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The adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure certainly applies to identity theft. With only one in 700 identity thieves caught and brought to justice, according to The Chicago Tribune, managing information storage and shopping practices seems an essential step.

This Bar Leader Toolkit looks at safeguarding personal information when shopping or doing business transactions in person, over the phone or online, and whether managing personal or client information.

Identity theft is the number one crime in the United States today with each transaction exposing us as potential victims. Even with Congressional action in 1998 making identity theft a federal crime, those who prey on individuals are more active than ever.

This issue offers suggestions for preventive actions through op-eds, letters to the editor, a draft news release and a possible bar publication message. We hope these materials are useful to you and, as always, are interested in learning when you have used them so we can share this information with your colleagues in a future issue.

During the recent National Association of Bar Executives Communications Section Meeting in Philadelphia, several bar association communications staff members provided feedback on the Bar Leader Toolkit. We received suggestions for some topics and we are looking for your input as well. Please let us know your preferences in the feedback section included in this issue.

We also received suggestions for the Toolkit to come out every other month and that we publish a list of topics in advance to allow for planning. We're following through on that suggestion: the next Bar Leader Toolkit will come out in December and will focus on Law Day. In that issue, we also will let you know which topics you and your colleagues selected for future issues.

As always, I welcome your thoughts on this toolkit.

Sincerely,

Roseanne Lucianek
Director, Bar Services

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© 2007 American Bar Association