The Mac Lawyer | Category Archives: TechnologyTechnology Archives

Learn How to Protect Your Firm from a Security Breach

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Ben Stevens Posted in Office Management, Online Resources, Security, Technology Leave a comment

Did you know that 29% of law firms experienced a security breach in 2020? 🎯 🔐

And that is up from 26% in 2019. 🆙

*source: ABA 2020 Legal Technology Survey Report

I have always thought it likely that this stat is low – in many firms, especially large firms, attorneys may never learn of a breach unless it becomes public.

PLUS…

This is borne out by 21% of respondents reporting that they do not know whether their firm has ever experienced a security breach. (hence the numbers are likely higher)

So what does that mean for you? 🧐

Well… if you’re still reading this, it means that you gotta get GOOD at securing your practice… and fast.

If you don’t know how to secure your data and reduce your risk of a data breach…nothing else matters.

Because if you experience a data breach and have to notify the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, State Bar, Attorney General, etc. of the incident AND every single person in your contact list.

People like your prospective, current and past clients, colleagues, judges, opposing counsel … etc.

Nothing else matters.

The reputational damage of a data breach is monumental.

Your current and future clients are not going to trust you with their sensitive information and therefore you won’t be able to help them.

And once you’ve been the victim of a data breach … then what?

It is too late.

That’s exactly what my friend Tom Lambotte is going to be diving into during his FREE Security Class coming up soon.

It’s called “The 7 Cybersecurity Threats That Could Endanger Your Law Firm In 2021 … And How To Prevent Them” (use the link below to register).

He’s giving away the best security secrets he’s learned from being in the trenches with the top small law firms and helping hundreds of lawyers identify and implement the best security solutions to reduce their risk of suffering a data breach.

There’s a simpler way to learn today’s most pressing security risks… and he’s going to reveal the 7 key threats you need to protect your law practice!

You can click HERE to register.

*This class is free but has limited seats.

Free Webinar – The 7 Cybersecurity Threats That Could Endanger Your Law Firm In 2021 …And How To Prevent Them

Posted on December 13, 2020 by Ben Stevens Posted in Office Management, Online Resources, Security, Technology Leave a comment

Do you ever struggle with how much and what kind of security measures do you need for your law practice? Especially as a solo or a small law firm? 🤔

If you struggle with this, you’re not alone.

Keeping up to date and having the adequate security measures in place to protect your practice isn’t easy—even for the seasoned pros.

It can feel overwhelming and never-ending with the amount of security decisions that need to be properly addressed, including:

VPN
Phishing
Passwords
Cyber insurance
Malware & adware
Dark web monitoring
2 Factor Authentication
Security and software updates
Human error and employee carelessness
and the list goes on!

And on top of researching, selecting and choosing you may be wondering if you’re even set everything up correctly.

If you want to grow a thriving law practice, you need to know how to implement proper security measures – the ‘security insurance’ – to ensure you don’t experience a data breach and risk running your reputation.

Because here’s the truth…

✨ you can’t change lives if you can’t even get the people you want to serve to trust you with their sensitive information in the first place ✨

But proper security measures can not only protect you, but can set you apart from your peers and be leveraged to build trust amongst your potential clients and that’s exactly what I want to help you with today.

My friend Tom Lambotte is hosting a free class on Thursday, December 17th, 2020 at 11am PST / 2pm EST called:

💥 The 7 Cybersecurity Threats That Could Endanger
Your Law Firm In 2021…And How To Prevent Them 💥

You can click HERE to register.

Tom has built the top boutique IT company (GlobalMac IT) in the legal space, with clients including Cooper, Adel, Vu & Associates LPA, The Stevens Firm, PA, Eltringham Law Group, Bick Law LLP, the Law Office of Kenneth E. Berger, LLC and many more throughout the United States and across all practice areas!

He’s going to share real-life examples of the biggest areas where lawyers go wrong with their security measures, and what to do to properly protect your practice and put solutions into place while making sure it doesn’t require hours upon hours of time taking your FOCUS away from your most important work.

Join him at the free Security Class on December 17th, 2020, where, after attending, you’ll know:

⭐ What are 2021’s Seven top cybersecurity threats you (solo and small law firms) are most vulnerable to?

⭐ Why are you a “sitting duck” for losing EVERYTHING in your bank account in an instant? (and why your bank is NOT responsible for getting your money back)

⭐ How these SIMPLE protections and precautions can drastically reduce your chances of being a victim?

⭐ What are the best-in-class security protocols to protect your law firm from a data breach?

⭐ Why you must abandon the false belief ‘that can never happen to me.’

Click HERE to register (spots are limited).

Free Webinar: Expert Tips for Mac-Loving Lawyers

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Ben Stevens Posted in Online Resources, Presentations, Technology Leave a comment

Join us on Wednesday, June 24th, from 2-3 pm EST for a conversation with the leading experts in Mac-driven law firms:

Tom Lambotte of GlobalMac IT
Brett Burney of Burney Consultants and Apps in Law
Ben Stevens of The Stevens Firm and The Mac Lawyer

Together, we will tackle the top apps, issues, and opportunities for Mac-based law firms, many of which fall into the “I wish someone taught me sooner” category.

Topics will include:

Mac productivity & efficiency apps, hacks & tricks for lawyers working in-office and remotely
Mac compatibility, including considerations for Mac lawyers in a PC-dominated legal world
Mac security & maintenance, including required measures & common pitfalls

To learn more or register for this FREE webinar, click here or the image below.

9 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Law Firm with Apple Computer Maintenance in 2019

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Ben Stevens Posted in Office Management, Online Resources, Technology Leave a comment

Let’s face it, attorneys should spend their time practicing law, not playing part-time IT support and trying to manage their computers. Updates from Apple, third-party software updates, and general maintenance all require time – which could better be spent representing clients and generating income.

Smart attorneys recognize this and outsource their IT needs to enable themselves to simultaneously increase their productivity while reducing their security risks. Really smart attorneys choose GlobalMac IT (my law firm’s preferred provider for many years), no matter whether they are solo practitioners or members of a large firm.

Because knowing what NOT to do is almost as important as knowing what TO do, Global Mac IT has prepared a free report, 9 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Law Firm with Apple Maintenance in 2019, which discusses ways to reduce your IT fees by reducing tech issues and downtime by implementing simple approaches you never learned.

You can learn more and obtain a copy of your free report by clicking HERE.

Free Webinar: How to Avoid Growing Pains in Your Mac-Based Law Firm With Proven Processes

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Ben Stevens Posted in Office Management, Online Resources, Technology Leave a comment

My friend and business colleague Tom Lambotte, CEO of GlobalMac IT has recently developed a true breakthrough in managing Apple technology for growing law firms to help them increase efficiency and allow them to scale their firms fearlessly.

If your law firm is using Macs and you’ve ever wished there was a better way to manage them, this is something you most definitely need to know about. As the co-author of Macs in Law: The Definitive Guide for the Mac-Curious, Windows-Using Attorney, Tom knows what he’s talking about.

Tom is going to introduce this revolutionary new process in a free webinar for Managing Partners and Office Managers on Thursday, April 26^th at 1pm EST (10am PST). This free webinar is sponsored by Rocket Matter, and you can get the full details (and save your spot) by clicking here.

Your Options for Running a Mac-Based Law Firm: Managed Services

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Mac vs. PC, Office Management, Security, Software, Technology Leave a comment

The following Guest Post is from technology guru, Tom Lambotte from GlobalMac IT:

Managed Services is the opposite of the reactive, hourly model. The biggest benefit is being able to budget IT costs and shifting the support approach from reactive to proactive. The majority of Managed Service offerings are offered in a tiered model, such as Bronze, Silver or Gold. Bronze, for example, provides only phone support, with Silver providing slightly more, etc.

My company ceased providing hourly support when I realized the business model I built the company on (hourly support) was a break/fix model with many flaws. I would set up my clients or resolve their issues and then say, “call me when you need me.” I prided myself on my ability to resolve issues promptly and enjoyed working with my clients. However, there was always a subconscious voice in my head telling me I could prevent many of the reactive issues coming I dealt with. There had to be a better way. When I discovered the Managed Services model, I embraced it fully and we haven’t looked back.

Law firms using Managed Services benefit from fewer problems, less downtime and far less unexpected issues. This pro-active approach takes the role of managing IT out of the firm and puts it into the hands of experts. At least that is the promise of Managed Service providers. Like any business, whether they deliver is another story. You must do your due diligence in choosing an IT company. (Access our whitepaper “What Every Attorney Must Know About Hiring An Honest, Competent, Responsive And Fairly Priced Apple Consultant” at www.globalmacit.com/legalreport)

Managed Services provide a dramatic improvement over the options of DIY and hourly support. However, as our experience grew working with Managed Services, we saw some shortcomings with the tiered model of Managed Services. These insights led to the evolution of our current services. The tiered model means some things are included and others are not. Items such as Project work, training, after hours or emergency support, setting up new staff members, office moves, on-site support, for example, are rarely included, and therefore billed hourly. I found this tiered model often made clients feel they were being nickel and dimed. The overall impact of this model ends up hurting your firm in several ways.

First, one of the big benefits of Managed Services is being able to budget your IT costs. But if project work is not included, how can you budget accurately? The biggest problem this leads to is the delay of important projects that would be beneficial to the firm. Because the cost is not in the budget, projects that are important but not urgent are often pushed off and delayed. This impacts the firm’s profits, assuming the new solution would have addressed a bottleneck in the firm or boosted productivity in some way. For example, we have seen many firms fail when trying to roll out technical solutions on their own. The data is often neither migrated not configured properly, and they don’t provide proper training. Ultimately, the staff does not buy into the solution and it fails after the firm spent a LOT of money trying to get it off the ground.

Not knowing the level of support will cover an issue may deter your staff from calling the IT company, because they don’t want to rack up additional bills for the firm. This leads to small issues developing into bigger issues.

A word of caution: Windows-based Managed Services Companies.

Managed Services in the Apple world is a fairly new model, with less than 100 all-Mac Managed Service Providers in the nation. This means many Mac-based law firms looking for a proactive support option often only come across Windows-based Managed Service Providers who claim they can support Macs.

The number ONE issue with most Windows-centric Managed Service Providers supporting Macs is that it is financially impossible for a Windows-shop to provide the same level of support to Macs as they do to PCs. They cannot justify spending the same amount of resources on training, tools and support for the 5-10% of their computers that are Macs. Because of this you will not receive the same caliber of support provided to their PC users. In the majority of cases, when they say they can support Macs, they have one person who’s the “Mac expert.” When that person is out of the office, Mac-using clients are out of luck.

Simply becoming Apple Certified does NOT make one an expert. It is a step in the right direction, however, there is still a long way to becoming proficient at supporting Macs. I have heard many stories where the client ended up knowing more about Macs than the support person they are speaking with! Talk about a horrible experience. If you are an all-Mac law firm, you need to do extra diligence if you are considering hiring on a Windows-centric IT company to support your firm. Not everyone out there is negligent in this area, but sadly I can say from experience that the majority are not able to fully support Macs.

A Managed Services has some flaws, it is a huge step forward in becoming proactive in managing your technology. Next month’s article will discuss the 4^th and final option, the unique offering version of Managed Services of my company, GlobalMac IT and how it is specialized for Mac-Based Law Firms.

Provided as an educational service by Tom Lambotte, President of GlobalMac IT

GlobalMac IT was founded by Tom Lambotte – renowned nationwide as an author, speaker, trusted IT advisor, and cutting edge, successful provider of the #1 complete end-to-end IT solution for Mac-Based Law Firms in the world. Private firms from throughout North America – and as far reaching as American Samoa – running with a staff of 5-50 – have relied on his expertise to help them put their IT headaches behind once and for all.

Using his real world experience, where results rule and dollars can’t be wasted on negligent computer consultants, he wanted to help managing partners and office managers of Mac-based law firms to put an end to wasting their time and money on IT support that does not work and rescue them from the frustration.

Our unique “TotalCare” approach integrates classic IT support with proven proactive support that truly converts IT from something to be dealt with, into a tool that truly increases law firm profits, increases staff productivity, and provides piece of mind that firm and client data is secure and that their security is never at risk. You can reach GlobalMac IT at (440) 941-1622 to request more information.

Webinar: You Can Practice Law on a Mac – Here’s How!

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Ben Stevens Posted in Mac vs. PC, Online Resources, Switching to Macs, Technology Leave a comment

On July 27, 2016, 1-2:30 PM ET, Tom Lambotte, CEO of GlobalMac IT (our firm’s I.T. company) is participating along with Mark Metzger in the American Bar Association webinar, “The Mac Lawyer: You Can Practice Law on a Mac – Here’s How!” The session qualifies for 1.50 General CLE Credit Hours*, so I thought this would be of interest to my readers.

Have iPhones or iPads peaked your interest to practicing on a Mac computer? Tune in to hear how Apple has moved into the legal industry making it easier than ever to practice law on a Mac! This program will cover:

the steps Apple has taken to move in to the legal profession
the best Apple hardware and software options for practicing law
how to share files with your clients or colleagues who use Windows.

As a member of the faculty Tom has been able to extend a 10% off your registration rate when you enter this discount code CE15CPDWEBVIP at check-out. To learn more about and register for this program, click here.

This webinar is part of the Law Practice Institute: Essential Skills for Lawyers designed for young lawyers, law students, and solo/small firm attorneys to provide them with the essential skills to make their practices efficient, ethical, and profitable. To learn more about and register for the series, click here.

*Unfortunately, the ABA will not seek credit for this program in Virginia, Texas, Indiana, or North Carolina due to rules and procedures in these states restricting credit for the topics covered in this program, so you’re out of luck in terms of the CLE credits here.

Running a Mac-Based Law Firm: The Hourly Consultant Option

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Mac vs. PC, Office Management, Technology Leave a comment

In this Guest Post, my friend and technology guru Tom Lambotte from GlobalMac IT discusses the second most common option for IT support when Running a Mac-Based Law Firm: an hourly consultant.

The smaller the firm, the more likely they are to use the DIY approach which we discussed in the first part of this series in last month’s newsletter. But, inevitably the DIYers run into something that’s beyond their scope, which is where the hourly IT consultant comes in. Based on my experience having worked as an hourly consultant for five years, approximately two-thirds of my clients operated with the DIY approach and only called when things were dire.

I’ll discuss the most common pitfalls and give strategies on how to get the most value when working with an hourly consultant.

Common pitfalls of using an hourly IT consultant:

The consultant has no incentive to fix other issues they discover. They often give an estimated time to address the problem they are called in to fix, so they do their best to stay within that estimate. Discovering issues while working on addressing the issue at hand can put the consultant in a difficult position. Do they address the issues as they come across them and go over their estimated time or just focus on completing the task at hand?
They bill hourly, so to maximize their income, they need to line up their day with appointments. Their primary focus is resolving the problem in the time they have allotted, whether that is the right amount of time or not. This time pressure can often lead to duct-tape fixes, leading to issues needing to be addressed more than once.
The overwhelming majority of Apple Consultants are one-person shops, meaning they are not always available when you need them. I remember the challenge this posed. If I was with a client and had an emergency with another client, I’d be in a pickle. If you’re the one in a pickle and your consultant is busy, you won’t know when they will be able to respond.
Very few consultants have chosen an area of expertise to develop. The overwhelming majority of Apple Consultants work with anyone with a Mac. This makes it unlikely that they will be familiar with the specific tools, techniques, structures, systems or new ways of thinking and problem solving specific to the legal industry. Their clientele has as much variety as a magazine rack at Target.
Their purpose is to fix the issue you asked them to fix. Not to find ways to boost productivity for your staff, streamline your processes, look for security risks in your setup, or implement solutions that will benefit the firm.

There’s a strong belief out there that: “I switched to Macs so I didn’t need IT support.” However, your system is more often than not riddled with bottlenecks and security holes and plagued by issues and productivity losses. Without fail, I would quickly create a list of issues that my clients had never been aware of. There is far more that falls under the IT umbrella than just installing updates. It is all the things You Don’t Know You Don’t Know that a specialist can help you address.

Best practices when using an hourly consultant

Make sure they are Certified. The IT industry is NOT regulated and hiring someone who is learning on your dime can be costly. Don’t hire someone from Craigslist or your friend’s son who really likes Macs. Search for a Certified Apple Consultant in your area. Then, just like you do on Amazon, read the reviews and do some research before picking one. You can also call your local Apple Store’s Business Team and ask for recommendations.
Test them out. It’s better to have a consultant and not need one than to need one and not have one. Don’t wait for an emergency to find a consultant to work with. Make a small list of things you’d like addressed or configured and use them for a couple hours. Make sure you work well together, that they are competent and that you’d feel comfortable hiring them again in the future. Trust your gut, if there’s doubt, try another.
Don’t wait for dire emergencies. Neil Tyra, attorney and producer of The Law Entrepreneur podcast asks solos if they would pay an IT person $250 an hour. If not, why would they take an hour of your time, as an attorney trying to troubleshoot an issue? Get in the habit of using your hourly consultant on a proactive basis and reduce the amount of time you spent dealing with IT. Start by making a list of your concerns, the things that keep you up at night. Then hire a consultant to implement solutions to address these concerns.
Plan regular visits and add to your budget. This will vary based on your size, but have them perform regular maintenance, monthly for most people, more often if you are larger and at a minimum, a quarterly visit. Build the cost into your budget.

To wrap up, I urge you to stop playing the IT person in your firm and focus on serving your clients and building your practice. If you are currently using an hourly consultant, move out of the two-thirds who only call in emergencies and move into the third that are proactive. And if you are going to work with an hourly consultant, here is your homework: Pick the top three strategies that struck a chord with you from the “what NOT to do” or from the Best Practices section. Then outline three actions you will take to shift the approach towards IT from reactive to proactive.

In next month’s article, we’ll discuss Managed Services, which takes being proactive to a whole other level.

Provided as an educational service by Tom Lambotte, President of GlobalMac IT

Free Security Webinar

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Ben Stevens Posted in Online Resources, Security, Technology Leave a comment

Are you a Mac-using attorney? Do you know about all the new threats to your data? Do firewalls and antivirus software merely give you a false sense of security? Are you or your firm a “sitting duck” at risk of losing everything in your bank account in an instant… not to mention the insult to injury of government fines and penalties for non-compliance to data breach laws.

Does that get your attention? Well, the good news is that there are some simple protections and precautions you can put in place to drastically reduce your chances of being a victim. Tech expert Tom Lambotte of GlobalMacIT will present a free security webinar, “7 Critical IT Security Protections EVERY Mac-Based Law Firm Must Have In Place NOW To Avoid Cyber-Attacks, Data Breach Lawsuits, Bank Fraud and Compliance Penalties” on Thursday, April 28, 2016, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST.

You can get more details and register for this webinar here. I hope to see you there.

Technology and the Herxheimer Reaction

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Ben Stevens Posted in Technology Leave a comment

The following Guest Post is from technology guru, Tom Lambotte from GlobalMac IT:

For many years I have used fasting on a regular basis to play a role in staying healthy. I’ve fallen off that boat for the past few years however, as it’s much tougher to do when you have kids (and I’ve got a 4 1/2, 2 1/2 and a 1 1/2 year old). In a recent Christmas family photo, I had one of those ‘enough’ moments when I saw how far I had let myself go. One of those moments where you go, “Oh my goodness, I look like that!?” I’m a good 25 pounds overweight and have been putting it off for a number of years. This has reinvigorated my desire for change in this area and this week I have switched to eating only fruits/veggies and protein, zero sugar and zero carbs. I’ve lost 5 pounds already (yay!) but I had some nasty headache a few days ago.

Hang with me, I promise I’ll tie this in to technology at the appropriate time. The headaches are one symptom a Herxheimer Reaction, also often referred to as a healing crisis, a detox reaction, or die-off syndrome. A quick Google search brings up “an immune system reaction to the toxins (endotoxins) that are released when large amounts of pathogens are being killed off, and the body does not eliminate the toxins quickly enough.” The most common Herxheimer reactions are: headache, flu-like symptoms, itch and rashes, flushes (there’s a lot more but I’ll skip them for this article). Usually, the reaction lasts a few days. In more severe cases, reactions can last a week or more.

I believe the experience of the Herxheimer Reaction is something that we all experience in different areas of our personal and professional lives, albeit with different symptoms. The longer you have neglected to address a certain area, the more severe the symptoms will be when you choose to address it. Think about the books for your firm. Have you ever delayed staying on top of them and then, much overdue, finally hire a bookkeeper to help you get caught up? Never a fun process. Car maintenance is an easy parallel as well, when haven’t done the regular maintenance, going in for that service call can be quite scary and is often painful for the pocketbook. However, the process of getting your car back up to spec will almost always have much higher repair cost than if maintenance had been done regularly to being with.

Let’s get back to that flab I’m trying to shed. I’ve been aware of it for several years but continued to neglect it. Luckily, I’m only 25 pounds overweight, we all know the national average is much higher. Think about that person you knew who passed away from a preventable disease at far too young an age. Far too many people in our nation continue to neglect their health until it is far too late. Hopefully, you are not there but the longer you delay, the worst the reactions will be when you change your ways.

So what is the state of health of the technology within your law practice? If you had to rate yourself on a scale of 1-10, where would you fall? Is addressing your firm’s technology needs something you’ve been avoiding? Have you simply been addressing symptoms with some duct-tape as needed? If so, it’s time to give your decision-making muscles a workout and make some changes. If you’re taking care of your IT on your own, I can assure you it is only a matter of time before problems creep up and a tremendous amount of time, effort, and money is lost as a result. Every single time we take over IT for a firm, we find a LOT of problems that have been patched for far too long. We find security holes that jeopardize the attorney-client relationship, we find examples that would make an Ethics board quite unhappy, should they ever come to light. We also find many different areas where productivity is being severely hindered. So, let’s say you decide to finally take some action and find a new IT vendor to support your firm, what’s the process going to be like?

What are the Herxheimer Reaction symptoms you will be experiencing? Choosing any new vendor to work with, always has some temporary pain while moving to the new solution. Again, think of the bookkeeper and getting caught up. Chances are, if you’ve been taking care of your own IT, no offense meant here, but there’s going to be cleanup work. A detox phase, where the Rube Goldberg of a technology system you’ve built over the years is ripped apart and put back together the right way. The purpose of this article is to attempt to motivate you to get the IT needs of your firm into the hands of someone who specializes in doing this. This is not you. You’re an attorney and you can’t bill out the hours you spend dealing with IT. Nor can you recoup those evening or weekend hours you’ve been spending fighting IT issues. Think of all the lost family time that went to those problems. Those hours are sadly gone.

I want to stress that it is not a question of whether or not you will experience pain in the transition of getting the IT needs off your desk and into the hands of experts, but how much pain and how bad it will be. Unfortunately, many who call themselves experts out there will just jump right in and start working on things. This almost assures that the “Hexleimer reaction” will be far greater than necessary.

Now the good news is that when doing a cleanse, you can reduce the symptoms by taking certain precautionary measures to reduce the discomfort. The same can be done with your technology. When we take over IT for a firm, we first perform a month-long diagnostic process that allows us to uncover everything going on within the firm in relation to their technology. I believe strongly that prescription with out diagnosis is malpractice. By taking the proper diagnostic steps before diving in, they can lay out a roadmap to implement, phase by phase. This enables you to minimize the pain felt during the process. The first step is always triage, where we address the biggest points of pain or discomfort. Then we get into the maintenance phase.

Now, again, if you do choose to get IT into the hands of a new vendor this year and stop being a hobbyist IT guy, this article serves as letting you know there may be moments of discomfort and some pain the process. The better the IT company and their processes, the better they will able to minimize this pain. And the worst shape your technology is in, the more painful it’s going to be.

I’ve started exercising this week and I’m (really) sore. The Herxheimer Reaction symptoms are not fun BUT I have 100% confidence that the symptoms are temporary and will pass. I’m going to have more energy than I have had in years, I will sleep better, think more clearly, have the energy to be present with wife and children after a long day of work and a whole lot more. In terms of your technology, once you’re past it, the issues you’ve Band’aid-ed for years will be permanently resolved, the frustration levels with technology for you and your staff will drop and you will move from a stage of triage into a stage of maintenance. Once you’re on the other side, you’ll never question the symptoms you may have experienced during the switchover and I promise you, you’ll never want to go back.

Provided as an educational service by Tom Lambotte, President of GlobalMac IT