WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE WAS LOST OR STOLEN?

For many lawyers, our smartphones and tablets are essential tools in the practice of law. It's replaced the paper calendars that used to be lugged around. It's where we send and receive email about cases and clients. We do legal research on it using apps like Westlaw and FastCase. Not to mention, it has a lot of our personal information stored in it.

So, what are you going to do if it gets lost or stolen? How are you going to protect both your client's confidences and your own personal information?

If you're using an Android operating system, the answer is easy: the Android Device Manager. To enable it, open up the Google Settings on your phone, choose "Android Device Manager", and check the "remotely locate this device" and "allow remote factory reset".

Then, from any computer, you can go to https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager and log in with your Google account. You'll be able to see in Google maps where your phone is. You can make your phone ring at full volume - useful when you've lost it under your couch cushions and can't find it. And, perhaps most importantly, you can essentially tell your phone to forget everything it knows about you and your client by clicking the erase device button.

So protect yourself and your clients. Turn on the device manager settings and hope you only have to use it when your two year old has hidden it in his pile of stuffed animals.