• I will make better use of checklists and reporting letters: Family law involves complex documents that deal with complicated issues involving emotional clients. There are many risks of errors by the lawyer, and misunderstandings by the client. LAWPRO’s new Domestic Contracts Matter Toolkit has checklists and forms that contain points and questions lawyers should systematically consider as they conduct the initial interview on a domestic contract matter and when they meet with the client to review and sign the document. And a final reporting letter detailing what you did and what advice you gave can be a lifesaver in

Fees disputes commonly lead to unpaid accounts, Law Society complaints and/or malpractice claims. For these reasons you should do your best to avoid fee disputes with your clients. Here are some simple resolutions that will help you accomplish this:

• I will get a sufficient retainer at the start of a matter: At the start of the matter ask for a retainer that is sufficient to do all of the initial work on the matter. Ask for a retainer that will cover all the work – asking for less gives the client unrealistic expectations about fees and means you are

With technology and a few tricks, you can increase your billable time by catching more of the actual time you spend on tasks. This gives you more time to bill, which will ultimately transfer to a better bottom line. Here are some of the best ways you can use technology to capture and bill more time:

• I will use electronic timesheets and enter my own time: Paper timesheets are error-prone and inefficient because they require double entry. The efficiency, extra speed, and greater accuracy of entering your own time on electronic timesheets make this resolution a no-brainer.
• I will

• I will fire my worst client: This client is the one that calls you almost every day, sends you hourly emails, never has enough for a retainer and bickers about paying your fees. When ending the retainer, make sure you comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct.
• I will book my vacation: Your body and mind need a vacation and some downtime. Grab your calendar and block off two weeks for a vacation. Make sure to coordinate with your spouse/significant other. Under no circumstances do you book anything during those two weeks. Schedule it now and make

• I will take the time to ensure the client understands my recommendations: Failing to effectively communicate with the client is just as much a claims pitfall in criminal law as in other areas. This could be because of the rushed nature of many “courthouse steps” conversations, or the fact that the lawyer’s years of experience on cases may obscure the fact that the client doesn’t fully understand the course of action the lawyer recommends. There is a risk that clients may later regret their choices and make a claim against the lawyer. To guard against this, be sure to

The life of a lawyer, especially a solo or small firm practitioner, is often stressful. Stress itself is not necessarily a bad thing; our body’s reaction to stress actually helps us to meet the sudden demands that we face as busy lawyers. However, too much stress too often becomes chronic stress, and takes its toll on our physical, mental and emotional well-being. That, in turn, affects our personal lives and our ability to serve our clients. The trick is to eliminate some of the stressors in life, and build our resiliency for the stresses we cannot change. Try to incorporate . . . [more]

The start of a new year is a time for self-reflection and self-improvement. Many of you will think about making changes in your personal and work lives. But while you all have good intentions, it can be difficult to break old habits, especially when you are running hard on the treadmill of a busy life and practice. So, to harness the good intentions you all have at this time of year we are going to post an excerpt every couple of days from our list of “New Year’s resolutions for a healthier practice and a new you” that . . . [more]

This is the text of an email fraud alert sent by LAWPRO to our insureds on December 21, 2012.

Just this week LAWPRO has dealt with two firms that were the victims of major frauds on their trust accounts. The time just before the holidays should not be a time for bad thoughts and frauds targeting lawyers, but unfortunately the fraudsters aren’t cooperating. We frequently see an increase in fraud attempts around the holidays as the crooks behind these frauds will actually use the distractions of the holidays to help them dupe lawyers and law office staff.

In one case . . . [more]

In the past 18 months, we have seen significant developments in jurisprudence on a variety of family law issues. In addition, a number of cases have come out that, while not strictly related to family law, should be kept in mind. The following are the top ten noteworthy cases that every family law lawyer should know about. Several are Supreme Court cases that will be of interest to family lawyers across Canada. CanLII links are included where available.

1. Kerr v. Baranow and Vanesse v. Seguin (2011, S.C.C.) – Joint family venture
2. Schreyer v. Schreyer (2011, S.C.C.) – Effect of discharge

ILTA’s Peer to Peer magazine arrived yesterday – via Uberflip which I will happily explore in a future post.

Though the technology that Peer to Peer is available through is cool, this post is about its content, which is also cool. There are several articles in this issue about new hire orientation. Like Margaret McCaffery’s excellent post this week on new hire orientation and marketing, each article is from a different perspective.

• Law firm 101 from mystery to mastery – deals with orientation from the CIO perspective
• Law firm orientation know where you are to know where you are going

This article by Jordan Nichols, claims counsel at LAWPRO, appears in the December issue of LAWPRO Magazine. It can be found at www.lawpro.ca/magazinearchives

Claims against litigation lawyers often involve allegations of communication errors. In this article, we consider steps that lawyers can take to avoid such claims right out of the gate – at the outset of their retainers.

When we attribute a claim to a communication problem, what exactly do we mean? Here are some examples:

• failure to warn clients that they were likely to lose a motion, trial or appeal;
• failure to warn clients that they could