Articles

Missed deadlines remain the number one source of claims at Lawyers Mutual. Although it appears missed deadlines would be an easy error to avoid, we see it all too frequently. Missed deadlines can include missed statutes of limitations, missed deadlines to obtain alias and pluries summons, missed discovery deadlines, and missed appellate deadlines. Having a good docketing and calendaring system, as well as a routine surrounding deadlines, can help avoid this all-too-common mistake.    Read More +

Over the years, I have represented lots of lawyers who had unsatisfying Law Lives because they were chasing after the wrong things.  This was not my judgment, mind you. This was by their own admission, though it often took them a while to realize it. For years – sometimes decades – they had been too busy waking up each morning, putting on their lawyer hat, and doing what they did the day before to indulge in career introspection. Besides, it seemed to be working. Their practices were thriving, their appointment calendars full, their in-box overflowing.   Read More +

If you are one of the many, many lawyers who has an iPhone tucked away in a pocket or bag, you have probably noticed by now that Apple released a new operating system for the iPhone, iOS 16. The updates with the new number (as opposed to the decimal additions like 16.0.1.1) are the big ones. The ones where Apple packs in a lot of new features and injects your aging phone with a shot of new life.   Read More +

I love old buildings – the grander, statelier and more steeped in history the better. It’s one reason I was attracted to the law in the first place. This attraction dates back to my childhood in Kingstree, South Carolina. Three blocks west of the house I grew up in was the magnificent Williamsburg County courthouse. Its multilevel front steps opened onto a wide portico with towering columns and a massive door like the door to a castle.   Read More +

The market for buying and selling law firms continues to grow. Established firms and attorneys are looking for succession or sale due to attorney retirement, labor needs, and changing marketplace landscapes.   Read More +

Courtroom5 is an online litigation support tool for pro se civil litigants designed to make true access to the courts and justice available to all. We are guided by a simple creed: the courts belong to the people and together we can take them back. We are an award-winning tech startup. Most recently, co-founder Debra Slone and I were both honored as Fastcase 50 honorees. Courtroom5 was designated one of seven legal tech startups to watch by Law360. We know from firsthand experience that affording a lawyer is difficult and navigating the legal system without one is even more so.    Read More +

In 2007, the NCSC Center for Jury Studies published findings from the State-of-the-States Jury Improvement Efforts, which provided the first comprehensive, national snapshot of jury system operations and trial practices. Much has changed since the release of this report including the widespread use of technology in all aspects of courtroom management and continuous efforts to improve juror comprehension, performance, and satisfaction with jury service.   Read More +

There’s a certain kind of advice you get once in a while that is a little infuriating. I’ve certainly gotten it a bunch, I bet you have, too. It never fails to irritate me. And here I am now about to do the same thing to you. It happened to me most recently with a lawyer friend who is really into photography. He takes amazing pictures and has one of those fancy cameras with the big lenses that you carry around separately in its own backpack. He brings back incredible photos from national parks and foreign destinations.   Read More +

Pay down debt. As you approach retirement, you don’t want debt to stand in the way of your future. The snowball method of debt reduction allows you to see wins along your journey which keeps you inspired to move forward. Identify your smallest debt and pay it off as quickly as possible. Then take the monthly payment that had been allocated towards the debt and add it to the minimum payment you have been making on your next smallest debt.   Read More +

This story begins with a $10 million dollar Mickey Mantle baseball card and ends with the statute of limitations. In between is a lesson for your Law Life on letting go of the past.   Read More +

If you are a plaintiff’s lawyer, I’ll bet all too often you receive a responsive pleading contesting service of the summons and complaint and personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Sometimes your client’s case may be threatened if the statute of limitations has expired.   Read More +

Want to maximize what’s working in your Law Life and minimize what’s keeping you stuck? Try a Discernment Consultation.   Read More +

The most frequently asked question we receive in the Underwriting Department is “do I need tail coverage?”  This, of course, leads to questions about what it is, how does it work, and what is the cost. Every attorney’s situation is different, and you should speak with one of our underwriters about your specific situation.  With that said, let’s review the basic concepts of tail coverage to help you answer this question.     Read More +

Retirees returning to work is a rising trend in the workplace. Camille Stell interviews attorney Will Graebe on his unexpected return to work and lessons learned.   Read More +

Over the last few years, Lawyers Mutual has seen an increase in Estates and Trusts (E&T) claims.  In 2021, E&T claims were the third most common claims according to area of practice.  Only Plaintiff’s personal injury and residential real estate generated more claims by practice area.  Errors occur in both estate planning and estate administration. Two common E&T errors are:   Read More +

Friends, lawyers, colleagues, lend me your ears: I come to bury “work-life balance,” not to praise it. The phrase belongs in the Dustbin of the Obsolete, along with the pet rock, Chevy Vega, Blockbuster Video membership card and Ronco Rhinestone Stud Setter. And good riddance, I say. The idea that your “work” and your “life” are two separate, distinct things on opposite ends of some cosmic scale has long passed its expiration date. The stress of finding the perfect balance between your personal and professional selves, the struggle to maintain it for a minute, an hour, a whole day. Who needs it?   Read More +

Service by email? Ugh! If you are like me, you overlook important emails often. It’s understandable; most of them don’t need to be read anyway. Other times, essential emails go directly to my spam folder, and I don’t see them for days because I’m not diligent about checking my spam filt… Read More +

Have you ever wished for a group of experts down the hall who were available anytime to answer any questions about building your law practice? With a virtual community, you have just that – a group of experts ready and willing to help. A virtual community is simply a group of folks with common interests who use an internet platform to share ideas. Read More +

Once there was a lawyer who froze. It happened at a bad moment – a terrible one, professionally speaking. He was standing before a room full of other lawyers giving a CLE presentation on the 10 Building Blocks of a Successful Law Practice. Within minutes of starting, an attendee asked an impossible question, and his brain shut down.    Read More +