Cyberattacks against lawyers and the legal industry have exploded since the COVID social restrictions began. The Texas courts were recently hit with a nasty ransomware attack that dropped websites and case management systems for the state's appellate and high courts, leaving parts of the court system crippled for months.

In this timely presentation, Keller Reid and Keith Pillers discuss the current cyber security risks that legal professionals must protect against to avoid ethics violations, data breaches & malpractice lawsuits. The program will begin by providing an overview on data breaches and focus on some of the notable recent breaches to highlight key cybersecurity concepts for legal professionals. The discussion will delve into future trends to show how risks are expanding and explain how cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated The program will conclude by reviewing data security and processes & procedures for protecting data and managing a data breach.

Keith A. Pillers is Ackerman Capital Management’s Director of Wealth Management. Keller Reid is responsible for trading and execution at Ackerman Capital Management and oversees the technological infrastructure of the firm.

The Internet helped to connect our world – the Internet of Things (IoT) is now hyper-connecting our world through billions of devices. From a cow with a chip in its ear to medical ingestibles & social credit scores, the IoT is collecting a myriad of data about us – and this data can and is being used in civil and criminal litigation.

In this eye-opening CLE course, Lars Daniel will introduce you to the IoT and explain how data is collected from IoT devices and where the data is stored, from local devices to the cloud. After providing you with an overview of the IoT, Lars will then analyze several civil and criminal case examples that highlight the importance of digital evidence derived from IoT devices such as digital pacemakers, fitness wearables and smart home assistants. After completing this eye-opening course you will know: what IoT devices are important sources of digital evidence, how this evidence can be forensically collected & utilized in your cases, key security considerations & cutting edge IoT data analysis techniques, and case examples where IoT devices played a critical role.

A digital evidence expert, Lars Daniel has attended over 250 hours of forensic training and worked on over 500 cases involving murder, child pornography, terrorism, rape, kidnapping, intellectual property, fraud, wrongful death, employee wrongdoing and large scale e-discovery collections.

Who do you think is punished more frequently for ethical violations – big law or small law attorneys? Because small law attorneys don’t have the same resources and systems as their big law brethren, solo and small firm attorneys face discipline at a much higher rate.

Philip King investigated over 1,000 ethical grievances against attorneys & judges in his time with the Ohio Office of Disciplinary Counsel. He has seen small law and solo attorneys commit the same routine ethical violations time and time again. In this CLE, Philip will highlight common ethical pitfalls for small law attorneys and provide you with practical advice so you can spot and avoid these practice traps. Philip will focus on these main issues: using the firm name & letterhead in advertising, staying competent by picking a niche, setting your attorney fees and client solicitation & advertisement. These topics are also covered: the dangers of Door Law, reasonable attorney fees, what to charge for personnel, prohibited clauses, division of fees, calculating alternative & fixed fees and client referrals.

Philip King is the owner of the firm, Law Office of Philip A. King, LLC, and he focuses on probate, estate planning and guardianship issues. Before starting his own law firm, Mr. King worked with the Ohio Supreme Court’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

The amount of information DOUBLES every two years. Managing the information tsunami has become a major headache for businesses– from knowing when & how to institute legal holds to disposing of un-needed documents.

Attorneys that represent these business now face major ethical challenges when dealing with these new eDisocvery & Information Governance issues. This CLE course will provide you with the foundation you need to implement a defensible disposition process and avoid ethical violations & sanctions. Main topics covered: primary ethical considerations, conducting proper defensible disposition, case law involving ethics violations and implementing & managing a defensible disposition process. The panel will also discuss: IG Compliance, negative impacts of over-retention, modeling financial savings, elements of a plan, being proactive, data deletion privacy & cybersecurity. Ethics topics addressed: competence, confidentiality, candor, fairness, privilege and inadvertent disclosure.

Jeff Jacobs has decades of experience as in-house corporate counsel and electronic discovery manager. With more than 12 years of experience in eDiscovery, data privacy & cybersecurity, Brian Segobiano is a Managing Director in Ankura’s Chicago office. Joe Shepley is a Managing Director for Ankura and he has almost two decades in information management and has worked with a range of industries.

As law practice has become more complex, so has the practical application of the professional conduct rules. Craig S. Brodsky defends lawyers in disciplinary actions and he has tried numerous cases against Bar Counsel. Well-versed in the unique challenges confronting attorneys under investigation, he discusses safety nets you can deploy to avoid getting that letter from Bar Counsel.

With his experience in front of Bar Counsel, Craig will provide you a unique understanding of the prosecutorial tactics and challenges confronting attorneys when defending themselves. Craig will mainly explain why you need to keep the right insurance, the importance of teaching employees, using approved retainer agreements, handling client funds appropriately and how to properly respond to Bar Counsel in a disciplinary proceedings. Ethical rules covered: Model Rule 5.3(a): Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyers, Model Rule 1.5: Reasonable Fees, Model Rule 1.15: Safekeeping Client property, Model Rule 8.1: Disciplinary Proceedings and Rule 10: Types of Sanctions. Craig will also provide numerous practical solutions & suggestions so you can set up safety nets at your firm to avoid ethical pitfalls.

A partner with Goodell DeVries, Craig Brodsky has provided practical solutions for professionals and organizations in today's evolving business environment for 25 years. Craig vigorously defends professionals in malpractice matters, licensing proceedings, health care litigation, and products liability litigation.

From Fords & Ferraris to Chevys & Lambos, Americans have a deep rooted love affair with their cars. And when car companies invest millions into the development and marketing of their iconic vehicles – only to see their goodwill and investment knocked off by another company – then the IP lawyers are unleashed.

In this eloquent & entertaining CLE program, Peter Afrasiabi reviews how the automotive industry has used trade dress law to protect their automobile designs and parts. Peter will mainly discuss the fundamentals & three elements of a trade dress claim and analyze key case law involving Hummers, Bentleys, Spyders, Porsches & Lamborghinis, kit cars and more. Throughout the course Peter also provides numerous practice tips for litigating claims of trade dress infringement about social media & survey evidence, expert & witness testimony and many other valuable points. He will also provide expert analysis on the Lanham Act, the nonfunctional requirement, inherently distinctive (ID) or secondary meaning, the likelihood of confusion and trade dress in advertising.

From battles with Madonna over the "Material Girl" brand to fair use disputes with the Eagles' Don Henley to protecting such iconic brands as Bettie Page in trademark and trade dress disputes, Peter R. Afrasiabi primarily handles copyright, trademark and entertainment disputes.

A client walks into your office, “I just won $64 million in the lottery… but my ticket was damaged.” The client wants you to show the court and lottery commission that he really won $64 million in the lottery.

Where do you start – who do you call? A highly trained and respected forensic document examiner, Mike Wakshull utilizes the scientific method to testify in court and consult with attorneys on the validity of documents and signatures. He has seen it all – from testifying in court about blood written on a wall to the authenticity of PDFs & word docs. In yet another compelling CLE, he will mainly discuss actual case examples involving a lottery ticket, trust document, purchase agreement, interspousal transfer deed, birth certificate, real estate documents, PDF document and many other electronic and paper documents. He will also detail the scientific method used, the tools of his practice, verifying DocuSign signatures, validating messy & clean signatures and he will explain many key document examination techniques.

A court-qualified forensic document examiner, Michael N. Wakshull has been involved in the Forensic Document Examination arena since 2010 and belongs to a number of Document Examination Associations.

Have you ever thought about representing a local nonprofit in your community? Would you like to volunteer as a board member? Have you dreamed for years about starting your own nonprofit to help injured animals?

An attorney with a passion for representing nonprofits, Nikki Semanchik provides practical guidance on this robust and rewarding area of law. In this high level overview Nikki will address legal issues that are common to many nonprofits – including formation & exemption issues, applying for tax exemption from the IRS, annual compliance requirements, directors & officers and common tax matters. She will also talk about common nonprofit myths, public charities vs. private foundations, incorporation, bylaws, protecting the 501(c)(3) exemption, 1023 vs. 1023EZ, governance issues, private inurement and UBIT. This is a great course if you want to learn how to help your local youth sports league or community groups like the PTA – or if you’re finally ready to start your own nonprofit.

Nikki Semanchik is the Founding Attorney of Semanchik Law Group, a business and nonprofit firm located in San Diego, California. In addition to assisting nonprofit organizations with formation, compliance and governance, she also represents for profit businesses on a wide variety of matters.

When former (Michael Bolton) drummer turned lawyer Charles Bonfante’s decided to start a Pink cover band, it didn’t take long for things to go bad. Even though Bonfante had paid singer Collette McLafferty $100 for only one singing session – he filed a 112 page complaint against her with 42 causes of action asking for $10 million in damages.

The conduct displayed in this case is the perfect example of unprofessional, uncivil behavior that has plagued the legal profession in the last few decades. This CLE course presented by Steven Dyki explores the concepts of civility and professionalism for attorneys and judges. Steven will define a lawyer’s professional obligations in the courtroom, analyze the ethical rules mandating civilized and professional behavior, provide case examples of unprofessional behavior and present some of the unintended consequences of uncivilized behavior. He will also discuss the public’s perception of attorneys, rules of professional conduct, standards of civility, costs & sanctions, frivolous conduct, civility rules, rules of judicial conduct regarding civility, protecting your profession & reputation and the lawyer’s pledge.

Seven Dyki focuses his practice on liability and insurance defense with an emphasis on work accidents, traumatic brain injury, amputation and other catastrophic personal injury and property damage claims.

If you only develop one theory of your case you will most likely confirm that one theory – focusing on information that seems to fit and overlooking contradictory information. You will also most likely misinterpret vague information to make it fit your narrative and seek out information that feeds your confirmation bias.

Bill Eddy is a lawyer, therapist, mediator and the President of High Conflict Institute. He developed the "High Conflict Personality" theory and has become an international expert on managing disputes involving high conflict personalities and personality disorders. In this CLE he will mainly explore the following topics: handling clients & litigants with personality disorders, common high conflict personality types in the legal system, approaches to court and requesting strong court orders. Also discussed: confirmation bias, interpersonal disorders, blamers, examples of presenting patterns, personality disorders, love-you, hate-you” types (Borderline), “I’m very superior” types (Narcissistic), “con artist” types, antisocial or sociopaths, “always suspicious” types (Paranoid) and “always dramatic” types (Histrionic).

The President of the High Conflict Institute, Bill Eddy provides training on this subject to lawyers, judges, mediators, managers, law enforcement, therapists and others. He has been a speaker and trainer in over 25 states, several provinces in Canada, Australia, France and Sweden.