable, and most importantly, avoid getting themselves in disciplinary trouble inadvertently.  I know that “some day” the CLE rules in PA will change.  It’s inevitable.  I just had to let off a little steam about this, because I’ve been waiting for 14 years, and there is still no change in sight.  Do you agree with my perspective?

How Safe Is Your Laptop or Other Portable Device Housing Confidential Client Data?

Every once in a while I read an article in the news which reminds me to remind all of you about the responsibilities you have to safeguard client data.  Sometimes we forget how much “stuff” may be on digital dictation devices, smartphones, flash drives, laptops, netbooks and other devices, which are prone to disappear.  A recent article in the Philadelphia Business Journal entitled “Laptop Crime Wave at Office Buildings May be Solved” reminded me it’s time to remind you once again.  The  27-year-old suspect has been charged with stealing more than 30 laptops from four Philadelphia business towers since May.  During the day.  Many of the locations housed law firm tenants. 

What happens to your client data if your laptop is stolen?  How about if you lose your smartphone, dictation device, etc.?  Does your laptop have a boot password?  Is the hard drive encrypted?  Can you “wipe” your smartphone remotely? 

With a laptop stolen at the rate of more than one every minute in the USA, these are questions you must be able to answer.  You may find this article entitled “Safeguarding Laptops, Electronic Devices, and Protecting Confidential Client Data” to be a good starting point.  Rule 1.15 [Safeguarding Client Property] requires you to give this some thought, and take reasonable precautions.  Given the vulnerability of these devices, don’t wait to find out the hard way that what is considered reasonable precaution may be far beyond what you currently employ.

Checklist to Make Sure Your Firm Isn’t Dewey

Every once in a while I read a blog post or article which is so spot-on I am compelled to share it.  That’s the case with “A (Don’t Be) Dewey Dozen: Use This Checklist to Make Sure Your Firm Isn’t Dewey” which was written by Paul Lippe.  It appeared in ABA Journal Law News Now.  If you’re wondering why Lippe’s name is familiar, he’s the guy that worked hard to get Gary Hart elected President — twice.  The insightful comments at the end of his post  (over 25) add much food for thought on top of this excellent post.  No matter what the size of your firm, this should be on your must read list.  Following I highlight and comment on a couple of points I feel strongly about.

4. Do mergers and acquisitions advance the strategy? Whether it’s merging with another firm or bringing in a lateral partner, law firms are constantly engaged in some form of M&A. When I was running M&A for my old company, our one-question test was” “What do we say to our top 20 customers the morning after the deal is announced explaining how they are better off?”

If you look at some of my past posts and articles regarding mergers, you’ll see me ruminating about this same point.  [See, for example, "Post Merger Economics".]  It’s not simply about size or economies of scale when it comes to mergers; it’s about synergy.  One plus one better equal more than two, or the merger has no external value, and probably even less internal value.  Lippe really nails it with his one-question test.  Simple and eloquent.  He really says a  lot  in few words.  I’m thinking about printing this and adding it to the very few items on the tack-it board above my monitors — reserved for especially cogent thoughts.  I consider it my business haiku bulletin board.  Earning a spot on there means a lot.  I’m sure I will be sharing this one-question test with clients in the future.

6. Does management render unto Caesar? Lawyers use logic and reason to argue indeterminate facts, and they do it well. . . .but at minimum firms need to recognize that there are some inarguable facts. As my old boss Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan said: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”

The old adage, “figures lie, and liars figure” came immediately to mind when I read this.  I continue to encounter attorneys who somehow manage to dismiss what I find to be self-evident facts which are as plain as, well, the nose on their face.  It’s one thing to play devil’s advocate for love of the debate.  It’s great at the dinner table with cherished guests, during a round of golf, or over drinks at ones favorite establishment.  But it’s not so great when it’s a never-ending process at the firm.  It wears the heck out of your partners and administrative management.  It seriously impairs the firm’s ability to evolve and realign to a constantly changing marketplace.  It creates dissension and dissolves the glue between partners which many firms work so hard to develop. In short, it’s detrimental to the health and vitality of the firm. 

I’m not suggesting that you blindly accept numbers put in front of you.  Far from it.  But there has to be collaborative effort to allow and enable objective analysis, and let the chips fall where they may once that is done.  Stop arguing endlessly just because you don’t like the numbers.  Put that same energy into improving them through some innovative thinking,  difficult discussions and decisions, and an action plan to implement change.