AttPro AllyWINTER 2020 ◊ ISSUE 32

Become a Mobile Ninja! Tips and Top Apps for Lawyers

Defending Your Good Name: Highlighting AttPro Defense Counsel

A Prudent Question is One-Half Wisdom: Your Questions Answered!

I N T H I S I S S U E :

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!A Prudent Question is One-Half WisdomA Prudent Question is One-Half Wisdom

Tips and Top Apps for Lawyers:Tips and Top Apps for Lawyers:Tips and Top Apps for Lawyers:

That shiny brick of glass and plastic in your pocket is no longer just a “phone” that can take pictures or make birds angry … you are carrying around a full-

fledged personal computer that allows you to email clients, check your calendar, manage your tasks, access your files, read the news, map

your travel, play the radio, surf the web, hail a taxi, watch a movie, and oh yeah, you can make phone calls too!

Lawyers are busy people. So, comprehending the “benefits” of using mobile devices as well

as the associated “risks” (you do have a passcode on your device, right?) can assist with keeping your practice efficient and your calendar organized. Below are a few recommended tips and apps that can help ensure you are taking full advantage of

your pocket computer.

Brett Burney is a legal technology

consultant supporting e-discovery projects and training lawyers on iPhones and iPads. He once worked as a disc jockey in a tiny country-western radio station

and now has an extensive but sadly outdated CD music collection

including his “Christmas Polka” genre.

By Brett Burney

TERRIFIC IOS TIPSEasy-Peasy Print to PDFOne of my favorite tips for legal professionals is advising how easy it is to generate a PDF on the iPhone and iPad from an email, webpage, or virtually anything using the Print function. Simply spread your finger and thumb apart on the little print preview image and it magically turns into a PDF file. You can then email it or use the Share menu to open it in another app (like PDF Expert). If the document is related to a client matter, do not forget to save a copy of the PDF to the file. I’ll Be There In …If you are using Apple Maps on your iPhone to guide you to a meeting or deposition and you are running late, just open an email or text message and type “I’ll be there in” and when you hit the space bar the iPhone will offer to complete that sentence for you, with the time to your destination automatically filled out. This tip can help keep clients and opposing counsel not only informed but possibly a little less prickly if you are unexpectedly delayed. I Just Want To Read the Text …Webpages today come with banner ads, embedded images, self-playing videos, and so much junk accompanying the text of an article you want to read. That is when you need to switch into Safari’s “Reader Mode” by tapping the four short lines in the upper-left corner (could be two capital A’s depending on what iOS version you are running). The images and ads melt away and you are left with just the text from your favorite law journal to read at your leisure.

AMAZING IOS APPSManage Files and Annotate PDFsThink of the iPad as your “digital manila folder” where you can stuff thousands of documents to take with you wherever. You can also highlight and mark up PDF files. Two apps that I use to manage and annotate files are PDF Expert, and GoodReader. I suggest attorneys use an app with these features because they allow you to carry the documents you need while leaving that heavy briefcase at the office. Leave Your Yellow Legal Pad at the OfficeI have switched to taking handwritten (and typed) notes on my iPad because everything stays organized, notes get backed up automatically, and I can search through everything. There are several note-taking apps available but I am currently using Notability and GoodNotes.

Is That a Scanner in Your Pocket?Sure, you can take cute pictures of your kids with the iPhone’s amazing camera, but why not use it to scan documents too! My favorite apps for this are Scanner Pro from Readdle for small jobs, and ABBYY FineScanner PRO, which can even scan books. Both apps convert your “scans” into PDF files and run Optical Character Recognition or “OCR” which is a technology that recognizes text within a digital image such as a scan to make them searchable.Save Time While You TypeI am a huge fan of TextExpander because it saves you time doing something you are already doing- typing! TextExpander allows you to insert snippets of textfrom a repository of emails, boilerplate and other content, as you type – using a quick search or abbreviation. And while TextExpander works primarily on your Mac or Windows computer, there is an iOS app so you can use your snippets on your iPhone and iPad as well. You can choose to use the actual app or the embedded keyboard. You Only Have to Remember One, Single Password … It’s True! Lawyers are privy to a lot of confidential information. As a result, they have a duty to use reasonable efforts when using technology to safeguard that information. I am a strong believer that every lawyer (and everyone else) should use a password manager today. They are convenient, safe and secure. If you are like most people, you are using the same one or two passwords for the hundreds of websites that you log into and that means your login information is already compromised. A password manager ensures your passwords are different, secure, and the best part is that the software will remember them all for you! My top recommendations are LastPass if you have never used a password manager before, and 1Password if you are ready to truly commit to security in both your personal and professional life.

*This article originally appeared in the Attorney at Work blog entitled “iOS Tips and Top Apps from ABA TECHSHOW - Become a mobile ninja!”Reference to any specific commercial product, service, trade or corporation name, is for information and convenience only and does not constitute a claim regarding the quality of any product or service, a recommendation, or an endorsement by Attorney Protective.

Lawyers are trained to view the use of questions as a powerful tool. Whether assessing the strength of a case or eliciting key information during trial, asking the right questions can be invaluable. Ironically, when it comes to their own queries, many lawyers are as reluctant to seek help as a stubborn driver is to ask for directions! This may be for perceived lack of time due to a busy workload or an uncertainty as to where to turn, especially for questions for which they presume they should already know the answer.

Attorney Protective provides a risk management hotline to its insured lawyers through which they can seek advice and ask AttPro attorneys questions on topics spanning from ethics to law firm management. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions for our readers-even those who are too busy or bashful to ask!

How long do I need to keep a client’s file after representation has ended? With respect to file retention/destruction, there is no hard and fast answer to how long you should keep a client’s file. Model Rule 1.15 of the Rules of Professional Responsibility requires that a client’s property be preserved for five years after termination of the representation. However, several states have modified the rule’s suggested time period for preserving records of account funds and property. There may also be state-specific regulations for file retention of matters involving guardianships, bonded attorney performance, criminal work or probate. So before putting a match to a five year old file, check with your state bar association to ensure compliance with the applicable retention polies.

Many lawyers only consider the firm’s file destruction policy after realizing it has been paying unnecessary storage fees for decade-old files. Even if the recommended storage time has passed, every file should be reviewed before being approved for destruction. When a firm closes a file, the original documents that belonged to the client should be returned. If this was never done, be certain to do so prior to having the file destroyed. Because former clients may be difficult to track down, firms should include a file disposition clause in the fee agreement. The policy should provide the client with information regarding what will happen to the file once work is complete, how long the firm will keep the closed file and what will ultimately happen to the file once that time is up. With a clear and agreed upon file retention/destruction policy, a firm can save time chasing ghosts of clients past.

Can I withdrawal from representing a client for failure to pay their legal bills? The general rule is that a lawyer may withdrawal from representation when a client refuses to pay the attorney for services in violation of the fee agreement, or the representation causes the lawyer financial hardship. This holds so long as withdrawal is not materially adverse to

the client’s interests. Model Rule 1.16 requires that lawyers seeking withdrawal for nonpayment of

funds should take reasonable steps to provide sufficient notice to the client so that substitute counsel can address pending motions or prepare for trial. The withdrawing attorney should also take appropriate measures to

avoid disclosure of any confidential client information.

The fee agreement should set clear expectations for

payment, the method of calculating the fee, and consequences for

Erin is the Risk Management Lead at Attorney Protective and the

Editor of AttPro Ally. When she isn’t busy saving

lawyers from malpractice claims, she can be found on the courts

coaching her daughter’s basketball team to victory.

“A Prudent Question is One-Half Wisdom”-Francis Bacon By: Erin McCartney, Esq.

continued on next page

A Prudent Question, continued from previous page

Defending Your Good Name:HIGHLIGHTING ATTPRO DEFENSE COUNSELDan Tostrud, J.D. As an AttPro insured you can feel confident knowing that if a disciplinary action or a legal malpractice claim is filed against you that you have a team of seasoned experts by your side. Dan Tostrud is professional liability attorney at the firm Cobb Martinez Woodward in Dallas, Texas. Dan devotes his practice to assisting lawyers, CPAs and other professionals in solving difficult and thorny issues and getting back to doing what they do best. He has over twenty-eight years of experience defending malpractice claims, resolving fee disputes, and guiding his clients through administrative proceedings. Dan frequently speaks both locally and nationally before lawyers and accountants on risk management, conflicts and other ethical issues, and strategies in defending malpractice claims. Dan has obtained summary judgment or dismissal on the merits for his clients on more than 65 occasions, and has successfully tried more than twenty professional liability cases to verdict.

the client’s late payment or failure to pay. Will work stop until the account is current? Will the client be charged interest? Utilizing these types of provisions in the fee agreement can help avoid being stuck in such a pickle altogether.Should I incorporate Disengagement Letters into my practice? Closing or disengagement letters clearly communicate that representation has concluded and establish a date for the termination of a client relationship. Essentially, closing letters transform current clients into former clients for the purposes of avoiding conflicts with other prospective clients. The absence of disengagement letters has contributed to the filing of legal malpractice claims by persons to whom lawyers believed they no longer owed a duty. A common legal malpractice scenario is that lacking a disengagement letter memorializing the end of representation, a client later alleges that the attorney failed to follow up on the case before the expiration of the statute of limitations. The disengagement letter provides powerful evidence of the date the attorney-client relationship terminated. “Properly worded disengagement letters are crucial to triggering the statute of limitations for legal malpractice claims, regardless of when in the attorney-client relationship they are sent,” advises Jim Cartier, Claims Attorney at AttPro. “The documentation provided by a disengagement letter is cleaner than relying upon the circumstances of termination and assists in avoiding

credibility issues with the former clients, especially in situations where the attorney has represented the client in multiple matters.” The disengagement letter can be short and to the point but should make clear that the representation has ended, and it should include a date of termination. Disengagement letters provide attorneys with a level of comfort that the client understands that representation has ended and that the attorney is no longer responsible to safeguard their interests. Without a definite termination date, the statute of limitations can effectively cease to begin running on a legal malpractice claim. Firms can also use the closing letter as an opportunity to reinforce the quality of their work and encourage the client to look to them for any future legal needs. Finally, to bring this article full circle, the letter could also remind the client of the firm’s document retention/destruction policy!These questions are only a sample representing the types of questions AttPro fields and the depth and breadth of responses they offer. The format of a live telephone conversation offers for greater opportunity to delve into specifics and is yet another example of the benefits of a partnership with AttPro.

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ERIN MCCARTNEY, ESQ., EDITORPolicies are written by either National Liability & Fire Insurance Company, AttPro RRG Reciprocal Risk Retention Group, or National Fire & Marine and administered by Attorney Protective. All coverage is subject to specific policy terms and conditions. 2020 Attorney ProtectiveSM. ® All Rights Reserved. Information provided by AttPro Ally is not intended as legal advice. This publication provides best practices for use in connection with general circumstances, and ordinarily does not address specific situations. Specific situations should be discussed with legal counsel licensed in the appropriate jurisdiction. By publishing practice and risk prevention tips, Attorney Protective neither implies nor provides any guarantee that claims can be prevented by use of the suggested practices. Though the contents of AttPro Ally have been carefully researched, Attorney Protective makes no warranty as to its accuracy, applicability or timeliness. Anyone wishing to reproduce any part of the AttPro Ally content must request permission from Attorney Protective by calling 877-728-8776 or sending an email to erin.mccartney@attorneyprotective.com.

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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!A Prudent Question is One-Half WisdomA Prudent Question is One-Half Wisdom