Law Practice Tips

During the Pandemic, successful practices are adopting new technologies, changing practice areas, and monitoring health and safety. To thrive during and after the Pandemic, read articles about marketing , recession proofing ,  strategies , technology , and trends .  Also read the ABA Report on Pandemic Survey Of Law Firns  and browse Coronavirus resources available at websites created by the ABA ,  AICPA ,  HBR , and State Bar Associations . For in-depth study of emerging trends, read the ABA's new book about  Ethics and Technology in an Evolving World .

Slow Internet speeds can cause timeouts, delay downloads, interrupt video, and garble conference calls.  Start the troubleshooting process by contacting your cable provider to request help with speed problems and connection issues. Consider connecting your devices to the Internet using Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi. Improve Wi-Fi performance by upgrading routers, changing channels, moving to higher frequencies, and using a Wi-Fi extender or mesh device. Read home networking articles about design , improvements , mesh systems , rebooting ,  routers , speed , and security . For in-depth study read books like Wiley’s Guide to Networking and  ABA’s  Cybersecurity Guide .  Get assistance from the ABA's Legal Technology Resource Center and your state bar's technology assistance service .    H

Improve the audiovisual quality of your conference calls by using a webcam or microphone. Enhance your appearance by using an expensive spotlight  to illuminate your face.  And free up your laptop by putting your smartphone on a tripod  for video calls. For more tech tips, read articles about video calling ,   best gear for online meetings ,  mastering virtual meetings . And see Doug McHomey’s video about working about best video calling equipment for working from home. 

Surveys  show that a significant number of lawyers and their firms are using Twitter.  Lawyers mostly use Twitter for following news, marketing, and establishing reputations. See samples using a  Directory of Legal Twitterers , a  List of Lawyers to Follow , or a  Table of Top Law Feeds .  Learn more by reading articles about the benefits of Twitter , creating an account , ethical issues , getting followers , marketing with social media ,  starting up , and user tips .   Also see O'Reilly's  Twitter Book  and the ABA's   Guide to Legal Ethics and Social Media.

Signature technology can be used on business, government, and personal documents.  Popular software programs with electronic signature capability include Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word .  Digital signature software programs like Docusign  provides encryption in addition to electronic signatures. Learn more by reading articles about paperless signing , notarizing e-documents ,  document management ,  legal requirements , and when and  how to use signature technology .  Also see reviews of software for  digital signatures  and  document management.

Fact checking is essential because of the exponential growth of news sources and partisan reporting. Remember to be skeptical, compare sources, and don't share articles without verifying. For more fact checking tips, read articles about bias ,  literacy , reliability , scammers ,  spotting fake news , and teaching critical thinking . Try adding a fact checking extension to your web browser. Check out the bias ratings of your news sources at a fact checking website  and view a  diagram of ideology ranking  of news sources.  Consult the ABA's Legal Fact Checker which seeks to help media and individuals find answers to legal issues.

Write professional looking contracts by using concise wording, paragraph numbering, section headings, and tables of contents. Use letter-size paper and single spacing to make contracts easier to scan. For more tips, read articles about  form libraries , word processing ,  writing clearly , and technology tools  like document management software . Improve your drafting skills by attending an ALI Webinar  or taking a Ken Adams  workshop . Also see Dell  Toedt's  archive of drafting articles  and his contract checklist .  For in-depth study, read PLI's contract handbook  and the  ABA's Manual of Style for Contracts and other ABA books about business contracts , computer contracts , construction contracts , documenting deals ,  drafting style ,  government contracts , leases ,  medical contracts ,   prose in contracts ,  settlement agreements , structuring transactions , and tech contracts .  Webinar