Laura Stone, Author at OAMIC: Legal Malpractice Insurance

Avoid Ethical Missteps in Your Law Firm’s Social Media

I’ll spare you the introduction about how ubiquitous social media is because, well, it is. Love it or hate it, social media is vital in modern communication. Since we last covered “Why Your Law Firm Needs a Social Media Presence,” not much has changed in the landscape of social media platforms. For Americans, YouTube and Facebook are still the most-used social media platforms, followed by Instagram in second. Others, like LinkedIn, Twitter and newcomer TikTok, fall somewhere further down the...

Looking at Oklahoma’s Most Common Bar Complaints

The Oklahoma Bar Association publishes Professional Responsibility Commission Annual Report (PDF). It includes disciplinary actions taken by the commission as well as grievances filed by members of the public. As interesting as the first one is, we’ll be exploring the latter. Although a claim of malpractice is very different than a bar grievance, and one doesn’t always correlate to the other, they do share some important traits. First, an unhappy client doesn’t necessarily mean you did anything wrong. However, the...

Nuts and Bolts: Understanding the Parts of Your Policy

Insurance is what we do. We live and breathe it, so we understand it. However, like lawyers talking to nonlawyers, sometimes it’s easy to forget not everyone knows the terms and phrases associated with our industry. To be sure you understand your policy, we’ve broken down its parts as well as some of the most common insurance terminology for which we receive questions. As always, if you have questions about your policy, your coverage or anything we can help with,...

What is Cyber Liability Insurance & Do I have It?

You know cybersecurity is important. We know you know cyber security is important. It feels like the whole world preaches the importance of cybersecurity because – well – it’s important. But although it’s vital for everyone, it’s even more so for law firms because they handle sensitive client information. We’ve provided articles on how to avoid phone scams, wire transfer fraud, phishing emails and other common technology-related crimes law firms often face. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention...

Ready for a Vacation? Tips for Lawyers Looking to Get Away

We learned all the hobbies, we baked all the breads, we watched all the Netflix – but even with all that, 16 months is a long time to be cooped up. As the world begins to reopen, we’re all eager shake off this cabin fever. For lawyers, however, being away from the office can be a little more complicated than other professions. Whether you’re planning an actual getaway or just taking some time off to unplug and relax, you’ll want...

Don’t Be Someone’s Big Catch: Tips to Avoid Phishing Scams

Scam emails have been around nearly as long as email itself, and unfortunately they’re not likely to go away any time soon – or maybe ever. WHAT EXACTLY IS PHISHING? There are a lot of scams, and phishing is just one type. Phishing is a technique to obtain information like login credentials, credit card numbers or other sensitive data by impersonating a trustworthy business or person. One very common example is a would-be scammer impersonating your financial institution contacting you about...

Court Bonds 101 (and How to Get One)

As most lawyers know, a court bond is a tool to ensure a party will fulfill their responsibilities as ordered by law. Probate attorneys, for example, must often post a bond on behalf of an executor, administrator or conservator of an estate. However, the need for a bond also arises in a wide variety of other matters, such as appeals, injunctions, TROs, replevin actions and more. HISTORY OF SURETY BONDS Although the seemingly modern concept of surety bonds has definitely increased...

Be Ready With a Disaster Plan

If the last year has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. Just in Oklahoma, the past several months have been a wild ride when it comes to weather-related phenomena. Ice storms, snowstorms, late-season tornadoes – we’ve seen it all over the last six months. Plus, our regular tornado season and our roller-coaster spring weather is just around the corner. Disasters aren’t limited to weather-related events, however. Fires, plumbing floods, even burglaries can happen at any time and can...

How LPL Works When You Leave Your Firm

How LPL Works When You Leave Your Firm When a lawyer leaves a firm we insure, we typically get questions about what to do with regard to the lawyers professional liability insurance (LPL). For the firm they’re leaving, it can be as simple as completing the supplemental application to remove the lawyer from the existing policy. For the lawyer leaving, however, it can be a little more complicated. Whether you’re changing firms, starting your own firm or getting ready for retirement,...

6 Tips for Keeping Your Tech Skills Sharp (and Why You Should)

6 Tips for Keeping Your Tech Skills Sharp (and Why You Should) Lawyers know they have to stay on top of the latest changes in law. There’s a reason it’s ORPC Rule 1.1 – it’s just common sense. Similarly though, lawyers have both ethical and practical reasons to maintain at least a cursory knowledge of current technology. Comment 6 to Rule 1.1 was even amended to provide: [6] To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes...