Dec. 21, 2022 – Your practice involves not only keeping updated on caselaw – but also making sure you are up to date on the best ways to manage your files and information.

An easy place to get practice management tips and ideas is through the State Bar of Wisconsin’s law office management assistance program, Practice411^™. Available as a member benefit, Practice411 offers individualized and confidential assistance on practice management.

Practice411’s elist connects you with your colleagues and those knowledgeable on practice management. As the State Bar’s law practice assistance manager, I regularly post tips to the list and respond to questions. (By the way, if you aren’t a member of Practice411’s elist, it is also complimentary and easy to sign up – visit the elist’s webpage.)

Divided by category, here are the top 10 tips from the elist in 2022, covering issues in technology and practice management:

Technology Tips

PCLaw, Time Matters, and LEAP: PCLaw and Time Matters (owned by LexisNexis) desktop-based software users looking to switch to cloud-based practice management software have been turning to LEAP. Three years ago, LexisNexis and LEAP entered into a joint venture allowing both companies to support the products, and also allowing PCLaw and Time Matters users to easily migrate law firm data to LEAP, in as little as two days. Without the partnership, users looking to convert to cloud-based desktop software may need to wait several weeks and incur large upfront investment costs to pay for data migration services.

Data breaches: A free way to see whether your phone number or email address have been leaked in a public data breach is to conduct a search on haveibeenpwned.com. The search results will let you know whether your phone number or email address appeared in a public data breach, and if so, what information was leaked in the data breach. It is important to protect your information online, and in “Encrypting Your Law Firm,” from the May 2022 issue of Wisconsin Lawyer magazine, you will find explanations on how to encrypt hardware, software, messages, social media, and web-based communications.

VOIP: The increased reliance on working in the cloud and remotely have created several opportunities for reliable office lines powered solely through the internet. Zoom, Ring Central, Vonage voice over internet protocol (VOIP) providers were recommend by legal practitioners, and allow attorneys to answer their phone calls anywhere in the world where they have internet access.

RSS feed reader: If you want to receive the latest updates from your favorite websites, consider adding a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feed. Many different options are available – for instance, Microsoft explains how to easily add RSS Feeds from a webpage and Outlook.

Website trackers: Websites and social media applications may track and sell your online web browsing history to advertisers. Disabling website trackers, limiting social media snooping, and signing out of applications when not in use can help limit the amount of your information that is sold to advertisers.

Cloud storage backups: “Do Not Let Ransomware Win: Back Up Your Data,” from the July 2021 Wisconsin Lawyer, details how firms can properly backup their own data systems, and some popular programs shared by attorney users include, Dropbox, IDrive, and Carbonite.

Practice Management Tips

Sharing office space: Before you make an office share agreement, review Wisconsin Formal Ethics Opinion E-00-02: Sharing Office Space with Unrelated Entities, which discusses the ethical rules regarding client confidentiality, representation of the relationship with nonrelated entities, conflicts of interest, sharing office staff, and sharing fees.

Find answers to substantive law questions: Do you have a substantive law question and want to run it by another attorney that has agreed to help other attorneys? In the State Bar’s Lawyer-to-Lawyer Directory, you can search by practice area and contact an attorney that specializes in the substantive area of law that houses your topic area questions. The attorneys listed in the directory agree to share their knowledge in particular areas of law with other lawyers through free, brief consultations by email or phone.

Document destruction services: A popular topic, especially when attorneys shut down their firms, is where to find reliable document destruction services. Prior to destroying client files, attorneys should review Wisconsin Formal Ethics Opinion EF-17-01: Retention and Destruction of Closed Client Files. Attorney recommendations for shredding services around the state include, Country Mile Shredding Services, Iron Mountain, OfficePro, and Shred-it.

Practice management roundtable meetings: Connect with others who share similar professional and personal experiences at upcoming practice management roundtable meetings hosted by the State Bar of Wisconsin Law Office Management Assistance Program (Practice 411™). Our discussions are geared toward helping practitioners find and adopt realistic strategies for running successful firms, including topics on marketing, business, law, ethics, and networking. Attendees are invited to bring questions they have – or solutions they have found – to share with others in the group.

Get More Tips Year ’Round: The Practice411 Elist

We hope you enjoyed these top tips from the Practice411 elist this year – but these are only a small fraction of the tips you gain from the elist throughout the year. Remember, the elist is complimentary and a member benefit, so join today (via WisBar.org) to ask questions and stay current on practice management trends.

And feel free to contact the Practice411 program directly for confidential assistance on law practice management related topics.