Wondering where The Legal Toolkit has been for the past six months? Never fear, Jared Correia, your host and a Senior Law Practice Advisor with Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program ( Mass. LOMAP), is back. In this month’s episode meet the new co-host Heidi Alexander, also a Law Practice Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, who will be the newest addition to The Legal Toolkit team.

Before joining LOMAP, Alexander ran a solo law practice and a web consulting business. She has practiced employment law and litigation, clerked for a justice on the highest court of New Jersey, and worked helping entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses at a nonprofit women’s business assistance center. She is currently serving on the board of directors of a community arts nonprofit, as a special needs mentor, and as a coordinator and facilitator for girls in underserved communities.

This episode will introduce Alexander and give her a chance to further outline her background, expertise, side projects, volunteer positions, and finally, her strong loyalty to her home state of Minnesota.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:49 — 15.5MB)

Referrals are the lifeblood of the most successful law firms, but attorneys, like anyone else, have to get their potential referral sources to know, like and trust them. On this month’s Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, talks with Jaimie B. Field, Esq. founder of Marketing Field, LLC about the power of referrals. Jaimie and Jared consider potential referral sources for lawyers, mull over the age-old maxim that ‘referrals beget referrals’ and discuss the importance of training referral sources, in order to get them to get you the clients you really want.

Special thanks to our sponsors Clio and Catuogno Court Reporting.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:15 — 18.7MB)

With a network of data protection rules and regulations on the state and federal level, it becomes more and more difficult for businesses to keep up.  On the Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with  Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Attorney C. Max Perlman from the law firm of Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP, to talk about those data security laws and regulations and their impact on businesses, including law firms.  Jared and Max also discuss the federal requirements that local businesses should be aware of, to what extent the laws codify best practices and what to do if your business experiences a security breach.

Special thanks to our sponsor Catuogno Court Reporting.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:52 — 17.0MB)

How can you use SEO to market your law practice? On the Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Conrad Saam, Senior Marketing Manager for Avvo, to discuss Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and why it is important to lawyers. Conrad explains how SEO works, and how it retains its importance, even with the explosion of social media.  Jared and Conrad also take a look at how law firms can supplement SEO with other marketing tactics.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Carbonite Pro and Catuogno Court Reporting.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:28 — 20.2MB)

A sneak peek at ABA TECHSHOW 2011 with The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program, and former chairs of the ABA TECHSHOW, Laura Calloway and Jim Calloway. They share what the highlights may be this year, plus hear some of their top law practice management tips from past ABA TECHSHOWS and how attorneys can implement what they learn at the show into their day-to-day practice.

Special thanks to our sponsors, SunTrust, EnterYourHours.com and Firm Manager.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:22 — 20.8MB)

How important is it for lawyers to stay on top of technological developments?  Very.  On the Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Paul J. Unger, an attorney and partner with Affinity Consulting Group and the Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2011, to talk about how attorneys can get the most out of some popular computer applications and to do a quick preview of the upcoming ABA TECHSHOW 2011. Legal ToolKit is brought to you by Catuogno Court Reporting.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:19 — 27.4MB)

On this edition of The Legal ToolKit, brought to you by Catuogno Court Reporting, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Attorney Chiara Urbani LaPlume and Attorney Audrey Heidt, both co-chairs of the Massachusetts Women’s Bar Association’s Solo and Small Firm Committee, to take a look at setting fees, through the lens of the new Women’s Bar Association series of “fee circles”, that focus on the issue.  Among other topics, Jared, Chiara and Audrey cover how to start the conversation about fees, whether to charge consultation fees and/or retainers and, of course, how to establish rates, including when to reassess and reduce rates, as necessary.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:35 — 17.9MB)

On this edition of The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program, welcomes Adriana Linares, President of LawTech Partners to discuss Adriana’s blog series on the “10 Critical Computer Skills Every Attorney Should Know”.  Rodney and Adriana check out the basic skills that are vital to attorneys, metadata and how it affects the practice of law, the training process and keeping attorneys on top in the world of technology.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:12 — 27.3MB)