A malicious program called WannaCry has affected more than 200,000 people, businesses and institutions in 150 countries in recent days. Through a bit of luck, an antivirus professional found a kill switch for the primary program. But other variants are still working. Global attacks may have slowed, but they haven’t stopped. Your law firm needs to update its software and get prepared for the inevitable onslaught of similar programs in the future.
Here’s what we know about WannaCry, and what you need to know to stay safe.
Name and Aliases: WannaCry, WannaDecryptor, WCry and WannaCrypt
Operating Systems at Risk: Windows, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 and Windows 8. The latest version of Windows does not have the exploited vulnerability. If you are running any of the unsupported systems, or Windows 8, download the security patch immediately. You can find guidance from Microsoft here.
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The original version of this column appeared in the newsletter of the Communications Section of the National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) as a tribute to the young professional women serving on the section’s executive council. The sentiments contained therein, however, also apply to the thousands of working mothers who count themselves among the membership and staff of the North Carolina Bar Association.
My first big boss was a woman. Her name was Elizabeth Swindell, and she owned The Wilson Daily Times. That is where I began my professional career as a sportswriter in 1974 – before many of the women I’m writing about in this column were born.
Miss Swindell, as we knew her, would never weigh more than 100 pounds, yet she remains to this day the toughest woman I ever met. In addition to her duties at the newspaper, she was also a mother, grandmother and, by the time I started working for her, a great-grandmother.
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What’s your average billable rate? $250? $450? What if you could generate an additional two hours every week? What about five hours? Hours reclaimed with the assistance of software add up. We’re talking about a student loan payment, a vacation for your family, or even the ability to hire another staff member.
That money – those opportunities – are on the line if you forgo basic training on your software. I’m not asking you to be a computer engineer. I’m suggesting that you are missing important resources within the programs you use every day.
For instance, how quickly can you:
Remove all the unusual formatting from a document?
Convert a document to a PDF, then convert it back to Word?
Send a form letter to a client using a template and merge fields?
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My recent contribution to Long Leaf Law about losing weight and keeping it off left one reader hungry for more:
“I just thought it could be very valuable to dig into the specifics of how you lost weight and kept it off over the long term. I presume that you have come to enjoy and value your lifestyle, and some concrete examples of what you did and the mindset that you brought to it might inspire others.”
Such kind and insightful words merit a thoughtful response. Over the years, others who have heard my story about losing 140 pounds during my senior year of college have also asked how I lost the weight and how I’ve managed to keep it off.
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Early last October, Hurricane Matthew swept across eastern North Carolina, leaving death and destruction in its path. In this state alone 26 people lost their lives in storm-related deaths. Damage estimates topped $1.6 billion.
Forty-five North Carolina counties qualified for federal assistance, including Robeson County, where the Lumber River crested at 24 feet, eclipsing the previous record by 3.5 feet.
The North Carolina Bar Association, led by its Young Lawyers Division, worked with Legal Aid of North Carolina, the American Bar Association and FEMA to provide free legal assistance to hurricane victims through the Disaster Legal Services hotline.
This is one victim’s story, as conveyed through a family member. For purposes of privacy, neither the victim nor the attorney is identified by name.
How much time do you spend doing what you want to do?
How is your life measuring up against your expectations?
We’d like to know how you’re doing, so please take a few minutes to complete the online State of the Profession Survey from the N.C. Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism. The survey password was mailed to all licensed North Carolina attorneys on April 5. Email [email protected] if you need help.
Survey results will help guide the commission and the N.C. Bar Association’s Lawyer Effectiveness & Quality of Life Committee in better understanding and addressing the challenges facing our profession today.
For those who have completed the survey, thank you very much for your participation.
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Took an online survey? It didn’t even take too long. It explored a range of important topics in hopes of creating a picture of the challenges and goals of attorneys practicing law today.
No joke.
Please take a few minutes to complete the online State of the Profession Survey from the N.C. Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism. The survey password was mailed to all licensed North Carolina attorneys on April 5. Email [email protected] if you need help.
For those who have completed the survey, thank you very much for your participation.
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The pursuit of happiness – professional and personal – is always in the back of our minds. For a few minutes, we’d like to put it front and center.
If you’ve not yet completed the online State of the Profession Survey from the N.C. Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, please take some time to do so now at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/stateoftheprofession. The survey password was mailed to all licensed North Carolina attorneys on April 5.
For those who have completed the survey, thank you very much for your participation.
A few months ago, we asked NCBA members to respond to a short survey on the growing possibility of North Carolina’s adoption of a Uniform Bar Exam. More than 300 readers chimed in. Below is a snapshot of the results along with a few of the many reader comments. To read all the comments poll takers left, go to the North Carolina Lawyer page of our website.
POLL RESULTS
What is your reaction to the N.C. Board of Law Examiners’ move toward adopting the Uniform Bar Exam?
The majority of the 311 respondents, 59 percent, reacted in favor of the change.
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On Jan. 1, 2017, a comprehensive revision of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure took effect. The revised Rules apply to all cases appealed on or after Jan. 1. The revised Rules include some brand new provisions, and they also incorporate several changes that had been in effect for some time pursuant to stand-alone orders of the North Carolina Supreme Court.[1] The revised Rules are available here: http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/html/pdf/therules.pdf.
No doubt, attorneys who regularly handle appeals have already scoured the revised Rules for brand new changes. But for the benefit of the rest of us, I’ve chosen to highlight five provisions in the revised Rules; the first three are new changes, and the other two are codifications of prior stand-alone changes.
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By 
