Risk Management & Claims Prevention
Beware heavy-handed collection calls by fraudsters impersonating Ontario lawyers
An Ontario lawyer has reported to us that fraudsters have impersonated his firm in order to make threatening collection phone calls to members of the public on behalf of a loan company. The name of the fake firm closely resembles the real firm name, and the callers make reference to the town the real firm… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionpracticePRO Resourec: Managing the Lawyer/Client Relationship
Lawyer/client communication-related errors are the biggest cause of malpractice claims. By cost and count, more than one-third of LAWPRO claims involved this type of error. Most claims arise out of fundamental failures in the lawyer/client relationship – failures such as inadequate client-case screening, poor communication and insufficient systems, trails and record-keeping. The Managing the Lawyer/Client… Read More »
Categories: Biggest Claims RisksLAWPRO Magazine article: 15 Tips for Preventing Identity Theft and Online Fraud
Cyber criminals and identity thieves want to steal your personal information to commit fraud. They may try to get a credit card in your name or to access funds in your bank account. On top of directly losing money, your credit status can be damaged and it can take a great deal of time and… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention, TechnologypracticePRO Resource: Creating strong passwords
The following is an excerpt from practicePRO’s Managing the Security and Privacy of Electronic Data in a Law Office booket. Creating “strong” passwords Create passwords that are harder to guess or figure out. These are called strong passwords and they are more difficult for password-cracking tools to determine. Password-cracking software uses one of three approaches:… Read More »
Categories: Legal Technology, Fraud PreventionCyber crime example of the importance of reconciling your trust accounts each month
This article appeared in the September 2013 issue of TitleNews. An escrow company holds real estate closing funds in trust in the same way a law firm in Ontario would. Cyber Criminals Steal More Than $1.5 million from California Escrow Company. California-based Efficient Services Escrow Group was shut down by the state after cyber criminals… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionpracticePRO Resource: Managing the Practice of Investing in Clients booklet
The practice of lawyers investing in clients’ businesses is current and growing. Historically, this type of business transaction found some application in the real estate and mining industries. Inevitably, tha practice resulted from time to time in claims against lawyers. Today, we see the practice being undertaken in the high tech sector whose fast pace… Read More »
Categories: Conflicts of Interest, Law Practice ManagementIncivility: Practical Consequences for You and Your Client
Debate about lawyers’ incivility – whether it’s on the increase, whether it’s worthy of concern, how it should be handled – caught the attention of many of us in 2012. The subject continues to be discussed, and we can expect to hear more about it in the coming months and years. But high-profile cases aside,… Read More »
Categories: Risk Management StrategiespracticePRO Resource: Conflicts of Interest
As mentioned in yesterday’s blog post (“Conflicts tune-up: 5 steps to avoiding conflict of interest claims“), lawyers do not always do the best job identifying potential conflicts on interest or taking the appropriate steps when conflicts may exist. practicePRO’s Managing Conflict of Interest Situations booklet can help lawyers better manage this risk by identifying, checking… Read More »
Categories: Conflicts of Interest