Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

You’ve made a timely request for public governmental records but all you get are excuses. Under the law, you have to prove the delay is knowing and purposeful. How do you prove it and whom do you sue? Find out in our in-depth conversation about handling violations of your state’s Sunshine Laws. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hanging up a shingle takes more than a law degree. Today’s legal tech and software helps solo and small practices be more productive and organized than ever. “Good enough” isn’t good enough. Know what you need, and get it!Adriana runs through the tech foundation of a successful firm: from the computers to the office software to the case management software and add-ons that can streamline your practice and better serve your clients.Adriana names names, provides recommendations, and answers the questions she hears from clients regularly. This is the personal consultation you have wanted … for free!Got questions or ideas about solo and small practices? Drop us a line at NewSolo@legaltalknetwork.comTopics: PC or Mac? Does it matter? Office management tools? Make sure everything integrates, from your accounting software (hint, most accountants use QuickBooks) to your PDF creation tools. Don’t be cheap! Case management tools and “add-ons” save time and organize your practice. And when it comes to labeling files, don’t be clever, be clear and concise. You have 256 characters to name a document, use them all so you can share work. Mentioned in This Episode: Microsoft Office 365 Google Workspace Adobe Acrobat Pro QuickBooks Clio Clio Integrations ABA Legal Technology Resource Center Mycase Rocket Matter CosmoLex Zolasuite Actionstep Centerbase Microsoft OneDrive Dropbox Loom.com Law Firm Autopilot Netdocuments Fastcase Casetext Textexpander.com TextexpanderforLawyers Vonage Nextiva Dialpad RingCentral Ruby Abby Connect Smith.ai Back Office Betties New Solo Back Episode Library A Listener’s Guide to the New Solo Back Catalog Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Suffolk Law Professor Quinten Steenhuis discusses his team’s successful collaboration with legal aid orgs to use technology to scale help for the courtformsonline.org project and the potential to use tech to extend the reach of legal services.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should reparations be given, and if so, who should get reparations and what form should they take? These are questions the U.S. has been pondering since General Sherman made the largely unanswered call for 40 acres and mule to be allotted to emancipated slaves during the Civil War. In this episode, hosts Maggie Mendenhall Casey and Jennifer Byrne are joined by the Mayor of the City of Evanston, Illinois, Daniel Biss, to discuss how Evanston has sought to implement the country’s first-of-its-kind reparations program, which seeks to distribute reparations to Black residents who were impacted by the city’s historical housing discrimination using revenue from cannabis taxation. Mayor Biss discusses the challenges the program has raised and how it may serve as a model for other U.S. cities looking to implement similar programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table:  Is hiring a temp I’ve already worked with previously a mistake? “It’s not personal,” it’s personnel. I need a body, even if s/he won’t stay with me. Is this reasonable? Sometimes, a contractor (even one you already know and know won’t stay with you) is the answer. Mr. Right vs. Mr. Right Now. How do you test the “seriousness” of a job candidate? Are you dealing with a real job candidate or just a person out fishing and wasting your time? Or is this 007 work from a competitor checking you out? Should I be overlapping an exiting employee with their replacement?  Trying to squeeze out a bad employee while simultaneously onboarding a good employee – can this be done? And will keeping a less-than-perfect employee onboard, while offboarding and bringing in a new person, help? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does email marketing work for law firms? And is it truly necessary to have an email marketing funnel set up?Joining me for this conversation is Jeff Felten, and we dive in to why you need email marketing for your firm, and how to leverage it in many scenarios – from onboarding, to closing a case.As you’ll hear in our conversation, email marketing is an extension of who you are as a person, with the goal of warming up your lead pool and converting them into buyers.Jeff is an email marketing strategist and copywriter who helps service-based professionals hustle less for leads and build armies of loyal fans. In 10 yrs of marketing experience, Jeff has worked with 40+ brands, written thousands of marketing emails and written hundreds of web pages.Jeff gives listeners actionable tips on: [1:20] How Jeff decided to focus and narrow in on email marketing [4:10] Why Jeff's approach to email marketing is different and personalized [6:20] Defining 'generosity' and 'social proof'  [9:00] How to balance being corporate and professional vs. relatable [12:30] How email marketing is different than a blog you'd put on a website [13:35] How to collect emails and bring them into an email sequence [14:40] What is an email welcome sequence  [24:30] Email sequences you can run once a case has been closed [30:55] Jeff's book recommendation [38:00] One thing Jeff knows works when it comes to email marketing Resources mentioned in this episode:Obviously Awesome by April DunfordConnect with Jeff here: Instagram Twitter LinkedIn www.contentremedy.co     Connect with me Instagram Pinterest Facebook Twitter Karin on Twitter Karin on LinkedIn Conroy Creative Counsel on Facebook https://conroycreativecounsel.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jessica Bednarz has spent much of her career representing people, researching access-to-justice issues and using that knowledge to try to find better ways to deliver legal services. That includes using what’s known as “design thinking” for developing client service programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With ChatGPT splashing across headlines pretty much everywhere, what’s left for us to know about this new and almost ridiculously hot tech? Dennis and Tom give their two cents on all the buzz that is ChatGPT, discussing thoughts on its many exciting and (possibly) concerning capabilities and its potential within the legal world.Later, have you ever felt like no one bothers to read your emails? The guys offer up their strategies for drafting quick, efficient, and attention-grabbing communications.As always, stay tuned for the parting shots, that one tip, website, or observation you can use the second the podcast ends.Have a technology question for Dennis and Tom? Call their Tech Question Hotline at 720-441-6820 for answers to your most burning tech questions.Mentioned in This Episode:A Segment: ChatGPT: What Else is Left to Say?OpenAIB Segment: How To Draft Emails People will ReadParting Shots: Use Your iPad with Stream Deck to Run Teams Meetings Center for Law, Technology & Innovation 10 Best ChatGPT Examples, Prompts and Use Cases Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cyber attacks are almost entirely responsible for today’s data breaches, and, increasingly often, the details of these breaches are vague—leaving security experts with a growing list of questions. Sharon Nelson and John Simek talk with James Lee about the Identity Theft Resource Center’s latest Data Breach Report. They discuss current trends, the challenges of nebulous data breach notices, and what all organizations should be on the lookout for in the coming year.James E. Lee is Chief Operating Officer at the Identity Theft Resource Center. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This time on The Legal Toolkit, Jared forgoes his monologue to give more time to his conversation with Chris Stock. Tune in as this duo dig into criminal justice reform, ChatGPT’s future in legal and the world at large, legal tech business outlooks, Chris’s new venture as founder of a consulting firm, and more.Later, stick around for “Shit Australians Say” on the Rump Roast. You’ll learn what “fair dinkum” means and can decide for yourself whether our usage in the title was correct or just silly. Cheers!Chris Stock is CEO and founder of CGS Advisory.-----Since we talked with notable Australian, Chris Stock, let's count down Australia's Greatest Hits!-----Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.Our closing track is Scrappy by Famous Cats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices