Most people agree that law is a profession while, at the same time, lawyers must act in a businesslike manner. Clients, in fact, demand this. Thus, there is no room for debate (as there was in previous years) about whether lawyers are professionals or business folks. They’re both.

Kathleen Robichaud, a sole practitioner in Manotick, ON, takes a look at trust accounts, and the ways in which they can be mismanaged because of inadequate monitoring.

Jean-Charles Grégoire, a barrister and solicitor with Marks & Clerk Canada, sets the scene as Canada prepares to implement the Patent Law Treaty, which aims to harmonize formal procedures in respect of patent applications.

All it takes these days to render a lawyer’s good reputation meaningless is 140 characters posted by the right person on Twitter, writes Carolyn Elefant, author of the blog myshingle.com. Because there’s simply no way to prevent dissatisfied clients from taking to Twitter to criticize their lawyers, Elefant offers up some tips for responding.

Leaving your small or sole-practitioner firm can turn into a juggling act with a lot of balls in the air. Jocelyn Frazer, Equity Ombudsperson and Practice Advisor with the Law Society of Alberta, helps get you started with a series of checklists of things you have to do and remember whether you decide to sell your firm or close it for good.

Law firm files are taken captive by malicious software and held for ransom. It was a good storyline for an episode of The Good Wife this season, and more common in real life than you might think – even for small or sole proprietor firms in Canada. James Careless talks about the problem, and some of the solutions.

Technology and the changing nature of the workplace itself mean there are a lot of office options for today’s sole or small practitioner, from the home-based office to space shared with other professionals, to a virtual office that can be accessed from wherever you happen to be. Finding the one that fits your needs is what’s important, writes Carolynne Burkholder-James.

Here are some tips from legal technology consultants about how to get the most from your law practice's Website.

There are many circumstances in which you, or others, may have to deal with the transfer or wrap-up of your practice: a transfer between firms, retirement, sudden illness or accidental death.

The mobile computing hardware used in law firms runs the gamut from full size notebook computers to the recently discontinued Xircom (Intel) Rex, which is about the size of a credit card, but somewhat thicker.