YourABA: February 2008

Policy-making House of Delegates acts During its one-day session, the ABA adopted an array of new policies—including ones on prosecutorial conduct, law school accreditation and legislative redistricting—that are critical to the legal profession and at the forefront of much debate. Read more…

Go directly to the Daily Journal Find out what policies were adopted, amended, revised, withdrawn or rejected. Read more...

Finding work-life balance The stressful nature of the legal profession presents a challenge for work-life balance. Lawyers who have successfully found equilibrium between their professional and personal lives share tips. Read more...

Financial planning for young lawyers Most young lawyers have little time to dedicate to their personal financial planning. Here’s advice on building a bright financial future. Read more...

Going undercover? Issues in pretext investigations Can lawyers use deception to detect and stop wrongdoing? An outline of the ethical issues involved in pretexting provides tips on proceeding with such investigations. Read more...

How civil juries really decide cases The inner workings of the jury room and how juries make their decisions have traditionally been off limits for trial lawyers. New research opens those closed doors. Read more...

Loan repayment assistance programs progress The House passes the Higher Education Act, which includes critical programs to ease student loan debt for many lawyers in public service. Read more...

Coping with challenges: lawyer assistance programs Lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression than those in any other profession, according to research. Learn how lawyer assistance programs can help. Read more...

Young Lawyer 101: billing tips and more The “101 Practice Series” from the ABA Young Lawyers Division breaks down the basics, offering resources on billing, ethics, career development and more. Read more...

Tips to stay ahead of the competition Be over-prepared, advises ABA President William H. Neukom in an ABA Career Counsel podcast that provides career tips from national leaders in the legal profession. Read more...

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Eye on Ethics

From paper to kilobytes—updated

Your medium-sized 50-year-old law firm has accumulated thousands of client files, most of which are closed or dormant. The cost of storing these files has become prohibitive.

You’ve been asked to formulate a firm policy about what items in the client files can be transferred to an electronic format, and once the transfer has been made, which items in the files can be discarded.

What legal ethics issues should you keep in mind as you formulate this new firm policy?