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About Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.

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So far Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC. has created 193 blog entries.
7 03, 2012

Are Smartphones Confidentiality Risks for Lawyers?

2019-04-01T21:03:49+00:00By |Comments Off on Are Smartphones Confidentiality Risks for Lawyers?

Jared Correia  of LOMAP posted some important factors attorneys should consider in response to a question he frequently gets: Should solos use a smartphone as their primary telephone? He pointed out a number of concerns that the lawyer should address, including the ability to “wipe” a lost or stolen phone, and Plan B for practical issues such as dead zones and dead batteries, for a mobile lawyer.

I would like to add another security issue that should be taken into account. All lawyers, including those who also have a regular land line at the office, should give some thought to this. More and more issues are surfacing about apps having unexpected access to data stored on or transmitted by smartphones. Today the Washington Post reported that “Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called on the FTC to investigate Apple and Google after reports that smartphone and tablet apps could pick up more data from consumer’s phones than they realize.”

[…]

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6 03, 2012

Groupon for Legal Services: What Could Work and What to Watch Out For

2019-03-19T22:14:27+00:00By |Comments Off on Groupon for Legal Services: What Could Work and What to Watch Out For

I previously blogged about the results one lawyer obtained when he promoted his law practice using Groupon. That post generated a number of informative comments which I recommend reading. Before rushing off to get an advisory opinion on the permissibility of daily deal advertising in your state, however, make sure you understand how the process works. A daily deal is essentially “loss leader” advertising, the success of which depends on selling additional services at full price at some point.

What Services Fit a Daily Deal? […]

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28 02, 2012

Did a Groupon Really Work for a Solo Lawyer?

2019-03-19T22:24:17+00:00By |Comments Off on Did a Groupon Really Work for a Solo Lawyer?

Last year St. Louis attorney Craig S. Redler garnered a lot more attention than he really wanted when he offered a discount coupon for a will and power of attorney through daily deal promoter Groupon.  Groupon sends its members targeted advertising of daily virtual vouchers entitling the purchasers to products and services from local businesses at deep discounts through group purchasing.  If a large enough group commits to purchase the coupon, the deal is on. Thus, the name Groupon.  The company was founded in 2008 and its business took off so rapidly that it now has hundreds of copycat competitors.  Some of the other big players in the daily deal market include Living Social, Google Offers and Amazon with its Gold Box Deals and Woot.

A Virtual Ethics Exam

Groupon grabbed headlines when it went public in 2011. Its CEO was interviewed on 60 Minutes even as I was writing this post. What focused the legal blog spotlight on Redler, however, was the question of whether advertising through Groupon could constitute fee splitting in violation of Rule 5.4(a) of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and most state ethics rules. […]

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23 02, 2012

Are Lawyers Acting Like Elderly Aunts?

2019-04-01T21:04:48+00:00By |Comments Off on Are Lawyers Acting Like Elderly Aunts?

A few months ago my 81 year old aunt asked me to help her with emails on her laptop. She had finally succumbed to years of pressure from family members to get a computer.  Now she could be included more in the family conversations and picture swapping. She could easily keep in touch with loved ones across the country.  But she still wasn’t using her laptop.

When I sat down with her, I discovered two main problems. First, she didn’t really understand some very basic concepts, like how the mouse worked. She had trouble remembering that she needed to point and click. Second, the interface was unfriendly to an elderly person. She couldn’t keep up with where the mouse pointed, and kept losing the cursor when it zipped across the screen. With a few adjustments, I slowed down the reactivity of her mouse and made the cursor bigger and bolder so her old eyes could keep up with it. Then I “co-piloted” with her as she sent some emails, gently reminding her what to do, until she had enough practice to fly on her own. […]

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26 01, 2012

Is Your Listening Tuned to the Right Station?

2019-04-01T21:05:50+00:00By |Comments Off on Is Your Listening Tuned to the Right Station?

“There is no such thing as a worthless conversation, provided you know what to listen for.”
—James Nathan Miller, Author

Many people think effective communication is simply choosing the right words to say. I submit, however, that poor listening skills create the biggest barrier to good communication.

Effective communicators listen attentively, but even attentive listeners can go astray. If a radio is not finely tuned to the right station, the reception gets garbled. Similarly, to fully understand a speaker’s message, a listener must properly tune in to the purpose of the speaking.

By way of illustration, most of us have whined about a frustrating problem at some point. We often know what to do about our problem, but we want to complain first in the hope of garnering some sympathy. Our frustration increases when listeners respond with suggested solutions to the problem. That wasn’t the kind of listening we wanted.

Many listeners miscue about the appropriate kind of listening required because most of us have a preferred approach that we use until we understand that something else is needed. We need to switch listening approaches to fit various situations. […]

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11 01, 2012

Texas Hoof-in-Mouth Disease

2019-03-19T23:15:19+00:00By |Comments Off on Texas Hoof-in-Mouth Disease

I have long suffered from Texas Hoof-in-Mouth Disease. Susceptibility to the illness is a genetic trait passed down from generation to generation in my family. Some people may confuse our illness with the cattle disease, but I am speaking of a more virulent strain of the common foot-in-mouth disease.

Texas Hoof-in-Mouth Disease has caused me such pain and embarrassment in the United States that I simply will not describe all of its horrors. However, I don’t mind giving you an example of its tragic effect on another family member.

My mother’s manifestation of the disease sometimes resembles the symptoms of Turret’s Syndrome, causing words to come flying out of her mouth before she has a chance to consider them. For example, once when she looked at the protruding belly of a woman at church, the disease caused the words “I thought you had that baby already!” to leap out of her mouth. Just before walking off, the woman responded, “I did.” […]

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3 01, 2012

Looking Back for Fun and Profit

2019-03-19T23:17:45+00:00By |Comments Off on Looking Back for Fun and Profit

Journalist Samuel Rubenfeld posted his personal 2011 year in review on Tumblr.  Someone with the username “rofgile” posted his review of his 2011 investment picks on The Motley Fool forum. Bonnie Beckham posted in her blog for Boston.com some fun and interesting questions that her family answers as their year-end review each December. Yahoo! has a way to review your personal year of Facebook posts alongside events of the year.

There are many different focuses and many different ways to take stock of the old year as we launch the new year. The groundbreaking civil rights attorney, law school professor and first African-American federal judge, William Hastie reminded us why we need to do a review now and then. He said, […]

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15 12, 2011

Identify Red Flags That Warn of Bad Clients

2019-03-19T23:19:28+00:00By |Comments Off on Identify Red Flags That Warn of Bad Clients

“Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.” ~ Franklin P. Jones

Every experienced lawyer has had at least one client that she wishes she never took on.  Most of us have had quite a few. To stop repeating the same mistakes, make a list of all those undesirable clients. Think back on the initial conversations and meetings you had with them before you signed the engagement agreement. Were there any red flags that you ignored? What do those undesirable clients have in common with each other? Did they quibble over a retainer? Did they fail to bring requested documents to the first meeting? Were they wedded to victimhood? Were they unduly suspicious of you? Did their story seem to have holes in it? Did several of them come from the same referral source? Did you have an uncomfortable feeling about them that you just couldn’t nail down? Did their problem require you to do a lot of work that you don’t enjoy?

Write down whatever you noticed in your review, and keep the list handy. From now on, before you sign up a new client, take a moment to review that “Red Flag List,” and remember how you regretted ignoring it before. Turn mistakes into wisdom, by learning from them.

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8 11, 2011

Don’t Negotiate Like a Politician

2019-03-21T19:06:24+00:00By |Comments Off on Don’t Negotiate Like a Politician

Who knew that lawyers could find good advice about negotiating on behalf of their clients in The Costco Connection? In her article titled Attitude Shift, Rhonda Abrams warns business owners not to negotiate like today’s polarized and ineffective politicians. “Stop thinking of the other side as your opponent,” she advises.

When it comes to negotiation, clients often say that they want a tough lawyer. What they really want is a solution to their problem or the healing of an injury. Their strategy for obtaining that may involve hiring a tough lawyer. […]

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