The conversation surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) is shifting from the fear of it replacing human jobs to how firms are using it to streamline their processes. In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast from the 2018 Annual Florida Bar Convention, host Jonathon Israel talks to Eric Ostroff about the impact artificial intelligence will have on the legal profession. They discuss how it can augment your practice by shortening time spent on things like document review and share tips on how to integrate AI into your practice.

Eric Ostroff, a partner at Meland Russin & Budwick, focuses his practice on business litigation and trade-secrets/noncompete law and litigation.

Cryptocurrency is quickly rising in popularity but should lawyers accept it as payment? In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast from the 2018 Annual Florida Bar Convention, host Jonathon Israel talks to Drew Hinkes and David Silver about how lawyers can and should interact with cryptocurrency. They discuss the volatile aspects of the technology, how attorneys go about accepting cryptocurrency as payment, and the potential for a legal community coin in the future.

Drew Hinkes is the general counsel, chief legal officer, and co-founder of Athena Blockchain, a financial services advisory firm focused on the tokenization of investments.

David Silver is a founding partner of Silver Miller and is focused exclusively on representing aggrieved investors and cryptocurrency users worldwide who seek to recover their financial losses.

Though they are still in the early adoption phase, blockchain and smart contract technologies have the potential to change the practice of law. In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast from the 2018 Florida Bar Annual Convention, host Jonathon Israel talks to Anessa Santos and Scott AllendeVaux about what blockchain and smart contracts are and how they will automate processes and address problems within the legal profession. They also discuss resources for lawyers interested in incorporating these technologies in their practice and what’s happening in the near future of blockchain and smart contracts.

Attorney Anessa Santos has 15 plus years' experience in the technology field of UC&C, specializing in providing legal and business consulting services.

Scott AllendeVaux is currently the senior partner at Allendevaux & Company, a risk management and regulatory compliance firm.

Various committees within the legal profession, such as the ABA’s Mental Health Committee and the Florida Bar’s Special Committee on Mental Health and Wellness, are brainstorming methods to address the increasingly sobering statistics of depression, severe anxiety, and substance abuse among lawyers . In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast, host Christine Bilbrey talks to Joe Ankus about mental health first aid training and how it could positively impact the law firms that use it. They discuss the benefits of non-judgemental and undivided listening and give various other tips for mental health first aid.

Joe Ankus has been a legal search consultant since 1991 and is the president of Ankus Consulting, Inc.

This podcast has been approved by The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Department for 0.5 hour of General CLE credit including 0.5 hour of Mental Health and Wellness CLE credit. Course #7005.

Identity theft doesn’t just apply to stolen credit cards or social security numbers. For attorneys, scammers can steal names and even bar numbers in order to trick consumers. In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast, hosts Christine Bilbrey and Karla Eckardt talk to Shanell Schuyler about attorney identity theft scams, what they look like, and what both lawyers and clients can do to prevent them. For victims of identity theft, they also share resources within and outside of the Florida Bar that can help attorneys recover from and report identity theft.

Shanell Schuyler is director of the Attorney Consumer Assistance Program (ACAP) and Intake Department of The Florida Bar.

This podcast has been approved by The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Department for 0.5 hour of General CLE credit including 0.5 hour of Ethics CLE credit. Course #7010.

Additional Resources:

• The Office of the Attorney General’s Identity Theft Resource and Response Center
• The Office of the Attorney General consumer fraud hotline is 866-9-NO-SCAM (866-966-7226).
• The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services hotline is 800-HELP-FLA (800-435-7352).
• The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Computer Crime Common Complaints page: http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FCCC/Common-Complaints
• File a Complaint with The Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov/complaint
• File a Complaint with The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): http://www.ic3.gov/
• Lawyers should report identity theft to ACAP at 866-352-0707, or email [email protected].

While you hope to never experience workplace violence, it’s important to know what to do in such a situation. In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast, hosts Christine Bilbrey and Karla Eckardt talk to Deputy M. Dean Crump about the different kinds of workplace violence and the importance of training employees to handle these issues properly. They discuss how to safely deal with terminations, physical security measures, and how to prepare for an active shooter situation.

Dean Crump is the deputy sheriff for Leon County Sheriff's Office.

The role of The Florida Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization and Education (BLSE) is to identify the attorneys who have special knowledge, skills, and proficiency in certified areas of practice. In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast, hosts Christine Bilbrey and Karla Eckardt talk about the BLSE with Diana Kellogg, Jessica Malloy, and Steven Rubin including what the certification process looks like and why it’s important for attorneys. They discuss the examinations, cost, peer review, ethics evaluations, and other components that make the certification process a valuable learning experience as well as a means for accreditation.

Diana Kellogg is the director of the BLSE.

Jessica R. Malloy is the education compliance and accreditation manager of the BLSE.

Steven D. Rubin is the current chair of BLSE.

This podcast has been approved by The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Department for 0.5 hour of General CLE credit. Course #7015.

According to a Johns Hopkins University study of more than 100 occupations, more lawyers suffer from depression than any other occupation. In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast, hosts Christine Bilbrey and Karla Eckardt discuss lawyer wellbeing with Larry Krieger, who expands on why attorneys often struggle with depression and the wellbeing factors that may lead to satisfaction in a legal career. Together, they also talk about why firms should care about their employees’ happiness and how to create a positive environment.

Professor Larry Krieger co-directs the Externship Program and supervises criminal justice externships at the Florida State University College of Law.

This podcast has been approved by The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Department for 0.5 hour of General CLE credit including 0.5 hour of Mental Health and Wellness CLE credit. Course # 7020. 

If you have questions about professional conduct, conflict of interest, or what information you can include in your advertising, The Florida Bar’s Ethics and Advertising Department is there with answers. In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast, hosts Christine Bilbrey and Karla Eckardt talk to Elizabeth Clark Tarbert about the Ethics and Advertising Department, including their role with the Bar, common questions they are asked, and why lawyers shouldn’t be afraid to call them for advice. They also discuss advertising rules and how to keep track of these rules as they change.

Elizabeth Clark Tarbert has been ethics counsel for The Florida Bar since 1997, providing oral and written ethics opinions Bar members.

This podcast has been approved by The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Department for 0.5 hour of General CLE credit including 0.5 hour of Ethics CLE credit. Course # 7024. 

As the year comes to a close, there are a number of things both large and small firms need to think about, one of these things being insurance policies. In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast, hosts Christine Bilbrey and Jonathon Israel talk to Chip Trefry about end of the year insurance planning for lawyers. They discuss what types of insurance lawyers should think about, including health and cyber insurance, and the details of group coverage and tax benefits.

Earl “Chip” Trefry is the owner and CEO of Member Benefits, a full-service insurance and financial services organization.

This podcast has been approved by The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Department for 0.5 hour of General CLE credit. Course # 7030.