Articles and Columns for April 2020

• Facts of Life – Zena Applebaum’s insightful perspective on how Covid-19 has impacted the legal industry is based on the depth and breath of her experience and expertise. Applebaum shares four shifts in this sector that she hopes will become Business As Usual (BAU) at such time as we emerge from this most challenging of times for ourselves, our colleagues and our workplaces, the greater legal sector, the nation and the world.
• Emergency SBA Relief Loans: Which Are Best For Your Law Firm? – Nicole L. Black addresses the issue of how and when solo and small law firms can take advantage of newly enacted relief loans. Black identifies how to choose to apply for Paycheck Protection Plan loans and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Emergency Advance that make the most sense for your law firm, and options that will help you make the right choices for the future of your business.
• The Future of PACER – Emily Donnellan updates readers on the lawsuit in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit over what essentially boils down to the question: are PACER fees too high? Donnellan includes resources to track and monitor changes and issues related to Pacer in addition to user objections to fees.
• Staying Together While Working Apart – There is a great deal that newly remote teams can learn from teams that have worked remotely for several years. Nancy Dixon’s recommendations on how to stay connected is a resource for managers, staff and teams, and focuses on social and professional aspects of maintaining effective and positive work product now and into the future.
• 7 Tips for Using Zoom on an iPad or iPhone – You will want to widely share Brett Burney’s quick guide to using Zoom on your iPhone or iPad. In the past month most if not all of us have been on Zoom meetings that include a lot of background noise that results in one or more people chiming in with the mantra – “mute your phone please!” Brett also points us to the important Safe Driving Mode.
• Securely Collaborate and Communicate Remotely: A How-To for Lawyers – Attorney and Legal Technology Evangelist Nicole L. Black delves into how collaborating effectively and confidentially has always been an important part of practicing law. The COIVD-19 pandemic has significantly increased the focus on identifying and implementing tools and techniques that enable secure communications and remote collaboration with team members and clients alike. Black recommends online portals as the perfect solution to this challenge.
• What does ‘recovered from coronavirus’ mean? 4 questions answered about how some survive and what happens next – Just as the number of COVID-19 cases grows, so does another number: those who have recovered. In mid-March, the number of patients in the U.S. who had officially recovered from the virus was close to zero. That number is now in the tens of thousands and is climbing every day. But recovering from COVID-19 is more complicated than simply feeling better. Recovery involves biology, epidemiology and a little bit of bureaucracy as explained by Tom Duszynski, Director Epidemiology Education, IUPUI.
• Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 25, 2020 – Four highlights from this week: New Government Technology Could Herald Our New Normal; Zoom adds data center routing, security updates; China is experiencing a gold rush for surgical masks — more than 38,000 companies registered in 2020 to make or trade face masks. But mask quality and scams are now issues; Chinese Agents Spread Messages That Sowed Virus Panic in U.S., Officials Say; and Hackers tempt federal workers with free fast food in COVID-19 scams.
• Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 18, 2020 – Four highlights from this week: Half of Americans decided not to use something over privacy concerns in past year; How much access to data should be permitted during the COVID-19 pandemic?; Sharing Senior Photos On Social Media Enables Data Mining, Better Business Bureau Warns; and Apple, Google to harness phones for virus infection tracking.
• Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 12, 2020 – Four highlights from this week: Discarded Gloves, Masks an Odd New Danger in Fight Against Coronavirus; Instacart Workers Getting Scammed Out of Tips by Customers; Zoom Videoconferencing App Hid Security Flaws, Says Shareholder in Class-Action Lawsuit; and Government secrecy is growing during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 4, 2020 – Four highlights from this week: How to Digitize Your Most Important Documents; How to stop trolls from taking over your Zoom call; American Bar Association has posted an ABA Legal Fact Check; and The Postal Service’s Surprising Role in Surviving Doomsday.

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