Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:02
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Cynthia Sharp, Esq.
Would you like to increase your client base but don’t know where to begin? Do you want to actively market your practice on a restricted budget – but don’t want to run afoul of the Ethics Rules? If so, you won’t want to miss Cynthia Sharp’s energetic and informative presentation. Attendees will be provided with tools and motivation to create and implement an individual marketing plan for the remainder of the year.
The session will include a national survey of case law and opinions in the attorney advertising arena, including social media. Cynthia will analyze MRPC 7.1 - 7.5 and offer specific guidance on how to avoid violating these rules.
The material will be geared to all levels with the core message that persistent and consistent communication of message will lead to better client communication and client service – and ultimately revenue generation.
Content rich and action oriented, Cynthia will discuss:
Cynthia Sharp, Esq.
Cynthia Sharp is author of "The Lawyers’ Guide to Financial Planning" recently published by ABA Book Publishing. She is a Contributor to the ABA’s upcoming publications "The Lawyer’s Guide to Buying, Selling, Merging, and Closing a Law Practice," and "Capturing and Keeping Clients."
Cindy dedicated close to thirty years building a successful niche law practice and serving thousands of clients. At the pinnacle of her career, she sold her interest in the practice and established The Sharper Lawyer, a fully accredited CLE provider and attorney business coaching entity.
As Director of Attorney Development, Cindy has established an international presence as an author and speaker on the topics of law firm branding and marketing strategies. She also shares practice management techniques with an emphasis on ethical implications - lecturing extensively to law firms, bar associations and other legal organizations.
She can be reached via email at cindy@thesharperlawyer.com.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:01
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Cynthia Sharp, Esq.
Many lawyers have not mastered effective delegation techniques probably because nobody ever taught them the basic skills. This program addresses delegation techniques compliant with MRPC 5.1 and 5.3's supervisory requirements.
They are missing the opportunity to leverage their own talents by delegating projects and tasks to other lawyers, legal professionals, and strong support staff. Besides, lawyers are bound by MRPC 5.1 and 5.3 relating to ethical responsibilities in the supervisory context. Workplace outcomes are no doubt adversely affected when delegations go astray. Lawyers and staff at all levels will benefit from the techniques explored in this program.
Special tips will be provided for Micromanagers, Procrastinators and their victims. Those attending this session will learn 1. Fundamentals of effective delegation 2. Strategies to overcome the syndrome of “delegation reluctance” 3. How to identify and modify typical unproductive delegation behaviors Tools distributed include The Responsibility Shift, Handling Outcomes, The Mistake Process (for Delegator and Delegatee).
Cynthia Sharp, Esq.
Director of Attorney Development, The Sharper Lawyer
Cynthia Sharp is the author of "The Lawyers’ Guide to Financial Planning" recently published by ABA Book Publishing. She is a contributor to the ABA’s upcoming publications "The Lawyer’s Guide to Buying, Selling, Merging, and Closing a Law Practice," and "Capturing and Keeping Clients."
Cindy dedicated close to thirty years building a successful niche law practice and serving thousands of clients. At the pinnacle of her career, she sold her interest in the practice and established The Sharper Lawyer, a fully accredited CLE provider, and attorney business coaching entity.
As Director of Attorney Development, Cindy has established an international presence as an author and speaker on the topics of law firm branding and marketing strategies. She also shares practice management techniques with an emphasis on ethical implications - lecturing extensively to law firms, bar associations, and other legal organizations.
She can be reached via email at cindy@thesharperlawyer.com.
Category: Legal Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Faculty: Cynthia Sharp, Esq.
An ideal attorney/client relationship runs smoothly from start to finish. The client is satisfied, refers friends and pays legal fees on time. The attorney enjoys professional, personal and hopefully financial rewards. However, the reality is that issues and problems (many of which are avoidable) can arise at any point during the course of representation. This program offers a practical and strategic approach to developing and maintaining effective and ethical relationships with law firm clients.
Attendees will learn:
Cynthia Sharp Esq.
Director of Attorney Development, The Sharper Lawyer
Cynthia Sharp is the author of "The Lawyers’ Guide to Financial Planning" recently published by ABA Book Publishing. She is a contributor to the ABA’s upcoming publications "The Lawyer’s Guide to Buying, Selling, Merging, and Closing a Law Practice," and "Capturing and Keeping Clients."
Cindy dedicated close to thirty years building a successful niche law practice and serving thousands of clients. At the pinnacle of her career, she sold her interest in the practice and established The Sharper Lawyer, a fully accredited CLE provider, and attorney business coaching entity.
As Director of Attorney Development, Cindy has established an international presence as an author and speaker on the topics of law firm branding and marketing strategies. She also shares practice management techniques with an emphasis on ethical implications - lecturing extensively to law firms, bar associations, and other legal organizations.
She can be reached via email at cindy@thesharperlawyer.com.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:05
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: John Federico, Esq.
Microsoft Word includes powerful tools to create the highly formatted documents attorneys must create. Microsoft Word combines font and paragraph formatting into something called Styles. Styles are applied to all text whether you want them or not; and there is no way to turn off the feature. Unfortunately, for most attorneys using Word teaches you almost nothing about what Styles are, what they do, how incredibly useful they are, or how to control them.
This seminar will de-mystify Microsoft Word’s Styles and show legal professionals how to control and customize them for the documents you draft in your practice. Be prepared for many “a-ha” moments.
John Federico, Esq.
John Federico received his BBA in Decision Science from The University of Toledo, his BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The Ohio State University, and his JD from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. His professional memberships include the Ohio State Bar Association and Columbus Bar Association. Mr. Federico is an attorney and senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group.
Prior to joining Affinity Consulting Group, he practiced law for nine years, litigating personal injury cases, insurance cases, and numerous appeals. Mr. Federico is also a licensed patent attorney. He now specializes in HotDocs document assembly software and office software training, including integrations with case management systems such as LawBase, Amicus Attorney, Time Matters, Actionstep and PracticeMaster.
Mr. Federico has prior experience in using a wide variety of systems, including Windows, Macintosh, and Linux; and programming in various languages.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: John Federico, Esq.
Reusing old documents with find and replace has a high margin for error and is slower than better, alternative methods.
Discover how to leverage the best of your intellectual capital to increase speed, accuracy, and efficiency. Improved drafting methods directly impact the bottom line and improve client satisfaction.
John Federico, Esq.
John Federico received his BBA in Decision Science from The University of Toledo, his BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The Ohio State University, and his JD from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. His professional memberships include the Ohio State Bar Association and Columbus Bar Association. Mr. Federico is an attorney and senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group.
Prior to joining Affinity Consulting Group, he practiced law for nine years, litigating personal injury cases, insurance cases, and numerous appeals. Mr. Federico is also a licensed patent attorney. He now specializes in HotDocs document assembly software and office software training, including integrations with case management systems such as LawBase, Amicus Attorney, Time Matters, Actionstep and PracticeMaster.
Mr. Federico has prior experience in using a wide variety of systems, including Windows, Macintosh, and Linux; and programming in various languages.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Barron Henley, Esq.
You no longer have to purchase software and servers for your office. Today, you can rent software or server access via the Internet and thereby avoid any up-front costs. This process is often referred to as "moving to the cloud."
Of course, your client data would also be stored on the rented or hosted servers. In this seminar, we'll explain the associated pros, cons, risks and ethical issues of doing this with your practice.
It is definitely possible for lawyers to get off the treadmill of buying new hardware/software, using it until obsolescence, then buying new hardware/software again. This seminar will explain how to get there.
Barron Henley, Esq.
Mr. Henley is one of the founding partners of Affinity Consulting Group, a national legal technology consulting firm which handles all aspects of law practice automation. He received his B.S./B.A. (marketing & economics) and J.D. from The Ohio State University and is a member of the American, Ohio and Columbus Bar Associations, and the Worthington Estate Planning Council. He is a member of the ABA Law Practice Division and is the former Chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Law Office Automation & Technology Committee.
Mr. Henley heads Affinity’s document assembly/automation and software training departments; he is a renowned expert on Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, and HotDocs document assembly software; and has authored legal-specific manuals on HotDocs, Adobe Acrobat, and Microsoft Word, Excel & Outlook.
He teaches continuing legal education (CLE) classes throughout the U.S. & Canada covering a wide variety of topics related to law practice management, technology, and ethics.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:04
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Phillip Bogdanoff, Esq.
Rule 8.3 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct indicates that “a lawyer who knows that that a judge has committed a violation of applicable rules of judicial conduct that raises a substantial question as to the judge's fitness for office shall inform the appropriate authority.” Rule 8.4 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct explains that it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to knowingly assist a judge in conduct that is a violation of applicable rules of judicial conduct. Therefore, it is incumbent on every attorney to also be familiar with the rules of Judicial Conduct in the jurisdictions where they appear and the type of conduct that is to be expected from the Bench.
In this presentation, attorneys will gain a working knowledge of the Rules of Judicial Conduct through a review of recent ethics decisions where judges were disciplined for ethical misconduct.
Attorneys will also learn what they can do if they observe judicial misconduct.
Past attendees have described this presentation as “educational, engaging, entertaining, lively, informative, humorous, useful and really well done.”
Phillip Bogdanoff, Esq.
Philip Bogdanoff is a nationally recognized continuing legal education speaker on the topics of ethics, professionalism, and other related topics. Previously, as an attorney, he served as assistant prosecutor in the Summit County, Ohio Prosecutor’s Office for more than 25 years, beginning in 1981. Mr. Bogdanoff argued cases before the Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals and twenty cases before the Ohio Supreme Court including six death penalty cases - before retiring as a senior assistant prosecutor.
He is the author of numerous articles on ethics, professionalism and other related legal topics and has taught the members of numerous organizations including the National Association of Legal Administrators, as well as numerous state and local Bar associations, Prosecuting Attorney's Associations, and law firms. More information about Mr. Bogdanoff is available on his Web site at http://www.philipbogdanoff.com/.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:03
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Carole Levitt, Esq. and Mark Rosch
Just because a record is “public” doesn’t mean it has to be easy to access or even to find. The Internet has been a boon to researchers trying to locate information on people and companies. Public records and other publicly available information is now more accessible than ever before...if you know where to look for it...and how to dig it out of the sites that do make it available. This seminar will help you uncover the best sources for them online.
Carole Levitt, Esq.
Carole Levitt, founder/principal of Internet For Lawyers (IFL), is an internationally recognized CLE seminar speaker and best-selling American Bar Association author. She writes and speaks on Internet investigative and legal research, social media research, social media ethics, and technology for lawyers. Since 1999, IFL has provided law firms, corporations, and local and state Bar Associations around the country with professional and entertaining turn-key CLE programs. The company focuses on delivering information about free investigative and background research resources available on the Internet.
Together with co-author Mark Rosch, Levitt has written several ABA Law Practice Division books, including "Google Gmail and Calendar For Lawyers in One Hour" (2013), two editions of "The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet," "Google For Lawyers," and "Find Info Like a Pro," Volumes 1 and 2. They have also just completed the thirteenth edition of their book "The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet" (2015, IFL Press). Levitt also co-authored “Internet Legal Research on a Budget (ABA, 2013) with Judy K. Davis.
Previously, Levitt was a California attorney, a law librarian in Chicago and Los Angeles, and a Legal Research and Writing Professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. She graduated with distinction from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago and was a member of the school’s law review. Carole has a Masters in Library Science and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois.
She is active in numerous professional associations, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Association of Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA).
Mark Rosch
Mark Rosch is Vice-President of Internet for Lawyers and President of its CLEseminars.com division. He’s an internationally recognized speaker and author on the subjects of using the Internet for investigative and background research, Google search, and Google Cloud Apps.
He has co-authored numerous books and hundreds of articles on these and other related topics, receiving top industry recognition for his work.
Mark is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, an honorary society that honors and recognizes distinguished law practice management professionals, and in 2013 he was named to the "Fastcase Fifty," recognizing “50 of the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law.”
Mark is a long-time member of ACLEA and the ABA and is active member in both organizations. He has served in numerous leadership positions – recently completing a 3-year term on the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:01
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Carole Levitt, Esq. and Mark Rosch
When you can’t find what you need for free on the Internet, or if searching site-by-site and/or jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction is not worth your time, consider subscribing to a pay investigative research database. These databases collect information not only from public record and “publicly available” sources, but also from credit header and proprietary sources, from as many jurisdictions as possible. The information is then integrated into one large searchable relational database, with results that practically allow you to create a dossier about your subject. We will illustrate how to use these types of databases by using TLOxp as our example (but the seminar will be useful even if you subscribe to another investigative research database such as Accurint, PeopleMap, or CLEAR). We will also discuss what federal and states laws come into play when you attempt to get certified to use these databases.
Carole Levitt, Esq.
Carole Levitt, founder/principal of Internet For Lawyers (IFL), is an internationally recognized CLE seminar speaker and best-selling American Bar Association author. She writes and speaks on Internet investigative and legal research, social media research, social media ethics, and technology for lawyers. Since 1999, IFL has provided law firms, corporations, and local and state Bar Associations around the country with professional and entertaining turn-key CLE programs. The company focuses on delivering information about free investigative and background research resources available on the Internet.
Together with co-author Mark Rosch, Levitt has written several ABA Law Practice Division books, including "Google Gmail and Calendar For Lawyers in One Hour" (2013), two editions of "The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet," "Google For Lawyers," and "Find Info Like a Pro," Volumes 1 and 2. They have also just completed the thirteenth edition of their book "The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet" (2015, IFL Press). Levitt also co-authored “Internet Legal Research on a Budget (ABA, 2013) with Judy K. Davis.
Previously, Levitt was a California attorney, a law librarian in Chicago and Los Angeles, and a Legal Research and Writing Professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. She graduated with distinction from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago and was a member of the school’s law review. Carole has a Masters in Library Science and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois.
She is active in numerous professional associations, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Association of Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA).
Mark Rosch
Mark Rosch is Vice-President of Internet for Lawyers and President of its CLEseminars.com division. He’s an internationally recognized speaker and author on the subjects of using the Internet for investigative and background research, Google search, and Google Cloud Apps.
He has co-authored numerous books and hundreds of articles on these and other related topics, receiving top industry recognition for his work.
Mark is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, an honorary society that honors and recognizes distinguished law practice management professionals, and in 2013 he was named to the "Fastcase Fifty," recognizing “50 of the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law.”
Mark is a long-time member of ACLEA and the ABA and is active member in both organizations. He has served in numerous leadership positions – recently completing a 3-year term on the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:03
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Daniel J. Siegel, Esq.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Lenné Espenschied, Esq.
How have recent cases influenced best practices in drafting indemnification provisions? What is the distinction between “indemnify,” and “hold harmless”? Are your indemnification provisions providing the best possible protection for your client? In this session, we’ll consider recent cases and make practical recommendations for improving these high-risk provisions.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
Lenné Espenschied, Esq.
Lenné Eidson Espenschied practiced law in Atlanta, Georgia for 25 years, focusing on corporate and transactional representation of technology-based businesses. Now, she is a national speaker who has trained thousands of lawyers in the U.S. and Canada in the art of legal drafting through continuing legal education seminars for bar associations, law firms, and corporate legal departments. She is the author of two books published by the American Bar Association: Contract Drafting: Powerful Prose in Transactional Practice (ABA Fundamentals, 2 nd Ed. 2015) and The Grammar and Writing Handbook for Lawyers (ABA Fundamentals, 2011).
After graduating from the University of Georgia School of Law magna cum laude, Ms. Espenschied began her legal practice in the Atlanta office of Sutherland; she also served as Senior Counsel in the legal department of Bank of America before opening her own law office. As a law professor, Ms. Espenschied taught commercial law, contracts, and contract drafting.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:03
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Carole Levitt, Esq. and Mark Rosch
The seminar is partially based on the presenters' fifty-five page Social Media chapter from their book, "The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet." You will discover how other attorneys are using social media sites for discovery, trial preparation, direct examination, cross-examination, background checks, and locating missing persons and learn how to authenticate profiles and get them admitted into evidence. Don't be left behind in exploiting this gold mine of information.
Learn tips and tricks to successfully navigate through social networking sites to:
• Find out "secret" ways to ferret out information from social media profiles
• Successfully navigate through many social media sites to:
• Learn about overcoming social media discovery issues
• Find out how to authenticate social media profiles and get them admitted into evidence
Carole Levitt, Esq.
Carole Levitt, founder/principal of Internet For Lawyers (IFL), is an internationally recognized CLE seminar speaker and best-selling American Bar Association author. She writes and speaks on Internet investigative and legal research, social media research, social media ethics, and technology for lawyers. Since 1999, IFL has provided law firms, corporations, and local and state Bar Associations around the country with professional and entertaining turn-key CLE programs. The company focuses on delivering information about free investigative and background research resources available on the Internet.
Together with co-author Mark Rosch, Levitt has written several ABA Law Practice Division books, including "Google Gmail and Calendar For Lawyers in One Hour" (2013), two editions of "The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet," "Google For Lawyers," and "Find Info Like a Pro," Volumes 1 and 2. They have also just completed the thirteenth edition of their book "The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet" (2015, IFL Press). Levitt also co-authored “Internet Legal Research on a Budget (ABA, 2013) with Judy K. Davis.
Previously, Levitt was a California attorney, a law librarian in Chicago and Los Angeles, and a Legal Research and Writing Professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. She graduated with distinction from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago and was a member of the school’s law review. Carole has a Masters in Library Science and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois.
She is active in numerous professional associations, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Association of Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA).
Mark Rosch
Mark Rosch is Vice-President of Internet for Lawyers and President of its CLEseminars.com division. He’s an internationally recognized speaker and author on the subjects of using the Internet for investigative and background research, Google search, and Google Cloud Apps.
He has co-authored numerous books and hundreds of articles on these and other related topics, receiving top industry recognition for his work.
Mark is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, an honorary society that honors and recognizes distinguished law practice management professionals, and in 2013 he was named to the "Fastcase Fifty," recognizing “50 of the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law.”
Mark is a long-time member of ACLEA and the ABA and is an active member in both organizations. He has served in numerous leadership positions – recently completing a 3-year term on the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:02
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Jim Jesse, Esq.
This webinar is designed to give you an overview of music copyright law concepts, but drills down when necessary to discuss specifics of topics like the sources of revenue songs can generate, among other pertinent areas.
This webinar covers the basics of music copyright law, including how to properly establish and register a copyright for music. You'll also explore the exclusive rights that come with copyright and what those basic rights mean under federal law. The webinar will also discuss how the music industry has changed over the years and how that affects the law. Specific musical examples are used throughout the presentation to elaborate on the law.
Jim Jesse, Esq.
Jim Jesse has been an attorney for 24 years and has been a full-time CLE presenter since 2013. He is the former General Counsel for Cool Music Network (THECOOLTV), which is a 24-hour music video television network.
Previously in private practice, he founded Rock N Roll Law to spread his passion for music law through his seminars.
He is also a singer/songwriter who has released two albums, is a member of BMI, and has run his own record label distributing his music. He has written songs for more than 30 years and studied music history for nearly as long.
He is also the author of "The Music Copyright Law Manual" and the forthcoming "The Musician’s Guide to Music Copyright Law."
Mr. Jesse consults and practices in areas regarding intellectual property, licensing and music law. He has drafted and reviewed hundreds of contracts from small barter deals to multi-million dollar ones.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:02
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Alison C. Shields, Esq.
Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have become part of every lawyer’s daily life, and they can be helpful tools for expanding your professional presence and marketing your practice, as well as valuable investigative tools. But the same ethical rules that govern lawyers’ conduct also apply to their use of social media, and that can raise some concerns for lawyers in their use of these tools.
This webinar will focus on the ethical use of LinkedIn as a marketing and professional development tool, but will also touch on broader ethical pitfalls in lawyers’ use of social media in general, both for marketing purposes and as a litigation tool, discussing some of the rules and opinions that apply. Some of these issues are:
Allison C. Shields, Esq.
Allison C. Shields, Esq., President of Legal Ease Consulting, Inc., provides marketing, social media, business development, productivity and practice management, coaching and consulting services for lawyers and law firms.
After leaving her position as Administrative Partner at one of Long Island’s premier law firms in 2005, Allison started Legal Ease Consulting, Inc. to help lawyers build better law practices. A former practicing lawyer and law firm manager, Allison understands the law firm environment and the daily pressures faced by lawyers trying to manage and build their business while practicing law and successfully serving their clients.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Andrew Elowitt, Esq.
Lawyers are increasingly turning to professional coaches to help them improve their practice and management skills. Being informed and prepared about the coaching process can help you get the most out of your investment in coaching.
Lawyers must know more than the law. Their ethical obligation to provide competent representation continues to expand. (See Comment 8 to Rule 1.1 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.) From both ethical and business perspectives, lawyers must maintain the requisite knowledge and skill to manage their practices. (Ignorance, for example, of lawyer trust accounting principles, isn’t a viable defense to disciplinary charges of misappropriation of clients’ funds.)
As a result, lawyers are increasingly relying on outsiders to help them run their practices. As legal practice has become more complex, multifaceted and demanding, lawyers now routinely call vendors, consultants, coaches, trainers and mental health professionals for help. Knowing whom to call can be confusing. This confusion is even greater when it comes to coaches and coaching. It doesn’t have to be.
Attendees will also learn how to avoid the 10 most common mistakes lawyers make when selecting and working with a coach.
Andrew Elowitt, Esq.
Andrew Elowitt, JD, MBA, PCC, brings over twenty-five year’s experience as both an executive and business lawyer to his coaching, facilitation, and organizational development clients.
Andrew Elowitt is the Managing Director of New Actions LLC, specialists in talent, strategy and leadership development for law firms and corporate legal departments. He is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management and an ICF Professional Certified Coach. Before becoming a coach and consultant, Andrew worked both in law firms and as General Counsel during his over twenty years as an active California lawyer. He is regarded as an expert in the use of emotional, social and conversational intelligence in leading and managing legal organizations. He is the author of the ABA’s “Lawyer’s Guide to Professional Coaching: Leadership, Mentoring & Effectiveness” and a frequent contributor to the ABA Law Practice Division’s “Law Practice” magazine.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Debbie Foster
Attendees will learn about the ethical pitfalls of the mobile, cloud and everyday law office computing. In this program, attendees will learn about cloud options and address how to safely store documents, data, and programs in the cloud and on mobile devices.
Learn what programs and features you should & must use in cloud storage options like Dropbox, Box & OneDrive.
The webinar will also discuss:
Debbie Foster
Debbie Foster is the managing partner of Affinity's Tampa Bay office. She founded InTouch Legal (now part of Affinity Consulting) in 1998.
Debbie has been working with law firms since 1995, personally helping implement solutions ranging from practice management,
time/billing/accounting, document management, and general law office management issues. In addition to working with law firms throughout the U.S., Caribbean, and Canada, she has also trained hundreds of consultants around the country on software programs used in law firms and best practices when consulting on a law firm’s specific technology needs.
Debbie is very active in the ABA's Law Practice Division and served as the Chair of ABA TECHSHOW in 2010 and co-chair in 2018. Debbie is also very active in Local and State Bar Associations, and she regularly speaks on topics relating to technology, management, finance and marketing of a law firm.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:01
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Jennifer Ellis, Esq. and Daniel J. Siegel, Esq.
Whether you choose to be online or not (and you should be online) your clients will write you reviews. Unfortunately, angry clients are much more likely to write about you than happy clients. This webinar will explore the ethical and practical issues surrounding getting good reviews as well as discuss how you should respond when someone bashes you online. Lawyers have been disciplined for their responses to online reviews. Learn from their mistakes!
This program covers issues addressed in Rule 1.6, as well as numerous related Ethics Opinions from various jurisdictions.
Jennifer Ellis, Esq.
Jennifer Ellis is an ethics and legal malpractice attorney with the Philadelphia personal injury firm of Lowenthal & Abrams. She also manages the firm’s online presence. Jennifer is a frequent author and nationally recognized speaker, on the subjects of legal ethics, social media, law firm technology, law practice management, websites, and marketing. Jennifer wrote the book “Wordpress in One Hour for Lawyers and the social Media chapter for the book “Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide” – both published by the ABA’s Law Practice Division.
Daniel J. Siegel, Esq.
Daniel Siegel wears two hats–he is a practicing attorney in Pennsylvania and also a full-time technology consultant. As an attorney, Dan focuses his practice on trial and appellate court writing; he also handles workers’ compensation matters and serves as a “second chair” for attorneys – working on the matters that keep them up at night. He is also a is a frequent author and nationally recognized speaker, on the subjects of legal ethics, social media, law firm technology, law practice management, and mobile computing for lawyers. Dan wrote, or co-wrote, “How to do More in Less Time,” “The Lawyer’s Guide to LexisNexis CaseMap” and “Checklists for Lawyers,” among other books, all for the ABA Law Practice Division.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:04
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Carole Levitt, Esq. and Mark Rosch
Learn how to avoid potential ethical traps when you research social media profiles for investigative/background purposes and to use as evidence. The seminar is partially based on the speakers' fifty-five page Social Media chapter from their book, "The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet."
This program specifically addresses how MPRC Rules apply to social media research: Rule 1.1 (and the new comment 8), as well as MPRC Rules 3.3, 3.4(a), 3.5, 4.1, 4.1(a), 4.2, 5.3(b)(1), 8.4(c),
This program also reviews pertinent Ethics opinions in more than two dozen jurisdictions, discusses relevant case law, and reviews detailed Guidelines for social media research issued by the New York State Bar’s Commercial and Federal Litigation Section.
The speakers will review:
The program will also explore:
Carole Levitt, Esq.
Carole Levitt, founder/principal of Internet For Lawyers (IFL), is an internationally recognized CLE seminar speaker and best-selling American Bar Association author. She writes and speaks on Internet investigative and legal research, social media research, social media ethics, and technology for lawyers. Since 1999, IFL has provided law firms, corporations, and local and state Bar Associations around the country with professional and entertaining turn-key CLE programs. The company focuses on delivering information about free investigative and background research resources available on the Internet.
Together with co-author Mark Rosch, Levitt has written several ABA Law Practice Division books, including "Google Gmail and Calendar For Lawyers in One Hour" (2013), two editions of "The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet," "Google For Lawyers," and "Find Info Like a Pro," Volumes 1 and 2. They have also just completed the thirteenth edition of their book "The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet" (2015, IFL Press). Levitt also co-authored “Internet Legal Research on a Budget (ABA, 2013) with Judy K. Davis.
Previously, Levitt was a California attorney, a law librarian in Chicago and Los Angeles, and a Legal Research and Writing Professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. She graduated with distinction from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago and was a member of the school’s law review. Carole has a Masters in Library Science and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois.
She is active in numerous professional associations, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Association of Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA).
Mark Rosch
Mark Rosch is Vice-President of Internet for Lawyers and President of its CLEseminars.com division. He’s an internationally recognized speaker and author on the subjects of using the Internet for investigative and background research, Google search, and Google Cloud Apps.
He has co-authored numerous books and hundreds of articles on these and other related topics, receiving top industry recognition for his work.
Mark is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, an honorary society that honors and recognizes distinguished law practice management professionals, and in 2013 he was named to the "Fastcase Fifty," recognizing “50 of the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law.”
Mark is a long-time member of ACLEA and the ABA and is an active member in both organizations. He has served in numerous leadership positions – recently completing a 3-year term on the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:01
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Carole Levitt, Esq. and Mark Rosch
Just about everyone has a computer on their desk and access to the Internet. But if you’ve never taken a formal class to learn how to search effectively, then this seminar is for you!
In this webinar, you’ll begin to discover hidden and undocumented Google search features and shortcuts to speed up your research. You will learn more about some of the less-obvious features of the world’s most popular search engine, the ways other lawyers are using those features to research for their matters em, and why you should be putting them to use in your practice.
Don’t be left behind in finding out how Google can reveal a gold mine of information that will assist you in meeting your investigative and legal research obligations.
Come join Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch, internationally recognized Internet trainers and authors of seven American Bar Association Internet research books, who will show you how to be a Cybersleuth to unearth information for FREE (or at low cost!) on the Net. Program materials are excerpted from their book, “The Cybersleuth’s Guide to the Internet.”
Carole Levitt, Esq.
Carole Levitt, founder/principal of Internet For Lawyers (IFL), is an internationally recognized CLE seminar speaker and best-selling American Bar Association author. She writes and speaks on Internet investigative and legal research, social media research, social media ethics, and technology for lawyers. Since 1999, IFL has provided law firms, corporations, and local and state Bar Associations around the country with professional and entertaining turn-key CLE programs. The company focuses on delivering information about free investigative and background research resources available on the Internet.
Together with co-author Mark Rosch, Levitt has written several ABA Law Practice Division books, including "Google Gmail and Calendar For Lawyers in One Hour" (2013), two editions of "The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet," "Google For Lawyers," and "Find Info Like a Pro," Volumes 1 and 2. They have also just completed the thirteenth edition of their book "The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet" (2015, IFL Press). Levitt also co-authored “Internet Legal Research on a Budget (ABA, 2013) with Judy K. Davis.
Previously, Levitt was a California attorney, a law librarian in Chicago and Los Angeles, and a Legal Research and Writing Professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. She graduated with distinction from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago and was a member of the school’s law review. Carole has a Masters in Library Science and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois.
She is active in numerous professional associations, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Association of Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA).
Mark Rosch
Mark Rosch is Vice-President of Internet for Lawyers and President of its CLEseminars.com division. He’s an internationally recognized speaker and author on the subjects of using the Internet for investigative and background research, Google search, and Google Cloud Apps.
He has co-authored numerous books and hundreds of articles on these and other related topics, receiving top industry recognition for his work.
Mark is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, an honorary society that honors and recognizes distinguished law practice management professionals, and in 2013 he was named to the "Fastcase Fifty," recognizing “50 of the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law.”
Mark is a long-time member of ACLEA and the ABA and is an active member in both organizations. He has served in numerous leadership positions – recently completing a 3-year term on the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:02
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Carole Levitt, Esq. and Mark Rosch
There’s so much more to Google than the simple search box on the home page...if you know where to look.
Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch, authors of “Google for Lawyers” and “The Cybersleuth’s Guide to the Internet,” will take you on a deep dive into the Google Advanced Search menu so you can quickly conduct factual and investigative research for your client matters. You will also explore some of Google’s specialty databases and specialized searches to help you locate very specific types of information.
Program materials are excerpted from their book, “The Cybersleuth’s Guide to the Internet.”
Carole Levitt, Esq.
Carole Levitt, founder/principal of Internet For Lawyers (IFL), is an internationally recognized CLE seminar speaker and best-selling American Bar Association author. She writes and speaks on Internet investigative and legal research, social media research, social media ethics, and technology for lawyers. Since 1999, IFL has provided law firms, corporations, and local and state Bar Associations around the country with professional and entertaining turn-key CLE programs. The company focuses on delivering information about free investigative and background research resources available on the Internet.
Together with co-author Mark Rosch, Levitt has written several ABA Law Practice Division books, including "Google Gmail and Calendar For Lawyers in One Hour" (2013), two editions of "The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet," "Google For Lawyers," and "Find Info Like a Pro," Volumes 1 and 2. They have also just completed the thirteenth edition of their book "The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet" (2015, IFL Press). Levitt also co-authored “Internet Legal Research on a Budget (ABA, 2013) with Judy K. Davis.
Previously, Levitt was a California attorney, a law librarian in Chicago and Los Angeles, and a Legal Research and Writing Professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. She graduated with distinction from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago and was a member of the school’s law review. Carole has a Masters in Library Science and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois.
She is active in numerous professional associations, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Association of Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA).
Mark Rosch
Mark Rosch is Vice-President of Internet for Lawyers and President of its CLEseminars.com division. He’s an internationally recognized speaker and author on the subjects of using the Internet for investigative and background research, Google search, and Google Cloud Apps.
He has co-authored numerous books and hundreds of articles on these and other related topics, receiving top industry recognition for his work.
Mark is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, an honorary society that honors and recognizes distinguished law practice management professionals, and in 2013 he was named to the "Fastcase Fifty," recognizing “50 of the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law.”
Mark is a long-time member of ACLEA and the ABA and is an active member in both organizations. He has served in numerous leadership positions – recently completing a 3-year term on the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:02
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Lenne Espenschied
Got ethics?
This program will explore ethical issues from a transactional lawyer's perspective. Using the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct as a guide, we'll consider sticky situations that often arise in the course of negotiating and drafting contracts, like these:
Lenné Eidson Espenschied, Esq.
Lenné Eidson Espenschied practiced law in Atlanta, Georgia for 25 years, focusing on corporate and transactional representation of technology-based businesses. Now, she is a national speaker who has trained thousands of lawyers in the U.S. and Canada in the art of legal drafting through continuing legal education seminars for bar associations, law firms, and corporate legal departments. She is the author of two books published by the American Bar Association: Contract Drafting: Powerful Prose in Transactional Practice (ABA Fundamentals, 2 nd Ed. 2015) and The Grammar and Writing Handbook for Lawyers (ABA Fundamentals, 2011).
After graduating from the University of Georgia School of Law magna cum laude, Ms. Espenschied began her legal practice in the Atlanta office of Sutherland; she also served as Senior Counsel in the legal department of Bank of America before opening her own law office. As a law professor, Ms. Espenschied taught commercial law, contracts, and contract drafting.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: o:58
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Britt Lorish
Floods, market crashes, hurricanes, fires, personal illness, malicious employees —we live in a troubled world. You probably don’t need to protect your firm from extraterrestrials (well … not yet), but you do need to be forearmed against reasonably foreseeable disasters, natural or man-made!
There are easy, and cheap steps that you can take to help ensure continued service to your clients. This webinar will identify the essential components of a disaster recovery plan and network security for law practices of any size.
Britt Lorish
Britt Lorish is the managing partner of Affinity Consulting Group's Virginia office, which she founded in 2000. Prior to that, she spent more than a decade as a litigation paralegal and law firm network administrator. Britt is active in the ABA Law Practice Division, including having served as ABA TECHSHOW Chair in 2013 and currently serving as the Chair of the Law Firm Finance Committee. Britt is a graduate of the University of Tampa with a Bachelor of Science in Criminology/Pre-Law.
Britt regularly speaks on legal technology and law firm finance issues at the local, regional and national level, including CLEs for organizations such as the Ohio State Bar, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, the West Virginia State Bar, and the Institute for Paralegal Education. She is a regular speaker at the ABA TECHSHOW and in March of 2009, Britt was selected to serve on the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board, serving as Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2013.
She has contributed articles to publications such as the ABA LPD’s Law Practice magazine, Law Office Computing and Technolawyer. Britt has extensive experience consulting on legal technology issues, implementing and conducting training on legal specific software and she specializes in tailoring custom technology solutions for law firms and law-related agencies. She maintains certifications in numerous software products including Tabs3, PracticeMaster, DragonNaturally Speaking, PCLaw, Worldox, HotDocs, Philips SpeechExec, and ProLaw.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:01
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Joel Oster
Every lawyer is aware of the Rules of Professional Conduct that govern what they can and can't do - ethically. But still, every year hundreds of lawyers find themselves running afoul of these rules.
This presentation is your chance to refresh your own knowledge of those rules and to match wits with disciplinary authorities.
The Comedian of Law, Joel Oster, humorously lays out the facts surrounding the ethical predicaments a number of real attorneys who played fast and loose with those ethics rules. Then, you must decide if you will take the disciplinary "deal" that Oster offers or take your chances at trial to see what penalty the disciplinary authorities actually levied!
Real-life attorney/ethics issues covered include inappropriate contact with jurors, fist fighting judges, lying attorneys, inappropriate romantic interludes with clients, substance abuse, and much more.
Should the attorney take the deal … or take his or her chance at trial? You get to decide.
Joel Oster, Esq.
Joel is a seasoned constitutional attorney and a regular speaker to attorneys and non-attorneys alike. He represented the town of Greece, New York in the landmark constitutional case Galloway v. Greece. Joel argued the case before the United States District Court for the Western District of New York and the Second Circuit, and he was part of the legal team presenting the case to the United States Supreme Court.
Oster regularly litigates First Amendment issues.
As lead counsel in Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Obama, Oster skillfully defended the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer against an Establishment Clause challenge. Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, he successfully defended the right of an organization to have a pro-life specialty license plate in Missouri in Roach v. Stouffer.
In Wigg v. Sioux Falls School District, he successfully represented an elementary school teacher in obtaining equal access to school facilities. Oster has defended various churches based on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, against discriminatory zoning codes and regulations, as well as individuals, corporations, and political committees against discriminatory and unconstitutional campaign finance regulations.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:01
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Lenne Espenschied
Are you making some of the most common errors in drafting contracts? In this session, we’ll consider real examples from recent high-profile transactions of flagrant contract drafting errors that instantly reveal the drafter’s lack of familiarity with best drafting practices and damage his or her credibility. We’ll make practical and imminently useful recommendations to help you avoid these drafting errors, improve the quality of any drafting project, and build a stronger personal brand.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
Lenné Eidson Espenschied, Esq.
Lenné Eidson Espenschied practiced law in Atlanta, Georgia for 25 years, focusing on corporate and transactional representation of technology-based businesses. Now, she is a national speaker who has trained thousands of lawyers in the U.S. and Canada in the art of legal drafting through continuing legal education seminars for bar associations, law firms, and corporate legal departments. She is the author of two books published by the American Bar Association: Contract Drafting: Powerful Prose in Transactional Practice (ABA Fundamentals, 2 nd Ed. 2015) and The Grammar and Writing Handbook for Lawyers (ABA Fundamentals, 2011).
After graduating from the University of Georgia School of Law magna cum laude, Ms. Espenschied began her legal practice in the Atlanta office of Sutherland; she also served as Senior Counsel in the legal department of Bank of America before opening her own law office. As a law professor, Ms. Espenschied taught commercial law, contracts, and contract drafting.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Jim Jesse
In this program, attorney/songwriter Jim Jesse explores "the meat" of music copyright law, as he walks you through ALL of the revenue sources songs can generate for your music clients.
Jesse takes a wholistic approach to the discussion of the six exclusive rights that come along with any song copyright: reproduction, distribution, public performance of the composition and the master, derivatives, and public display. He details each of those rights in the order they would arise during the songwriting/recording process.
Particular emphasis is focused on mechanical royalties, performance royalties, licensing, and publishing. The program also covers the permissions necessary to license the works of others.
This is the second installment of Jesse's Intellectual Property/Music Copyright series exploring issues lawyers may encounter when representing individual musical artists and bands. While the educational content of each installment stands alone, there are added benefits to attending all three.
Jim Jesse, Esq.
Jim Jesse has been an attorney for 24 years and has been a full-time CLE presenter since 2013. He is the former General Counsel for Cool Music Network (THECOOLTV), which is a 24-hour music video television network.
Previously in private practice, he founded Rock N Roll Law to spread his passion for music law through his seminars.
He is also a singer/songwriter who has released two albums, is a member of BMI, and has run his own record label distributing his music. He has written songs for more than 30 years and studied music history for nearly as long.
He is also the author of "The Music Copyright Law Manual" and the forthcoming "The Musician’s Guide to Music Copyright Law."
Mr. Jesse consults and practices in areas regarding intellectual property, licensing and music law. He has drafted and reviewed hundreds of contracts from small barter deals to multi-million dollar ones.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Irwin Karp
Procrastination creates undue stress. Delaying work can be a form of self-sabotage, affect productivity and result in errors. This session will focus on helping lawyers to complete work with more control and less crisis management. Attendees will learn: how to recognize your individual style of procrastination and overcome it; how to break down legal work into component parts so it doesn’t appear so overwhelming; and, how to focus on what you really need to accomplish.
Irwin Karp, Esq.
Irwin Karp is a productivity consultant with Productive Time in Sacramento, California. He is also an attorney.
Irwin is a graduate of George Washington University law school, worked at the US EPA for a number of years, and was in the private practice of energy & environmental law in California for over 20 years. For the past 13 years, he has conducted training programs and consulted with business, government, bar associations, law firms, and service professions on organizations skills and time management to increase productivity. He has presented programs in the US and Canada on time management, project management, delegation skills, managing e-mail & smartphones, overcoming multitasking, running effective meetings, and overcoming procrastination.
He was a former white water river guide in his youth and continues to raft on western rivers with his group of aging river buddies.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Steven Hughes
How would you like to snap your fingers and instantly judges, jurors, and clients would agree with your position? It may not be that easy, however, you can dramatically improve your chances for success if you understand how people make decisions and what causes them to act. This dynamic CLE program draws on the latest scientific research to illustrate how you can ethically influence clients, colleagues, and members of the court to see things your way—all without resorting to manipulation. Best of all, you'll leave this session with practical ideas you can apply right away.
Specifically, you will be able to:
Steven Hughes
Steve Hughes is President Hit Your Stride, LLC, a communications consultancy that helps people look and sound smart when they talk. He is the author of Captivate: Presentations That Engage and Inspire and he has been featured on NPR, CBS, and BBC Radio and in The Wall Street Journal and Businessweek. He is also the proud creator of “International Be Kind to Lawyers Day,” which is observed annually on the second Tuesday in April.
Today he works with a short list of blue chip clients including AmLaw 200 law firms, national associations, and leading universities. Prior to launching Hit Your Stride, Steve was the co-owner of an award-winning 50-person advertising agency in St. Louis where he delivered hundreds of presentations with millions of dollars on the line.
He holds a BA in French Literature and European History from the University of Kansas and an MBA in Marketing from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was awarded the prestigious Olin Cup.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:01
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Irwin Karp
Learn the essential elements of clear communications and tips for assuring clear and effective communications with your clients, colleagues, and staff.
Rule 1.4 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct directs attorneys to “keep the client reasonably informed” about their matters through clear and timely communications. Lawyers who are busy litigating, deal-making, or otherwise advising clients, however, don't always communicate as well as they should with clients, other lawyers, or their own staff. Their cryptic notes, hurried questions, and unclear instructions can lead to:
Irwin Karp, Esq.
Irwin Karp is a productivity consultant with Productive Time in Sacramento, California. He is also an attorney.
Irwin is a graduate of George Washington University law school, worked at the US EPA for a number of years, and was in the private practice of energy & environmental law in California for over 20 years. For the past 13 years, he has conducted training programs and consulted with business, government, bar associations, law firms, and service professions on organizations skills and time management to increase productivity. He has presented programs in the US and Canada on time management, project management, delegation skills, managing e-mail & smartphones, overcoming multitasking, running effective meetings, and overcoming procrastination.
He was a former white water river guide in his youth and continues to raft on western rivers with his group of aging river buddies.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 0:59
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Roy Ginsburg
The practice of law is based on relationships – with clients, potential clients, and referral sources. Personal networking is the best way to create and sustain these relationships. Unfortunately, many lawyers will do anything to avoid networking. The key to successful networking is to find the networking method that matches your personality – the one that makes you feel the most comfortable and confident.
There are as many ways to network successfully as there are individual lawyers. Find yours. Also, remember that networking, unless done correctly, can expose a lawyer to violations of the rules of professional conduct. Find out what you can and cannot do. This program covers:
Roy Ginsburg, Esq.
Roy Ginsburg is an attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota with more than 30 years of experience practicing with large and small law firms, as well as serving as in-house counsel He is now a part-time solo practitioner with a national practice focusing on legal marketing ethics.
For the past 10 years, Roy has also been a coach/consultant for individual attorneys and law firms in the areas of business development, practice management, and strategic and succession planning. In addition, he helps solo practitioners and small law firm owners sell their practices when approaching retirement.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 3:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Graham Thatcher, Anna Marie Thatcher, Brian T. Guthrie, Barry R. Vickrey, Charles Abourezk, Alicia Garcia and John M. Stuart
A master of the courtroom stage, who possessed an uncanny understanding of human character, Clarence Darrow was arguably the greatest trial lawyer of the twentieth century. He was an adamant opponent of capital punishment and a passionate proponent of civil and human rights. Often called the "Attorney for the Damned," he fought for the underdog and took on criminal cases thought to be hopeless. Yet, while commanding respect as a trial lawyer, Darrow was often embroiled in bitter controversy for his unpopular stands on many issues and criticized for his purported unethical professional behavior.
This spellbinding and realistic character portrait of Darrow portrays his deeply held beliefs and hard-fought courtroom battles. Replete with humor, humanity and intense courtroom drama, the movie engages attendees in four of the great defense lawyer' s most famous cases between 1910 and 1928: Loeb and Leopold, Henry Sweet, the McNamara Brothers bombing of the LA Times Building and the Scopes "Monkey Trial." Using Darrow's own thoughts and courtroom summations, the movie explores timeless social, legal and ethical issues and provides a fresh and engaging tool to facilitate discussion of ethical behavior in and out of the courtroom.
CLE TIME: The webinar features the movie and a filmed panel discussion and runs 3 hours.
The filmed panel discussion is moderated by Attorney Brian T. Guthrie. During this on-demand viewing, attendees can also submit questions to Guthrie via email.
Throughout the webinar, this presentation deals with issues relating to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, including:
Brian T. Guthrie, Esq. is Of Counsel with Mattioni, LTD in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With nearly forty years of experience at the Pennsylvania bar, Mr. Guthrie’s practice includes assisting lawyers and law firms achieve success in a setting mindful of the tradition of the law as a learned profession. He believes lawyers can attain professional fulfillment by synthesizing several dimensions in which they work every day.
“Competence” and “integrity” are easily mouthed as platitudes, but a refined understanding of what they are and how they are achieved makes for a law practice that is personally satisfying. It also provides a competitive advantage when vying for a limited number of clients with what often seems to be a limitless supply of lawyers. He believes that the skill development that comes with a true understanding of what it is that lawyers actually do, together with a firm grasp of the relevant ethical considerations is not only personally rewarding but also makes good business sense.
Mr. Guthrie has worked in numerous areas of the law and achieved the coveted highest peer rating awarded by a major law publisher. His professional experiences include partnership in a major law firm, acting as senior in-house counsel to a Fortune 500 Company, representing a major city and working in a small law firm. His litigation experience includes representation in both state and federal courts throughout the United States and includes jury trials, arbitrations, and appellate matters.
He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the First and Third Circuits, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Eastern District of Tennessee. Mr. Guthrie has also represented clients in state courts in Illinois, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, and Tennessee. Mr. Guthrie holds a B.B.A. from Temple University and a J.D. from the James Beasley School of Law - also at Temple University in Philadelphia. Mr. Guthrie is listed in Philadelphia’s Top Lawyers: The Definitive Guide to Legal Representation in Philadelphia.
Barry R. Vickrey, Esq.
BARRY R. VICKREY served as Dean of the University of South Dakota School of Law (Vermillion, SD) from 1993 to 2011 and then served as a full-time professor until his retirement in 2016. He taught legal ethics throughout his career in legal education.
Prior to his tenure at USD, he was on the faculty of the University of North Dakota School of Law for eleven years, including five years as Associate Dean. He was on the staff of the American Bar Association for five years, serving as assistant to the president-elect president and as Director of the Division of Professional Education.
Between college and law school, he was a staff aide on the Policy Planning Staff of the Governor of Tennessee. Barry lived in Tennessee for most of his early life and is admitted to the practice of law in Tennessee and South Dakota.
He holds a B.A. in history and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. His wife, Mary Green Vickrey, is a singer-songwriter and music educator who holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt and an M.A. from USD. They have two grown sons and two grandchildren.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:03
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch
Learn how to conduct free Internet legal and investigative research. This webinar unlocks the mysteries of Google Scholar, the least documented legal research database you’ll ever see…until now.
Carole Levitt, Esq.
Carole Levitt, founder/principal of Internet For Lawyers (IFL), is an internationally recognized CLE seminar speaker and best-selling American Bar Association author. She writes and speaks on Internet investigative and legal research, social media research, social media ethics, and technology for lawyers. Since 1999, IFL has provided law firms, corporations, and local and state Bar Associations around the country with professional and entertaining turn-key CLE programs. The company focuses on delivering information about free investigative and background research resources available on the Internet.
Together with co-author Mark Rosch, Levitt has written several ABA Law Practice Division books, including "Google Gmail and Calendar For Lawyers in One Hour" (2013), two editions of "The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet," "Google For Lawyers," and "Find Info Like a Pro," Volumes 1 and 2. They have also just completed the thirteenth edition of their book "The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet" (2015, IFL Press). Levitt also co-authored “Internet Legal Research on a Budget (ABA, 2013) with Judy K. Davis.
Previously, Levitt was a California attorney, a law librarian in Chicago and Los Angeles, and a Legal Research and Writing Professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. She graduated with distinction from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago and was a member of the school’s law review. Carole has a Masters in Library Science and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois.
She is active in numerous professional associations, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Association of Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA).
Mark Rosch
Mark Rosch is Vice-President of Internet for Lawyers and President of its CLEseminars.com division. He’s an internationally recognized speaker and author on the subjects of using the Internet for investigative and background research, Google search, and Google Cloud Apps.
He has co-authored numerous books and hundreds of articles on these and other related topics, receiving top industry recognition for his work.
Mark is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, an honorary society that honors and recognizes distinguished law practice management professionals, and in 2013 he was named to the "Fastcase Fifty," recognizing “50 of the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law.”
Mark is a long-time member of ACLEA and the ABA and is an active member in both organizations. He has served in numerous leadership positions – recently completing a 3-year term on the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Jim Jesse
In this program, attorney/songwriter Jim Jesse continues his discussion of copyright law as it applies to the ethical issues a lawyer could encounter when representing the very specific business entity that is a band.
Jesse uses specific fact patterns from the later portions of The Beatles career to illustrate these principles, including copyright infringement, as well as:
This is the third installment of Jesse's Intellectual Property/Copyright series exploring issues lawyers may encounter when representing individual musical artists and bands. While the educational content of each installment stands alone, there are added benefits to attending all three.
Jim Jesse, Esq.
Jim Jesse has been an attorney for 24 years and has been a full-time CLE presenter since 2013. He is the former General Counsel for Cool Music Network (THECOOLTV), which is a 24-hour music video television network.
Previously in private practice, he founded Rock N Roll Law to spread his passion for music law through his seminars.
He is also a singer/songwriter who has released two albums, is a member of BMI, and has run his own record label distributing his music. He has written songs for more than 30 years and studied music history for nearly as long.
He is also the author of "The Music Copyright Law Manual" and the forthcoming "The Musician’s Guide to Music Copyright Law."
Mr. Jesse consults and practices in areas regarding intellectual property, licensing and music law. He has drafted and reviewed hundreds of contracts from small barter deals to multi-million dollar ones.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:02
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Philip Bogdanoff
As the "Me Too" movement shines a light on sexual misconduct and sexually inappropriate actions, it's time for lawyers of both genders to examine the effects of this kind of conduct in the legal community. When speaking on this issue, presenter Philip Bogdanoff has found that sexual misconduct and bias is a recurrent issue in our judicial system and that many attorneys are hesitant to report this misconduct.
As a Summit County Assistant Prosecutor in Akron, Ohio, Bogdanoff was shocked to learn that a respected Judge he had appeared before had made sexually inappropriate comments to two young female assistant Summit County prosecutors, including one of Bogdanoff's former law clerks. The same Judge also attempted to kiss a defense attorney in his chambers and was sexually inappropriate with other females in the Court system. One prosecutor was so upset by this conduct she avoided this courtroom and found male prosecutors to represent the State before this judge. The Judge was eventually forced to resign and was disciplined for this misconduct.
In this presentation, Bogdanoff will review disciplinary cases involving inappropriate sexual conduct by judges, prosecutors, and attorneys. This interactive presentation even gives you the chance to pit your opinions about the violations against the actual rulings by the Ethics review boards in each case.
Philip Bofdanoff, Esq.
Philip Bogdanoff is a nationally recognized continuing legal education speaker on the topics of ethics, professionalism, and other related topics. Previously, as an attorney, he served as assistant prosecutor in the Summit County, Ohio Prosecutor’s Office for more than 25 years, beginning in 1981. Mr. Bogdanoff argued cases before the Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals and twenty cases before the Ohio Supreme Court including six death penalty cases - before retiring as a senior assistant prosecutor.
He is the author of numerous articles on ethics, professionalism, and other related legal topics and has taught the members of numerous organizations including the National Association of Legal Administrators, as well as numerous state and local Bar associations, Prosecuting Attorney's Associations, and law firms. More information about Mr. Bogdanoff is available on his Web site at http://www.philipbogdanoff.com/.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:06
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Philip Bogdanoff
Whether it is a stop and frisk, walk and talk or 911 emergency call for assistance, police officers conduct warrantless seizures and searches every day and it is our job to ensure that the evidence they seize does not get suppressed. It has been my experience as a prosecutor that sometimes it can be difficult to justify a police officer’s actions.
In this presentation, prosecutors will learn how to respond to a defendant’s motion to suppress. Prosecutors will watch video clips of warrantless searches and seizures. We will learn how to determine the controlling issues and how to set forth a persuasive argument on these issues. Attendees will review the most recent case law on warrantless searches and seizures. We will discuss how to prepare your police officer to testify and the importance of developing a strategy with your officers to prevent the evidence from being suppressed. This presentation has received great reviews from prosecutors.
Philip Bofdanoff, Esq.
Philip Bogdanoff is a nationally recognized continuing legal education speaker on the topics of ethics, professionalism, and other related topics. Previously, as an attorney, he served as assistant prosecutor in the Summit County, Ohio Prosecutor’s Office for more than 25 years, beginning in 1981. Mr. Bogdanoff argued cases before the Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals and twenty cases before the Ohio Supreme Court including six death penalty cases - before retiring as a senior assistant prosecutor.
He is the author of numerous articles on ethics, professionalism, and other related legal topics and has taught the members of numerous organizations including the National Association of Legal Administrators, as well as numerous state and local Bar associations, Prosecuting Attorney's Associations, and law firms. More information about Mr. Bogdanoff is available on his Web site at http://www.philipbogdanoff.com/.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:06
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: JoAnn L. Hathaway
Years ago, a firm moving to a paperless practice was considered revolutionary. Today, it’s no longer uncommon. Many of your competitors may have already gone paperless, giving them the “edge” they need to stand out in the crowd. If you’ve always wanted to become paperless or, at least have less paper but didn’t know how this program is for you. Now is the time to move toward your paperless practice to:
Enhance Efficiency
Not having to get up to search for files, look through “file-piles”, and file stacks and stacks of paper greatly enhances efficiency.
Lower Costs
Sacrificing fewer trees at the printer and copier alters greatly reduces paper, hardware, and support staff costs and overhead.
Decrease Stress
Pushing, organizing, filing, and searching for paper day in and day out creates staff monotony and stress. Eliminating the paper helps alleviate the stress.
Increase Staff Morale
No one likes to file or stand in line at the copier while deadlines loom. Less paper equals happier staff.
Bill More Hours
Accessing files anywhere, any time and at the click of a keyboard allows for quick access and location independent review. Bill more time, make more money.
Provide Better Client Service.
Impress your clients by having instant access to their files and thus instant answers. They’ll be impressed and so will you!
The best time to go paperless was yesterday, but if you didn’t then the second best time is now. Join us to learn about policies, procedures, systems, and software to set your practice on the path to the digital paper dream.
JoAnn L. Hathaway
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:02
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Roy Ginsburg
Many lawyers forget that law is a service profession. Studies show that the most frequent reason for losing clients is poor service. And retaining clients in a volatile economy is crucial to your practice. So how do you make sure you’re providing the best service?
This seminar uses clips from popular films to illustrate real-life client service dilemmas dramatized by fictional Hollywood characters. The film clips also serve as jumping-off points to discuss the best practices how real-life lawyers like you can ethically approach them. The program is designed to provide you with the tools you’ll need to consistently deliver exceptional service, retain and develop more business from current clients, and increase referrals.
You’ll also earn ethics credit while you learn to:
Roy Ginsburg, Esq.
Roy Ginsburg is an attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota with more than 30 years of experience practicing with large and small law firms, as well as serving as in-house counsel He is now a part-time solo practitioner with a national practice focusing on legal marketing ethics.
For the past 10 years, Roy has also been a coach/consultant for individual attorneys and law firms in the areas of business development, practice management, and strategic and succession planning. In addition, he helps solo practitioners and small law firm owners sell their practices when approaching retirement.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:02
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Lenne Espenschied
Today's news is filled with lurid headlines of computer hacking, sometimes by rogue individuals, sometimes by groups, and sometimes even by governments, including our own. Unfortunately, lawyers are prime targets for hackers due to the nature of privileged client information we receive.
In this webinar, you'll learn about five recent hacking attacks against lawyers; who is hacking lawyers; why lawyers are targeted; which lawyers make the most likely targets; and 25 simple, highly practical, non-technical steps you can take to protect your systems and client information.
Lenné Eidson Espenschied, Esq.
Lenné Eidson Espenschied practiced law in Atlanta, Georgia for 25 years, focusing on corporate and transactional representation of technology-based businesses. Now, she is a national speaker who has trained thousands of lawyers in the U.S. and Canada in the art of legal drafting through continuing legal education seminars for bar associations, law firms, and corporate legal departments. She is the author of two books published by the American Bar Association: Contract Drafting: Powerful Prose in Transactional Practice (ABA Fundamentals, 2 nd Ed. 2015) and The Grammar and Writing Handbook for Lawyers (ABA Fundamentals, 2011).
After graduating from the University of Georgia School of Law magna cum laude, Ms. Espenschied began her legal practice in the Atlanta office of Sutherland; she also served as Senior Counsel in the legal department of Bank of America before opening her own law office. As a law professor, Ms. Espenschied taught commercial law, contracts, and contract drafting.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:22
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Michael Kahn, Chris Osborn, ReelTime CLE, Marshall Cole, and Amanda Moghaddam
"You're a lawyer, right?" Seemingly innocuous words, but when said at a cocktail party, family gathering, or even in a hallway or elevator at the courthouse, they pose a genuine challenge, don’t they? We want to use our training to help folks, right? After all, isn’t that at least a part of why many of us went to law school?
And yet, how many times has a conversation that began with those very words turned out to be the source of tremendous trouble? Beyond the obvious risk of getting sidetracked from the social occasion in which one is supposed to be participating, or the task one is trying to accomplish, there lurk even greater dangers. As some poor, unfortunate souls have learned, if a lawyer is not careful in responding, he or she may inadvertently create a professional relationship, without intending to do so--leaving the lawyer potentially exposed to a malpractice claim. And even if an attorney-client relationship is not deemed to have been formed, a would-be client may nevertheless believe that he or she is communicating with the prospective lawyer in confidence for the purpose of obtaining legal services; if that belief is found to have been a reasonable one, the attorney may end up prohibited from disclosing any confidential information communicated.
This new live, interactive workshop is designed to help lawyers be more alert to the vulnerabilities they may face in various non-office settings and equip them with best practices for defining their roles upfront and setting clear boundaries with the person seeking advice. With the aid of three original film vignettes depicting three all-too-common challenging scenarios, participants will have an opportunity to identify their own particular areas of potential exposure, and to develop proactive strategies for navigating these situations with less risk and greater peace of mind.
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn is a "recovering lawyer," having practiced for 6 years with the New Jersey Attorney General's office. He is a licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Oregon, and his psychotherapy practice has focused on helping clients deal with anxiety, depression, grief/loss, career satisfaction, and men's issues. He co-facilitates grief groups for lawyers in Oregon and Vancouver, BC. Michael presents training seminars and workshops on ethics, grief, wellness, diversity and inclusion and other topics throughout the U.S. and abroad, including for the U.S. military in Germany and Japan. He also is a professional coach and provides assistance with career issues, stress management, retirement, and coping with change.
Chris Osborn, Esq.
In addition to his ongoing work with ReelTime CLE, Chris Osborn is a former law professor, and the founding principal of Osborn Conflict Resolution, which provides Superior Court mediations, as well as collaborative law approaches for family law, construction, business, and will and probate disputes throughout North Carolina. Chris is trained as a collaborative lawyer and is a member of the North Carolina Civil Collaborative Lawyers Association. He has been certified by N.C. Dispute Resolution Commission as a Superior Court mediator since 2009, and has assisted the vast majority of his legal clients over the years to reach amicable resolutions in a wide variety of litigation matters, including business breakups, construction, and employment law disputes, and will caveats. His full professional bio can be found here.
ReelTime CLE
This program was produced by ReelTime CLE.
Amanda Moghaddam, Esq.
Amanda Moghaddam is a Claims Attorney at Lawyers Mutual Insurance of California where she educates and assists attorneys with ethical and legal issues. She was previously with the law firm of Nemecek & Cole.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 2:02
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Michael Kahn, Chris Osborn, ReelTime CLE, David Ferrante, Laura Kim, Michael Panagiotis and Cindy Shapiro
Most ethical miscues, professional responsibility breaches, and compliance violations don't arise out of arcane, ambiguous, provisions of the applicable rules or codes of conduct, but, in fact, for clear breaches of obvious, well-defined obligations. It’s not rocket science—in fact, anyone who has sat in on a basic professional responsibility class or compliance training would know such conduct is ethically problematic. And yet it happens. A lot. Even to our own friends and colleagues.
This engaging, highly interactive program provides a fresh and practical perspective on the fundamental question, “Why do ‘good’ people ‘go bad’?” Based on an original short film we wrote and co-produced, this workshop--available live or on-demand--provides a lively way to explore the intersection of ethical decision-making and the manifold sources of stress encountered by professionals and employees in their everyday lives.
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn is a "recovering lawyer," having practiced for 6 years with the New Jersey Attorney General's office. He is a licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Oregon, and his psychotherapy practice has focused on helping clients deal with anxiety, depression, grief/loss, career satisfaction, and men's issues. He co-facilitates grief groups for lawyers in Oregon and Vancouver, BC. Michael presents training seminars and workshops on ethics, grief, wellness, diversity and inclusion and other topics throughout the U.S. and abroad, including for the U.S. military in Germany and Japan. He also is a professional coach and provides assistance with career issues, stress management, retirement, and coping with change.
Chris Osborn, Esq.
In addition to his ongoing work with ReelTime CLE, Chris Osborn is a former law professor, and the founding principal of Osborn Conflict Resolution, which provides Superior Court mediations, as well as collaborative law approaches for family law, construction, business, and will and probate disputes throughout North Carolina. Chris is trained as a collaborative lawyer, and is a member of the North Carolina Civil Collaborative Lawyers Association. He has been certified by the N.C. Dispute Resolution Commission as a Superior Court mediator since 2009, and has assisted the vast majority of his legal clients over the years to reach amicable resolutions in a wide variety of litigation matters, including business breakups, construction and employment law disputes, and will caveats. His full professional bio can be found here.
ReelTime CLE
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:00
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Paul J. Unger
Own your technology – Don’t let it own you!
Learn how to manage your daily tasks and how technology can help you to improve client communication and achieve your professional goals. Enhance your time management and technology skills to regain control of your law practice… and your life. Learn the pathway to a productive, more paperless law practice. Most lawyers feel they are being over-run with paper, and ironically, the more paper lawyers have, the harder it is to find what they’re looking for.
Paul J. Unger, Esq.
Paul J. Unger is one of the managing partners of Affinity's Columbus Ohio office. He is a 1994 graduate of Capital University Law School. He is an attorney and founding member of HMU Consulting, Inc. (now Affinity-Columbus). Prior to forming HMU with Barron Henley, Paul was Vice President of a Columbus-based technology consulting firm. He spent five years at Clark, Perdue, Roberts & Scott Co., L.P.A., limiting his practice to civil litigation.
Mr. Unger now specializes in trial presentation & litigation technology consulting, document and case management software, paperless office strategies, and legal-specific software training for law firms and legal departments throughout the Midwest. He has provided trial presentation consultation for 300+ cases.
Mr. Unger is a member of The American Society of Trial Consultants, the American Bar Association, the Ohio and Columbus Bar Associations, and the Ohio Association for Justice and the Central Ohio Association for Justice. He is very active in the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association and recently served as the Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2011. He is also an Adjunct Professor for Capital University Law School’s Paralegal Program.
Mr. Unger is a national speaker and frequent lecturer for CLE programs. He is the author of Adobe Acrobat for Law Firms, PowerPoint for Legal Professionals, and co-author of Microsoft Word for Legal Professionals, all manuals designed to maximize the use of legal-specific features.
Category: General
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 General
Duration: 1:01
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Jennifer M. Ramovs
A high percentage of malpractice practice claims and practice management issues are caused by communication breakdowns. The growing number of communication channels only compounds the problem.
Examine technologies and techniques that will help you improve internal and external communication, lower your stress, improve your service, generate happier clients, and lower your malpractice risk.
Jennifer M. Ramovs, Esq.
Jennifer M. Ramovs is Director of Education for Affinity Consulting Group’s online legal technology training division.
Ramovs graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Political Science, and earned her law degree from Capital University Law School while working full time as a law clerk at Decker Vonau in Columbus, Ohio.
Ramovs became a consultant in 2004, specializing in consulting and training on practice management software for law firms. Her expertise extends to Practice Management, Document Assembly, Document Management, and analyzing law office workflow to help firms develop policies and procedures that maximize both productivity and profitability. She is certified in a variety of programs that help attorneys achieve their goals, including Actionstep, Amicus Attorney, PracticeMaster & Time Matters.
Ramovs has taught numerous legal technology CLE courses in person for various state and local bar associations, as well as online for various providers.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:02
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Jennifer Ellis
Your Data Probably Has Been Stolen. Wondering How to Minimize the Chances of it Happening Again?
Like everyone else, lawyers rely heavily on technology to store information. In addition to the everyday concerns we all have regarding the potential loss or theft of our information, lawyers have the added ethical responsibility of maintaining client confidentiality.
Attendees will learn how their responsibilities under the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1 and 1.6 apply to handling and safeguarding their clients’ information.
Presenter Jennifer Ellis, Esq. details real-world data-loss scenarios that have affected lawyers and non-lawyers, and provides specific tips and strategies for attendees to protect both their own and their clients’ data.
She also explains how taking reasonable steps to protect client data can give lawyers a safe harbor (under the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct) even if a data breach (or loss) does occur.
Jennifer Ellis, Esq.
Jennifer Ellis Jennifer Ellis is a legal ethics attorney in Pennsylvania. She owns the law practice/law firm marketing company Jennifer Ellis, JD, LLC, through which she assists attorneys with their practice management and online presence.
Previously, Jennifer worked with a Philadelphia area personal injury firm, where she practiced legal ethics, managed the firm’s online presence, and oversaw its IT and security consultants. Jennifer also served as the Associate Director of Media Technology with the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, where she organized and presented courses on numerous issues, including law practice management, technology, and ethics. Jennifer speaks and writes throughout Pennsylvania and nationally on issues relating to law practice management, technology, ethics, marketing, and more. Jennifer wrote the book “Wordpress in One Hour for Lawyers and the social Media chapter for the book “Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide” – both published by the ABA’s Law Practice Division.
For more information about Jennifer, see her website at jlellis.net, find her on Twitter @jle_jd, or email her at jennifer@jlellis.net.
Category: Ethics
Course Level: Intermediate
Total Credits: 1 Ethics
Duration: 1:05
Format: Audio and Video
Faculty: Graham Thatcher, Anna Marie Thatcher, Charles Abourezk, Alicia Garcia, Brian T. Guthrie, John M. Stuart and Barry R. Vickrey
A master of the courtroom stage who possessed an uncanny understanding of human character, Clarence Darrow was arguably the greatest trial lawyer of the twentieth century. An adamant opponent of capital punishment and a passionate proponent of civil and human rights, he was often called the "Attorney for the Damned" because he fought for the underdog and took on criminal cases thought to be hopeless. Yet, while commanding respect as a trial lawyer, Darrow was often embroiled in bitter controversy for his unpopular stands on many issues and criticized for his purported unethical professional behavior.
ON THE HORNS OF A DILEMMA: Clarence Darrow and the McNamara Case explores one highly publicized case in the life of one of last century's greatest trial lawyers ... The McNamara Brothers trial in the aftermath of the bombing of the Los Angeles Times Building in 1910. The term “dilemma” originates from the Greek and means “two premises,” which may be likened to the front end of an angry and charging bull. It refers to a situation where one is confronted with making a decision based on two options, the results or consequences of either decision having equally unpleasant results. No matter what decision is made, the outcome is unfavorable ... “damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” This predicament is the essence of Greek Tragedy.
The McNamara case involved a great loss of human life in what we would now likely characterize as domestic “terrorism.” The case played out in a politically charged atmosphere. It was a violent fight between the unions and the company’s management and corruption ran deep on both sides. After saving his clients from the gallows, Darrow himself was brought up on charges of jury tampering. He was acquitted of the charges, but he lost his law practice and partners, his credibility and almost his liberty. There is still much controversy about his guilt or innocence. But at the age of fifty-one, Darrow experienced a kind of transformation and the next thirty years brought him his greatest cases.
The scene explores Clarence Darrow's personal convictions, thoughts and summation in the case, illustrating issues that are as relevant in present times as they were in Darrow's. It provokes thought about reconciling conflicts between personal values and professional responsibilities and about dilemmas for which there are often no easy answers or rules to fall back on. It provides a tool to facilitate discussion and thought about these issues as they may relate to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
Brian T. Guthrie, Esq. is Of Counsel with Mattioni, LTD in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With nearly forty years of experience at the Pennsylvania bar, Mr. Guthrie’s practice includes assisting lawyers and law firms achieve success in a setting mindful of the tradition of the law as a learned profession. He believes lawyers can attain professional fulfillment by synthesizing several dimensions in which they work every day.
“Competence” and “integrity” are easily mouthed as platitudes, but a refined understanding of what they are and how they are achieved makes for a law practice that is personally satisfying. It also provides a competitive advantage when vying for a limited number of clients with what often seems to be a limitless supply of lawyers. He believes that the skill development that comes with a true understanding of what it is that lawyers actually do, together with a firm grasp of the relevant ethical considerations is not only personally rewarding but also makes good business sense.
Mr. Guthrie has worked in numerous areas of the law and achieved the coveted highest peer rating awarded by a major law publisher. His professional experiences include partnership in a major law firm, acting as senior in-house counsel to a Fortune 500 Company, representing a major city and working in a small law firm. His litigation experience includes representation in both state and federal courts throughout the United States and includes jury trials, arbitrations, and appellate matters.
He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the First and Third Circuits, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Eastern District of Tennessee. Mr. Guthrie has also represented clients in state courts in Illinois, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, and Tennessee. Mr. Guthrie holds a B.B.A. from Temple University and a J.D. from the James Beasley School of Law - also at Temple University in Philadelphia. Mr. Guthrie is listed in Philadelphia’s Top Lawyers: The Definitive Guide to Legal Representation in Philadelphia.
Barry R. Vickrey, Esq.
BARRY R. VICKREY served as Dean of the University of South Dakota School of Law (Vermillion, SD) from 1993 to 2011 and then served as a full-time professor until his retirement in 2016. He taught legal ethics throughout his career in legal education.
Prior to his tenure at USD, he was on the faculty of the University of North Dakota School of Law for eleven years, including five years as Associate Dean. He was on the staff of the American Bar Association for five years, serving as assistant to the president-elect president and as Director of the Division of Professional Education.
Between college and law school, he was a staff aide on the Policy Planning Staff of the Governor of Tennessee. Barry lived in Tennessee for most of his early life and is admitted to the practice of law in Tennessee and South Dakota.
He holds a B.A. in history and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. His wife, Mary Green Vickrey, is a singer-songwriter and music educator who holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt and an M.A. from USD. They have two grown sons and two grandchildren.
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Although I am a seasoned and licensed practitioner, I no longer actively engage in the practice of law and do not render legal advice to anyone. Nonetheless, I love the law and read various legal journals, blogs and books on a daily basis. I gladly share these resources with my clients, colleagues, CLE students as well as readers of my website and other social media outlets.