We hope you have enjoyed this wonderful summer, and that you have plans for a fun and relaxing Labor Day weekend. Our team has continued to enjoy the season – office administrators (and sisters) Katie and Erin took a trip with their families to Leavenworth and Idaho, and our paralegal Andrea and her husband traveled to beautiful Alaska.
Erin & Katie cooling off in the Wenatchee River
Andrea enjoying the view in Alaska
On August 21st, I look forward to teaming up again with Jeanne Marie Clavere, Professional Responsibility Counsel for the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), and Sumeer Singla of the Seattle law firm Impact Law Group, on a panel discussion for the WSBA’s Readmission continuing legal education program. We’ll be discussing ethics, specifically ethical considerations and limitations governing how attorneys may participate in social media. It’s important for lawyers to participate online in a way that fully respects the confidentiality of our clients, and shows professionalism towards other parties, attorneys and judges. I’m always proud to be teaching ethics – the most important subject for all lawyers to be well-versed in!
Also, on August 27, I’ll be presenting again on Business Law Essentials for the Seattle office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. I truly enjoy the interesting and creative questions that arise during these presentations. Interested in joining the conversation, either in person or via webinar? Click here to sign up!
Last month, the second article in my three-part series entitled “Attorney Rating Systems: Should You Play?” was published in the American Bar Association’s GP Solo eReport. In this article, I examined a recent Washington State Bar Association ethics opinion on social media/attorney rating websites. This opinion sets forth ethical guidance for attorneys’ participation in these websites as well as how to handle reciprocal online endorsement requests from attorneys. Although the public increasingly relies on these websites to select attorneys, as you can see, Washington attorneys have ethical limitations on participating. In short, many of these websites deceive the public because of their lack of transparency in failing to provide specific information as to how the purported rating is actually calculated.
As always, I would love to hear your questions and comments. If you have any questions about our firm and the work we do, please visit our website at www.staceyromberg.com.
Getting it Right: Three Tips for Incorporating Your Business in Washington
Stacey discusses three important factors in incorporating your business – Creating a Proper Corporate Structure, Relationships and Maintenance.
When Is an Independent Contractor not an Independent Contractor?
Are you a small business owner who employs independent contractors, or are you an independent contractor yourself? Earlier this summer, the federal government issued new guidance regarding when workers should be classified as employees and when they qualify as independent contractors. In this post, Sherry explains how new federal guidelines could very well alter the way you classify your workers (or yourself).
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Gay Marriage Decision Should Be Required Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court’s highly anticipated June ruling on gay marriage continues to provide fodder for debate in the media. But have you read the Court’s opinion? In her blog post, Sherry discusses why the Court’s written opinion is summer reading at its finest – it includes a little romance, a bit of history, and a lively debate on the freedoms shared by all Americans.
Photo credits: Erin Cranston, Andrea Logan, David Wall on Flickr, Official GDC on Flickr, Steven Damron on Flickr
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