From the blog: “Westlaw recently added three new search features for Factiva databases. You'll find the Factiva databases by selecting the News & Business tab. The features include:
· an option to eliminate duplicate documents,
· case-sensitive searching and
· one-click retrieval of similar documents or text.
You can make a query more precise with case-sensitive searching. Westlaw provides these examples:
· acronyms (e.g., AIDS)
· stock ticker symbols (e.g., PEP, for Pepsi)
· common proper names (e.g., Bush or Gore)”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
30 June 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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Posted by J. Craig Williams : “Blogging has become the leading edge of the Fifth Estate. The first three belong to the government branches, legislative, legal and executive. The print, radio and television media lay claim to the Fourth Estate, and perhaps rightly so.
The Fifth Estate, however, is the root of the first four, and largely populous. It is us - you and me, and perhaps as large as the internet itself. Some would say the internet is the Fifth Estate, with instant messaging, e-mail, VIOP, video e-mail, webcasting and the like powering it. It is the most basic form of communication - person to person - on an extremely large scale.
Unlike the Fourth Estate, it is not filtered or edited for the masses. It is the masses.
So, how does blogging lay claim to the Fifth Estate? Well, as part of the whole. Take a look at Time magazine, and its recent article, Meet Joe Blog. (Subscription required) Even the Fourth Estate has had to join in - now we have ones from the Gray Lady and Washington Monthly. The import is clear.
Blogs and even the most popular blawgs, of which this site is one, thank you very much, are a force.
Now, will they have the staying power of the Fourth Estate? Time will tell.”
Source: May it Please the Court, 27 June 2004
From the blog: “Large law firms have used document management systems for over a decade. What are the lessons for knowledge management?
Originally, I and many others thought that DM would solve the work product retrieval problem. That turned out not to be true but we have learned many lessons about knowledge management from DM. Fellow legal technology consultant Dennis Kennedy and I discuss the lessons in a mini-roundtable format.
For our published discussion on this, see Strategies for Successful Knowledge Management in Large Law Firms: Lessons Learned from Experiences with Document Management Systems in Law Practice Today (June 2004), published online by the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association.”
Source: Strategic Legal Technology, 19 June 2004
Posted by Cindy Chick: “I recently wrote an article for Searcher Magazine called "Managing Your E-Mail Remotely - Advice on Maintaining Your E-Mail Relationship." (Sorry to say the full-text is not on the Information Today web site.)
In the article I discuss web-based email, as well as remote desktop access via tools such as GotomyPC.com. So I was particularly interested in a PC World article this month, "Access Your Desktop From Wherever You May Be" which describes how to use free tools to remotely connect to a computer at another location.
If you have Windows XP Professional on the computer you'd like to connect to, you can use the remote desktop feature that's included. For other versions of Windows, a free program called RealVNC is available free. The article provides detailed instructions on how to setup both options.
To my mind, what with firewalls and all, it gets a bit complicated. It's no wonder that Gotomypc is successful, considering that they make this process very straightforward. Still, if you want to save a few bucks, the Windows options may be worth a try. If you do try it, let us know!”
Source: LawLibTech, 27 June 2004
From the blog: “Foreign Lobbyist Database Could Vanish - "Justice Department officials say a huge database that serves as the public's lone window on lobbying activities by foreign governments has been allowed to decay to a point they cannot even make a copy of its contents."
· Foreign Agents Registration Unit (FARA), Counterespionage Section
· From AP, DOJ: Our Computer Ate the Info
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
29 June 2004
Copyright ©2002-2004 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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A Buyer's Guide to Spam Filtering (19 pages, PDF)
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
29 June 2004
Copyright ©2002-2004 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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From the blog: “This PC Magazine tip explains how to turn off the Windows System Restore feature. If your computer is infected with a virus, System Restore might re-infect it. Once you remove the virus, you can re-enable the feature.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
30 June 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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From the e-newsletter: "Brooklyn law professor Anthony Sebok, and Fordham law professor Benjamin Zipursky discuss a recent suit against the Atkins estate and Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., based on allegations that a reader and followers of Atkins's diet publications suffered severe adverse health effects. Sebok and Zipursky contend that, unlike recent "Big Fat" cases against the fast food industry, this suit raises serious First Amendment issues that will likely prove a barrier to its success."
Read full text
Source: FindLaw's WRIT Legal Commentary
June 14 - June 18, 2004, Issue #203
Copyright (c) 2004 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved
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Frank Kautz writes: "Networking Strategies to Expand Your Contacts here are three ways to expand your networking efforts to increase your business:
1. Host a social gathering. Invite friends, colleagues and business acquaintances to periodic social gatherings. The party could be at your office or a local restaurant. You might even rent out a health club for an evening. One small firm in Minneapolis has a "beach" party each summer, inviting several hundred people in the legal and business community. Business is booming.
2. Call people in the news. When you read newspaper or magazine articles of interest to your practice, circle the names of the individuals who are quoted in the articles. Call the ones who you would like to get to know. Use their quote as an icebreaker. Then ask a follow-up question to keep the conversation moving. If things go well, add them to your contact list.
3. Volunteer to be the secretary or scribe. When you are newly active in an organization, it is sometimes hard to get to know other members. When you attend a function, volunteer to take notes of the meeting or write an article about the event for the organization's newsletter. You then have a good reason to call the other members and introduce yourself while preparing the minutes or article. This tip was brought to you by the Practice Management Advisors Committee of the American Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section. For additional information about PMA services in your area, contact your state bar association or the PMA Committee via e-mail at: pmacommittee@abanet.org. P.S. Just make sure you have time to be the secretary of any organization you choose to belong to, doing a poor job is the fastest way to convince people that you won't handle their legal affairs properly."
Source: MyShingle, 28 June 2004
Courtesy of Dave Rakowski, who posted this link today on the ABA-LawTech listserv:
"Long Term Data Storage on CD-R Discs (how to store your data for a long, long time)", while containing some dated references, covers the controversy surrounding just how long one can expect data stored on burned CDs to survive. In this regard, I liked how it colorfully mentioned "Don't Screw Up the Dye Layer". Most people take great care to protect the clear plastic bottom of the CD, the one that the laser reads, and there's even handy devices like the Skip Doctor to help buff out scratches on that side to bring even badly scratched CDs and DVDs back from the dead.
However, what some people may not realize is that your disc's data is stored literally right behind the label, in what's known as the dye layer. So while there's a lot of clear plastic between the laser side and the data, your data is only a hair's breadth away from being rendered partially or completely unreadable by even a small scratch on the label side. The good news is that this makes it very easy to dispose of these discs securely by taking a sharp object like a flat head screwdriver to the label side with a minimum and quick effort (which I've done in well under a minute). The bad news is that once the dye layer is damaged, say hasta la vista to the affected data.
Perhaps even more helpful, the article discusses why some file formats are better than others -- not for storage, but for long term accessibility due to the fact that technology and formats change so frequently. For example, the included file type table suggested various MPEG versions as preferred over more proprietary formats such as AVI, Quicktime, and RealVideo, which may or may not be around in say, five, ten, or more years. Another great suggestion: "To maintain maximum flexibility for your archived data, you might want to store two copies on each disc, one copy in an industry-standard format, and another in the application-specific format of your choice." Lastly, it pays to check your data collection every few years, to make sure they're still readable and to transfer them to new media types as the old ones become obsolete (not to mention the hardware required to read them)."
Source: Law Tech Guru by Jeff Beard, 25 June 2004
From the blog: “Tara Calashain reports on a new cached page feature from Google. Called cached text, it displays only the captured text and not images, stylesheets or other non-text technology.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
27 January 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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Genie Tyburski posts: “From the article: "Starting next week, a handful of marketers in the United States will begin sending customized ads to Internet users who land on About.com, Lycos and nytimes.com, among other Web sites. So, instead of seeing a random advertisement for the Audio Book Club or the e-travel agencies Orbitz and Priceline, you might see ads addressing you by name, mentioning some of your past purchases at the site and urging you to return."
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
27 January 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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From the blog: "PestControl, a PC security company, launched the Center for Pest Research, offering consumers a range of resources to assist in the effort to combat spyware. The site offers updated spyware analysis, whitepapers, how-to guides to identify, locate and eliminate "pests," and an searchable Alphabetical Index to 21,109 Pest Descriptions."
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
29 June 2004
Copyright ©2002-2004 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Sabrina posts: "From VeriSign's press release today: "VeriSign's Anti-Phishing Solution protects enterprises through a five-tiered solution that helps prevent, detect and respond to attacks, thereby mitigating and eliminating identity theft and email fraud attempts."
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
28 June 2004
Copyright ©2002-2004 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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From the blog: "True or false? Magnets zap your data. The article explores about a dozen common beliefs about computers and the Internet. It uses a bogus meter to rate statements as mostly true or mostly false. The first--magnets zap your data--receives a rating of 4 with 5 being a completely untrue statement."
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
28 June 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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From the blog: "West officially announced the integration of RSS technology into its IntraClip current awareness service. Available for about two months, the enhancement means customers can select RSS as a delivery option for IntraClip results."
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
28 June 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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From Tom Mighell: “Bob Ambrogi explores several useful research sites in “Be a Master Web Searcher.” He spends some time talking about sites we have discussed here before: Soople, an easy-to-use interface for Google searches, and Queryster, a meta-search tool that allows you to compare searches across several search engines. Give these (and the other) sites a spin.”
(Law.com article)
Source: Internet Legal Research Weekly
Volume 5, Issue 17
June 27, 2004
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From the e-newsletter: “Think you know everything there is to know about Google? If you don't (or even if you think you do), pick up a copy of How to Do Everything With Google. Before you buy it, check out Chris Sherman's synopsis of the book.”
Source: Internet Legal Research Weekly
Volume 5, Issue 17
June 27, 2004
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From the blog: "This online library aspires to become the nation's preeminent clearinghouse for information concerning the five freedoms - speech, press, assembly, petition and religion - guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution. To that end, a vast array of judicial, legislative, historical, analytical, journalistic, editorial and other materials have been collected, organized and presented, free of charge, to all users of the First Amendment Center's Web site." All material searchable."
Source: The ResourceShelf, 22 June 2004
Carolyn Elefant writes: Through programs such as Project for Attorney Retention, the legal profession has been exploring ways for law firms to retain and accomodate talented attorneys who want to balance family and career. As usual, the profession is already behind the times (not to mention slow as it's taken a couple of years to generate this Report). Meanwhile, as discussed in this thought-provoking article, Opting Out The press discovers the mommy wars, again by Cathy Young, Reason Online (6/2004) there's a quiet revolution already taking place - one driven by women - and men - who are taking advantage of changes in the workplace to strike the balance between family and career. As Young describes: The old, linear "male" model of corporate success -- defined as a steady climb from an entry-level position to the highest status one reaches before retirement -- has changed, and not just for women. In its place, there is a rich variety of paths that include self-employment, entrepreneurship, and midlife career changes. Women who move in and out of the workforce, or find creative ways to balance work and child rearing, are very much a part of this larger revolution. (emphasis added)
Who'd have thought that going solo to spend more time with family - a somewhat conservation goal - could actually make you a revoluationary? And isn't it terrific that it does? Another example of how solos lead - and the rest of the profession follows."
Source: MyShingle.com, 27 June 2004
Tom Mighell posts: “Late last week a report surfaced that researchers believe online organized crime groups are breaking into web servers and inserting code that, when you visit the site, installs code on your PC that would allow the baddies to take control of your computer.
The infection takes advantage of two flaws in Internet Explorer that Microsoft hasn't fixed yet. Hopefully these problems will be fixed by the time this item is posted -- in the meantime, increase your security settings on Internet Explorer: Select Tools | Internet Options | Security, and go from there.”
Source: Inter-Alia, 29 June 2004
Sabrina posts: "OCC Advisory Letter on Electronic Record Keeping, June 21, 2004:
· "This advisory letter highlights issues regarding bank electronic record systems in light of the E-SIGN Act. 15 USC 7001, et seq. The letter provides a basic framework that bank management can use to assess and address key issues posed by electronic record keeping systems."
· "...For example, the Act does not ensure admissibility of electronic records in litigation. This is important because the practical effect of having electronic records that are not admissible into evidence in judicial proceedings may be to render the electronic contract or record effectively unenforceable."
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
23 June 2004
Copyright ©2002-2004 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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If you have seniors or care-givers on your client list, this article belongs on your website!
From the article: "When it comes to the painful conversation about hanging up the keys, older drivers would rather hear it from their spouse or their doctor than their adult children or siblings. And they're far more likely to listen if the talk comes in the wake of serious changes in their health rather than after a fender bender, according to what may be the first research study where older drivers were asked about who should broach questions about their driving ability and when. Researchers at The Hartford insurance company and Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab, partners on the 24-page guide released today that is based on the study, said their goal is to help families and professionals successfully deal with this difficult issue."
Direct to the "Family Conversations with Older Drivers" site
Full text of the Guide
Source: ResourceShelf's DocuTicker, 22 June 2004
Dennis posts: "I learned a long time ago that one of the best questions you can ask anyone in business is "how will I know when I have someone I can refer to you?" As a result, I'm always pairing up people I meet with service providers I already know.
Unfortunately, I keep forgetting to learn the flip side of referrals - making sure that people know when to refer someone they know to me. It's kind of a major deficiency, if you think about it.
John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing shares a couple of getting referrals tips as part of his pre-announcement of the release of his new ebook and audio program, Referral Floods.
While you are there, don't miss his post called "Educate Your Referrals." Excellent advice. And "Referrals are a Matter of Motivation."
Oh, what the heck, take a few minutes and read through the archive. I guarantee you'll get some great ideas that you can really use."
Source: DennisKennedy.blog, 24 June 2004
From the e-newsletter: "To concentrate on hosting more events focused on women¹s roles in Southington¹s business community, the Chamber of Commerce has formed a new women¹s group called Chamber Women. Dee Violette, executive assistant to the chamber, and Art Secondo, chamber president and CEO, created the group to involve more women in local business affairs and zero in on finding events and seminars that women will take an interest in.. . "We are looking for ideas on how we can get going with the community (by hosting) leadership projects for young women, for example," said Val DePaolo, an attorney at Patenaude and DePaolo Law Firm.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12076862&BRD=1641&PAG=461
Learn More About Connecticut Lawyer Valerie DePaolo¹s Practice
http://pview.findlaw.com/view/3331768_1"
Source: THE PRACTICE PAPER, Edited by Joel R. Zand, Esq.
A FindLaw Resource for Solo Attorneys and Small Law Firms
June 24, 2004
Issue # 192
Copyright (c) 2003 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved.
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From the e-newsletter:
"REFDESK - In a library, if you don't know where to look for a reference book, you go to the Reference Librarian. On the Internet, if you don't know where to look for answers, you go to Refdesk.com. At first glance, the sheer amount of useful links on the Refdesk home page can be overwhelming. But it's really quite well organized and useful.
RefDesk - http://www.refdesk.com
LIBRARY SPOT - Convenient links to popular online Almanacs, Calculators, Dictionaries, Directories, Encyclopedias, Historic Documents, Quotations, Statistics, and Thesauri.
LibrarySpot - http://www.libraryspot.com
Published by the United States Central Intelligence Agency, the World Factbook has data on every country in the world, including maps, background, geography, people, government, economy, and military.
World Factbook - http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook
Search dozens of almanacs all at once with the Information Please Almanac. Topics covered include: History & Government, Biography, Sports, Arts, Entertainment, Business & Finance, Consumer Resources, Health, Science and Weather.
Information Please Almanac - http://infoplease.com/almanacs.html"
Source: TOURBUS
Volume 9, Number 52
22 June 2004
Copyright 1995-2004, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
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Posted by Tom Mighell: "A new study from Find/SVP, 84% of business executives feel that Web searches take longer than they should due to poor results, and estimate that loss of productive time using search engines to conduct online research cost businesses $31 billion last year.
Wow. Nothing like throwing out a number like that to put the problem with online search in perspective, huh?
Fortunately, there are ways to sort through the mess, and save you or your law firm several dollars off that 31 billion. One of the best I have found is LegalRA, your legal "research assistant for Internet information." The folks at LegalRA have put together a terrific set of search and storage tools, and you should definitely check it out.
Here's the theory: searching the Internet is only half your problem. Once you have the results, how do you organize them so they are easy to use? Enter LegalRA. Over the next few weeks, I'll be introducing features of the site I think legal researchers will find incredibly useful.
In the interests of full disclosure, you'll see on the LegalRA home page that I'm a member of the site's Advisory Board. I have been helping out with the design and concept of the site, because I think a tool like this is necessary for lawyers and other legal professionals to get a grip on the chaos presented by Internet research. Give it a try!"
Source: Inter-Alia, 24 June 2004
Carolyn Elefant writes: Matt Homann of the [non]billable hour frequently writes about alternatives to the billable hour, including offering clients a flat fee arrangement. This article, Law firms test flat-rate waters, John Share. bizjournals (free regis. req'd. 6/21/04) describes how some Minneapolis firms are putting flat fee billing into practice. For example, the firm of Leonard, Street and Deinard has developed a program called First Counsel which offers a flat fee for run of the mill business matters such as incorporation and negotiating leases. Litigation and out-of-the-ordinary expenses cost extra. First Counsel doesn't just benefit clients - but also attorneys. Presumably, some of the clients who sign up for this program would have otherwise tried to handle smaller business matters on their own. By offering these services at a low fee, lawyers can create a relationship with businesses which might not have hired an attorney at all. And that puts those lawyers in a good place for when the business really does need to call a lawyer."
Source: MyShingle, 25 June 2004
From the blog: "Doug Isenberg recently incorporated a Weblog at GigaLaw. It offers news, analysis and documents about important and interesting developments in Internet and technology law. Recent posting provide copies of the complaints filed by L.L. Bean against four advertisers, who use Claria's pop-up services, and the complaint by Claria against L.L. Bean that followed, copies of eight new complaints filed by Microsoft under the CAN-SPAM Act, and an observation concerning Britain's recent request regarding clearly labeled paid search results. News feed: http://www.gigalaw.com/blogrss/index.xml"
RELATED NEWS RE CLARIA
9th Circuit Snaps at Gator's Argument
The Recorder, 24 June 2004
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
27 January 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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From the blog: "There's been a small flurry of great articles about the current state of the art among general counsels of corporations for the selection of outside counsel. All are worth reading by any lawyer who has or wants corporate clients.
First, Bridgette Herschensohn's "How Do General Counsel Select Law Firms?" summarizes the key points from a recent seminar on this topic that featured a number of cororate general counsels. She highlights five key concerns for corporate counsel. They probably will not surprise you, but I want to highlight two observations. First, corporate counsel seem to use practices that guarantee that (1) they will all keep looking at the same set of large law firms and hoping that these firms will changes and (2) smaller, innovative firms amd lawyers will never get on the hiring radar. This practice is a big deterrent from lawyers looking to leave large firms and create technologically innovative firms. Second, point #4 refers to "the added-value factor." Here's the simple translation - alternative billing practices ideally implemented with technology and service enhancements.
Legal market guru Larry Bodine covered another similar seminar and posted about it in his blog at "Getting Into the Corporate Counsel Mind." Although I must admit that I got a chuckle out of the following comment by Larry, it just might illustrate a tiny little danger of blogging versus writing an article in the due course of time. He says, "It was the usual prissy whine-fest of GCs complaining that lawyers weren't obsequious enough and didn't accommodate their personal peccadilloes well enough. Some of these GCs have really bloated egos. But there were some practical points too. . . ." He goes on, in his usual incisive fashion to set out those practical points, some of which are in line with the points from Herschensohn's article and some of which are diametrically opposite.
On Law.com. Nathan Koppel's "Courting Shell" covers Shell's recent "beauty contest" to both choose and limit the number of its law firms. Koppel highlights Shell's primary criteria, such as quality, cost-effectiveness and professionalism, but he focuses on the critical fourth factor, one which some law firms, even in 2004, still find surprising, diversity. It's an important article for all lawyers working in the corporate legal market. By the way, diversity could easily be one of my first questions in my proposed "2 by 4" blog feature. I spent a good portion of the 1990s on the steering committee for the St. Louis Minority Clerkship Program and, over the years I've heard opinions from lawyers on diversity issues that still make me shake my head and wonder what planet they came from.
I recommend the best resource I've found on the interaction of corporate counsel and outside law firms. It's Larry Smith's Inside Outside: How Businesses Buy Legal Services. Trust me, you'll thank me after you read it.
Finally, at Law Practice Today, we're working on two theme issues for July and August. In July, we'll focus on electronic discovery. The August issue will address the whole topic of corporate counsel / outside counsel relationships. Please contact me if you have an interest in contributing an article or want to learn about advertising or sponsorship opportunities for either or both issues."
Source: DennisKennedy.blog , 24 June 2004
From the blog: “PC Magazine's Security Watch Newsletter recommends IE-SpyAD as a "quick, inexpensive fix" that protects your computer against known spyware. The software, which appears to work only with Internet Explorer, places information about known threats into your computer's system registry. Then, when you open your browser, it loads the Web addresses for these threats into IE's restricted site security zone.”
RELATED
Pop-Up Ads Work TVC Alert, 22 June 2004
Source: TVC Alert , The Virtual Chase
23 June 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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From the site: "Recreate the World Indoor Athletics Championships at home or work in a series of stupid (but fun) games." Try your hand at shot put with a computer mouseball, discus with a compact disc (CD), internal phone system relays, and other activities. From BBC Sport."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/shared/spl/hi/athletics/03/world_indoor/html/initial.stm
Source: LII Librarians' Index to the Internet
NEW THIS WEEK for June 24, 2004
Copyright 2004 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, LII.
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From the blog: "Recently, I came across a unique service that allows you send greeting cards to customers, clients, friends, and referral sources, all from your computer. These are not e-Cards sent by email. They are actual high quality greeting cards that are printed, folded, stuffed, stamped and sent on your behalf, from a browser based Web interface.
The cards can even be personalized with your own text message, in your own handwriting, and with your own signature. One thing I like about the system is that you can schedule a series of cards to be sent out automatically, and even pre-schedule a card to go out on an anniversary or birthday.
Be sure to check it out at Greetingcardwiz.com to get more information. There's a full presentation available on the site that explains the system. Also, for those of you who would like to try the service, I have set up a sample account where you can log in, add a contact, and send a card. Just click here, [from the original source, not my blog] and use the word "lawyer" in both the "User Name and "Password" fields.
Once you log in, just click on "Add a Contact", fill in the info, and save. Then, click on "Contact Manager", "List Contacts", and from the list of contacts, click "Send Card" for the appropriate contact. Follow the prompts from there to send your card.
If you have any other questions on how to use the system, or how to set up your own account, please feel free to give me a call. You can reach me at (866) 452-9847."
Source: ESQlawtech, 25 June 2004
In the news: “Despite efforts to recruit and retain minority lawyers, large law firms remain overwhelmingly white -- a disparity even more pronounced at the partnership level, according to Minority Law Journal's annual Diversity Scorecard. To get the full picture, The American Lawyer looks at the numbers, catches up with James Cole Jr. (as of this year, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz's first black partner), and chronicles Shell Oil's outside-counsel diversity initiative.”
Read the full feature
Source: Law.Com's Today's Legal News, 24 June 2004
Copyright 2004 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
Blogging With The Boss's Blessing - "More companies are helping employees to speak freely -- and bond with customers."
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
23 June 2004
Copyright ©2002-2004 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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New on LLRX.com for June 21, 2004:
· A Selective Guide to Online International Arbitration Resources
Gloria Miccioli reviews the websites of major arbitration organizations as well as selected commercial databases in this pathfinder that will maximize your research for international arbitral awards data online.
· Notes from the Tech Trenches: Spicy Handouts for Tastier Training
Cindy Carlson offers a fresh perspective on creating effective presentations using word processing applications.
· FOIA Facts: Ronald Reagan's FOIA Legacy
Scott A. Hodes comments on the continuing impact of FOIA policies from the 1980s.
· Wisdom from the Grammar Goddess: Breaking the Spell
Diane Sandford's column on spelling is instructive (a great quiz is included), insightful (don't rely on your online spell checker to catch those mistakes), and poetic (you have to read to see why).
· After Hours: Travel Tip, Book It! and Time Travel Tickets, Part II (Old-Fashioned Candy)
Retro candy treats, enduring confectionary favorites, simple sweets, restaurant events for Bastille Day, and the film remake of a 70s novel are all wrapped up for delivery in Kathy Biehl's column this month. Don't miss it!
· Burney's Legal Tech Reviews: Antec Notebook Cooler
Brett Burney reviews a nifty gadget for the ever expanding group whose laptop is their primary computer.
· New Recommendations in the LLRX.com Bookstore
· Updates and revisions to LawPro Links
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
24 June 2004
Copyright ©2002-2004 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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In the news: “You Google, of course. But do you Soople? As a word, soople is said to derive from an early English dialect and mean to soften or make supple. As a Web site, Soople is pretty much Google for dummies. It's one of several search tools we'll show you that, although little known, are of practical use to lawyers. Before you know it, you'll be a master of meta searches and more.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Today's Legal News, 24 June 2004
Copyright 2004 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
From the e-newsletter: “Ask Jeeves has unveiled both a raft of new shortcuts and a new site preview feature called Binoculars.
You've probably been noticing that many search engines are offering searching shortcuts (called "Smart Search" by Ask Jeeves.) This feature allows you to get very specific kinds of information by searching with certain kinds of words. Ask Jeeves Smart Search Features include:
Movies -- Enter a movie title. Ask Jeeves will return at the top of the results a picture, links to reviews (at Rotten Tomatoes) as well as a link to the official site and a trailer. Seems to work only for current movies; Shrek2 worked while "Bend it Like Beckham" didn't.
Sports Franchises -- Enter the name of a sports franchise and you'll get a variety of pointers including official site, scores, schedule, roster, etc. This appears to be major league only; a search for Montgomery Biscuits (yes, the Montgomery Biscuits) didn't show that information.
There are also some really specific lookups (wedding registries and package tracking) as well as a couple really really specific lookups (like
the terror alert level, and a shortcut to get on the "Do Not Call" registry.) You can find a list of available lookups at http://static.wc.ask.com/docs/announcements/searchsmarter.html.
The binocular feature doesn't work in Opera, so I fired up IE. In the search results you'll see that many of the result URLs have a little icon next to them. If you hold your mouse over the icon, you'll get a little popup preview of what the site looks like. This is a nice implementation of the site preview idea with the unfortunate problem of VERY SMALL SCREEN SHOTS. Some pages, no problem. Other pages, all you could tell was that it was red and had some text on it. I'd up the screen shot size a bit."
Source: ResearchBuzz #289
21 June 2004
Reproduced with permission of ResearchBuzz.
Copyright 2004 Tara Calishain. All rights reserved.
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From the e-newsletter: “I'm not sure how new it is, and I get the sense that the source list is a bit limited, but NewsLookup is interesting in that you can break out your results by source type (Magazine, Radio, Newspapers, Internet) and other variables with six pull-down menus underneath the query box. It's available at http://www.newslookup.com/.
As already noted, once you enter the query you can chose a media type, source region, and where you want to search for your keywords (in document title, in full document, etc.)
A search for "baseball" in television sources found 227 results. Results include the standard title, snippet, and URL, but also a link to a cached copy, page size, a date (which I figure is an index date) and also the page's meta tags and meta description.
There's not a source list here but I get the impress this that isn't an overly-large source set. But I like the fact that you can break it out both by source type and location, and that there are cached copies available.”
Source: ResearchBuzz #289
22 June 2004
Reproduced with permission of ResearchBuzz.
Copyright 2004 Tara Calishain. All rights reserved.
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From the e-newsletter: “Fred, One question that has bugged me for some time is whether it's REALLY that necessary to have an uninterruptible power supply on my PC…. Do you think I am making a mistake by simply going with a good quality surge protector for my PC - i.e. skipping the UPS?
Thanks.---Joe DiGeorgio
The real answer to "is it really necessary to have a UPS?" depends on the value of your data and the cost of the UPS…. you can get decent, basic UPSes for $50 or so (sometimes even less), which is close to the price of a good, stand alone surge-protector. (The less expensive surge protectors really don't do much: Think of them as fused extension cords rather than a true surge protector.) The low-end UPSes provide both basic surge protection *and* offer limited battery power as well --- enough to run a PC for a few minutes."
Source: The LangaList Standard Edition
24 June 2004
Copyright (c) 2004 Fred Langa / Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved.
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Carolyn Elefant writes: "Matt Homann of the [non]billable hour posted his second Five for Five on Five Ways to Change the Practice of Law. I was fortunate enough to participate in the project - and now there are at least 30 ideas out there, ranging from small and particular changes to macro changes. From a personal perspective, as a practicing attorney, I found it much more difficult to come up with ways to change the legal profession than when I was in law school or even as a recent, hopeful baby lawyer. Back then, so much about legal practice rankled me - the silly bar exam or the legal hierarchy (brilliantly captured here) or the way that young attorneys at large law firms waste away grinding out document production. Many times, the ridiculous requirements bugged me enough to actually do something. Yet these practices don't enrage me as they did before; in many ways I've come to accept them as little annoyances rather than major problems and have chosen to ignore them rather than challenge them straight on. Perhaps that's why so little changes in the profession - because the profession itself changes us from the objective observers who once said we'd do it differently into if not so much apologists, then simply busy lawyers too preoccuppied to notice or tackle the flaws. Or more pessimistically, maybe law makes us so good at reasoning, that we become more inclined to rationalize away problems. I hope that Matt's feature starts a discussion over ways to change the profession that engages all of us sufficiently to take some action.
If you care to add your ideas for changing the profession, by all means do - either in our comments below or at Matt's site."
Source: MyShingle.com, 21 June 2004
Dennis posts: "OK, I'm a little biased because I'm an editor and member of the Law Practice Today board, but the June issue has reached beyond the goals we originally had for this publication. I'm sure that you will agree that in terms of content, the webzine has reached the top rank of publications covering the legal profession.
There are twelve solid articles on a variety of aspects of the practice of law (VoIP, document management, trust, marketing and technology tips, best law fir[m] websites, to name a few), all of which will reward your reading efforts. We've gotten some of the best known law practice authors as well. Highly recommended…"
Source: DennisKennedy.blog, 21 June 2004
From the blog: "As I have mentioned here before, one of the most interesting new directions in the future of search is personalization, where a search utility customizes the results to fit your individual needs. The more personalized, however, the more personal information that needs to be provided by the searcher. This article examines the tradeoffs involved."
Source: Inter-Alia, 23 June 2004
From the Dennis Kennedy blog: "George Socha and I's new "Electronic Discovers" column has just been published on the excellent DiscoveryResources.org website. The column is called There Must Be Fifty Ways to Store Your Data and focuses on the many devices and media on which data can be stored and the many different considerations litigators need to keep in mind when pursuing electronic discovery.
A great comment from George:
"By focusing on the content rather than the medium, you may increase your changes of getting the data you really care about. This is, after all, what we do when we ask for information memorialized on paper. Rare is the request for all pieces of orange paper kept by a company, no matter what is on the orange paper."
Source: DennisKennedy.blog, 23 June 2004
From the LangaList: "The question asks about XP, but the answer applies to ALL versions of Windows:
Dear Fred, I am using XP Home on a laptop and the CapsLock key is often hit when using the shift. Is there any way to disable it or have it work only with another key like "alt or ctrl" ?
Thanks! Keep up the great work! ---John Long
Here you go, John: http://www.brainsystems.com/capsunlock/ It's free, runs on all Windows, needs only 11Kb of disk space, and prevents the accidental turning on of CapsLock. Click the link for more info."
Source: The LangaList Standard Edition
10 June 2004
Copyright (c) 2004 Fred Langa / Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved.
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From the e-newsletter: “In 'The USB Drive Revolution' that's posted now (free!) at http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=22100588 I'll run through the pros and cons of each of the three types of USB drives ranging from standard thumb drives that can cost literally under $10 and provide tens to hundreds of megs of extra space, up to amazingly capacious drives that add extra room by the gig. I'll provide links and prices--- and even break down the costs on a price-per-megabyte basis, for easy comparison.”
Source: The LangaList Standard Edition
21 June 2004
Copyright (c) 2004 Fred Langa / Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved.
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From ZD/Net UK: "Wireless hot spots have been set up at seven UK law courts as part of a trial that could lead to a national rollout, as the British government continues to show interest in the potential of Wi-Fi."
Source: Ernie the Attorney, 21 June 2004
In the news: “Actors don't just portray witnesses on TV -- they play them in real trials. In an attempt to connect more effectively with juries, a number of attorneys are using professionals to play people who were deposed but not brought into the courtroom. No appellate court has yet cried "foul," but the practice is controversial, since lawyers not only get to cast the talent, but also direct them in how to play the role.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Today's Legal News, 22 June 2004
Copyright 2004 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
From the blog: “Oxbridge Communications Inc., publisher of the Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters, said the number of U.S. and Canadian online newsletters "nearly doubled from 2,500 in 2002 to 4,949 last year." More publishers are adding newsletters to supplement their magazines. The subject category with the largest number of newsletters is law.” [Emphasis mine]
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
21 June 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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From the blog: "This PCWorld.com article highlights some of the current and emerging applications and standards that can be implemented in an effort to respond to the deluge of spam, as discussed at the recent E-Mail Technology Conference. What caught my eye was this paraphrased statement from Dr. Vinton Cerf: "He gave the example of an exchange that might entail a three-day e-mail chain, but which could be handled in a five-minute phone call."
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
21 June 2004
Copyright ©2002-2004 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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From the blog: “With the onslaught of spam and viruses, some predict the death of the killer application --email. I don't think folks are going to be quick to give up email, but I do believe they will step up the pressure for technical solutions. The article mentions two authentication systems in development.
I recently signed up with Mailblocks and have been thrilled with the service. Mailblocks is a challenge/response system, meaning those who send you email receive a challenge to which they have to respond--once. When they respond, they automatically appear as an approved address in your address book. Any email you send has the same effect--the recipients go automatically into your address book as approved senders.
If you don't like the idea of challenging senders, you can turn off this feature. I did. All email from "unapproved" senders goes into a special folder called Pending. You can quickly scan the folder for any email you should see. If you reply to the email, or add the sender to your address book, future email from that person goes directly into your inbox. The effect is to sort email you want to review from spam. You can also set the "pending" folder to auto-delete messages at a frequency of your choice. While this method doesn't stop spam, it effectively minimizes the amount of time you spend going through it.
Mailblocks”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
22 June 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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From the blog: "As referenced in an article on the lifespan of writeable CDs and DVDs from today's WSJ, here is the link to NIST Special Publication 500-252, October 2003: Information Technology: Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs — A Guide for Librarians and Archivists, by Fred R. Byers (50 pages, PDF)
· "The document provides guidance on how to maximize the life-time and usefulness of optical discs, specifically CD and DVD media, by minimizing chances of information loss caused by environmental infuences or physical handling. Discrete topic areas include prevention of premature degradation, prevention of information loss, CD and DVD structure, disc life expectancy, and conditions that affect optical discs."
[The article purports to be for a specific audience, but with a few exceptions, it was easy to read and very interesting for anyone who stores information for long-term use on CD and DVD media.]
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
21 June 2004
Copyright ©2002-2004 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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From the blog: “Writing for SearchDay, Gary Price has more on enhancements at Ask Jeeves. He provides several examples of search shortcuts.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
22 June 2004
(c) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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In the news: "The august trial lawyer's long-winded, eloquent opening statement may be going the way of the dodo. That's because the audience -- the jury -- keeps getting younger. Raised on video games and cable TV, 20- and 30-somethings want succinct statements and multimedia storytelling. So profound are the shift's implications that five law schools have developed new curricula in response. One expert calls the new reality "the third revolution o