Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 8, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 21 10) Zooming out. Video conferencing is a two- edged sword; while a boon to nurture group dis- cussion, the degree of focus paid to a small screen while feeling self-conscious (how's my hair?) can oversaturate users. People are now reporting Zoom fatigue, citing anxiety. Identify mental health and grief counsellors who can step in during these COVID-19 times. 9) Keep the divide between work life and family life, despite both often occurring in the same place. A separation of duties helps prevent accidental disclosure or leaking of sensitive data, but just as importantly it helps maintain a sane balance. 8) Work vs. home. Keep devices used for home chores like online shopping and gaming, separate from work-related devices, which should avoid public WiFi, be password protected or biometrically secured, and locked down when not in use. 7) Password control. Should key security per- sonnel be MIA, do you know where your enterprise passwords are stored? Many companies and peo- ple are turning to LastPass to control passwords, to finally shut down this most obvious of security gaps. 6) Educate remote workers of the sudden jump in COVID-related phishing scams and share news on cybersecurity threats to keep issues top of mind. Train your people how to identify social engineering tactics and re-share your company's risk manage- ment policies. 5) Inform remote workers not to download com- pany data to personal or USB devices. Some com- panies make it a rule prohibiting employees from lending out company-owned laptops or equipment. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security cautions against use of remote thumb drives. 4) Depend on VPN. A reliable virtual private network with solid encryption is the most basic requirement for your remote people. This allows creation of a secure tunnel between the corporate network and remote user-access devices. 3) Reinforce security policies. Working from home means unlimited distractions from kids, TV, pets, cooking & cleaning, making all of us more prone to fall for social engineering and phishing attempts. Remind workers to be skeptical of urgent financial requests (most likely bogus). 2) Virtual water cooler. Social isolation takes a toll on everyone, especially parents at home with children. Communicate regularly and check in. Set up informal lunch breaks or run group events to help everyone stay engaged and motivated. 1) Create a safe space. While a basement office may not be ideal, what's important is it's your own private workspace affording solitude. Yet even at home, try to avoid leaving computers and mobile devices unsecured. K N O W H O W How prejudgment attachments impact your leverage 10 1: W here some offices may keep employees working at home for now – or permanently – others are approaching the idea of bringing teams back to work. With COVID-19 precautions in place, things will be different. Here are some ways managers can encourage employees to transition effectively and safely back to their regular, away-from-home office environment. Realize communication habits you learned working from home are valuable. Working from home demanded a certain transparency. Co- workers weren't able to casually drop by your cubicle anymore, so remote work prompted more email activity, for example. Working from home, we let colleagues know what we are working on more than we might normally, says eMuse.com's Rachell Buell – always a good thing. "When you return to the confines of brick and mortar, it can be tempting … to relax your communication a bit. But don't fall into this trap," Buell writes. "Maintaining the detailed communication that you're used to helps prevent misunderstandings and builds trust among your team." Learn new tricks. ink better orchestration of traffic, such as one-way directional flows in stairways and halls. "Provide everyone with tips, tricks and courtesies to extend to one another: Press elevator buttons with pen caps; if there are already two people on the elevator, wait for the next one," Building Design + Construction offers in a blog post. See something? Say something. It's a new world, with masks and hand sanitizers part of our routines. Forbes' Avery Blank says employees should be encouraged to politely say things like, "Would you please step to the side so I can pass?" to maintain social distancing guidelines with others at work (which also protects others from you). "Don't order someone around. People do not like being told what to do," she says. "But speaking up might remind a person in the future to make small changes ... You are in this public health crisis together." 1 0 T H I NG S I know about . . . ... Working from home BY JARED A. FIORE Special to the Worcester Business Journal Y ou may have heard people say lawsuits drag on for years. Sometimes, a particular case does take years to reach a resolution. But in many cases, leverage can be gained at the outset of a case, which might push the parties to a resolution. e rules of civil procedure permit a plaintiff to seek prejudgment security through an attachment of the defendant's assets (the defendant can utilize the same rule if it asserts a claim against a party). e purpose of the rule is to preserve assets to satisfy a judgment if the plaintiff wins the case. To obtain an attachment, the plaintiff needs to file a motion and convince a judge of three key elements: 1) the plaintiff has a reasonable likelihood of winning its case; 2) the plaintiff has a reasonable likelihood of obtaining an award equal to or greater than the amount of the attachment; and 3) the attachment is over and above any liability insurance shown by the defendant to be available to satisfy a judgment. Typically, the plaintiff files the motion at the outset of the case. e court will then hold a hearing on the motion, which is a very condensed presentation of argument and evidence. Usually, plaintiffs seek to attach defendants' bank accounts and real estate. Whether you are pursuing or defending against a motion for attachment, you should evaluate it with an appropriate level of seriousness because it can result in leverage for the winning party. Normally, the plaintiff stands to gain the most leverage by tying up the defendant's assets during the case, but it can be risky. If the court finds the plaintiff failed to show a reasonable likelihood of winning at trial, the defendant may gain the leverage. Consider the following facts as a general example. Assume a plaintiff sues your business and alleges $75,000 in damages. When the plaintiff files the lawsuit, it also seeks a $75,000 attachment of your company's bank account. You do not have any insurance to cover the alleged damages. If the plaintiff wins the motion, the attachment will freeze $75,000 in your bank account during the case, which could continue for a number of years. is might have severe consequences on your business operations. us, if the plaintiff wins, it has likely obtained leverage over you. To free up your cash and to prevent disruption to your business operations, you might be willing to put more money on the table to quickly resolve the matter than you otherwise would have. Conversely, if you win the motion, the plaintiff might need to reassess the strength of its case. e court's decision is made at the infancy of the case and thus, the plaintiff could still win at trial when the two sides present their full case before a judge or jury, but what if the plaintiff put forth what it expects to be its best evidence? e judge's decision might be an indication of a future verdict. If that is the case, the plaintiff might be interested in cutting a deal before rolling the dice. Each case involves different considerations, goals, leverage points, etc. Plaintiffs should consider the risk, reward, and cost before bringing a motion for an attachment and defendants should consider the importance of a strong opposition. Jared A. Fiore is an attorney at Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey, LLP. Reach him at jfiore@bowditch.com. BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal By Michelle Drolet Michelle Drolet is CEO of Towerwall, a woman- owned, cybersecurity services company based in Framingham. You may reach her at michelled@ towerwall.com. O F F I C E T R A N S I T I O N I N G W W W is is the third part in Jared A. Fiore's three-part series about Dispute Resolution. e first two columns ran in the March 2 and 16 editions of WBJ.

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