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NJSBA PracticeHQ Presents: Don't Put Your Computer At Risk

By NJSBA Staff posted 09-19-2023
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Lawyers and legal organizations hold lots of valuable information. Computer and mobile devices are increasingly attractive targets. All attorneys have a legal and ethical obligation to protect data entrusted to you by clients, whether from state-sponsored actors, ransomware prospectors, or novice hackers. As the working landscape continues to evolve and the frequency and variety of cyberthreats has exploded, the New Jersey State Bar Association recently held a free lunchtime learning webinar for members filled with practical guidance and designed to help NJSBA members improve their professional lives. Here are some tips for staying safe from the NJSBA’s ...
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Wrap it Up!

By NJSBA Staff posted 12-08-2022
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is from the NJSBA's PracticeHQ, a free benefit available to all NJSBA members. Access articles, comparison charts, videos and more created for the sole purpose of helping you manage your law practice more efficiently and effectively. Find out more about PracticeHQ resources here . By Jennifer Ramovs, Esq. What you should be doing to close out your firm's fiscal year 2022. When people tell us there are only twelve more Saturdays until New Year’s or a certain number of "shopping days till Christmas" it often makes us gasp. How is this year almost over?!? We go into holiday planning mode, making (tentative, perhaps) travel ...
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Documents, Documents Everywhere

By NJSBA Staff posted 11-03-2022
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is from the NJSBA's PracticeHQ, a free benefit available to all NJSBA members. Access articles, comparison charts, videos and more created for the sole purpose of helping you manage your law practice more efficiently and effectively. Find out more about PracticeHQ resources here . By Bryce Phillips, senior document management consultant at Affinity Consulting Group. 1. Four simple steps to start your DMS search. Document management systems (DMS) are critical to the success of any law firm. Legal-specific document management eliminates a "Wild West" approach to document storage and security and significantly improves your ...
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How to tame information overload: NJSBA PracticeHQ offers guidance

By NJSBA Staff posted 04-12-2022
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In a world where work life is constantly bombarded with distractions – email, social media, smartphones – those who can’t tune out the digital noise often struggle with productivity. That was the crux of a webinar the New Jersey State Bar Association hosted on April 4 to help its members “tame the digital chaos.” The program was part of the NJSBA’s PracticeHQ benefit, an information hub with resources for attorneys to learn management and marketing skills. Paul Unger, a partner at Affinity Consulting, led the webinar, offering advice on how to manage daily time and tasks, improve client communication and achieve professional goals. Here are the salient tips ...
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How Hitting the “Off” Switch Can Help You Thrive

By NJSBA Staff posted 05-20-2021
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The pressures of lawyering are known to attorneys who live them every day, and a panel at the NJSBA Annual Meeting talked about those issues and the latest efforts to help and focus on the well-being of lawyers. “Until a few years ago, there were not any major studies on lawyer well-being,” said Heidi Alexander, the Director of Lawyer Well-Being for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In 2016, spurred on by the national awareness that Lawyers Assistance Programs had been seeing for decades, the American Bar Association with other entities, initiated a study on lawyer well-being. The ABA’s Report from the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being found ...
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PracticeHQ seminar looks at 8 things killing a law practice and how to fix them

By NJSBA Staff posted 02-09-2021
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Today, NJSBA members are watching a webinar from benefit provider PracticeHQ on " 8 Things Killing Your Law Firm and How to Stop Them." With a focus on identifying and removing the 8 most common types of waste from your practice, topics include: Waste is anything of no value in your client's eyes The business of law demands we eliminate wastefulness Clients demand value Clients will shop around to find value Lawyers...reexamine your practices and processes In case you missed it, you can view the materials here . This webinar, as well as prior PracticeHQ webcasts, can be viewed in the PracticeHQ Learning Library, just click here . (member ...
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Ayesha Hamilton named Solo and Small-Firm Section 2021 Attorney of the Year

By NJSBA Staff posted 02-08-2021
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Ayesha Hamilton, a Princeton solo practitioner and New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) trustee, will receive the 2021 Attorney of the Year Award from the NJSBA Solo and Small-Firm Section. NJSBA President Kimberly A. Yonta will present Hamilton with the award at the Solo and Small-Firm Conference on Feb. 20. “Ayesha is a wonderfully talented attorney who is an extremely effective advocate for her clients. She runs a very successful employment law practice, and she is also a zealous advocate for solo and small-firm attorneys, protecting and advancing their interests as new issues arise,” said William E. Denver, chair of the section. Hamilton joined ...
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NJSBA Solo and Small-Firm Conference: Converting 2020’s Challenges to Ideas

By NJSBA Staff posted 02-05-2021
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Attendees at the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) 2021 Solo and Small-Firm Conference on Feb. 20 can look forward to a practical, optimistic and uplifting day of programming that takes some of the challenges presented in 2020 and converts them into actionable ideas. “The focus will be on helping lawyers run and manage their businesses more effectively and efficiently,” said William E. Denver, chair of the Solo and Small-Firm Section. NJSBA President Kimberly A. Yonta will deliver the keynote speech and present the section’s Attorney of the Year Award to Ayesha Hamilton. NJSBA Trustee James A. Lewis V will kick off the day with an inspiring message ...
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Don't miss free NJSBA PracticeHQ webinar: 8 Things Killing Your Law Firm and How to Stop Them

By NJSBA Staff posted 01-05-2021
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Take control of you practice in 2021. Join us for a free PracticeHQ webinar, only for New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) members. Save your spot in our Feb. 9 NJSBA PracticeHQ webinar: 8 Things Killing Your Law Firm and How to Stop Them. It is free for members and runs from noon to 1 p.m. Make sure you save your spot today. The program looks at waste and how to throw it out. Waste is defined as anything that doesn't add value in your client's eyes, and the competitive business of law demands that we eliminate wastefulness. Clients demand value from their lawyers and are willing to shop around to find it, forcing lawyers to re-examine their practices ...
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Encrypt Your Hard Drives, Especially Laptops

By NJSBA Staff posted 11-06-2020
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Hot Tips from NJSBA’s PracticeHQ In the BC times, before COVID, something like 7,000 laptops a week were left at airport security checkpoints. Sure, the laptop costs something, but what’s most valuable is your client data. Both Windows ( https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/turn-on-device-encryption-0c453637-bc88-5f74-5105-741561aae838 ) and macOS ( https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204837 ) have built-in programs to encrypt computer hard drives. It’s invisible, doesn’t slow down your computer, keeps your data more secure, and you in better compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct. PS: Unless you made a substantial effort to the contrary, ...
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How Long Does My Obligation to a Former Client Last

By Alan R. Ostrowitz, Esq posted 10-07-2020
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Good morning listmates, As you all know, I represent banks and credit unions. I had a most unceremonious firing by one of my old bank clients quite a while ago. One bank rep in particular was very difficult. Well, "what goes around comes around". The bank is now being audited by a Federal agency for compliance on a very old closed file which I closed over 8 years ago! The difficult bank rep now needs my help. Now the bank rep is asking me for materials in my file from over 8 years ago. Please bear in mind that I always send the client copies of everything that crosses my desk so they should have retained the materials and they should already have copies ...
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Slumlord Landlord/Tenant Attorney Landlords

By Michael Sawka, Esq posted 09-29-2020
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I just have to say wow! Went to inspect a tenant's apartment due to complaining about landlord not fixing things. Biggest problem is that the one and only bathroom toilet in the apartment has no water flowing into it after a flush. This was reported to the landlord by phone over two weeks ago. Looked at the lease. It is a housing assistance rental and under an LLC. But, what amazed me is the two attorneys listed on the lease as the landlords. Let's just say they are some of the ones that have their special seat at the plaintiff or defendant table in the courtroom. This was definitely slumlord do the least possible to take care of the place and the current ...
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How to Make Web Meetings Work: Guidance from NJSBA's PracticeHQ

By NJSBA Staff posted 06-25-2020
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By Jennifer Ramovs EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is from the NJSBA's PracticeHQ archives. PracticeHQ is a free benefit available to all NJSBA members and provides articles, comparison charts, videos and more with the sole purpose of helping you manage your law practice more efficiently and effectively. Find out more about PracticeHQ resources here . Do you use web meetings to meet with clients? Read on to see why it might be a good time to start. It is pretty likely that you have attended a "webinar" recently, either to remotely attend a CLE seminar or to obtain training of some sort. While webinars have introduced most of us to the idea of attending a ...
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NJSBA offers guidance and best practices for reopening law firms

By NJSBA Staff posted 06-10-2020
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The vast majority of the legal community has been working remotely since mid-March, but with the number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations decreasing, New Jersey is starting to reopen. The New Jersey State Bar Association has reviewed best practices and guidance across the ­business, legal, real estate and public health sectors to develop a collection of potential actions to consider as New Jersey’s attorneys and law firms find their footing in this multi-phased journey. The new guide is meant to provide suggestions about actions, policies and procedures law firms might consider in reopening. Visit njsba.com to review the guide.
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The Way We Work Now: A quiet office is the ‘calm before the storm’

By NJSBA Staff posted 06-02-2020
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Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series that looks at how New Jersey State Bar Association members’ work lives have changed since Governor Phil Murphy issued a stay-at-home order because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Way We Work Now: A quiet office is the ‘calm before the storm’ The phones haven’t been ringing much over the last two months at Ostrowitz & Ostrowitz in Manalapan. Ever since the coronavirus pandemic struck and the governor issued a stay-at-home order, business has fallen at the small firm, which does commercial litigation representing banks and credit unions. The office hum, a kind of pulse that used to run in the background, ...
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Trespass Action in Sussex County

By Robert E. David posted 04-20-2020
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A client rented out his mixed use property. The commercial tenant occupying the ground floor space resided on the 2nd floor. In violation of the lease, and without notice to the client, the tenant permitted a 3rd party to occupy the premises. That occupant then vacated and permitted another 3rd party to occupy, without consent from or notice to the client. No rent payments have been received for several months now, nor is anyone (other than my client) paying water or other utility bills. The police were unwilling to remove the occupant. The town was unwilling to discontinue utility service. My client asked me if he could simply change the locks, but I cautioned ...
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NJSBA legal community survey indicates significant impact by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially on solo and small firms

By NJSBA Staff posted 04-16-2020
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The majority of attorneys who responded to a recent New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) online survey showed their practices have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 93% who reported the pandemic was causing an impact, more than 60% said the impact was significant and nearly 33% said it was moderate. The attorneys reported they have been affected in a range of ways, including financial hardship because of a drop in clients and clients’ inability to pay; difficulty adapting to working from home; difficulty conducting legal work because of the physical shutdown of the courts; and the stress and strain to their mental and physical ...
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NJSBA members offer top tips for managing a remote office

By NJSBA Staff posted 04-16-2020
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Top tips for managing a remote office When it comes to advice for working remotely, New Jersey’s lawyers have quite a few tips that touch on everything from attire (“Change out of your PJs!”) to the importance of human connection to software endorsements. There are even a couple of rueful admissions, such as “I should have learned to do this a long time ago.” Hundreds of attorneys who responded to a recent New Jersey State Bar Association survey on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting their practice, were asked to offer advice to help fellow members of the legal profession. Here’s a sampling: On separating work time from home life when working in the ...
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The Way We Work Now: The Joy of Zoom

By NJSBA Staff posted 04-13-2020
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Note: Governor Phil Murphy's stay-at-home order issued because of the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly forced the melding of domestic and professional lives, often yielding some surprising results. This is part of an ongoing series. The joy of Zoom Meyer L. Rosenthal, a solo practitioner in Mount Freedom, said the governor’s stay-at-home order hasn’t had much of an impact on his work life—he’s been working from a home office for the last five years. “I think most solos, even before this, were a little more familiar with doing work from home because you’re on call 24/7,” he said. “I think everybody is struggling, but I consider myself fortunate because ...
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PPP Program

By Alan R. Ostrowitz, Esq posted 04-13-2020
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Good morning, For those of you who have not yet "landed" at a bank for the PPP program, I just received the following email from one of my clients. Perhaps it may be of help to some of you. For those of you who are interested, I can send the attachments (for some reason I cannot attach the PDF to this posting). Just sent me an email to [email protected] Warmest regards through these tough times Alan I hope this email finds you healthy and well in these challenging times. I recently joined the legal department at Northeast Bank (NEB) and I am excited to be a part of the NEB team. NEB is participating in the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program ...
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