Remember, whatever you publish online will be available to (most of) the entire planet indefinitely.  Please be careful with the information you post on your firm's bio about you.  Many online marketing consultants will advise you to include personal information in your bio, including your hobbies, interests, and personal activities.  While there is nothing specifically wrong with doing this, you should make sure to keep your descriptions vague and general.  "Chris enjoys spending time outdoors" is better than "Chris meets with the Maricopa Hikers every Saturday morning to hike up Camelback Mountain."

Look at your bio as though you were someone sworn to your destruction, and consider whether it provides any clues that might reveal your habits or routines.  If you could take any of the information from your bio, and perhaps add it to other information available online, to pin you to a predictable location, then you should change it.  You can still make yourself relatable without making yourself vulnerable.

Some recent events have highlighted the importance of being ready to abandon your office and work from home or an alternate location.  If your office space is destroyed or rendered unusable as a result of criminal activity, natural or artificial disaster, or something as simple as a water leak, you should be ready with an alternate work site.  This could be your staff's various homes, the spare conference room of another firm, or temporary structures furnished by companies that specialize in disaster recovery (such as Agility Recovery -- this is NOT an endorsement).  You should also have a plan for determining when the alternate work site will be used and how to notify your staff to use it.

If your firm uses off-site computer storage (i.e., "cloud storage") for its computer files, this makes working from an alternate site much easier.  First, your files are accessible from any location with Internet access.  Second, you do not have to worry about the catastrophe at your office space also destroying your client files and data.  Of course, you will have to ensure that your staff has computers to access the files.  This can be accomplished either by renting computers during the recovery effort, or making sure that everyone has a computer at home.  Laptops that are used solely for work purposes (in the office, as well as for work at home) are a good idea.

The U.S. Small Business Administration's Prepare My Business site has a lot of useful information to help in preparing for business continuity operations.  Particularly useful for alternative work site preparation is their Recovery Overview checklist.

Yesterday's report of a knife attack in Texas was a grim reminder that such incidents can cause serious injuries and panic.  These incidents can occur in your office and even in court.  Of course, the best survival strategy is to avoid being attacked in the first place, but if an attack occurs, some tips may help.

First, face your attacker and keep the weapon in your sight, but do not succumb to weapon focus -- the tendency to focus on the weapon and lose sight of the rest of the assailant.  While you are watching the knife, the attacker may make a move that catches you off-guard.  And call for help!

Try to keep out of the weapon's effective range.  Most often, knives used in these attacks are small and concealable, with a range no more than 4 or 5 inches beyond the attacker's reach.  Attackers also often attack with slashes, so keep this in mind when gauging distance and movement.  If you stay out of arm's reach from the attacker, he most likely will step in to attack, so don't back yourself up against a wall or other object, and be ready to jump back out of reach when the attacker steps in.

Use an object such as a briefcase to block the attack, and even to knock the weapon from the attacker's hand.  If your fingers wrap around the object (such as a padfolio or desk tray), grab the object at one end and use the other end against the attacker -- this will help prevent your fingers from being cut.

Try to keep the attacker at bay until help arrives, and keep calling for help until it gets there or the attacker runs away.  Do not turn and run unless the attacker is incapacitated, as he may catch up to you and stab you from behind.

About two months ago, a meteorite exploded over Chelyabinsk in Russia, injuring hundreds and damaging buildings.  Astronomers have indicated that the meteorite took the planet by surprise because it approached the Earth from the Sun, preventing its early detection.

If you should ever find yourself in close-quarters combat (which you should try to avoid, of course), take inspiration from this celestial bruiser, and come at your enemies from out of the Sun.  Circle them if you can until your back is facing the Sun (or other bright light source).  This can impair their vision and ability to react quickly.  When you see that they are blinded, explode at them like a detonating asteroid, and then run like a comet to safety.  Hopefully, you'll have the same impact as a Russian meteor!

By Chris Wencker

I have been reading "Security for Court Interpreters," published in 2006, and I would recommend it as a good foundation for learning about safety in courtrooms and other typical legal settings.  It is a bit long (310 pages -- though many are blank or contain little information), but reads quickly.  Though it is directed towards court interpreters, the advice it contains is applicable to anyone who works in a legal setting.

Many law firms, especially those in medium and large cities, employ a runner service to take filings to court and to other attorneys using the service. These services are a cost-effective way of handling routine filings, and can really save time and money.  Keep in mind, though, that a person seeking access to your offices or information may be able to make use of your runner service by impersonating one of its workers.  Many such services assign one runner to a daily route, so you should see the same person every day.  

Be alert for any change in your runner -- if you see a new face, particularly one that shows up at an unusual time, ask the service about it.  Make note of the physical description of the person, to help with a report to law enforcement if it becomes necessary.

This advice applies to any service that visits your offices on a regular basis, including bottled water, coffee, copier machine, office supplies, or other services.  Do not assume that a person coming into the building is safe just because he or she wears a familiar uniform.

Recent news has indicated that a threat was posted on Facebook against a prosecutor working with the two recently slain in Texas (story here), and that a psychiatrist had warned that the alleged Colorado theater shooter was a threat to the public (story here).  Sadly, these developments highlight the need to take every threat seriously.

Few of us wish to live in the kind of world where even an obvious joke about committing violence may be reported to the authorities.  But when a threat is made, it should be noted and taken seriously.  The analysis of a threat should be a two-step process: 1) you should determine if there is any credibility at all to the threat; and 2) if so, a formal threat assessment should be conducted.  The U.S. Secret Service specializes in threat assessment, and has some good resources here.

You should not rely exclusively on this information for an assessment, though.  Report any information you have to law enforcement, and ask them to follow-through on it.  Consider hiring a threat assessment professional (many private security firms or private investigators will do this -- look for one with prior experience in the area, especially prior service in the Secret Service or U.S. Marshal's Office).  It may seem like a needless expense, but the cost is minimal for the safety and peace of mind it can bring.

Hopefully you will never find yourself in combat with another person, but if you do, having a weapon can tip the balance in your favor.  This shouldn't be taken as encouragement to carry a knife or gun everywhere, though.  Most people don't realize that they actually carry several items on a regular basis that can be used as weapons.  And if you spend a lot of time in court or other government buildings, you can't carry knives or guns with you.  You should take stock of the items that you are likely to have if combat erupts, and consider how you can use them to help you.

What can make good improvised weapons?  For attorneys, the most likely items include briefcases, attache cases, laptop bags, file cases, padfolios, desk calendars, legal pads, and writing utensils.  When going to trial, you also may have exhibits that may be useful as weapons.  While it is difficult to imagine using your cherished chart to strike someone, if your life is on the line, use it!  You also may be able to make use of items of clothing such as a jacket or belt, but these items can take costly seconds to remove and get ready.

What uses can be made of these improvised weapons?  Often the best use of these is to cause a distraction or hesitation to give you time to escape.  A set of keys or a pocketful of loose change can be good for this -- throw it hard at the attacker's face and run.  (As a side note, I have heard several people suggest that a set of keys can be held in the closed fist, with the keys sticking out between the fingers, and used as a sort of knuckle duster/brass knuckles.  I would discourage this use -- it can cause you as much injury as your opponent, and also lead to other complications.  Keys are better used to distract.)  Large items like bags and briefcases can be effective shields from attack, and also used to attack an opponent's head or legs.  Smaller items can be used similarly, but more quickly.  Take a few minutes with these items and familiarize yourself with their weight and feel.  Take a few practice swings and take note of how they affect your balance.  Then resolve to be ready to use them if the need arises.

A good explanation of the characteristics of good improvised weapons can be found here.

Most people who use social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook know that they can be very useful for keeping in touch with large groups of interested people -- which makes them great online marketing tools.  Unfortunately, the wide reach of social media sites can be exploited by those who wish to do you harm.  If you use any such tool on a mobile device (and even on a laptop or desktop, depending on the service), be aware that your posts can be geotagged.  This means that your current location will be annotated to your post when it is made.  If you routinely make posts from familiar locations such as your favorite coffee shop or home, then you may be broadcasting the perfect location to find you.  This can make the sensible precautions you take to protect yourself useless.


If you use any such site for marketing (and there's no reason not to), please be aware of the geotagging feature, and disable it if you do not want your current location to be reported.  You can add a location to a particular tweet or status update if you want people to see where you are, but as a rule you should disable this feature.  Fortunately, Twitter's geotagging feature is disabled by default (read more here), but your phone may automatically geotag photos it takes, which can then be tweeted with the information included (read more here and here).  So check all of your devices and services for geotagging, and make sure you are in control of how your location is reported.

Forewarned is forearmed.  We cannot always be prepared for every contingency, but being aware of a particular threat can help you prepare for that one.  Lawyers should consider, as part of their regular case/client screening process, conducting a threat assessment of the individuals involved, including the client and the opponent.

In addition to checking each name for conflicts of interest, you should also check each name for prior legal involvement (both criminal and civil).  A previous order of protection against the person, or a prior conviction for a violent offense, should raise a red flag.  In Arizona, most court records are available here, though the records are not complete and local courts may also require checking.

Finally, you may wish to screen the client for indicators of domestic violence, particularly in a domestic relations/family law practice.  Even if the domestic partner is not the opposing party, an abusive partner can easily become violent towards the attorney if he is unhappy with the case.  The Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness has prepared a useful interviewing tool that can be found here.  The American Bar Association also has some very useful information and guidance here.