#and satisfaction knowing what change polls shall make

[ingek73]

Of course Prince Andrew isn’t sweating over this lawsuit – he can’t

Marina Hyde

The Duke of York is the subject of a US civil suit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who alleges she was abused while a minor

Published: 16:40 Tuesday, 10 August 2021

“I could have worse tags than ‘Air Miles Andy’”, Prince Andrew once remarked, “although I don’t know what they are.” Yeah, well … SPOILERS. I’m not sure if the Duke of York would have better luck if he considered the question again today, in light of Various Events of the past few years. His infamous Newsnight interview revealed him to be a man of such baroque stupidity that in some ways its most sensational revelation was that Prince Edward must have been the clever one.

And so to events overnight in New York. For the first time, the Queen’s second son has been made the subject of a US lawsuit, a civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, formerly Roberts, teenage victim of Andrew’s former close friend, the late underage sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre alleges that the Queen’s second son sexually abused her when she was a minor on three occasions – in London, in New York, and in the US Virgin Islands. Quite a lot of air miles, there, though I fear we can rule out HRH cashing them in for a free flight to the US any time soon. The prince has not commented on the case but he has always denied the claims saying they’re false and without foundation.

He won’t be sweating even now, of course – as Andrew famously explained, he is biologically incapable of perspiration because he OD’d on adrenaline in the Falklands. And you know, no matter how many times I type that, I always need to take a moment to get my eyebrows down off the roof.

Anyway, this latest development may well represent Giuffre’s last available option for personal agency in pursuit of justice for her claims. Otherwise, she can only await the glacial creep of the various investigations into the now-dead Epstein and his associates, including the financier’s alleged procurer Ghislaine Maxwell, who is herself awaiting trial in the US.

Alas, accounts differ as to the level of the prince’s assistance with any of these various inquiries. Last January, the then-New York attorney general, Geoffrey Berman, declared HRH had offered “zero cooperation” up to that point. According to Berman, not a lot had changed six months later. “If Prince Andrew is, in fact, serious about cooperating with the ongoing federal investigation, our doors remain open,” he reiterated last summer, “and we await word of when we should expect him.” Reading that, you might have felt minded to pencil him in for the 12th of never, but the prince’s legal team countered that he had “on at least three occasions this year offered his assistance as a witness to the DOJ”. In the suit filed on Monday, the documents state: “Again Prince Andrew stonewalled - ignoring (the) plaintiff’s letter and emails without any reply or response, thereby making this action necessary now.”

Let’s move on, then, to a recap on the three locations referenced in Giuffre’s case. The Virgin Islands relates to Epstein’s private property in the territory, apparently known locally – though perhaps not altogether opaquely – as “Paedophile Island”. On the New York allegation, Prince Andrew has already asserted that he couldn’t have had “activity” with Giuffre at Epstein’s Manhattan address that night as he was staying with the then British consul general in New York, Sir Thomas Harris. Or as Harris put it: “It doesn’t sound like he stayed with me,” adding that he had “no recollection” of the claimed royal visit, and it had not appeared in the Court Circular as would be convention. The London allegation arguably comes with the most helpful aide memoire for the prince, what with the existence of a photo of Andrew with his hand resting on the bare hip of Giuffre in an upstairs room of Ghislaine Maxwell’s home. Maxwell herself is smirking in the background of the picture, allegedly taken after a visit by her, the prince, and Epstein to Tramp nightclub.

All sorts of claims have been made about this photograph and what it shows. Placing those allegations and denials to one side for a moment, let’s just focus on what we can see, and ask ourselves a basic question. Namely: what are three big-hitters in their 40s doing hanging round late at night with a 17-year-old runaway? Is this the behaviour of non-weirdos? Not really, let’s face it. Virginia Roberts wasn’t a whole lot older than Andrew’s eldest daughter at the time, which perhaps ought to have crystallised his thinking. Far better to take her to Pizza Express than to run the gauntlet of the aged slimeballs at Tramp.

Nor was it the behaviour of a non-weirdo to continue to hang out with a Tier 1 sex offender AFTER he had been to prison for procuring an underage girl for prostitution, as the Duke of York undeniably did in the case of Epstein. And let’s not forget it wasn’t just one girl, in some kind of he-said, she-said situation. As the Palm Beach police chief who ran the case summarised: “This was 50-something ‘shes’ and one ‘he’ – and the shes all basically told the same story.”

As for what’s next for Andy, I wouldn’t pin hopes on him being a blockbuster Tower of London exhibit for autumn. It was almost exactly two years ago that the fallout of his Epstein friendship hotted up for him again, and back then the prince headed straight to join the Queen’s summer retreat to Balmoral, where he was accompanied by his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Andrew was even prominently displayed in the prime seat next to his mother in the car on the way to the local church. He and Fergie then private-jetted off for a second time to Sotogrande – though oddly some random private plane Meghan and Harry had recently taken was deemed of far more febrile and condemnatory interest to most of Fleet Street at the time.

You certainly wouldn’t bet against the same pattern being followed this year. Prince Andrew and Fergie are already reported to be imminently expected at Balmoral, suggesting he is not exactly the Banned Old Duke of York. Perhaps we shall see him with mama again, pursing his lips with the grave satisfaction of one who knows that Balmoral’s humble kirk does not actually have an extradition treaty with hades.

In the immediate wake of the Newsnight interview, a YouGov poll found that a mere 6% of the UK public believed Prince Andrew to be telling the truth. It does seem particularly notable that he asserts he was “acting honourably” in flying all the way to New York in 2010, supposedly to end his friendship with Epstein. Strangely, he has yet to regard it as a matter of honour to fly to New York to clear his own name. If he fails to take up this new opportunity to do so in a court of law, he and his surrogates can hardly complain about being tried in the court of public opinion.

[petessay850]

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[wordsintheatmosphere]

Room for Two

Series: Persona 5 Pairing: Akira/Mishima Rating: G Summary:

The hotel bed is only meant for one, but Akira finds ways to make it work.

Tags: Hawaii trip, established relationship, canon setting, fluff

When Mishima invites him to share a hotel room in Hawaii, he doesn’t think twice before agreeing. 

It makes sense, after all; he can only room with a guy in his class, and aside from the fact that they are dating, Mishima is the only guy who will talk to him in the first place. Kawakami looks relieved at how quickly he finds a roommate, presumably because she knows just how difficult it is for anyone to want to stay in a room with a guy who has a criminal record. She eyes Mishima briefly before writing their names down on the form, with a little more hurry than is necessary. Perhaps she’s worried that Mishima will change his mind in the time it takes her to register their room, and the thought makes Akira smile. If only she knew.

That’s why it comes as a shock to him when he enters the room with Mishima and the reality finally sinks in. It’s ironic how he had spent a brief moment reflecting on their relationship and has only now realized that he will indeed be rooming alone with his boyfriend, together, in the dark. The casual way Mishima had asked him to share a room made it feel like it isn’t a big deal, but when the door closes behind him the room suddenly turns into a private space for two. He looks at Mishima standing in the small room and his pulse quickens.

It doesn’t take long for Mishima to catch on either. At first he mutters about the fatigue from the flight, where they should store their luggage, how small the room is. When he looks at the two beds, he stops in the middle of his sentence and a slow realization dawns on his face. So he, too, hadn’t quite realized the full reality of rooming alone with Akira until now. At least they are now on the same page, Akira thinks, and it’s a little reassuring to know that he isn’t the only one thinking about these things.

The sudden silence has become unbearably awkward, and Akira gathers his nerves and stands next to Mishima. “Yuuki,” he starts, slow and careful as not to startle, but then Mishima immediately jumps back at the sound of his name.

“Oh, uh,” Mishima stammers as he grabs at his pocket, pulling out his phone like he found a lifeline, “by the way, did you know the polls have started for the phansite?”

The topic change doesn’t surprise Akira in the slightest, and he lets Mishima tell him in anxiously quick words how the phansite is doing. Mishima seats himself on the other bed, his body rigid and eyes glued to his phone, the words pouring out of him with frazzled energy. Akira listens, chimes in with occasional questions, but when Mishima talks himself into a circle he finally interrupts. 

“Yuuki, that’s great to hear. But right now we’re on a trip.”

Mishima falls silent then, but his grip doesn’t loosen on his phone. Finally he whispers, “I just forgot we will actually be alone. You know, like this.”

“Me too,” Akira confesses, and Mishima meets his eyes for the first time since they’ve entered the room. They grin shyly at each other, and then burst into quiet laughter. Akira is relieved to see Mishima’s body relax, even if only a little.

“Well, shall we sleep? The flight was pretty uncomfortable.” Akira climbs into his bed, and Mishima looks relieved at his suggestion. When Mishima is comfortably nestled in his bed, Akira turns off the lights. The room plunges into darkness, but a nervous energy lingers in the air. He stares into the dark, and the silence tells him Mishima is doing the same. 

He isn’t the type to let an opportunity slip by him, and this is an opportunity he will not have again. He listens carefully, and when he doesn’t hear the telltale signs of sleep from the other side of the room, he takes his chances. “Yuuki,” he says tentatively, “is it okay if I join you?”

He hears a slight rustling in response, and when Mishima finally answers his voice is pitched with nervousness. “Uh, like in my bed?”

Akira smiles at the question. “Yes.”

“Oh.” A few minutes pass by, and just when Akira wonders if his boyfriend has forgotten to answer, “Sure, okay.”

His heart is beating hard in his chest now, and he climbs out of his sheets and slips into Mishima’s bed. He feels Mishima roll over to make space for him, a fruitless effort since the bed is only meant for one, but Akira slides in anyway, closes the space between them. The small bed forces their bodies to press together, him against Mishima’s back, and he is relieved when Mishima doesn’t flinch at the contact. “May I hold you?” he asks, and it’s a bold question when he has been allowed this much already. Mishima hesitates, his body tensing for a moment before he carefully turns around. Their eyes find each other, adjusted to the unfamiliar darkness of the room.

“Alright,” Mishima says, and he nervously smiles. “But, uh, don’t try anything weird, okay? If you try to tickle me, I’ll kick you straight out of this room.”

“No tickling. It’s a deal,” Akira says in his most solemn tone, and he curls his arms around Mishima’s waist and pulls him close. Mishima fits small and warm against him, and Akira presses his face into Mishima’s hair and breathes in the familiar scent of his shampoo. A few moments later he feels a pair of arms circle him too, shy but sure. They lie wrapped in each other’s warmth, listening to the sounds of their breaths and their own beating hearts. This is nice, Akira thinks, and then once more, aloud. “This is nice.”

Mishima stirs in his arms. “I move in my sleep,” Mishima mumbles, and honestly Akira does not mind even if he ends up being kicked off the bed as long as he can keep holding Mishima like this. It isn’t long until he falls asleep, basking in the comfortable warmth of his boyfriend pressed against him. When he wakes up the next morning to Mishima nuzzling his neck in his sleep, he can’t stop the smile spreading across his face. He is sore from sleeping in the same position all night, squashed on a tiny bed meant for one, but he can definitely get used to this.

Unfortunately, things do not work out the way he’d hoped. He is taken by surprise by Yusuke’s sudden appearance and ends up being swept along for the ride, and he loses sight of Mishima for the whole day. When he comes back to his room, he finds Mishima already on his phone and busy working on the phansite.

“Don’t tell me this is what you’ve been doing all day,” Akira says, but he already knows the answer.

“Well, I haven’t had the time to do any maintenance lately, and you guys have been really popular.” Mishima looks up after a while, his eyes tired but satisfied. “The posts have been blowing up, even now. There’s a lot of work to do.”

He launches into an update of the new polls he implemented, about the sudden rise in rankings, but Akira is only half listening. Akira knows of his boyfriend’s need to feel useful, the satisfaction he finds in helping the only way he can, but even so he can’t help but feel dismayed that Mishima has wasted his time in Hawaii trying to be useful to him.

“Yuuki,” he says, putting his hand on Mishima’s phone and firmly pressing it down. “You’re in Hawaii. Don’t worry about the phansite for now.”

Mishima opens his mouth in objection, but Akira braces an arm on the back of the chair and leans down. Their lips touch, Mishima’s mouth still slightly parted, and when Akira pulls back Mishima stares at him with stunned surprise.

“I would rather spend some time with you right now. What about you?” he drops his voice low, and just as expected, Mishima’s cheeks immediately flush a lovely shade of red.

“That’s…that’s not a fair question.” After a moment of hesitation, Mishima drops his phone on the table and reaches for him, timid but expectant, and he grasps Akira’s jacket and tugs him down. Just as they lean in for another kiss, a knock on their door interrupts them.

“What’s up?”

The force of Mishima’s shove takes Akira by surprise, and he stumbles backwards and catches himself on the bed before he falls. “Sorry! Sorry,” Mishima hisses, eyes wide with worry and already on his feet, “t-that surprised me.”

The knock continues, and Akira inwardly groans. The mood had been perfect before and Mishima had even been a little more daring than usual, but the interruption has snapped them out of it and now he’s a little irritable. “It’s Ryuji,” he mutters, “let’s not answer and maybe he’ll think we’re not here.”

“We can’t do that! Besides, it’s late. There isn’t anywhere else we’re supposed to be.” Mishima pats himself all over like as if the evidence of their moment of intimacy has somehow stained him, and he walks over to the door in awkward, guilty strides.

Ryuji comes in, none the wiser, and Akira tries desperately not to feel put off by Ryuji needing a place to stay. He has just resigned himself to having Ryuji around for the night when Ann comes knocking too. “I can’t get back in my room!” she says indignantly, and Akira pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes.

“There are only two beds, even if someone sleeps on the sofa,” Mishima says, and Ryuji frowns.

“One of us is gonna have to sleep on the floor.”

Akira snaps his head up at that. “No need for that,” he says, “I’ll share Mishima’s bed.”

They all turn their gazes on him, Mishima’s mouth falling open like a fish. “Huh?” Ann crosses her arms, shooting a dubious look at the beds. “These are small beds. You’re going to have trouble fitting there together.”

“No, we fit fine,” Akira says without a second thought, too quickly and too certain. Ryuji and Ann fall silent, their eyebrows rising high.

“H-he means, that’s what he thinks. Because I’m small!” Mishima blurts out, and fires a look at Akira. Don’t say anymore, I’m begging you, his eyes say, and Akira snaps his mouth shut before he makes matters worse.

“Oh, I see. Dude, you sure surprised me there.” Ryuji settles himself on the sofa, examining Mishima. “Well, now that you mention it, you are pretty small.” Mishima lets out a forced laugh and looks at the floor.

“I guess it comes in handy,” he mumbles, and Akira has to pinch his leg to stop himself from saying I like you just the way you are.

“I don’t know, I still think it’ll be uncomfortable.” Ann worriedly looks at Mishima. “Don’t force yourself, okay?”

“It’ll be fine, I think.” Mishima glances at Akira, his gaze shy but meaningful. “The bed is big enough. It won’t be comfortable, but we’ll fit. What do you think?”

Of course Akira agrees, this time making sure his voice doesn’t give him away. When the time for sleep comes, Mishima excuses himself to the bathroom. Akira listens to his friends chat about various things, feeling a little better. This is nice too, he thinks. When the topic turns to his taste in women, he hesitates. It feels wrong to keep something so important to him as a secret from the friends he trusts his life with, but he knows Mishima isn’t ready yet to let them know.

“I don’t have a type,” he finally settles on, praying that Mishima isn’t listening from the bathroom. “I think if I like someone, that’s the person I’m going to like, with or without a type.”

Their conversation is interrupted by Mishima’s groan, and it takes them a few minutes to figure out what’s wrong. “He shouldn’t have drunk the tap water,” Ryuji grumbles as they wait for medicine at the front desk, but Akira is far too concerned to listen. Afterwards when Ann and Ryuji have fallen asleep, he wraps an arm around Mishima’s waist.

“Are you okay?” he whispers, and Mishima laughs weakly.

“I got nervous,” he answers, and though he doesn’t turn around he laces his fingers with Akira’s. “Thanks for getting the medicine.”

They fall silent for a while, listening to the sounds of Ryuji’s snoring and Ann’s deep breathing. “So, no type, huh?” Mishima says suddenly, his voice so quiet that Akira has to strain to hear. “How very diplomatic of you.”

“I like you, you know.” Akira squeezes Mishima tighter, but hurriedly loosens his grip at the sound of Mishima’s pained grunt. “Sorry. But I mean it. You’re my type.”

“You have terrible taste.”

Akira smiles at that. “And what about you, Yuuki? What about your type?”

“I have better taste than you. Far better.” Mishima pauses, and then continues. “It’s you, you know?”

Gods, it’s so stupid of him to fall for that, but the pounding in his chest almost hurts. He presses a quiet kiss on the curve of Mishima’s shoulder. “Let’s spend time together tomorrow,” he says, “just the two of us.” Mishima squeezes his fingers in reply.

But things aren’t going to work out on the last day either, Akira quickly discovers.

Ryuji gets a hold of them before they can slip out together, and in his determination to make memories in Hawaii, Mishima gets dragged off with him. Unwilling to lose even a bit of time with Mishima, Akira grudgingly agrees to tag along with Ryuji’s plan to pick up girls. At first the two of them are satisfied with watching Ryuji from a safe distance, but it isn’t long before Ryuji urges them to try. There is a strange, tight knot in Akira’s stomach as he watches Mishima attempt to talk to the scantily-clad girls, a strange tightness that doesn’t leave him for the whole day afterwards. When it’s his turn to try, he can feel Mishima’s gaze on his back as he talks to the women. Damn it, this isn’t what he wants at all, and his disinterest shows in his lackluster conversation.

“Try harder next time,” the women tell him before they leave, put off by his obvious half-hearted attempt, and Ryuji pats him on the back reassuringly.

“It’s okay, man. Let’s try again.”

I’d much rather not actually, Akira thinks, and glances at Mishima. His boyfriend seems determined to stare at the ground with furrowed brows, and Akira swallows the tightness in his throat.

Their abject failure comes as a relief, even if he does feel a little bad for Ryuji. His biggest concern is Mishima, who has grown increasingly sullen and silent as the day went on. The tightness he feels in his stomach gives him an idea of how Mishima is feeling too, and he can’t help but feel guilty as they head back to their room together.

When they are alone, there is an awkward silence that hangs heavy around them. “Yuuki,” Akira starts, “you know I didn’t—”

“I know. Don’t worry about it,” Mishima interrupts, not meeting Akira’s eyes. “Anyway, we need to wake up early tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep.”

He climbs into his bed and pulls the blankets above his head, and somehow Akira gets the feeling that Mishima wants to be left alone for tonight. For the first time since the trip started, Akira gets into his own bed for good and switches off the lights.

The tightness in his stomach doesn’t ease, and when he shuts his eyes all he can think about is Mishima talking to those women on the beach, Mishima’s determined gaze on the floor, Mishima’s eyes on his back, Mishima’s quiet voice. “I really just wanted to be alone with you,” he whispers out loud, more to himself than anything.

There is no response, and Akira releases a quiet sigh. A long while passes, and he is about to drift to sleep when he suddenly feels his blanket lifting. He jerks awake in a hurry, disoriented and alarmed, but when Mishima slides in next to him his heart leaps.

“Move over,” Mishima mumbles, and he obeys. A small, warm and familiar body presses against him, and Akira doesn’t dare speak in case he changes Mishima’s mind. They lie together in tense silence, and then Mishima finally speaks. “I really wanted to be alone with you too.”

Akira smiles, and he gains the courage to wrap his arms around the smaller boy without the fear of chasing him off. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to go along with the plan, but Ryuji was so…”

“Desperate?” Mishima laughs quietly, and Akira’s heart squeezes at the sound. “I know. I felt bad for him too. But man, it wasn’t easy watching you pick up girls.”

“Sorry.”

“You don’t have to be. You didn’t seem into it anyway. Which is good, you know, because I was right there watching.”

“I’m not interested in them.” Akira traces a kiss on Mishima’s forehead, warm and affectionate. “I’m interested in you.”

“I know. I’m your type, right?” Mishima looks up and gives him a small, shy smile. “You have terrible taste.”

Akira smiles slow, and he teases a lock of Mishima’s hair in between his fingers. “Bold, aren’t you,” he says, his tone low and seductive now, “for a person who is exactly my type, sliding into my bed and into my arms at this hour of the night.”

Mishima’s eyes widen at the change in his voice, but he doesn’t make a move to leave. Akira traces his thumb over the bottom of Mishima’s lip, their eyes locked together, and Mishima swallows thickly. “Uh,” he manages to say, “what about sleep?”

Akira hooks a finger under Mishima’s chin, lifts his face, and kisses him deep. Mishima shivers at his touch, and his fingers grip Akira’s pajama shirt. When their lips part, the dazed look on Mishima’s face is almost unfair. There is no way he will be able to sleep tonight. “I was jealous too, you know,” Akira murmurs against Mishima’s mouth. “It wasn’t easy for me to watch you pick up girls either.”

“Oh,” Mishima answers dumbly, still lost in the sensation of their kiss, “uhm, sorry about that.” It’s a half-hearted apology because his mind is elsewhere, but Akira decides to accept it anyway. He pulls Mishima back against him, fits their bodies together, and closes his eyes. Mishima’s warmth softens the tension in his body, soothes the tightness in his stomach, and yet it leaves an ache in his heart.

“I like you.” He waits, and when he doesn’t hear a reply he continues. “Call it terrible taste, but I know the way you make me feel.”

A few moments later, he feels a kiss press against his jaw. His eyes fly open at the unexpected kiss, but Mishima has already buried his face into his chest. “Thanks,” Mishima says. When he speaks again, his voice sounds weak, vulnerable, and yet certain. “I like you too.”

Akira’s breath catches in his throat. He knows, of course, that Mishima likes him, but it’s the first time he’s ever heard his boyfriend say it aloud. The ache in his heart grows stronger, and it hurts a little but it feels somewhat warm. Damn it, there is definitely no way he will be able to sleep tonight.

Things didn’t work out quite the way he’d wanted them to, he thinks as he holds Mishima close, but this is indeed a trip he will never forget.

[eliaandponto1]

Online Intake Forms: An Ethical Concern or Duty?

Attorneys need to know as much about a prospective client’s legal issues – and the client – as possible in order to determine whether or not to accept the client.  Ethical rules prohibit representations where potential conflicts arise, and firms need to be aware of the financial and past legal background of new clients to properly ascertain the risks.  Agreeing to represent the wrong client can lead to a host of head-aches, including unpaid bills and ethical dilemmas.

Traditionally, firms used clunky paper intake forms and time-consuming client interviews to gather the information necessary to make the assessment. With the proliferation of practice management software, firms relied upon paralegals and administrative staff to transfer the information into various digital platforms; a data entry practice that is error prone and labor intensive.  For smaller firms without the resources to retain staff dedicated to data entry, the burden falls upon the attorneys.  Lexicata by Clio estimates that even small firms that handle only 30 matters a month, at a billing rate of $250/hour, spend up to 180 hours annually on intake data entry which adds up to a loss of up to $45,000 of billable hours a year.

Online Intake Forms

Instead of playing a high-stakes game of telephone with a potential client’s sensitive information, why not have them provide their information in a secure manner that automatically coalesces with the practice management software?

Online intake forms provide that option.

With online intake software, firms can tailor their intake forms any way they like. They can choose the questions, use multiple choice options or allow for freeform responses, and seamlessly integrate the client input with existing practice management software.

Eliminating time-consuming and unbillable data entry is only one of the ways online intake forms are cost-effective. It also reduces the costs of paper and toner as well as lower the firm’s carbon footprint for the eco-conscious.  For those that don’t oversee inventory, a recent survey by the Purdue University Department of Horticulture found that a single lawyer generates up to 100,000 sheets of paper a year. 10 reams of 500 sheets of all-purpose copy paper costs around $54.99. That comes out to just under $1,100 for each attorney.  In a competitive field, the firm which can both reduce its overhead and advertise to potential customers its eco-friendly practices may have the edge needed to succeed.

Of course, client satisfaction is also a paramount concern.  Granted, the personal touch of sitting down with a prospective client and hashing out the particulars of a matter has not entirely gone out of fashion. There’s also the contention that a $50 million client isn’t going to want to sit in the lobby filling out a form on an iPad.  However, a recent Usabilla report found that 54% of people polled said they would always choose an automated customer service option over human interaction if it saved them 10 minutes.

Automation isn’t just convenient for practices, it allows clients to explain their situations on their own time, at their own pace, and with a mitigated fear of judgment.  As noted above, the time savings captured from online intake forms will provide attorneys with the additional time to really focus on providing personal and meaningful advice and attention towards properly vetted clients.

Another consideration is that online intake forms offer features unavailable in the old paper forms or even PDF and word processing programs. By incorporating automated client reminders, online intake forms ensure that prospective clients don’t fall through the cracks early in the process.  Online intake forms’ web-based format allows for a more user-friendly experience on mobile devices in a way that PDFs and word processors cannot.

Ethical Concerns

Secure and encrypted online intake forms comply with the ethical requirements for the safekeeping of sensitive client data.

Rule 1.6 addresses the confidentiality of information. The chief concern in terms of online intake forms comes from the need to keep the client’s information safe from cyber-attacks. Intake forms by their very nature can contain sensitive information like social security numbers, financial data, and personal details.

In the past, this information would be kept under lock and key in file rooms with access restricted to attorneys and their staff. One thing that paper records will always have over digital data is that paper can’t be remotely hacked. Law firms are one of the biggest targets for hackers due to the sensitive information that is their stock and trade, and switching intake forms to an online format may raise alarm bells with a firm’s ethics counsel or IT personnel.

However, these concerns fail to hold water with the realization that most (if not all) paper records are eventually scanned into practice management software anyway. The inherent risks of maintaining digital records have become a given in a society that conducts most of its business online. Still, this does not relieve firms of their responsibility to vigilantly protect their client’s confidence.

The ABA insists that law firms take “affirmative steps to prevent the unauthorized access of client information.” According to cybersecurity authority Symantec, “80% of breaches can be prevented by using multifactor authentication.” Multifactor authentication offers an additional level of verification beyond the standard password. It can be anything from a security USB token to a retinal scan.

Additionally, the ABA offers this checklist from Arlan McMillan, the chief security officer at Chicago firm Kirkland & Ellis, of best practices for defending a firm from cyber-assault:

Aggressively patch your computer systems (laptops, servers, etc.). Microsoft releases patches every month, and program patches are released regularly. “If you’re patching, it makes it much harder for hackers to take advantage of your computer systems.” On average, an unpatched computer exposed to the internet will be hacked within 90 minutes.

Be a regular user, not an administrator. “Administrator” and “user” are designations that define how much authority you have to make changes on a computer system. Logging in as an “admin” exposes the computer to hacking; it’s more secure to log in as a “user.”

Use strong passwords. McMillan recommends using passphrases instead of passwords.

Invest in email message and attachment scanning tools. This will help protect from phishing attacks.

Invest in web-filtering tools. This will help you guard against malicious websites.

Rule 1.1 presents a different challenge. It states:

“A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.”

Encompassed within the competency requirements of Rule 1.1 is the use of technology in a manner that doesn’t harm the interests of the client. This means not only instituting useful technology like online intake forms, but also implementing standardized cybersecurity best practices and staying abreast of updates, breakthroughs, benefits, and risks associated with the use of said technology.

As technology has advanced, this duty of competence has grown to encompass maintaining a working knowledge of advances that can be used to provide improved or more complete representation. The implications of this are important. It means that remaining a Luddite out of personal convenience constitutes a failure to maintain a duty of competency, potentially allowing for disciplinary action.

Whether a firm uses online intake forms or maintains outdated paper forms, the ethical rules require that a firm implement stringent cybersecurity policies to safeguard its client’s sensitive and confidential data.

Conclusion

The legal profession has the option to either voluntarily step into the future or be dragged kicking and screaming into the present. Either way, these technological boons (and the potential security burdens that accompany them) show no signs of going away any time soon.

In the face of a tool that makes client intake easier for both clients and practices, automatically organizes client data for future use and potential data mining, and frees up time for different – i.e. billable –  tasks, what reason is there not to take advantage of it?

The post Online Intake Forms: An Ethical Concern or Duty? appeared first on Law Technology Today.

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[hearing-protection-devices]

Why Pornography Should Be Presented and Critiqued In Intercourse Programming

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[deep-thoughts-and-stuff]

WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO

WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO

How to collectively become God

A zenarchist manifesto

  What if human society as we know it were a person?

  Assumptions: based on my personal relentless search for truth and meaning in the world

  A. As above, so below. As within, so without.

  B. The Tao is the way of nature. Nature is organized chaos. It exerts no effort, yet through it everything is done. Things opposed to the Tao tend to fail, die, and be miserable.

  C. Karma (cause and effect) (see A).

  A decentralized yet interconnected and interdependent group of neurons firing randomly can be viewed as a single personality (If you’re reading this in the third dimension you are probably under the assumption that you are one).

Most human personalities are deluded to some level. The most common delusion is the idea that the voice inside one's head is the entire personality. We not only hear a voice in our head constantly, that we cannot control or shut off, but we identify entirely with it. We identify with our insanity. The inner voice is tyrannical, controlling, paralyzing, and according to the enlightened, entirely unnecessary. This view of the inner voice is not in line with the Tao. (B)

Mindfulness, or paying attention objectively, helps one to realize fairly quickly that the voice inside one's head is not the same as the personality as a whole. It also helps streamline a personality's values and goals with their actions and increases life satisfaction. This streamlining is in line with the Tao. (B)

A human personality can bring itself to the depths of hell: self hatred, self destruction, anger, fear, shame, alienation, suicide and harm to itself and others. At the other end of the spectrum, a personality can self actualize, even reaching states of pure bliss, tranquility, and equanimity, and compassion known as enlightenment. Enlightenment is achieved through mindfulness. Hell is achieved through mindlessness. (C)

Psychedelic drugs are proven to connect parts of the brain that are not usually connected. Neurons fire with neurons in different parts of the brain that usually do not fire together.

          a) Psychedelic drugs accelerate karma (cause and effect). This means the effects of every thought are magnified by orders of magnitude. Negative thoughts and atmosphere create feedback loops that develop quickly into hellish trips. Trips to hell can be extremely value to learn from if you face them head on, or they can break you if you don’t. Positive thoughts and atmosphere create feedback loops that develop quickly into healing experiences, freedom, understanding, bliss, tranquility, and even moments of enlightenment. They can even trigger spiritual awakening.

          b) Psychedelic drugs catalyze neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. They can catalyze lasting personality changes with nearly unrivaled efficiency. For good or bad. The accelerated karmic effects last orders of magnitude longer than the experience.

  .

  .

  .  

  I. A decentralized yet interconnected and interdependent group of humans can be viewed as a meta-personality. This can be applied to any organized subgroup of society including religions, political ideologies, economic systems, fandoms, subreddits, and society as a whole. (1,A) Side note: what is a god but a meta personality?

    II. Society as a whole, when viewed as a single personality, is having a psychotic break. It is a danger to itself and others. It is experiencing conflicting desires and emotions at the same time (Multiple personalities). These desires and emotions are fighting, often to the death. It is allocating so much blood to its head that aneurisms are flooding the skull, while the rest of the body shrivels up for lack. It is constantly self harming and self sabotaging. It is consciously (at least somewhat consciously although not very) murdering the personalities of other species on planet earth. We are in the middle of a mass extinction. Luckily, worst case scenario, it appears it will kill itself off before it can destroy the personality of life on earth (Gaia if you will) as long as it continues on its current trajectory. If there was a suicide hotline for societies, this one should be on the phone. If there was a jail for societies, this one should be locked up to keep it from endangering others (by the way I'm not advocating punishment as a deterrent here).

        a. Gaia is ill. When a human personality gets ill, a fever arises naturally to kill off the disease. (A). I think I was just spontaneously converted to a believer in synchronicity upon completing that sentence.

    III. Technology (especially information technology) has connected neurons of the meta brain with neurons that do not usually fire together. The entire world is more interconnected than ever before. The combination of capitalism and technology is a positive feedback loop unlike anything we’ve seen before. Society is currently tripping balls on technology. while chain smoking DMcapitalismT. (5,A). And it's a bad trip.

        a. Technology accelerates karma (cause and effect) (A, 5a, common sense). The effects of every meta thought (action) are magnified by orders of magnitude. Negative meta thoughts (YOUR AND MY ACTIONS) and atmosphere create feedback loops that develop quickly into hellish trips. Trips to hell can be extremely value to learn from if society faces them head on, or they can break society if it doesn’t. Positive thoughts (YOUR AND MY ACTIONS) and atmosphere create feedback loops that develop quickly into healing experiences and even moments of societal enlightenment. They can even trigger awakening…

        b. Technology catalyzes societal neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. (A, 5b). This is evident in a society changing faster than ever. Technology, especially information technology, can catalyze lasting meta personality changes with nearly unrivaled efficiency (see the respective effects of language, written language, the sea ship, the printing press, the telegram, radio, the airplane, TV, and the internet. Notice the spacing over time). For good or bad. We can already see that the accelerated karmic effects will last orders of magnitude longer than the experience.

    IV. Perhaps society's biggest delusions is Hume's paradox: The power of government is derived from the consent/belief of the people, which is their ongoing decision not to overthrow it, but the people are convinced that the ruling class holds power over them. (Hume emphasizes force, but all that is required for a government to lose all power is for everyone collectively to stop believing that it has power. Force is not necessary to overthrow a government). This paradox is not in line with the Tao, or even, well common sense. (2A, B) Now go back and read (2) and (A). If this does not make you go “Aha!” out loud, read IV, 2, and A again. I sure as hell did.

    V. If mindfulness can increase the wellbeing of human personalities, the same principles will work on a meta personality (A). If mindfulness effortlessly eradicates the identification of the self with the inner voice (as it did for me the very first time I meditated), then meta-mindfulness is the solution to Hume's paradox. (I'll stop typing "A" so much as it gets redundant). As mindfulness streamlines consciousness, meta mindfulness flattens heirarchy and fertilizes Tao: Organized chaos.

    VI. Meta mindfulness in action: exercises.

        a. Find out if polling on public opinion matches up to public policy. (hint: the loudest voices are in charge of the polls. Many polls you see will be on issues that are important to the loud voices but not to society as a whole. many polls are prominent simply because they draw an emotional response or because they are divisive. Eyes on the big picture. HINT HINT: Start with things that are closest to unanimous agreement. HINT!!!!!!: start with public opinion on getting money out of politics). Let me know if this does not eradicate any belief you had in functioning democracy. Or a society that has streamlined its goals and values with its actions. Maybe I'll make a post with more details and sources for this.

        b. Find out if society’s goals are the same as what society has determined creates happiness. Look at scientific studies of what actually makes people happy. Picture yourself asking society what it's goals are. See if the two are the same.

        c. What does meta mindfulness look like to you?

    VII. If mindfulness can bring a human to enlightenment, meta mindfulness can bring a meta human to enlightenment. (4,A) What is enlightenment? Enlightenment is realizing one’s truest nature. Buddha said realizing one’s truest nature results in pure bliss, equanimity, and compassion for all beings. The kingdom of heaven is within.

        a. What does science say about our truest nature? Our deepest desire is evolution’s deepest desire. Evolution’s deepest desire is to recreate itself. It is procreation. It is sex. It is romantic love. It is return to wholeness through unity with the opposite pole. Do you notice this within yourself? It is the libido, life energy, will to power, whatever you want to call it. It is the survival and wellbeing of one’s species and the interdependent web of species as a whole. This is compassion for all beings. This is the heart of evolutionary psychology. The glitch is that we do not experience this. Enlightenment is fixing the glitch.

    VIII. People talk about singularity as if technology will bring it about. As if it is not already the nature of things. What is the meta personality of society but the singularity in the present? We collectively are the super A(b)I: artificial-biological Intelligence. A hyper intelligent schizophrenic cyborg.

    IX. What does meta mindfulness look like? Hands of my opinion! Have you thought for yourself?

        a. Technology is neither good nor bad, technology is a mirror for society. Only the mirror is shattered. How many years of bad luck is that again? To me, meta mindfulness looks like fixing the mirror. This is realizing (A).

        b. To me, meta mindfulness looks like a streamlined brain. Organized chaos creating effortless mindful action. This is the way the brain works. The brain is the most complicated thing in existence, and it is barely understood. In fact when we study the brain what is happening is the brain is studying itself. Meta mindfulness is meta neuroscience. The brain is run without a throne or ruling class. It is run by nature, by organized chaos. But most are not aware of this. As far as technology has come we are nowhere near the brain. Yet we consider ourselves above nature in some made up hierarchy (they’re all made up; they don’t exist in nature unless you believe in them. Reality is what’s left when you stop believing in it). But this intellect comes from non-hierarchy. Meta mindfulness is aligning society’s brain with Tao. (B)

        c. To me, meta mindfulness looks like fixing capitalism. Capitalism, at least in its purest form organically and effortlessly produces “value.” It has Tao characteristics, but it is mindless in its current state. What we’re looking for is something that organically and effortlessly produces happiness, or rather satisfaction.

        d. To me, meta mindfulness looks something like reddit. A constant organic polling of the population on all issues. Reddit is a beautifully organized brain. Subjects are compartmentalized into subreddits. "Thoughts" arise in subreddits, and are evaluated by the community.

                1. Now, picture an open source online constitution with a Reddit-like framework. It's a fluid constitution, constantly creating a new reality, perceiving it, and adapting to it. (This is what consciousness is. This, I believe would give it sentience). It would use blockchain voting so that any person can audit the vote if they want to, and everyone's privacy is protected. It would also be run collectively by the community using it. Each person would be a shareholder with an equal share and an equal vote.

                2. How society overthrows rule by the voice inside its head, or how to get (V) to happen: Consider the Thomas Theorem: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.” (Basically, A+C). People define power structures as valid because they are either productive or necessary. With mindfulness of the fact that power structures as they exist are counterproductive, tyrannical, controlling, paralyzing and unnecessary, any belief in their validity is effortlessly eradicated. This is how everyone collectively stops believing in a government, currency, economic system, etc at the same time. This is how you overthrow a government and ruling class without violence.

                        1. By the way, I think nature rewards integrity. A community with good intentions founded on violent revolution will only result in violence. (see USSR, USA, every nation-state ever). A wise man once said, “Those who live by the sword die by the sword.” (C ). This is how we achieve world peace.

                3. Reddit allows the community not only to vote on issues, but to choose which issues to vote on. More than that it allows the community to prioritize issues by order of importance. Now, if Reddit were owned and managed collectively by the community using it, the community would control all of this along with the very framework the democracy rests on. This is how the online open source fluid constitution would work. This is how you put (realize that) power (already is) in the hands of the people. At this point you probably have an objection like, "but not everyone wants to vote on every issue" or, "some people just don't care" or, "some things in a constitution shouldn't be constantly up for change enough to vote" or my personal objection, “reddit’s voting system just leads to circle jerks and hides any sort of constructive criticism.” (If your objection is “some people are too dumb to vote,” then look out: you may be part of the ruling class that will be overthrown. Be mindful that you only want to replace the loudest voice in society’s head with your own). Now, imagine yourself posting your problem on the problems subconstitution and discussing until a solution is agreed upon. The system handles any problem you present it, organically, and effortlessly. This is recursive democracy. This is meta democracy. This is streamlining a consciousness. This is fixing the mirror. This is the singularity realizing itself. This is societal awakening. This is how we become (realize that we are) GOD.

  .

  .

  .  

What are you still looking at me for? Meta mindfulness is mindfulness squared. I’ll be the mindfulness; you be the squared. The best zenarchist manifesto is the one you write.

[eliaandponto1]

Online Intake Forms: An Ethical Concern or Duty?

Attorneys need to know as much about a prospective client’s legal issues – and the client – as possible in order to determine whether or not to accept the client.  Ethical rules prohibit representations where potential conflicts arise, and firms need to be aware of the financial and past legal background of new clients to properly ascertain the risks.  Agreeing to represent the wrong client can lead to a host of head-aches, including unpaid bills and ethical dilemmas.

Traditionally, firms used clunky paper intake forms and time-consuming client interviews to gather the information necessary to make the assessment. With the proliferation of practice management software, firms relied upon paralegals and administrative staff to transfer the information into various digital platforms; a data entry practice that is error prone and labor intensive.  For smaller firms without the resources to retain staff dedicated to data entry, the burden falls upon the attorneys.  Lexicata by Clio estimates that even small firms that handle only 30 matters a month, at a billing rate of $250/hour, spend up to 180 hours annually on intake data entry which adds up to a loss of up to $45,000 of billable hours a year.

Online Intake Forms

Instead of playing a high-stakes game of telephone with a potential client’s sensitive information, why not have them provide their information in a secure manner that automatically coalesces with the practice management software?

Online intake forms provide that option.

With online intake software, firms can tailor their intake forms any way they like. They can choose the questions, use multiple choice options or allow for freeform responses, and seamlessly integrate the client input with existing practice management software.

Eliminating time-consuming and unbillable data entry is only one of the ways online intake forms are cost-effective. It also reduces the costs of paper and toner as well as lower the firm’s carbon footprint for the eco-conscious.  For those that don’t oversee inventory, a recent survey by the Purdue University Department of Horticulture found that a single lawyer generates up to 100,000 sheets of paper a year. 10 reams of 500 sheets of all-purpose copy paper costs around $54.99. That comes out to just under $1,100 for each attorney.  In a competitive field, the firm which can both reduce its overhead and advertise to potential customers its eco-friendly practices may have the edge needed to succeed.

Of course, client satisfaction is also a paramount concern.  Granted, the personal touch of sitting down with a prospective client and hashing out the particulars of a matter has not entirely gone out of fashion. There’s also the contention that a $50 million client isn’t going to want to sit in the lobby filling out a form on an iPad.  However, a recent Usabilla report found that 54% of people polled said they would always choose an automated customer service option over human interaction if it saved them 10 minutes.

Automation isn’t just convenient for practices, it allows clients to explain their situations on their own time, at their own pace, and with a mitigated fear of judgment.  As noted above, the time savings captured from online intake forms will provide attorneys with the additional time to really focus on providing personal and meaningful advice and attention towards properly vetted clients.

Another consideration is that online intake forms offer features unavailable in the old paper forms or even PDF and word processing programs. By incorporating automated client reminders, online intake forms ensure that prospective clients don’t fall through the cracks early in the process.  Online intake forms’ web-based format allows for a more user-friendly experience on mobile devices in a way that PDFs and word processors cannot.

Ethical Concerns

Secure and encrypted online intake forms comply with the ethical requirements for the safekeeping of sensitive client data.

Rule 1.6 addresses the confidentiality of information. The chief concern in terms of online intake forms comes from the need to keep the client’s information safe from cyber-attacks. Intake forms by their very nature can contain sensitive information like social security numbers, financial data, and personal details.

In the past, this information would be kept under lock and key in file rooms with access restricted to attorneys and their staff. One thing that paper records will always have over digital data is that paper can’t be remotely hacked. Law firms are one of the biggest targets for hackers due to the sensitive information that is their stock and trade, and switching intake forms to an online format may raise alarm bells with a firm’s ethics counsel or IT personnel.

However, these concerns fail to hold water with the realization that most (if not all) paper records are eventually scanned into practice management software anyway. The inherent risks of maintaining digital records have become a given in a society that conducts most of its business online. Still, this does not relieve firms of their responsibility to vigilantly protect their client’s confidence.

The ABA insists that law firms take “affirmative steps to prevent the unauthorized access of client information.” According to cybersecurity authority Symantec, “80% of breaches can be prevented by using multifactor authentication.” Multifactor authentication offers an additional level of verification beyond the standard password. It can be anything from a security USB token to a retinal scan.

Additionally, the ABA offers this checklist from Arlan McMillan, the chief security officer at Chicago firm Kirkland & Ellis, of best practices for defending a firm from cyber-assault:

Aggressively patch your computer systems (laptops, servers, etc.). Microsoft releases patches every month, and program patches are released regularly. “If you’re patching, it makes it much harder for hackers to take advantage of your computer systems.” On average, an unpatched computer exposed to the internet will be hacked within 90 minutes.

Be a regular user, not an administrator. “Administrator” and “user” are designations that define how much authority you have to make changes on a computer system. Logging in as an “admin” exposes the computer to hacking; it’s more secure to log in as a “user.”

Use strong passwords. McMillan recommends using passphrases instead of passwords.

Invest in email message and attachment scanning tools. This will help protect from phishing attacks.

Invest in web-filtering tools. This will help you guard against malicious websites.

Rule 1.1 presents a different challenge. It states:

“A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.”

Encompassed within the competency requirements of Rule 1.1 is the use of technology in a manner that doesn’t harm the interests of the client. This means not only instituting useful technology like online intake forms, but also implementing standardized cybersecurity best practices and staying abreast of updates, breakthroughs, benefits, and risks associated with the use of said technology.

As technology has advanced, this duty of competence has grown to encompass maintaining a working knowledge of advances that can be used to provide improved or more complete representation. The implications of this are important. It means that remaining a Luddite out of personal convenience constitutes a failure to maintain a duty of competency, potentially allowing for disciplinary action.

Whether a firm uses online intake forms or maintains outdated paper forms, the ethical rules require that a firm implement stringent cybersecurity policies to safeguard its client’s sensitive and confidential data.

Conclusion

The legal profession has the option to either voluntarily step into the future or be dragged kicking and screaming into the present. Either way, these technological boons (and the potential security burdens that accompany them) show no signs of going away any time soon.

In the face of a tool that makes client intake easier for both clients and practices, automatically organizes client data for future use and potential data mining, and frees up time for different – i.e. billable –  tasks, what reason is there not to take advantage of it?

The post Online Intake Forms: An Ethical Concern or Duty? appeared first on Law Technology Today.

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