Legal Developments and Risk Management Tips Impacting the Professional Liability Community.
Recently, a New York law firm made news when it announced that it would begin accepting Bitcoin as payment. The firm will partner with a Bitcoin payment processing company who will host the firm’s payment system and assist the firm in converting digital currency payments into fiat currency. Other professionals are taking notice, and are permitting clients to pay for legal services using Bitcoin. Should you?
Before making dinner reservations, hiring a dog-walker, going to the movies or finding a plumber many consumers utilize online review websites to help make an informed decision. Sites like Angie’s List, Yelp, Consumer Reports and even Facebook provide the opportunity for an online community to publish a review for all to see. Professionals fall into the class of other service-providers who may be reviewed online. These reviews may serve as a nice source of referral business; they can also tarnish a professional’s reputation instantaneously. In the case of the latter, one attorney recently took an offensive approach by responding to an online review written by a former client. The result was undoubtedly not what the attorney intended.
As the legal industry evolves, attorneys and would-be clients continue to experiment with alternatives to the standard law firm model. Some websites offer do-it-yourself standardized legal forms for basic legal needs such as will preparation, lease agreements or corporate formation documents. You’ve probably seen the commercials for Legal Zoom, Nolo, RocketLawyer and others. But, what is actually for sale? Has an attorney drafted these documents? If so, are these attorneys subject to professional malpractice exposure? If not, are these sites engaged in the unauthorized practice of law? These are hot issues in many states. Notably, according to a recent opinion out of South Carolina, Legal Zoom’s practices are consistent with the rules of professional conduct.
Often, the fate of your client is in the hands of a group of strangers. These strangers, aka jurors, will determine whether your client is guilty or innocent, liable or not. Sure, jurors’ decisions are based on their evaluation of the evidence, credibility, and the law but verdicts are also reached due to juror bias, personal experience, or tendencies. Thus, the process of selecting a jury is critical and attorneys utilize various methods and strategies in picking only those strangers more likely to decide in their client’s favor. Given that a large population of the juror pool utilizes social-media, it may be tempting for attorneys to tap into this wealth of information during voir dire and throughout the trial. Before checking out a would-be juror’s Facebook profile, however, consider the following.
In the non-stop business world, many employees struggle to find time to exercise. Yet, some employers encourage physical fitness as a means of boosting the health and productivity of their teams. A recent study suggests that a new double-tasking combination – exercising while working – might be a good business “move”.
Maintaining a website is just the tip of the iceberg for professionals engaged in online marketing. There are many more options available to professionals fishing for business, depending on their technological comfort level. Today’s professionals also compete for prime domain names and utilize tools to manipulate “searchability.” Commanding that top spot on search engine results can be crucial to a marketing campaign by taking advantage of the reportedly 3-4 billion number of google searches per day. As a result of these staggering statistics, some firms purchase search terms to quickly direct users to their site. This practice is not free of risk.
One of the consequences of modern technological advances is that many expect 24/7 access to their employees and outside professionals. Today there is really no such thing as unreachable and there are fewer and fewer locales that are “off the grid.” 48 hours without responding to e-mail is not acceptable to some. As a result, when business travel, vacation, or other events preclude timely e-mail responses, many employees and professionals utilize the all-too-familiar auto-reply message. However, some experts suggest that these messages carry considerable security risks.
Document production is often an arduous task made more so by e-discovery requirements. Electronically stored data results in exponentially more complicated, time-consuming and expensive discovery. Many law firms have protocols to efficiently handle e-discovery or they work with a vendor to lend a hand. However, recent decisions suggest that courts have heightened expectations and are less likely to overlook mistakes by firms who handle sensitive data. A recent decision out of California serves as a reminder that failure to follow reasonable e-discovery standards may result in sanctions.
Recent technological advances have made it relatively easy for professionals to maintain a virtual office. A wireless connection may be all that is needed to practice, without the stress of lease payments, utilities, commuting expenses and other costs. Some attorneys have taken advantage of technology to maintain out-of-state offices in order to appeal to a larger client base. But, despite the various temptations to utilize a virtual office, there are serious risks of doing so.