News & Updates
LMICK Celebrates Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month, celebrating the vital role of women in history and today. We pause and celebrate the wonderful women of LMICK, including our staff and our Board of Director members. We thank them for their dedication and commitment to LMICK, to our insureds, and to the legal profession.
Talk Isn’t Cheap: Conversation Toolkit
For firms looking for a meaningful way to celebrate Women’s History Month, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession has crafted the This Talk Isn’t Cheap Toolkit. This resource provides a guided conversation focusing on the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, and gender in the legal profession. The Commission acknowledges the barriers that arise between women of different races; the resources seek to combat these challenges so women can work more collaboratively to improve advancement of all women in the legal profession. Click here to review the resources and consider ways to utilize the toolkit in your firm or local legal community.
Practice Tips
Can Defense Counsel Show They Are Cyber Secure?
Beginning on February 15, 2025, insurance companies and “licensees”—including defense counsel—must certify compliance with the newly passed Insurance Data Security Law (2022 legislative session, House Bill 474). See Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 304.3-750 – 304.3-768. Annual certification will be required thereafter. The Act requires insurers and licensees to protect nonpublic information in accordance with the new statute.
Lawyers that have an insurance defense practice need to begin taking steps now to ensure timely compliance with the law. For a comprehensive overview of the law’s requirements, click here. Between now and the February 15, 2025 certification date, LMICK will be bringing you more guidance and resources to ensure that you are ready to comply with the Insurance Data Security Law.
Thank you to the Kentucky Defense Counsel for sharing their fantastic article on the new law. For more information about membership in the KDC, please visit their website.
Hinshaw Legal Malpractice and Risk Management Conference: Top Takeaways
Courtney Risk attended the 2023 Hinshaw Legal Malpractice and Risk Management Conference last week on behalf of LMICK. The conference provides CLE programming focused on legal malpractice trends and issues which equips us with the best information for our insureds. Here are her top takeaways, including issues surrounding inadvertent disclosures, fee splitting, and more.
Three Simple Rules: Conflicts
Analyzing conflicts of interest is a complex, fact-intensive inquiry. However, the vast majority of conflicts issues facing lawyers in private practice are fairly straightforward. In this newsletter, we provide three simple rules to help keep the average practitioner out of trouble. Click here for the full article from Hinshaw.
Top Cybersecurity Controls
LMG Security has compiled a list of top cybersecurity controls for businesses to consider based on recent trends and risks. These include advanced multifactor authentication, on-demand cybersecurity awareness training, and identity and access management. Click here for a full overview of cybersecurity controls your firm should be considering.
Top Takeaways: Mid-Atlantic Women Legal Professionals Retreat
LMICK is proud to have sponsored and attended the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Women Legal Professionals Retreat. This event is coordinated by the lawyer assistance programs in Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The sessions explored issues that impact women lawyers and offered solutions for attendees to implement in their own lives and practices. Click here for a list of the top takeaways from LMICK’s Courtney Risk.
STUDY: Lawyers with High Stress 22 Times More Likely to Contemplate Suicide
The California Lawyers Association and the D.C. Bar partnered in a groundbreaking research project to look at personal and workplace factors contributing to mental health problems among practicing lawyers. The study showed lawyers were twice as likely as the general population to experience suicidal ideation. Additionally, lonely lawyers were nearly three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts and those who are highly over-committed to work more than twice as likely.
“Given the high rates of alcohol misuse among lawyers, efforts to combat loneliness and isolation should avoid reliance on alcohol based events as primary means of increasing socialization and connection.” Law firms and legal organizations should continue to incorporate creative events into their calendars. Click here to read the full summary.
Upcoming Events
Free Ethics CLE:
Bar Discipline 101: The Dos and Don’ts of Responding to a Bar Complaint
May 23, 2023, 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST
1.0 hour of Kentucky CLE Ethics credit, pending approval
For our second quarter CLE, we are excited to welcome Charles “Buzz” English, LMICK Board member and partner at English Lucas Priest & Owsley, LLP. Buzz has extensive experience representing lawyers who are navigating disciplinary issues and will provide attendees practical tips for navigating the process.
Lawyers that receive a bar complaint experience a wide variety of emotions including fear, panic, stress, and anger. This session will provide lawyers with an overview of the disciplinary process, including the 2022 updates to the rules. It will also address the need to obtain counsel so lawyers can respond rationally and effectively to a charge of attorney misconduct. Attendees will be better prepared for if—or when—they receive a bar complaint. Click here to register, today!
On-Demand CLE: Coming Soon!
Oyez! Oyez! An Overview of the New Kentucky Rules of Appellate Procedure
Yesterday, we welcomed Bethany Breetz, Counsel at Stites & Harbison and co-chair of Stites’ Appellate Advocacy team for our first quarter CLE. Ms. Breetz served as Chair of the Kentucky Supreme Court Appellate Rules Committee, which drafted the now adopted updates. Whether you routinely handle appellate cases or do so only on occasion, this session is for you! If you missed our first quarter CLE yesterday, then you will be able to view it on-demand; registration information will be available on our website, soon!
We look forward to seeing you!
LMICK is proud to support the organizations that support you and your work! We will be out and about this fall, leading CLEs and tabling events. We hope you can join us at one of these currently scheduled events (and make sure to come say hello)!
| Mar 17: | Kentucky Defense Counsel Spring Seminar, Louisville |
| Mar 30: | University of Kentucky Collection Law Conference, Lexington |
| Apr 19-20: | University of Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Institute, Lexington |
| Apr 21: | Kentucky Justice Association Ethics Day, Frankfort/Lexington |
| Apr 26: | KBA/AAML Annual Family Law Conference, Louisville |
| Apr 27-30: | National Bar Association Midyear Conference, Louisville |
| May 18-19: | Bowling Green Warren Co. Bar Association CLE Event |
| May 23: | LMICK Second Quarter CLE, virtual Bar Discipline 101: The Dos and Don’ts of Responding to a Bar Complaint |
We want to hear from you! Have a CLE topic you would like to see? Send suggestions to
Need a CLE Speaker? We are currently scheduling ethics CLEs for 2023 and would love to speak to your group! You can check out our updated list of available topics and request to schedule, here. Keep in mind that spring fills up quickly as everyone scrambles for ethics credits before the deadline!