Hoosier Lawyer

Hanging Up My Shingle!

With a great deal of excitement, I am making the following announcement:

Effective January 1, I'm hanging up my shingle on my own law office.

My new office will be located on the southwest side of Indianapolis in Decatur Township, about 2 minutes from my home.  Lafayette attorney John Morris will be joining me in an office-sharing arrangment.

My practice will remain much the same, providing a broad range of representation to individuals and small business clients, with a concentration on civil litigation, particularly wrongful death, personal injury, defamation and civil rights.  I will also continue to handle both federal and state appeals, as well as real estate property tax appeals.   

I also will be expanding my practice in the areas of wills, estates and elder law.  Through my personal experiences over the past two years,  I have found working with families facing these issues is  personally rewarding, and provides a nice counter to the contentious world of litigation. 

It looks like it will be about 1 month before we can get in to our new office, so for the next month or so, I'll be practicing from my home office -- and my laptop computer. My domain name and e-mail address will remain the same.  Here's the new contact information:

Stephen M. Terrell

P.O. Box 407

Camby, IN  46113

Phone:  317-496-2881

E-mail:  terrell@hoosierlawyer.us

Blogs Provides Great PDF Help for Lawyers

As we all venture into the brave new world of electronic filing, communicating electronically with our clients, and electronic discovery, we are becoming very familiar with pdf documents.

Standing for "portable document format", PDFs are becoming the standard format for communicating electronic information, and the full Adobe Acrobat program is the Holy Grail of pdfs.

Whether it is a word processing document from Word, WordPerfect, or something else, or an Excel spreadsheet, or a photo, or virtually anything else on your computer, you can "print" it to Adobe, then send it to nearly anyone on the Internet, and they can view it with the free Adobe Reader, which is on nearly everyone's computer.

For legal professionals, there are two great blogs.  PDF for Lawyers is the work of lawyers Ernie Svenson and David Fishel.  It provides great hands-on practical tips in using Adobe Acrobat.  The second blog is Acrobat for Legal Professionals.  This is a "company" blog by Adobe's Rick Bernstein.  But just because Rick is an Adobe employee, don't discount the information on this blog.  It is a great resource that focuses on how to get the most from Acrobat in your practice.

If you have Acrobat, this site is a must to get more out of your investment.  If you don't own Acrobat, but work with PDF documents at all (and who doesn't?), this blog might give you insight into how useful this program is.  Take a look. 

BIG NEWS is Coming for Small Firm Conference

The new year is on its way, along with some BIG news is just ahead concerning the Fifth Annual Indiana Solo & Small Firm Conference, which will be held June 1-3 in Bloomington.  And with all respect, if you don't go this year, your NUTS!

Since it's not Christmas yet, the Planning Committee isn't ready to unwrap its surprises.  But I can tell you that the ISBA and the Conference Planning Committee are going all out for the fifth anniversary.

Three of the best-known legal practice and technology speakers in the country will highlight the conference and bootcamp.  But there will be more, including an entirely new track of hands-on computer instruction, enhanced activities for spouses, and more opportunities to network with your fellow solos and small firm lawyers. 

Plus there will be more fun than ever, as the Conference takes advantage of all that Bloomington offers.

The Boot Camp, golf outing and welcoming reception kick off on Thursday, June 1.  The Conference follows on Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3, wrapping up with a lunch program.  As always, all meals and receptions are included, and early registration for the Conference is STILL ONLY $200.

So mark your calendars NOW!

"God Bless Us Every One"

Merry Christmas. May you and your family enjoy the most joyous and blessed Christmas. 

And for my Jewish friends and readers, Happy Hanuka. 

When you're opening your presents Christmas morning, or lighting your menorah in celebration of Hanuka, take just a moment to remember all of our men and women who are serving our nation in dangerous places around the world, far away from their families.

Some Help With Computer Privacy

Everyone, lawyers and non-lawyers alike, is concerned with computer privacy -- and with good reason.  Well, here's a source for some great tips on keeping your private information private.

Here is a list of 11 easy tips that can greatly increase your computer security and safeguard your private information.  Just CLICK HERE.  These are practical, easy-to-do tips that anyone can do.  Set a goal to do 2 a day, which will take about 10 minutes.  In one work week, with just a minimal effort, you will have greatly enhanced your computer security.

This list is the handywork of Chris Hoofnagel, Director of EPIC West and EPIC's senior counsel.  EPIC is the  Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a  public interest research center in Washington, D.C. founded in 1994. 

Chris regularly posts tips on internet and computer security on the EPIC West Blog.  If you value your computer privacy, its a blog well worth monitoring.  Just CLICK HERE.

Thanks to Tom Mighell for pointing out this list on his Inter-Alia blog

Rules of Successful Practice Remain Constant

No matter how much and how fast the world changes, some things remain constant.

The Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association recently reprinted a 1963 article "How to Succeed as a Lawyer."  Written by a father to his son more than 40 years ago, have the 21 points of advice remain as sound as the day the article was written.

It's worth a few minutes of your time.  Just CLICK HERE.

Make Every Document Part of Your Marketing

It's probably not a new idea -- but it's one that many solos and small firm lawyers can utilize on a daily basis.

Every document you send out of your office can be a marketing tool, according to John Jantsch in his Duct Tape Marketing Blog.  Invoices, fax cover sheets, and all other types of correspondence can be used to remind your clients and other contacts about the full range of legal services that you offer.  To see How To Make Every Document a Marketing Document, CLICK HERE.

Thanks to Matt Homann for pointing out this article.

Naughty or Nice -- Here's a Gift List for Lawyers

Even lawyers need Christmas presents.

The best lawyer gift in years comes from Billable Hour  Timepieces.  Instead of the normal analog or digital faces, these watches and clocks are marked off in billable hour increments of one tenth of an hour. 

The company features both watches and clocks.  Of course, if your lawyer primarily does personal injury work, you'll just have to wait for next year's contingency fee model.

If a watch isn't what your looking for, check out the lawyers gift idea list created by Reid Trautz, a Washington D.C. lawyer and practice management expert.   Reid's list includes everything from a book on the successful law practice, to a dictation component for your Ipod, to an airbazooka and a remote control golf ball.  To check out Reid's list, just CLICK HERE.

Take Just One Minute to Help New Orleans

Here's something you can do to help the people of New Orleans.  And all it takes is about one minute.

On September 15, President Bush pledged to the people of New Orleans and the Gulf South that the nation would rally to provide effective and immediate help to the people and area ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.  Unfortunately, the effort to fulfill those promises has been sorely insufficient.

Here's something small that you can do -- it just takes a minute.  Please add your name to the thousands in the effected areas who are signing the following e-mail petition to President Bush.  The voices of people from throughout the country must be heard, not just those suffering in Louisiana and Mississippi.  So CLICK HERE to add your name to this Petition.

Here's what the Petition says:   

Dear President Bush and Members of Congress

In the three months since Hurricane Katrina, and then Hurricane Rita, ravaged New Orleans and coastal Louisiana, Americans have opened their hearts to those displaced and affected by the greatest natural disaster in our nation’s history.  Their charitable and humanitarian outpouring reflects the very best in our country’s character.  But more is necessary. 

You requested that the citizens of Louisiana lead the way by creating and offering ideas for rebuilding that the Federal government can support.  Through task forces, commissions, and community meetings, Louisiana is doing its part.  Now, it is time for Washington to act.   

To revitalize New Orleans and other affected communities will take a genuine commitment to the future.  To secure the natural bounty of coastal Louisiana—America’s Wetland—as part of our legacy to future generations will take a commitment to protecting and restoring America’s greatest wetland treasure.  This Administration and this Congress have a responsibility to act to save these treasures and the time to make that commitment is now.

At the heart of the revitalization effort and at the heart of your responsibility is a commitment to two things:

1. Honest and effective storm protection, up to a Category 5 level, for New Orleans and other population centers, and
2. Coastal restoration and conservation.

These two pieces are inextricably tied together, and are key responsibilities of the federal government.  Each day that passes without a commitment to the survival and prosperity of New Orleans, south Louisiana and America’s Wetland compounds and prolongs this tragedy.  This is not just about a storm or Louisiana.  It is about whether America answers the call of stewardship and responsibility.  The time to act is now.