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  • May 18, 2017 | Member Services
    Member Appreciation Month: Lock it Down - Mobile

    We're back today with Tim and Brandt to get more information about how to protect your hardware and data, this time looking at your mobile devices.

    5 Best Practices for Keeping Your Mobile Devices Secure

    1. Install protection software such as AVG (Android) or Avast (Android | iPhone+iPad).

    2. Not to sound like a broken record, but back up your device. Make regular backups of your iPhone and iPad using iTunes/iCloud. Make regular backups of your Android device using the built in 'Backup and Reset' feature for contacts and passwords, and Dropbox, Google+, and Microsoft OneDrive for photos. You can also backup your entire Android device with Helium, MyBackup Pro, or manually by connecting to your computer. Mac users will need the Android File Transfer Tool.

  • May 17, 2017 | Member Services
    Membership Appreciation Month: Lock it Down

    In light of the WannaCry ransomware attack over the weekend — which affected more than 200K computers in 150 countries — today's challenge is especially timely. (Read this if you were attacked by WannaCry and need help knowing what to do next.)

    Today Tim and Brandt, ISBA's tech gurus, talk about how to protect your computer and data as best as you can from malware, ransomeware, and other cyber attacks.

    13 Best Practices for Keeping Your Windows PC and Mac Secure

    (In Italy, 13 is good luck!)

    1. Backup your data. Back it up again somewhere else. If everything else fails, you'll be really glad you have all your data saved elsewhere. Check out this previous D4S post that was all about redundant backup.

    2. Disable the remote desktop in Windows and only use secure remote software (like TeamViewer). See this document for instructions.

  • May 16, 2017 | Member Services
    Member Appreciation Month: Five More Free Tech Resources

    We're providing you with five more free tech resources today — all part of our Timesaving Tech Tips week. If you've found any other great free (or cheap) tech resources that have helped you at work, we're eager to hear from you. Share your tips with us and others by commenting below. 

  • May 15, 2017
    Membership Appreciation Month: Five Free Tech Resources

    Welcome to Week 3 – Timesaving Tech Tips. ISBA's tech gurus,Tim and Brandt, are back on the clock providing you with five free tech tools today and five more tomorrow.

    Lazarus (Chrome | Firefox): Never lose anything you type into a web form again! Lazarus autosaves everything you type so you can easily recover from form-killing timeouts, crashes and network errors.

    Google Dictionary for Chrome: View definitions easily as you browse the web. Just highlight a word in chrome to see the definition in a balloon tip pop-up.

    AdBlock: Blocks ads all over the web. There is a version for every major web browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge, Opera & Firefox).

    AdBlock for YouTube (Chrome | Firefox): Removes the video ads from YouTube.

  • May 12, 2017 | Member Services
    Member Appreciation Month Tip: Lawin' in Style - Wardrobe Edition

    We're ending our D4S Week 2 — Polish Your Professional Presence — in style. Literally. Your challenge is to evaluate the image you're projecting with your wardrobe and if it's working for you.

    You never get a second chance to make a first impression. - Will Rogers

    You are more than your clothes. You are more than your job. But there's also no harm in wanting to make a great impression on clients and colleagues, and having a good sense of style will help you do that. Whether you're into creating a capsule wardrobe or have a closet that Carrie Bradshaw would envy, there's a style for every lawyer that will make you feel both comfortable and commanding.  

    We contacted a few ISBA members who are well-known for their stylish ensembles to get their advice and insight on power dressing for lawyers. 

    Meet Our Style Mavens. All four interviewees are active members in the ISBA — which is how we knew they were so stylish! — and come from a variety of backgrounds and practices. Meet Natali, Rory, Carol and Cory (kind of has a jingle to it, no?)...

  • May 11, 2017 | Member Services
    Membership Appreciation Month Tip: Lawin' in Style - Office Edition

    If you have a subscription to Veranda magazine...or home-design-related boards on Pinterest...or love watching HGTV — today is your (D4S) day — because today, we're talking office style.

    Different Strokes for Different Folks. Gone is a one-size-fits-all office. Legal office settings are just as varied as the different areas of law practiced. One person may have the corner office in a Chicago highrise while another is working from a home office in Mt. Vernon. Regardless of where you lie on the spectrum, your office environment contributes to your overall happiness and productivity.

    For those of you who accomplished last week's decluttering challenge, you're ready to move on to the next step in creating an office that not only works for you but also gives you #goodfeels.

    Looking to update the look of your entire law firm?

    Check out the trendy design of Strauss & Malk LLP's Lake Forest Office on Houzz.

  • May 10, 2017 | Member Services
    Congratulations to the Winner of ISBA's First Instagram Challenge!

    Congratulations to Joy Gossman for winning a set of Marie Kondo's books, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Life-Changing Maging: A Journal, and a Royal 1600mx paper shredder in ISBA's #deskie challenge on Instagram!

    On the first day of Member Appreciation Month, we tackled de-cluttering Marie Kondo-style and asked readers to share a photo of their decluttered desks or the item that sparks the most joy.We loved seeing your photos of our tips being put to good use in your offices and what brings our members joy during the workday! 

    Don't forget to check out our Membership Appreciation Month site for upcoming promotions.

  • May 10, 2017 | Member Services
    Membership Appreciation Month Tip: Your Brand, But Better

    There's probably no better way to project a polished professional presence than having a good brand. Today we're looking at what that means exactly, and exploring ways to improve yours.

    Your Brand Is Your Promise to Your Client. If you Google 'branding' you'll find many different descriptions of what it means. But at the heart of it, your brand is how others see you based on how you present yourself and the characteristics that define you. This is your personal brand.

    Your professional brand adds the context of your work to that equation, defining your unique value proposition in the marketplace.

    And your firm brand is about the reputation and value proposition of your firm as a whole, not just you (unless you are a solo lawyer).

    "Knowing who you are, what you stand for, your professional strengths and what clients can expect when they hire you - as well as being able to communicate this clearly and effectively - will be key to your success both in terms of becoming better known internally (within your law firm) and externally (with your clients)." - The Importance of Personal Branding for Lawyers, Stephanie Solakian Goldstein

  • May 9, 2017 | Member Services
    Membership Appreciation Month Tip: Up Your Out of Office Game

    Today's challenge is to create a more thoughtful out-of-office ('OOO') message, also called an automatic email responder, to better serve and delight your clients.

    An Easy Way to Extend Your Customer Service. Picture this...it's the end of the day the Friday before your week-long vacation. You're about to shut down your computer when you remember - shoot! - I need to let everyone know I'll be out next week. So you log back into Outlook/Gmail, spend 60 seconds updating your last (generic) OOO message with next week's dates, and 2 minutes later you're out the door.

    Sound familiar? If so, you're not alone.

    And while just the basics will suffice, it's certainly not taking advantage of the opportunity to create a positive memorable experience for the reader. You've worked hard to develop client relationships and deliver exceptional service while you're in the office. It's time to extend that to your client touches when you're out of the office as well.

    The Bare Necessities. A professional OOO message should at minimum cover the following 3 items:

  • May 8, 2017 | Member Services
    Member Appreciation Month Tip: Minding Your LinkedIn P's and Q's

    Welcome Desk4Success-ers to Week 2: Polishing Your Professional Presence! Today we're exploring proper LinkedIn etiquette for better business networking.

    LinkedIn is for Business (Only). LinkedIn differs from other social networking platforms in that it's only meant for business. So those family photos, political comments, and videos of you puking rainbows — all that should stay off of your LinkedIn profile.

    Not on LinkedIn? Check out these YouTube videos on creating a LinkedIn account and updating your account for 2017.

    The Golden Rule. The most important thing to remember when using LinkedIn is to treat your connections online the same way you would IRL. Build rapport. Be respectful. Don't overstep.

    Making and Accepting Connections. 'Connecting' is to LinkedIn what 'Friending' is on Facebook. Once you've 'connected' to another person — either by their invitation or yours — you are considered a 1st-degree connection. And, like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, you have an extended network of connections made up of people that your connections know. (Learn more here.)

    Here are our some common do's and don'ts when it comes to connections: