Lawyers Gone Ethical

Scheduling software programs help you keep your appointments organized, but they can do so much more for your practice.  From helping you set up networking meetings, to booking client calls, collecting payments for consultations, and requesting Google reviews, online scheduling software like Acuity can be a powerful tool for lawyers. In this episode, I’m joined by Jess Birken, a non-profit attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jess loves all things tech and all things Acuity. She shares her top tips for using online scheduling software in your law practice.  What We Discuss in This Episode:   How can lawyers get over their intimidation of technology and embrace modern tools? Aside from scheduling meetings, what else can Acuity help lawyers do? Whether you enjoy networking or not, it’s necessary. So how can you use Acuity to schedule networking meetings and simplify the process? Blocking off your calendar allows you to control your client meetings while maintaining a personal life From an ethics standpoint, com

In this episode, I get a little bit more personal and share my candid thoughts about why the legal profession is ripe for legal ethics reform, and more importantly, why that’s not a scary proposition. There are many forward-thinking legal practitioners and legal tech experts who are in favor of a large scale reform of the ethics rules but naturally, there are many others who are against any such changes. Despite the consensus among the former that change is needed, there is still some contention as to how to approach this change. While some believe that a line-item review of each ethics rule is sufficient, others believe that an entire overhaul of the current rules is what’s required. Listen in to hear where I stand on this issue and my opinion on why reform is needed. What I Discuss in this Episode: What the Data Driven Ethics project is Why many of the ethics rules are not based on data, but on perception How the ethics rules could not possibly keep up with the speed of social media Why tinkering with the

The better your law practice is managed, the less likely you are to fall short on even basic ethics duties like competence, diligence, and communication. That’s why audits of your law firm technology, marketing, and practice management are so important. In this episode, I’m joined by Jared Correia, Founder and CEO of Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, which offers subscription-based law firm business management consulting and technology services for solo and small law firms.  What We Discuss in This Episode:   Why workload overwhelm, not intentional misbehavior, is what often causes lawyers to run into ethics trouble What you can learn from examples of lawyers who, either through their own actions or not, experienced disasters that affected their abilities to conduct their legal work When it comes to technology, marketing, and management practices, what exactly should you be doing? How you, as a law firm owner, can get your staff to provide input regarding office operations  What types of technology should your f

What are some proper billing practices that can help reduce the potential for bar complaints against you? In this episode, I share several best practices when it comes to billing clients for work performed. What I Cover In this Episode: Make sure what’s reflected in your retainer agreement is also reflected in your billing practices Bill early and bill often Why you should describe the work you’re performing even if you’re billing on a flat fee basis instead of hourly Reconcile your trust account at least once a month Should the bills you send out include some sort of update on the case? What method of client communication will increase their chances of receiving and opening their bills? Keep copies of the bills you send to the clients Resources Mentioned Episode 2  Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday. If you enjoyed this episode, please help me get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review

Technology is pulling lawyers and law practices into the modern age but how can you, as a lawyer and business owner, use technology to improve you practice management while remaining compliant with the ethics rules? Along with using technology, how can you apply project management concepts to improve your business? I’m joined by John Grant, Founder of the Agile Attorney network. John works with lawyers and legal teams, acting as an outside COO to help them uncover new ways of practicing law.   What We Discuss in This Episode: Why lawyers seek to derive intrinsic value from their practices What the correlation is between the first five rules of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and project management? What project management is and how it's applied in a law firm setting The lean startup methodology, the minimum viable product and how lawyers can apply this concept while writing briefs What ethics rules lawyers must be aware of when they’re applying project management methodologies Can certain projec

Lawyers are catching on to the importance and value of integrating law bots into their practice, whether as chat bots on their websites or as client engagement and management tools. Founder and CEO of LawDroid, Tom Martin, joins us to discuss how bots can help automate and simplify internal law firm functions like research and external functions like client management. LawDroid is a bot automation company with a mission to promote justice everywhere and dedicated to bringing the legal industry into the 21st century. What We Discuss in This Episode: What a chat bot is and what it can accomplish for a lawyer Should lawyers worry that robots will take over their jobs? How to use bots to stay in touch with current clients The message and interaction logs that bots create and how they can help in malpractice suits How bots can be used internally within a law firm to complete tasks like research to filling out documents Where bots can’t replace human lawyers The ethical considerations to keep in mind with bots Wha

Send any ethics questions that you’d like me to address in a future episode. Reach me at megan@zaviehlaw.com or Tweet me @zaviehlaw   Lawyers no longer have to fear ethics constraints when crafting a law practice that truly reflects their lifestyle desires and needs. It’s possible to build a practice that provides flexibility and fulfillment while allowing lawyers to provide legal services in the way that they choose.  I’m joined by Melissa Hall of Smol Law, a primary legal care practice in Seattle, Washington. Melissa shares how she’s innovating with her law practice without fear of ethics. What We Discuss in This Episode: How Melissa took an old school practice and brought it into modern day Why it’s important for lawyers to actually care about the work that they do Aside from providing counseling and advice, how Melissa is using her network to help clients find other lawyers How Melissa is able to implement innovative practices Why lawyers rarely stop and think about what they really want out of their car

What should your social media profile(s) include? Are you compliant with the ethical rules when you build out your social media profiles? In this episode, I discuss what you should consider including in your profiles in order to remain compliant. What I Cover in This Episode: When is your social media profile considered attorney advertising and when is it not? What must you include in your profile if we are to treat it like attorney advertising? On Facebook specifically, what’s the important and necessary information to include What about Twitter? What should be included there, especially considering there’s less room to include information? What disclaimers, if any, should you include? How can you make the best use of the “Pin Post” option? Should you include terminology indicating specialization? If so, what language should you include? Can you include testimonials in your profile? Should you? Resources: My interview on The Lawyerist Podcast  My interview on the Legal Toolkit podcast My conversation with

Interest in mindfulness and meditation is on the rise in the legal profession and for good reason! There are numerous benefits to incorporating mindfulness into your law practice and legal career, the most relevant to us being that it helps lawyers do their jobs better (which means fewer potential ethics complaints). I’m joined by lawyer, author, and mindfulness instructor Jeena Cho who shares her insight on the connection between mindfulness, wellness, and building more sustainable law practices. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why is mindfulness important in the practice of law? What are some tools available for relieving stress and calming the mind? How can you recognize when your mind is not in the present moment? How to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life How much time should you give yourself to retrain your brain? Who benefits the most from practicing mindfulness, meditation, and self-care? What are some of the destructive behaviors many lawyers engage in to cope with stress? How laying do

The moral character application might seem like it’s only something law students need to worry about but if you’re a lawyer who’s looking to be admitted in other jurisdictions, then you’ll certainly want to pay attention. This is especially true if you happen to have a few blemishes in your past that you need to disclose in your application.  In this episode, I offer my tips on how to approach filling out the moral character application that isn't squeaky clean.  What I Cover in This Episode: Should you disclose any past blemishes on your moral character application, even if they’re tiny incidents that happened a long time ago? When you do disclose unfavorable incidents, what’s the best way to address them? What types of incidents are considered dishonest and thus require disclosure? Why honesty with the bar is far more important than your past indiscretions What to do if you can’t fit your explanation on the actual application Why finding respected professionals, like judges, other lawyers, even doctors and

The legal profession is evolving and yet, so many of the ethics rules can’t seem to keep up. They are simply outdated and need a 21st century facelift.  I’m joined by Eric Cooperstein, an ethics consultant and practitioner in Minneapolis, and we explore the relevance of several of the ABA Model Rules. We also offer our own insight on how these rules can be updated to reflect the realities of the legal profession today. What We Discuss in This Episode: Why the rules need to be updated in order to spur innovation in the legal profession How Rule 5.4 as it currently stands affects who lawyers can share profits with (even when it comes to their own paralegals) What is Rule 5.4 designed to protect against? Is that still a relevant concern nowadays? How other rules, like Rule 4.2 - communication with a represented person, and Rule 4.3 - dealing with an unrepresented person, contradict Rule 5.4 Why the belief that lawyers are improperly influenced by third parties is not based on any empirical data How legal compan

What does kindness have to do with ethics complaints? Well, possibly a lot! I believe that if more lawyers practiced kindness towards their clients and even towards opposing counsel, even when it is difficult to do so, there would be fewer ethics complaints filed against them. That's exactly what I discuss in this episode.  What I Discuss In This Episode:  What does it mean to be kind? Who do we need to be kind to and why? What should lawyers do to insure their clients are happy? What role does kindness play in the attorney-client relationship? How does kindness make you a better lawyer? What can a lawyer do once a Bar complaint has already been filed Can kindness be self-satisfying? Resources Mentioned The Lawyerist Podcast by Sam Glover and Aaron Street  Billie Tarascio My Contact Information: Twitter: @zaviehlaw Facebook: Zavieh Law Email: megan@zaviehlaw.com Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday

Show Notes Is that contact form on your website compliant with the ethical rules? How should you handle negative online reviews by clients? The ethics rules can be complicated and often times, lawyers just don’t know that they’re violating them. In this episode, I’m joined by Atlanta criminal defense attorney and legal ethics enthusiast, Erin Gerstenzang. We are talking about five specific areas that can be danger zones for solos and small firms when it comes to the ethics rules. What We Discuss in This Episode: Can you rely on marketing experts when they’re not familiar with the ethical rules? How can you use Contact Forms on your website appropriately, especially if your marketing company is tracking submitted data  What is the level of competency the ABA requires regarding use of technology  When it comes to negative online reviews, how and when should you respond? How can you best use positive online reviews? What can lawyers learn from Disney when it comes to customer service Can you talk freely about y

In my first episode, I start off with a short introduction of who I am. I am an ethics attorney practicing primarily in California, and in short, I save lawyers' careers.  I also wanted to make my first episode useful and practical for you so I’m tackling a critical topic that I deal with frequently and that is: what should you do if you receive a bar complaint? What You’ll Learn In This Episode: Why the first thing to do when you receive a bar complaint is to not panic and just read the letter several times Calendar the date by which you need to respond Then analyze the underlying events and facts How you can protect yourself against a complaint by a client without waiving attorney-client confidentiality (and when is it ok to break privilege?) Where you can do some research to better understand the potential consequences Should you respond on your own or seek help? If you’re going to respond and defend yourself, what should you include in your response? Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to