The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Plain English Committee will present its 2022 Clarity Award to Daniel J. Siegel, owner of Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel LLC, Havertown, at an awards luncheon during the PBA Annual Meeting, May 11-13 in Hershey.
The award was created by the committee to recognize “those who have done the most to foster plain English in the legal field.”… Read the rest
Although only one in seven businesses typically reports a cybersecurity hack to the federal government that should change now that the recent budget/government funding law requires 16 types of businesses to report hacks to the Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours. The types of hacks that must be reported include data breaches and ransomware attacks/payments. Lawyers and law firms already have an ethical obligation under the Rules of Professional Conduct to report breaches, attacks and other cybersecurity incidents to clients whose data may have been impacted.… Read the rest
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released a Private Industry Notification (PIN) to warn U.S. governments, elected officials and candidates about cybersecurity threats, particularly invoice-themed phishing emails that could be used to harvest these officials’ login credentials. This threat applies to all governments, local to national, all government employees, all elected officials, and all candidates for elected office. In short, this threat applies to a wide range of people, and it is one to take very seriously.… Read the rest
UPDATED INFORMATION – APRIL 4, 2022:Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, announced today the the SSA will resume in-person services at local Social Security Offices on Friday, April 7, 2022. The following is Commissioner Kijakazi’s verbatin statement:
“I am pleased to announce that local Social Security offices will restore in-person services, including for people without an appointment, on April 7, 2022.… Read the rest
No matter your politics, most of us aren’t thinking of President Biden when it comes to technology advice. Yet it was the Biden White House offering excellent advice on protecting yourself online. This isn’t fancy geek language, it is the same cybersecurity advice I have given in dozens of programs not only to lawyers and law firms but also to community groups and others.… Read the rest
The FCC has added Kaspersky products to the list of cybersecurity risks. Law firms should alert staff not to use the products on any devices that access their firms’ networks to safeguard client information.
Of course, the last thing you need from your Internet security product is for it to be a threat to your security. Let alone national security. But on Friday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) called Kaspersky a national cybersecurity threat by adding Kaspersky, China Mobile, and China Telecom to the list of companies affected by the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019.… Read the rest
Can we all agree that email has been around for a while? And so has the horrid Reply to All feature. And so has the ability of businesses to just turn off email boxes of employees and not monitor who might be contacting the departed. Have we learned nothing in all the years email has been a part of our lives?… Read the rest
The reality is that every lawyer has different skills, just like a surgeon has different aptitudes than a family doctor. Yet many lawyers either choose to handle their own appeals or do not engage an appellate lawyer with the specialized knowledge and experience to avoid the problems (in other words, losses) than can flow from having the wrong lawyer write the wrong brief. … Read the rest
In the new COVID world in which the traditional office has been replaced in full or in part by a work from home existence, many of us never think about the issues that arise when we are doing our jobs at the kitchen table.
When you are hurt and seek damages in a personal injury lawsuit, you are entitled to receive compensatory damages. The main purpose of these damages is to return you/the injured party to the position you were in before the injury. These damages include wage losses, loss of future income, medical expenses, out of pocket expenses and pain and suffering.
Another kind of damages that can be awarded is called punitive damages, which is a financial penalty intended to punish a defendant, not to compensate the victim.… Read the rest
