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| This Aug. 25, 2022 edition of the Sidebar is sponsored by JLL.
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Time to Renew Your ACBA Membership
Practice management resources. Exclusive networking opportunities. Discounted and free CLEs. The Bench-Bar Conference. Now is the time to renew your ACBA membership and enjoy these benefits, and many more. The deadline to renew is Wednesday, Aug. 31. Click the button below to renew, or contact Barbara Brumbaugh at bbrumbaugh@acba.org or 412-402-6612.
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New ACBA Legal Directory Now Available
The print edition of the 2022-23 ACBA Legal Directory is now available. Members can purchase a hard copy for just $20 ($50 for non-members). The directory, sponsored by AmeriServ Trust and Financial Services Company, is loaded with contact information for all ACBA members, court personnel and more. It also contains the valuable Member-to-Member Referral Guide, which lists members by practice area. To order, call 412-261-6161 or click below.
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Deadline Tomorrow for Proposals for Annual Grant Funding from ACBF
Tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 26, is the deadline to submit letters of inquiry to the ACBF for legal aid grants to fund programs that provide direct pro bono counsel to low-income clients and/or promote the public understanding, interest and support of legal-related issues. This year, the program is offering six fixed-amount grant awards at $10,000 and asks applicants to submit a letter of inquiry; approved LOIs will be invited to deliver a live pitch to the Fellows for consideration.
LOIs must be submitted online via the button below. For more, contact Mallory Draisma at 412-402-6674 or mdraisma@acba.org.
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ACBA Members Targeted by Email Schemes
The ACBA has learned of several email phishing scams targeted at ACBA members this week. Specifically:
- Some ACBA members have received fraudulent emails, purporting to be about a potential referral from the “Allegheny County Bar referral service.” These emails often reference “breach of contract/business litigation cases” and/or have a subject line of “New Case…ACBA.” These are not legitimate emails and should be deleted. Such referrals would only come to ACBA Lawyer Referral Service panel attorneys directly from the LRS email address, LRS@acba.org or via phone.
- Other members have received emails claiming to be from an attorney – often in another country – claiming that an unknown distant relative of the recipient – with the same last name – has died. The alleged attorney or insurance representative now has inheritance money for you, the Pittsburgh attorney. This, too, is a scam that has been targeted to other legal communities in the country and is now being targeted to the Pittsburgh Legal Community.
As always, think before you click. For more, keep an eye on the ACBA Tech Tip in the last Sidebar of every month. See below for this month’s Tech Tip.
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Members-Only Happy Hour is Sept. 14 in Basketball Arena
Save the date. All members are invited to network with their fellow attorneys at the ACBA Members-Only Happy Hour on Wednesday, Sept. 14 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Duquesne University’s new basketball arena. The event is open only to ACBA members, and admission is just $5 in advance or $10 at the door thanks to event sponsor Key Private Bank and includes appetizers and your first drink. No CLE. No Seminar. Just Happy Hour.
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Is Your Child Applying to Colleges? Scholarship to Yale Available
It’s the time of year when many high school seniors are applying to colleges. The children of Allegheny County attorneys are eligible for significant scholarships to Yale and the University of Paris thanks to the Kennedy T. Friend Scholarship Fund. For more information or to apply, click the button below.
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Workers’ Comp Golf Outing is Sept. 15
All members are invited to get CLE credit and enjoy lunch, golf and a networking reception at the ACBA Workers’ Compensation Section’s annual golf outing. The event will be held on Thursday, Sept. 15 at Shannopin Country Club. There are options to register for the entire event and/or the CLE, only.
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PLAA Business Partner Exhibit Show is Sept. 9
ACBA members are invited to the Pittsburgh Legal Administrators Association 2022 Business Partner Exhibit Show on Friday, Sept. 9 from 12 to 6 p.m. at the Rivers Casino. Enjoy lunch and cocktails and connect with those vendors who can help you run your practice. There’s no cost to attend but registration is required.
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JLL Presents ‘The Future of Work Survey 2022’
Corporate real estate leaders are thinking strategically about the long-term transformation of their real estate portfolios to succeed. Insights from JLL's latest survey of over 1,000 CRE decision-makers across the globe suggest that the period from 2022 to 2025 will represent a crucial window of opportunity for organizations to redefine their workplace strategies and to create flexible, tech-enabled, future-proof real estate portfolios. Investing in quality space will be a greater priority than expanding workplace footprint. Download the report for more takeaways from top CRE decision-makers.
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| Paid Sponsorship. For more information about ACBA Native Advertising, email Brian Knavish, ACBA Director of Marketing, Media Relations and Strategic Partnerships.
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Tomorrow’s Lawyers Journal Available Online
In addition to the hard copy edition that is sent to members through the mail, the Aug. 26 issue of the Lawyers Journal — the ACBA’s flagship publication featuring substantive legal articles and stories of interest to the legal community — is available digitally on the ACBA website and at the button below.
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Aug. 26 Pittsburgh Legal Journal Opinions Available
The Aug. 26 edition of Pittsburgh Legal Journal Opinions is available online. The Pittsburgh Legal Journal publishes timely, precedent-setting, full-text opinions from various divisions of the Court of Common Pleas. Opinions that appeared in past editions are available in a searchable database here; members must be logged in to the ACBA website to access this database.
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Pittsburgh Legal Journal Available to Subscribers
The Pittsburgh Legal Journal – the official legal journal of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas containing trial lists, legal notices, sheriff sales and more – is published five days per week and is available only to subscribers. It is delivered via email as an easy-to-print, 8.5x11-inch pdf.
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| As Summer Winds Down, ACBA Job Board Stays Hot
It’s summertime, and the job market is hot. There are dozens of new legal jobs recently posted to the ACBA Job Board. For more information, contact Jennifer Pulice, the ACBA’s Director of Legal Employment Services, at jpulice@acba.org.
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| No LawPay Fee Until 2023 if You Enroll by Aug. 31
ACBA members who open a new LawPay account by Aug. 31 will pay no monthly fee until 2023. The leading online payment solution for legal professionals for over 15 years, LawPay enables attorneys to accept credit, debit and eCheck payments from clients anywhere, at any time. LawPay protects trust accounts against third-party debiting and offering expert support from real people.
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| Experiencing a Financial Hardship? The ACBF Lawyers’ Fund Can Help
Financial hardships are a reality due to the pandemic. Did you know there is a fund that could help? The Allegheny County Bar Foundation Lawyers’ Fund can provide confidential, need-based financial assistance to area lawyers and their families. Funds may be available to help those struggling to make ends meet, manage student loan debt, cover funeral expenses of a loved one, pay for substance abuse counseling and more. Contact ACBA Executive Director David Blaner at 412-402-6601 or click the button below.
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| Times of Tragedy and Crisis: Don’t Fall Victim to Cyber Criminals
For more than two years, the world has been faced with historic crisis events: pandemics, destructive weather events and wars, to name just a few. Unfortunately, cyber criminals prey on these uncertain times by creating a heightened sense of urgency to trick people into donating to fraudulent causes. Keep the following “do’s and don’ts” in mind:
- DO: Be very suspicious of any requirement to donate via wire, gift card or cryptocurrency.
- DO: Conduct additional online research about the entity if you are contacted with an urgent plea for help.
- DON’T: Don’t assume pleas from crowdfunding sites (GoFundMe, TikTok) are legitimate in the wake of a tragedy.
- DON’T: Don’t provide personal or financial information when responding to an unsolicited request.
See below for more.
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This tip courtesy of the ACBA Legal Technology and e-Discovery Committee, and the Aug. 3 SANS Institute “OUCH!” newsletter.
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| ACBA Presenting In-Person, Webinar CLEs
The ACBA is presenting live-webinar CLEs that enable members to earn credits in real time, as well as select in-person CLEs. The schedule of upcoming CLEs can be viewed at the ACBA Calendar. Additionally, the ACBA has more than 170 previously recorded CLEs, available 24/7 at the ACBA Online CLE Center.
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| All Upcoming Events Available on ACBA Calendar
Networking events, CLE courses and committee, division and section meetings … it’s all available in one easy place at the ACBA Calendar, located at www.ACBA.org/Calendar. Bookmark the page and stay up-to-date on what’s coming up at the ACBA.
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Determine Insurance Program Best Suited for Your Organization
Organizations can reduce their total cost of risk and gain control over insurance costs with risk financing alternatives; the below video covers more. For more on the ACBA Insurance Program, visit www.ACBA.org/Insurance.
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Get Help Running Your Practice through ACBA Expert and Vendor Guide
Looking for an expert witness in a specific area? Or a resource to help you with law practice management? The 2022 ACBA Expert and Vendor Guide, sponsored by BDO, lists partners – consultants, expert witnesses and others – by business category. It’s available online 24/7 at the button below, and it’s available for download here.
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Contact Info for Members in ACBA Directory
Contact information for all ACBA members is available in the ACBA Legal Directory, courtesy of AmeriServ Trust and Financial Services. An online version of the directory is available here, and a hard copy version is available for purchase here.
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