Red Flags Rule Update

A bill to exclude some lawyers from the Federal Trade Commission’s Red Flags Rule has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and awaits action in the Senate.

On October 20, the House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R. 3763 to exclude from the meaning of “creditor” any health care practice, accounting practice, or legal practice with 20 or fewer employees. The bill would also excludes any other business which the FTC determines: (1) knows all its customers or clients individually; (2) only performs services in or around the residences of its customers; or (3) has not experienced incidents of identity theft, and identity theft is rare for businesses of that type.

With only three days left before November 1 -- the date the FTC will begin enforcement -- whether or not your firm will be affected is still an open question.

Red Flags Rule reprise

In case you have forgotten about theFTC's Red Flags Rule (we haven't). In the summer, the FTC delayed enforcement of the rule until 11/1/09. Mark your calendars, the date is coming up...

NYCLA's Ethics Hotline

I a volunteered to staff NYCLA's Ethics Hotline in August. I was surprised to have received several calls during my volunteer tenure. Many lawyers have serious professional practice questions that need answers so I applaud the Ethics Committee for the hotline resource. The first step for everyone facing an ethical dilemma is to review the rules; they are accessible on the web and deal (at least broadly) with most issues that came up in my volunteer weeks.



I wish I could tell you more, but the hotline q&a and the committee discussions are confidential. So, if you want to learn more, you will just have to volunteer yourself.

Is the recession finally over? Some say Yes!

PricewaterhouseCoopers says the worst of the recession is over for law firms. Is it over for you too? Let us know by voting on our survey.

Read the complete article about the PricewaterhouseCoopers survey at: http://www.abajournal.com/news/survey_says_worst_of_recession_is_over_for_law_firms/

NYCLA's Mentoring Program

The overwhelming number of voters in the latest poll are interested in participating in NYCLA's pilot mentoring program. We at the Task Force on Professionalism are very excited about this program.

NYCLA’s Task Force on Professionalism conducted a study on ways legal proficiency and professionalism can be improved. Interviews and focus groups were held at large, mid-size and small firms. A key theme that emerged from the interviews and focus groups was the need for mentoring of young attorneys as the best way to increase professionalism among lawyers and increase their professional satisfaction. To that end, the Task Force and NYCLA’s CLE Institute has developed a Pilot Mentoring Program. To learn more about the program and apply, follow this link: http://www.nycla.org/index.cfm?section=CLE&page=NYCLA%20Pilot%20Mentoring%20Program