Patrick Lamb posts: “It is human nature to warm to pleasant surprises. It is an axiom of legal practice that clients hate surprises, at least the “bad news” kind. Smart lawyers do two things consistently: they keep their client’s expectations realistic and they almost always over deliver. In this vein, look at this post from Tom Kane in the Legal Marketing Blog. My favorite part is this quote from Tom Peters. “Formula for success: under promise and over deliver.”
There may be some who say “I don’t want my expectations ‘managed.’” Don’t read “manage” to mean manipulated. Instead, this is a variation on the “no bad news” theme noted above. If you under promise and over deliver, the chances of negative surprises is drastically reduced.”
Source: In Search of Perfect Client Service, 28 July 2005
Evan Schaeffer posts: “At his website, Cliff Atkinson, the author of the Powerpoint book Beyond Bullet Points, reports that he went to Texas before the first Vioxx trial to give plaintiffs' lawyers Mark Lanier some special Powerpoint training.
Once the trial began, the approach to Powerpoint by the plaintiff and defense differed enough that Fortune magazine commented on it--
Speaking in state court in Angleton, Texas, without notes and in gloriously plain English, and accompanying nearly every point with imaginative, easily understood (if often hokey) slides and overhead projections, (the plaintiff's lawyer Mark) Lanier, a part-time Baptist preacher, took on Merck and its former CEO Ray Gilmartin with merciless, spellbinding savagery... But in contrast to Lanier... (defendant Merck's lawyer David Kiernan) seemed to read much of his presentation and illustrated it only with stodgy, corporate headshots of Merck officials or hard-to-read excerpts from documents whose meaning was shrouded in medical jargon...
The trial offers jurors a stark choice between accepting Lanier's invitation to believe simple, alluring and emotionally cathartic stories versus Merck's appeals to colorless, heavy-going, soporific Reason.
According to Atkinson, it was the first time that he had "put the Beyond Bullet Points approach on trial in a courtroom." Speaking of Lanier's style, Atkinson had this to say:
We used the 3-step approach in the book, then Mark's flawless delivery took the experience beyond what I imagined was possible. He masterfully framed his argument with an even flow of projected images, and blended it with personal stories, physical props, a flip chart, a tablet PC, a document projector and a deeply personal connection with his audience.”
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 29 July 2005
Sue Altmeyer posts: “Inspired by the success of Cleveland Municipal Court's Amnesty Court program, two new programs were created to help fugitives and convicts. Fugitive Safe Surrender offers leniency to fugitives who turn themselves in. The program will be offered throughout Cuyahoga County. Second Chance is a series of seminars to help one-time offenders expunge their records. See Successful Amnesty Court Inspires Two New Programs by Gabriel Baird, The Plain Dealer, July 27, 2005, and additional part of this article: To Learn More. For more information on Second Chance, go to: The Restoration Movement.”
Source: The Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 29 July 2005
Ron Friedmann posts: “I have previously suggested that corporations could scan blogs as an early warning system for legal issues. Business Week’s Blogspotting has an interesting post that relates to this idea.
Quoting an “experienced corporate blogger,” How corporations track the blogs: A blogger weighs in reports “any company that is not watching the blogosphere is missing out on a great deal of information that is quite useful/pertinent. It’s stupidly easy to do and basically, a free way to gather intelligence.” Among the sources of information one might not find elsewhere: spouses and new or ex-employees.
A forward thinking law firm could either track the blogosphere as a service for its clients or to identify possible legal issues as part of its marketing efforts.”
Source: Strategic Legal Technology, 29 July 2005
Sabrina posts: “A new article from the 8/15/05 issue of Forbes, Google Isn't Everything, [Link opens VERY slowly] serves as a useful reminder that public libraries throughout the country offer users access to a vast range of online subscription services, absolutely free. While Yahoo is beta testing a service that permits users to locate news, articles and other resources from selected subscription services (viewing the full text requires a fee), your local public library has been providing [Ohio] more comprehensive online access to you for free, for years. In addition, staying current with your college or grad school alumni fees may also reward you with a treasure trove of online access to subscription services that can include Factiva, LexisNexis Academic, CQ Weekly, and HeinOnline as just a few examples. Well worth some research to find out what you are missing.”
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
28 July 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe
Posted by Evan Schaeffer: “In Episode #32: My qualifications as a podcasting professional, some motivational pearls of wisdom for plaintiffs' lawyers who are feeling blue, and why I'm doing this podcast. Running time: 12 minutes.”
Source: Blawgcast.com, 28 July 2005
Bonnie Shucha posts: “You've heard of pigs-in-a-blanket and soap-on-a-rope - now comes Computer-on-a-Stick, a USB flash drive featuring its own onboard operating system together with a full suite of Microsoft Office-compatible applications.
And for added security, also available are the Bio Computer-on-a-Stick and the Bio USB Flash Drive which require fingerprint authentication.
Source: LJ Tech Blog"
Source: WisBlawg, 28 July 2005
From Patrick Crispen: “[This part of today's Tourbus post is also available as a free (albeit
overmodulated) on-screen movie at http://netsquirrel.com/ ]
There are so many security holes in Internet Explorer that I simply no longer use it. I use Mozilla Firefox instead. While Firefox is a significantly safer browser--we Firefox users don't have to worry about the drive-by spyware and adware installations that constantly plague Internet Explorer users--Firefox is not without its own share of security problems. In fact, in the last eight months or so, there have been a BUNCH of vulnerabilities found in Firefox. Check out http://tinyurl.com/7xxt4 if you don't believe me.
RELATED NEWS: http://www.tourbus.com/firefox-news.html
That doesn't mean that Firefox is a lousy browser. Rather it just means that, just as you need to update Windows to make sure your computer has all of the latest Microsoft security patches, you also need to update Firefox from time to time.
There are three ways to do this:
1. Download and install the newest version of Firefox.
2. Click on the hidden "Check Now" button inside of Firefox.
3. Click on the red update arrow icon whenever it appears in
Firefox.
First, you can just go to mozilla.org, download the latest version of Firefox, and install it. You don't have to uninstall your old version--the Firefox installer automatically upgrades your old version to the new version and it also keeps your old Firefox bookmarks and settings intact. Hopefully.
The second way to upgrade is to, while in Firefox, go to Tools > Options. Under "Advanced," scroll down and under "Software Update" click on the "Check Now" button. [And between you and me, could they have made this button any harder to find?] This causes Firefox to call home and check to see if you have the latest version. Just follow the on-screen prompts to upgrade.
The third way to upgrade to the latest version of Firefox is the easiest: look in the upper right corner of your Firefox screen. If there is ever a security update for Firefox, you'll see a really small red arrow icon up in that corner. Click on that arrow icon and it's just as if you clicked on the "Check Now" button in Tools > Options. Firefox calls home and automatically gets the updates.
All three of these methods--downloading and installing a new version, going to Tools > Options > Advanced, or clicking on the red arrow whenever it appears--check not only Firefox but also your Firefox extensions for any security updates you may be missing. The upgrade process itself is pretty straightforward. Click on "Install Now," sit back a bit while Firefox downloads the necessary updates, and then follow the on-screen prompts. That's it.
Since there have been a bunch of patches since Firefox was first officially released in November 2004, I strongly recommend that you update Firefox as soon as possible. You're going to be a LOT happier in the long run if you do. Once you've updated, just keep your eye out for that little red arrow icon and you should be okay.”
Source: TOURBUS
Volume 11, Number 3
28 July 2005
Copyright 1995-2005, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
Subscribe
In the news: “It is, as they say, "do or die" time. The half-billion-dollar mega-trial that could put your client out of business has arrived. But take heart: In the face of scale, complexity, and geographic and personality issues that you'd swear make your war planning comparable to that of D-Day, there are five simple steps or "secrets" for litigation support leaders that can lead to enormous success.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
28 July 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Posted by Abbie Bradfield Mulvihill: "There are several good sources on the Web for helping attorneys to improve their legal writing skills. Here are a few useful links:
“The Ten Commandments of Writing An Effective Appellate Brief” by Sylvia H. Walbolt and D. Matthew Allen (PDF link)
“How to Write a Good Appellate Brief” by Andrew L. Frey and Roy T. Englert, Jr.
“Improve Your Legal Writing With Five Simple Rules” by T. Evan Schaeffer
“Five Steps Towards Persuasive Writing” by T. Evan Schaeffer
“First Drafts Made Easy” by T. Evan Schaeffer
“Six Great Ways to Unmuddle Your Writing” by Dennis Kennedy
“Excercises from Legal Writing in Plain English” by Bryan A. Garner
“How to Write: A Memorandum from a Curmudgeon” by Mark Herrmann (PDF link)"
Source: AbsTracked, 25 July 2005
In the news: “Going where many large law firms fear to tread, Matthew Righetti and other attorneys at small plaintiffs firms are pursuing class actions over electronic privacy breaches. Because the cases rest on untested laws -- and often involve victims with no monetary losses -- larger firms are letting smaller outfits like Righetti's take the first steps in this potentially risky litigation arena. Eager to find new practice areas without competition from big firms, the small shops have been happy to oblige.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
28 July 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Genie Tyburski posts: “This [WSJ] subscription-based article provides some examples of how lawyers use the Wayback Machine in litigation. The Wayback Machine is a search engine at the Internet Archive that provides access to older versions of Web pages provided that you know the URL.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
28 July 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Posted by Tom Mighell: “I'll go out on a limb and state that Google Maps is far and away the best mapping site currently available on the Internet. And it just keeps getting better -- last week the company introduced a new hybrid feature -- you can view maps in graphic or satellite view, or a combination of the two. You'll see the actual streets and buildings, and the streets will be named.
Seriously cool. And I was able to instantly use it in my practice. I was preparing a report to a client in a dram shop case involving an auto accident. I zoomed over to Google Maps, clipped a hybrid picture of the intersection where the accident occurred, added some arrows in an image editing program, and voila! Now my client will be able to clearly see the scene of the accident, and understand how it happened.”
Source: Inter Alia, 28 July 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “Writing for SearchDay, Mary Ellen Bates explains how to do quick research without relying on Google, Yahoo or other popular search engines. Her strategy provides a formula for research on just about any topic.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
28 July 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Posted by Tom Mighell: “From Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion: 10 technology-driven trends that will revolutionize how companies (and people) communicate.”
Source: Between Lawyers, 28 July 2005
Sabrina posts: "The focus of this white paper is to describe the basic workings of a new capability, the Microsoft® Phishing Filter, that will be included in the upcoming release of Internet Explorer 7. The Microsoft Phishing Filter will not only help provide consumers with a dynamic system of warning and protection against potential phishing attacks, but — more important — it will also benefit legitimate ISPs and Web commerce site developers that want to try to ensure that their brands are not being 'spoofed' to propagate scams and that their legitimate outreach to customers is not confusing or misinterpreted by filtering software." [the document is in Word, and available at this Link]”
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
27 July 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe
Patrick Lamb posts: “Ed Poll, who writes LawBiz Blog, makes some interesting points about succession planning in his July 20 post, Keeping Clients After A Lawyer Retires. Among the many valuable points Ed raises are:
- Have the rainmakers introduce younger partners to their client contacts
- Build teams around the top 20 clients, and to let the client know they have a team.
- Actively start cross-selling the top 20 clients. For more info see Larry Bodine's webinar: Best Practices Of Cross Marketing and Selling New Services To Clients. [Print version]
I would add to this list. First, merely introducing younger partners to clients is not enough. Younger partners need to be featured, given opportunities to excel for the client and then “bragged on” by the senior partner. If the senior partner doesn’t show respect, trust and admiration for the younger partner, why should the client? Second, I believe the client should be involved in the discussion. Many of the rainmakers don’t want to suggest to the client that they won’t be there to service the client. But the fact is that the clients themselves think about how deep a firm’s bench is, what would happen if the senior partner became unavailable, etc. They view the issue as a business problem and I think it benefits the relationship to let clients know you are thinking about their needs beyond any specific case. Finally, I think everyone in the firm needs to know who the “successor” is for any given client. Some choices might be difficult ones, but any issues regarding the choice are better addressed when the rainmaker is still around to resolve them.
Its clear how this approach benefits the law firm: the loss of a major client cuts deep, particularly for smaller firms. But why is this important from the client's perspective? How much institutional knowledge has the client already paid for? What would the cost be to replace that knowledge? In some niche practices, there may not be a real alternative. It is as much in the client's interest as it is in the law firm's interest to have a plan to cover anticipated departures as well as unanticipated ones. McDonald's lost two CEO's to sudden death or illness in one year. It happens, and there is no excuse to be caught short.”
Source: In Search of Perfect Client Service, 26 July 2005
David Swanner posts: “One of the things that I’m going to start doing is putting information that I ‘know’, but don’t use it often enough so that I have to look it up every time just to make certain. One of those items is when getting assigned two court dates at the same time, which court takes priority?
Rule 601 of the South Carolina Rules of Appellate Court lays out the priorities:
1. The Supreme Court
2. The Court of Appeals
3. The Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Commission on Lawyer Conduct, and the Committee on Character and Fitness. (Ouch).
4. The Circuit Court--General Sessions
5. The Family Court--merits hearings in cases involving child abuse, child neglect and termination of parental rights…(with notice).
6. The Circuit Court--Common Pleas, Jury Term
7. The Family Court -- all cases not part of Number 5.
8. The Circuit Court--Common Pleas, Non-Jury Term.
9. Alternative Dispute Resolution Conferences
10. The Probate Court
11. Magistrates and Municipal Courts
12. Other Administrative Bodies or Officials
Workers Compensation cases would fall under Category 12, the Other Administrative bodies. That means that judicially, Workers Comp cases can get bumped for uncontested divorces and traffic court. Ouch.”
Source: South Carolina Trial Law Blog, 25 July 2005
Matthew Homann posts: “From Autoblog comes a pointer to this article in the U.K.’s News.Telegraph about ways automobile manufacturers and dealers are making their showrooms more “female friendly.” The obvious solution? Employ more women:
"We are now actively trying to recruit more female staff," said [Honda]spokesman Paul Ormond. "It is important to treat women with the respect they deserve and not to make stupid remarks, patronise them or talk down to them. . . . Mr Ormond said female sales staff tended to be seen as more honest, more inclined to be realistic and less flamboyant than male counterparts.
According to the article, Ford has a women’s product panel that “mystery shops” for cars in the company’s showrooms.
"When we first started, our initial findings were disastrous," said Angela Savage, the chairman of the panel. "But things have moved on. In the early 1990s, I don't think anyone realised quite how much influence females had in the purchase of the family car, or the spending power that the independent women had. Car dealerships are much better nowadays."
Are lawyers’ offices?”
Source: The [non]billable hour, 26 July 2005
Evan Schaeffer posts: “In a post last week, I mentioned that Illinois rules require the production of electronic information in printed form. Sometimes this rule might be beneficial: for example, lawyers who are not even thinking about electronically-stored information when they send a discovery request should receive the requested information anyway, despite their lack of forethought.
However, the rule also creates problems. A relatively small amount of electronically-stored information might equate to truckloads of documents when printed out on paper, as I also mentioned last week. This is one reason why lawyers might specifically request electronic information to be produced in electronic format. Here are some others:
· Electronic information can often be searched electronically;
· Electronic information can be manipulated electronically, making it possible to analyze the information in ways that are not possible in printed form;
· Electronic information will often include earlier versions and drafts of important documents that you would not receive otherwise;
· Electronic information might include relevant data ("metadata") that is not accessible in printed form.
For this reason, you should always enter into a dialogue with the opposing attorney about how relevant electronic information will be produced. If it is going to be produced in a way that hampers your ability to prepare your case, you should seek the intervention of the court if you cannot work out your dispute by agreement.
Source note: Some of the bulleted items are from a presentation on electronic discovery by Robert Kenner at the 2005 ATLA summer convention.”
Source: Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 25 July 2005
Dennis blogs: “Mitch Wagner at Information Week has set off a fascinating discussion that, frankly, has some profound implications, with his blog post "Why Kids Aren't Getting Into IT."
The money quote:
"Kids these days are worried about money and survival, in a way that we haven't seen since before the baby boom. The kids who will enter college in a few weeks are kids who turned 14 when the planes hit the World Trade Center. They spent most of their adolescence, the time when kids get ready to enter the world of adulthood, learning about terrorism, war, the economic downturn, outsourcing, layoffs, increasing deficits, the health-care crisis--am I leaving anything out here? They resemble, in outlook, the generation that grew up in the Depression and fought in World War II. They grew up knowing the world is a scary place."
I don't know if Mitch is right, worng or somewhere in between, but his post prompted quite a discussion in the comments section and it strikes me that he raises some questions that we all should be spending a lot more time thinking about these days.”
Source: DennisKennedy.com, 25 July 2005
Sabrina posts: "What is Podscope? Podscope is the first search engine that actually allows you to search for spoken words within any audio or video file. We're starting with podcasts and will be adding all types of multimedia in coming months."
· Press release: Podscope Search Engine to Index Entire Spoken Podcast Universe; First Spoken Word Index Search Engine Will Cover All Non-Music Audio and Video Podcasts by August 31, 2005
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
26 July 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe
Posted by Denise Howell: “The August issue of Fast Company has this succinct and on point guide to Business Blogging for Beginners (which is useful even, or maybe particularly, if you're not into cocktail parties).”
Source: Between Lawyers, 23 July 2005
Posted by Gary Price: “The Space Shuttle has blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center and is currently orbiting the Earth. The Shuttle will dock with the International Space Station on Thursday.
If you're interested in tracking both spacecraft, here are a couple real-time databases. You'll need to have Java working.
· SkyWatch: Orbital Tracking from NASA You'll also find a link to access info about Space Shuttle sighting opportunities.
· NASA's J-Track Spacecraft Tracking
Also, since satellite and aerial imagery is all the rage these days, here's a small archive with selected imagery of Earth taken by astronauts since the beginning of the space program. Want more? The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth, is a searchable database with astronaut photographs (more than 600,000 images) of Earth from 1961 through the present.”
Source: SearchEngineWatch, 26 July 2005
In the news: “Criminal defense attorneys in high-profile cases involving heinous acts often take the heat for their clients' alleged crimes. It's a high-pressure job that sometimes entails death threats, bomb scares, harassment of their children and alienation from friends, colleagues and society. And acquittals in such cases are rare. Just ask Mark Geragos, attorney for convicted killer Scott Peterson. But what attracts attorneys to cases that, as Geragos says, are seen as "a no-win situation"?”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
26 July 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Cindy Chick posts: "Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, a Wisconsin firm with 180 attorneys, installed West KM in June 2003 as part of a pilot program to evaluate it's usefulness for the firm. Carol Bannen, the firm's director of information resources, discusses their experience with West KM in the Law Technology News article, Evolving into Automation.
When trying to decide how to move forward with the firm's knowledge management system, they specifically looked for a solution that would help retrieve those documents that otherwise never would have made their way into their traditional work product library. "We realized we needed something to help us retrieve valuable work product - but it had to take much of the work out of the hands of the attorneys."
Carol says that their litigators were the biggest beneficiaries of the new system, and found the natural language searching to be particularly useful. The transactional attorneys at Reinhart were less inclined to use it, especially since they generally did not use Westlaw to the extent that the litigators did. This was prior to the release of West KM for transactions.
The bottom line according to Carol is "The ability to use Westlaw searching capability, to update any legal citations and to see easily when there is a Reinhart document citing a case has been invaluable to us and to our clients."
Source: LawLibTech, 24 July 2005
Michael McCann posts: “Among the claims often expressed for raising the age floor in the NBA is that prep-to-pros players are more likely to get in off-court trouble, since they lack a college education and, as David Stern puts it, "life experience." One way to test this idea is to study NBA players that have actually gotten in trouble with the law. Were they college educated? Were they young and impressionable? I did a little bit of research, and while I cannot ensure that the following chart reflects a complete list, it is quite extensive and likely covers most of the recent NBA player arrests. The chart reveals the arrested players’ level of education and their age and level of professional experience at the time of arrest. Disclaimer: obviously, an arrest does not mean that someone is guilty of anything; that’s what a trial is for. But, it might a good proxy for “getting in trouble with the law,” particularly given the reputational cost often absorbed by an arrested player, his team, and the NBA.”
[For chart and LOTS more info use source link below!]
Source: Sports Law Blog, 20 July 2005
Bonnie Shucha posts: “Online Journalism Review has a nice review of blogging software, including a some definitions of blogging jargon.”
Source: Current Cites
My Source: WisBlawg, 25 July 2005
Tara posts: "Automate Excel, which I am still enjoying very much, has a 'blog entry on finding spreadsheets with Google. ( http://www.automateexcel.com/index.php/2005/07/23/google_for_spreadsheets ).
More power to you but you can have even more fun with this if you use a couple other special syntax. For example, try adding site:edu to your search in addition to the keywords. For an international flavor try adding site:uk. And of course you can also do title searches as well. Try this:
intitle:gantt filetype:xls site:edu
Always more fun to mix syntax. Also remember that XLS isn't the only kind of spreadsheet; ever thought of searching for filetype:csv? Or ( filetype:csv | filetype:xls ) ?
As far as I can tell Google doesn't try to confirm a filetype; it simply searches for the string at the end of the file name. Therefore these are legit searches and at this writing do present results.
filetype:weatherwax inurl:weatherwax
filetype:feathers inurl:feathers
filetype:hamburger inurl:hamburger
filetype:montypython inurl:montypython
(You can't use the filetype: syntax alone in a search, but you can work around that by teaming it with the inurl: syntax.)
There are some files out there tagged as xls variants; with a little creativity you might be able to go beyond the basic filetype:xls results..."
Source: ResearchBuzz #343
21 July 2005
Reproduced with permission of ResearchBuzz (http://www.researchbuzz.com).
Copyright 2005 Tara Calishain. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Safety Tip - Using Your Cellphone
Ernest Svenson posts: “So there you are unconcious on the ground, having suffered a traumatic injury. Paramedics arrive and want to treat you quickly and also notify your next of kin. Your cellphone, which is close by, has lots of numbers stored in it, but that won't help the paramedics. Which of those many numbers is your 'next of kin'?
You can make the paramedic's job much easier by adding an entry in the contacts list in your cell phone under label "ICE" with the name and phone number of the person that the emergency services should call on your behalf. Read more about this idea, which paramedics are trying to get people to adopt, here and here.
By the way, I'd add an entry in that ICE contact that describes what blood type you are and if you are allergic to any medications.”
Source: Ernie the Attorney, 26 July 2005
Sabrina posts: “Security Guide for Small Business - "This guide helps explain why security is important to your business and outlines steps to better security."
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
25 July 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe
In the news: “So, you think you're hot stuff on the dating market because you're a rising young legal star earning megabucks at a powerhouse law firm? Think again. A recent survey of 5,000 people found that lawyers ranked 10th on a list of the top "sexiest" jobs. For those keeping track, that's just above veterinarians.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
25 July 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
In the news: “The trend toward ever-larger law firms was supposed to squeeze out the little guys -- and though it's true that many GCs are still more comfortable sending big-ticket work to national firms, more companies are realizing smaller shops have their own allure: lower billing rates, more attention, leaner staffing and, often, deeper expertise. So while top-tier boutiques still compete for plum assignments, full-service midsize firms and smaller specialty shops are also finding a spot among the giants.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
25 July 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
From the e-newsletter: “As New York Times reporter Judith Miller languishes in jail, refusing to comply with court orders to give up her confidential source, attorney and author Julie Hilden asks: Is Miller's civil disobedience justified? Hilden explains several factors that might convince us that Miller's civil disobedience is, indeed, justified under the circumstances.”
Read full text
Source: FindLaw's WRIT Legal Commentary
22 July 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved
Subscribe
Genie Tyburski posts: “ While I haven't had time to read the report, I want to let readers know the Bureau of Justice Statistics released a new report on the data quality of state criminal histories (rapsheets). It "addresses the accomplishments that the National Criminal History Improvement Program has made since 1995 in improving the quality and accessibility of criminal history records and outlines future challenges in building a national criminal history records infrastructure." If you conduct or purchase criminal background checks, you should review the report in order to understand the problems that exist and how to surmount them.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
25 July 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Sabrina posts: “The National Sex Offender Public Registry includes data from 21 states [including Ohio] and the District of Columbia.”
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
23 July 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe
From the blog: “The ABA has published Between Lawyers Roundtable: The Future of Legal Blogging, a good summary of the discussion that occurred recently at Between Lawyers. It covers these questions:
· What is the current landscape for legal blogging?
· What are the three biggest benefits of blogging for lawyers?
· Should every lawyer and law firm have a blog?
· Do you think blogging is overhyped?
· What makes a legal blog successful or unsuccessful?
· Let’s expand on some earlier thoughts about what will be more important in the future. Will it be RSS, blogs or collaborations among bloggers?
· Will you be blogging in five years?
· How, if at all, will blogging change the practice of law?
· Ernie, Do You Want to Wrap Up This Discussion for Us?
Those contemplating getting into legal blogging can learn quite a bit from this discussion. Very helpful.”
Source: Feedmelegal, 17 July 2005
Posted by Denise Howell: “The August issue of Fast Company has this succinct and on point guide to Business Blogging for Beginners (which is useful even, or maybe particularly, if you're not into cocktail parties).”
Source: Between Lawyers, 23 August 2005
From Tom Mighell: “If you have ever been the victim of identity theft, you may be in the dark wondering exactly what your rights may be. Although there's a ton of great information on the ID Theft page of the Federal Trade Commission, you should also check out What to Do if Your Data is Stolen, from somebody who's been there.”
Read full text http://snipurl.com/gg6s (NY Times Article)
Source: Internet Legal Research Weekly by Tom Mighell
Volume 6, Issue 23
July 24, 2005
Subscribe
This weekend is the annual "Christmas in July" celebration on Put-In-Bay, a small party island in Lake Erie (if anyone hasn't heard of it). Since Monday is the 25th, there will be no posting for that day. I'll be enjoying a carboard & cheese pizza at Frosty's and basking in the sun at the Perry Monument - among other things! See you Tuesday.
Jeff posts: “Yet another disturbing development in the erosion of privacy in this digital age: For just over $100, others can obtain your last 100 outgoing cell phone calls from your last billing cycle. All they need to provide is your name, address, and cell phone number. The Washington Post just covered this in "Online Data Gets Personal: Cell Phone Records for Sale".
These services are available online, making it even easier to get the information, and more quickly. Since the call records are maintained by the phone companies, the article discusses the legality (or lack of it) of these practices and services. Regardless, it's happening.”
Source: LawTech Guru by Jeff Beard, 22 July 2005
Sabrina posts: “Driven to distraction by technology: "The typical office worker is interrupted every three minutes by a phone call, e-mail, instant message or other distraction. The problem is that it takes about eight uninterrupted minutes for our brains to get into a really creative state."
See also RSS Goes Corporate - Information overload also affects companies, and they're more likely to pay for a cure.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
21 July 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe
Sue Altmeyer posts: “The new Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, which went into effect on July 1, 2005, permit jurors to take notes and to question witnesses, at the discretion of the judge. The rules require the judge to provide the jury with written copies of jury instructions. Ohio Tweaks Law to Make Jury Duty Less Burdensome [Go to source entry for this link] by Mark Reiter, Toledo Blade, July 17, 2005. See our previous post Amendments to Ohio Civil Rules Final, July 1, 2005, which has links to the rule amendments.”
Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 19 July 2005
Dennis posts: “At the must-read LLRX.com, you'll find John Alber's new article "Delivering Actionable Information To Front-Line Lawyers."
This is a very important article and one that anyone interested in legal technology and law practice management should read and study carefully. . . and then set aside some time to think about its implications. I've heard John speak on this topic and his presentation gave me much to think about that has stayed with me ever since.
It's easy to write off acronyms like KM, CRM and BPM as so much BS, but John's article drives home the point that there is something of real substance at the root of these technology and business efforts, especially when properly understood and creatively implemented. I've long admired John's ability to combine the creative and the practical.
John's article is another example of a recent string of articles I've read and conversations that I've had in which a phrase something like "actionable intelligence" has come up as the focus of the discussion. It's starting to get my attention. I'm curious to hear from others thinking in the same direction.
The money quote from the article:
"Because we can now model engagements to better understand the impact of alternative staffing and pricing arrangements, we can bid on business that our old rules of thumb would have prevented us from seeking. Our lawyers are also becoming increasingly astute about the impact of their pricing and staffing positions on firm profitability. . . . The more they use these tools, the smarter our lawyers get about economics and the more flexible they become about what pricing and staffing structures they consider."
Fascinating, perhaps profound and definitely highly recommended.”
Source: DennisKennedy.com, 20 July 2005
Evan Schaeffer posts: “At a meeting in June, the Standing Committee Rules of Practice and Procedure approved amendments to the federal rules that address electronic discovery. The changes are now available in a pdf document on the US Courts "Federal Rulemaking" page.
The proposed amendments will next be considered by the Judicial Conference in September, and will then be transferred to the Supreme Court. Further information is available at the Electronic Discovery Law website.
Even if the rules are approved, they probably will not become effective until December 1, 2006. In the meantime, the amendments, comments, and notes will certainly give you some new ideas for conducting electronic discovery in ongoing litigation.”
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 22 July 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “Pat Kenealy, CEO of International Data Group, expects the Web to go the way of television in that people will soon pay for content instead of receiving it for free. "Although there is far too much synonymous content on the web for every publisher to charge for news, if Kenealy is right, you will see what has been called 'the Balkanization of online media' -- a digital world where many publishers will hide their products behind gates, far from search-engine crawlers."
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
22 July 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
In the news: “As blogging becomes a growing legal and personnel headache for employers, the problem has surfaced in the newsroom of Miami New Times. A controversy over two editors' publicly accessible blog observations about current and former staffers has caused major turmoil at the company -- and could provide basis for a defamation suit, say legal observers. In similar situations at other companies around the country, heads have rolled.”’
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
22 July 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Genie Tyburski posts: “Privacy advocates push for a new identity theft law that won't weaken existing state laws. Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, notes that notification has helped consumers in two ways. "First, it gives potential victims of identity theft an early warning so they can take preventive actions such as applying a fraud alert. The second benefit ... is that organizations that have felt its sting have since cleaned up their acts." Her statements contradict information reported yesterday by The Progress & Freedom Foundation.
SEE, Notification Not a Benefit
TVC Alert, 21 July 2005
RELATED, Congress at Odds Over Data Breaches
eWeek, 21 July 2005
RELATED, Contradictory Charges Rattle Data-Loss Case”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
22 July 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
David Swanner posts: “We have a special treat today. A guest post from Professor Gregory Adams, University of South Carolina School of Law, responding to and adding thoughts to a recent article from Professor Freeman.
John Freeman’s recent column in the South Carolina Lawyer (Ethics Watch: Blackmail and you, 17 S.C. Law. 9 (July 2005)) raises several interesting points about what a lawyer shouldn’t do when confronted with evidence of criminal activity by an opposing party or lawyer.
I’m concerned, however, that a most useful point was not covered, perhaps because of the point of view the column took; what lawyers need to know is what they can do in such situations. John and I are writing specifically about South Carolina lawyers, but the principles should be generally applicable throughout the United States.
As most plaintiffs’ lawyers doubtlessly realized, crying "Blackmail!" is a favorite tactic of those lawyers and clients who would hide, rather than find, the truth. Recently plaintiffs’ lawyers have been publically charged with "blackmail" or "extortion" for bringing and effectively litigating asbestos, fraud, and other class actions as well as cases involving such despicable conduct as child molestation and sexual abuse. Complaints are frequently voiced that lawyers or their clients are engaged in "blackmail" or "extortion" in malpractice or divorce cases. Yet such charges are irresponsible and baseless.
Professor Freeman is of course correct that in South Carolina it is unethical to threaten criminal prosecution solely in order to gain an advantage in civil litigation; the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct do not contain such a prohibition. Professor Freeman may also be correct that it may be a crime, at least in some states, to threaten criminal prosecution to gain an advantage in civil litigation.
But threatening to file a civil action for damages unless the wrongdoer settles with the victim is neither blackmail nor extortion, even if the wrong done to the victim also constitutes a crime. (Threatening to expose, in the complaint or otherwise, criminal acts having no possible relevance to the litigation, is a different matter; maybe that’s what Professor Freeman was trying to focus on.)
No reported South Carolina case has ever held that a lawyer representing a client has committed blackmail or extortion by offering to settle a dispute before filing or amending a complaint; although no reported South Carolina case has dealt with that precise issue, several cases do hold that lawyers have immunity for their acts in representing clients and cannot be liable to the opposing party for acting as lawyers. See, e.g., Douglass ex rel. Louthian v. Boyce, 244 S.C. 5, 542 S.E.2d 715 (2001) ("an attorney is immune from liability to third persons arising from the attorney’s professional activities on behalf and with the knowledge of the client, absent an independent duty to the third party").
And North Carolina has dealt directly with this very issue in Harris v. NCNB Nat. Bank of N.C., 85 N.C. App. 669, 355 S.E.2d 838 (1987), holding that sending a draft complaint and demand letter to the intended defendant prior to filing suit was privileged and constituted neither an improper threat nor extortion or blackmail, although criminal acts were alleged in the draft complaint. As the court noted in a subsequent case, "A threat to do what one has a legal right to do cannot constitute duress" and thus cannot be the basis for a claim of extortion. Sides v. Guilford County School Bd., 148 N.C. App. 406, 560 S.E.2d 886 (2002). And the key element of blackmail under the South Carolina statute is the "intent to extort money or any other thing of value."
I believe the important thing is for lawyers championing the causes of victims – whether of unreasonably dangerous products, professional or personal negligence, fraud, or sexual abuse – not to hesitate to advocate zealously for their clients out of an unnecessary concern about the current wave of name calling. Don’t threaten criminal prosecution, of course, as we’ve always known, but don’t flinch or hesitate in the face of cries of "blackmail" or "extortion." Just because the president and the senate majority leader think plaintiff’s lawyers are evil doesn’t mean they are.
It’s not improper to sue wrongdoers or to seek settlement before the complaint is filed or amended, and I’m sure Professor Freeman didn’t mean to imply there was. When those who would try to evade responsibility try to use his column to frighten plaintiff’s lawyers with improper claims of "blackmail" or "extortion," they should stand tall and reply with the rest of the story.”
Source: South Carolina Trial Law Blog, 21 July 2005
Posted by Patrick Lamb: “Rees Morrison of Hildebrandt writes a blawg named Law Department Management. He had a recent post entitled “Legacy litigation: relative difficulty of managing.” Mr. Morrison writes:
“Legacy litigation – lawsuits arising from discontinued operations or sold assets where the seller remains liable for associated lawsuits – can bedevil law departments. One view is that legacy litigation is easier to manage because the goal is simply to achieve the most efficient result. All you are trying to do is run-off the backlog as quickly and cheaply as possible.
Sometimes this becomes more difficult (or perhaps easier ) because there are fewer witnesses and documents and no client to contend with. A shrinking capital reserve stands as the primary milestone. Also, it can be demoralizing to work on orphan litigation.
On the contrary, litigation from ongoing operations can be easier to resolve than legacy litigation because the former involve relationships with vendors or co-venturers who want to continue the business relationship.”
The post is interesting if slightly off the mark. Legacy litigation is amongst the most difficult litigation to manage. The absence of witnesses, the absence of persons who own or are vested in the business problems, and the uncertainty about what your adversary knows are only the tip of the iceberg. The presence or absence of insurance coverage, disclosure issues for public companies, and the fact that the litigation frequently involves mass torts are other problems. But perhaps the most serious problem, at least many times, is the uncertainty about the corporate history of the entity involved.
What does this have to do with client service? Truth, disclosure and selling. It is shocking to me how many lawyers profess competence in legacy litigation when they don’t know the difference between an asset deal and stock deal, and couldn’t recognize a de facto merger if it hit them in the face. Yet because of prior experience handling the substance of the underlying litigation, the lawyer seeks to take over all problems, leaving the client to suffer for failure to fully appreciate the plethora of issues other than the actual underlying lawsuits. Mr. Morrison’s post provides an opportunity to remember the role of truth in presenting ourselves to our clients and prospective clients. Over selling, especially in this area, can be catastrophic.”
Source: In Search of Perfect Client Service, 16 July 2005
Posted by Evan Schaeffer: “Family Law > News & Views is a new podcast by Jimmy Verner of Verner & Brumley, P.C., in Dallas.”
Source: Blawgcast.com, 20 July 2005
Posted by Chuck Kallendorf: “This morning’s Court Index has an Associated Press article about many of the nation’s governors are warning that “motorists are going to see costs skyrocket for driver’s licenses and motor vehicle offices forced to operate like local branches of the FBI.” “The (REAL ID Act) that passed in June goes beyond an earlier measure that sought to standardize state driver’s licenses, requiring that states verify license applicants are American citizens or legal residents,” the article says. (bill summary)
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson commented that the new law unconstitutionally infringed on state laws in several areas, including his own where illegal immigrants have been able to get licenses, and that it would be challenged on those grounds.
About half of the states in the nation require license applicants to be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, but ten states, New Mexico included, explicitly grant licenses to illegal immigrants in an effort to improve road safety, according to a Financial Times article this morning. Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky’s statutes.
Noah Leavitt at FindLaw, last May, wrote an article entitled “The REAL ID Act: How it violates U.S. treaty obligations, insults international law, undermines our security, and betrays Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy,” which might be interesting to some.”
Source: Cincinnati Law Library Blog, 19 July 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “While virus attacks on U.S. companies are down, phishing attacks become more profitable. A report released by Computer Security Institute "concludes that profit-minded hackers are targeting enterprises with large customer and employee databases." Losses from phishing and hacking attacks totalled about $300,000 last year, which is up from $50,000 in 2003. "The survey supplies more evidence that fraud is proliferating on the Internet, as thieves find new ways to exploit security weaknesses associated with online transactions."
RELATED: Hackers get into USC database
CNet, 19 July 2005”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
20 July 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Posted by Gary Price: “A new data brief from the Pew Internet & American Life project titled: The average American internet user is not sure what podcasting is, what an RSS feed does, or what the term “phishing” means, looks at the results of a just completed survey.
The results show only 9% of those surveyed had a "good idea" of what the term RSS means. 65% weren't sure and 26% had never heard of the term.
Only 13% of those surveyed had a "good idea" of what a podcasting is.
Those of us who watch the web, web tools, and web search closely (including myself) often forget that many of the things we talk about all day, everyday (and the services we use) still aren't even close to making it into the vocabulary or onto the desktops of the masses.
As the survey's discussion points out, technology terms and ideas take time to emerge in the mindset of the general public. However, I often wonder if the usefulness that so many leading edge types believe that syndication, feeds, etc. offer are to reach the mainstream, calling it something other than RSS (as see on on many web sites) might be worthy of consideration. Of course, the cynical person in me wonders if the public even cares, will ever care, or really needs to know about RSS and other tools in the first place.
Thanks to SC for the tip.
Postscript: Lee Rainie, Project Director, of the Pew Internet & American Life Project saw my post and sent along a comment. He writes:
I think your take on it [the survey] is perfect. It's useful to remember every once in a while that lots of people don't obsessively focus on the things that fire the imagination of bleeding edgers.”
Source: SearchEngineWatch, 20 July 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “Blinkx yesterday officially launched its RSS service for television, radio and other broadcasters. Also, "Blinkx recently unveiled a way to search inside podcasts and video blogs, which are blogs that use video as their primary presentation format."
SEE: Blinkx”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
20 July 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Larry posts: "Jill Schachner Chanen, a Legal Affairs Writer for the ABA Journal, has written an excellent article called "The Strategic Lawyer" on page 43 of the July 2005 ABA Journal. I mention it here because you may have overlooked the marketing angle.
The article makes the same point I do to my law firm clients: corporations are placing a premium on advisers who understand their business and the company's big picture.
According to Chanen, clients are sick of "profit-minded, specialty-touting multinational megalaw firms. Given the high salaries firms pay lawyers, clients can no longer hire advisers who have nothing to offer besides basic legal training." Instead, they want a strategic lawyer (or accountant, consultant or other adviser), who:
· Knows how to approach a problem in light of the company's overall business strategy.
· Helps the client accomplish its business goals.
· Is one part cosigliere, one part Sun-Tzu warrior and one part Yoda.
· Shows clients how the law helps them gain a competitive position.
· Are business-centric, not law-centric.
· May say "no" to a client, but will have another suggestion to meet the business objective.
· Understands the client's business, how it operates, how it makes money, who its competitors are, what its key relationships are and what its goals for growth are.
· Understands how much risk the business accepts.
· Won't suggest filing suit if it would jeopardize an important business relationship.
· Advises clients how to set up new systems for oversight so that it can prevent litigation in the first place.
· Thinks how a matter fits into the larger policy perspective of a client, starts forging consensus and develops a team around a problem.
These strategic lawyers are known as 'rainmakers.'"
Source: Larry Bodine’s Professional Marketing Blog, 18 July 2005
Edison Ellenberger posts: “The Ohio Attorney General recently issued the 2005 Ohio Sunshine Laws Update. In the language of the press release (July 14), the book is "an overview of statutes and case law to guide public officials and Ohio citizens regarding the application of public records and open meetings laws."
Source: The E-LawLibrary, 18 July 2005
Sue Altmeyer posts: “The Plain Dealer reports that the number of bench trials in criminal cases has tripled since 1999. Prosecutor Bill Mason stated the increase is due to more "soft judges". Defense attorneys believe the increase in bench trials is due to Mason's policy against plea bargaining and the prosecutor presenting increasingly weak cases. See More Defendants Opt to Skip Jury [Go to source for link to this article] by James F. McCarty, The Plain Dealer, July 12, 2005. For responses to this article by judges and citizens, see Is the Common Pleas Bench Too Hard or Too Soft? (Letters to the Editor), The Plain Dealer, July 18, 2005.
Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 18 July 2005
John Blume writes: "A lawyer explains why a client decided to volunteer for execution."
Source: Legal Affairs, July/August 2005
In the news: “DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, like many firms that have grown rapidly, is looking to cultivate leaders to take the helm for the next generation of law firm workers. To do so, DLA Piper and other firms are partnering with top universities to create management training for current leaders and attorneys who show promise. Some programs last a day, others longer, but whatever the structure, there is little doubt that most attorneys need business training that legal education doesn't provide.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
20 July 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Sabrina posts: "All the articles listed are available in Part 1 of the July 2005 issue of LLRX.com:
· Delivering Actionable Information To Front-Line Lawyers - John Alber details the effective implementation of business intelligence (BI) systems within law firms.
· The Government Domain: Bloggin' USA - Peggy Garvin looks at three free web services that leverage blogs and blogging software to deliver information on federal government issues.
· Short Takes: The 18th edition of The Bluebook is hot off the press - Lee Peoples announces a program focused on the new edition of A Uniform System of Citation, presented at the AALL annual conference, now underway in San Antonio.
· CongressLine: Legislative Monitoring - Additional Materials - I am delighted to welcome Paul Jenks as the new author of CongressLine, a must read column for professionals who are tracking federal legislation. Paul provides readers with resources, techniques and tools to power-up their legislative monitoring skills, significantly expanding the overall context and content of this challenging process.
· Updates to LawPro Links - Sabrina I. Pacifici links to a range of recently available resources that include: presentation materials from the AALL 2005 annual conference; guides to RSS and blogging software; a library and information science wiki; and a terrific offer for free law firm website hosting.
· FOIA Facts: Governmental Secrecy - Scott Hodes focuses on the issue of the proper classification of government documents as specified by Executive Order 12958."
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
19 July 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe
Posted by Robert Ambrogi: “One other piece of news from my phone call with Scott Kinney, CEO of FindLaw: By the end of July, FindLaw will launch a directory of law-related blogs. It will be "an initial version," with FindLaw continuing to add blogs "as rapidly as we can."
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s Lawsites, 19 July 2005
Gary Price posts:
+ "Metasearch the Blogosphere With Clusty
+ Where's My Bus (or Train or Plane)?, Services That Offer Real-Time Info and Maps"
Source: The ReferenceShelf, 19 July 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “The Search Snippets column in the electronic edition of Law Office Computing is available. This month's column examines a pre-employment criminal check that resulted in the hiring of a felon, who handled sensitive information at the investment firm where she worked for a few weeks. It takes a look at what went wrong with the research from a researcher's point of view.
Unfortunately, the eLOC article contains a few printing errors. The one most likely to mislead readers, who want to explore the topic, appears in the eighth paragraph. The co-written article by Ernst and Rosen was published in 2002 (not 1996) and appears here: http://www.brbpub.com/CriminalHistoryDB.pdf. The correct title of the article is "'National' Criminal History Databases."
In the preceding (or 7th) paragraph, the reference to "Crim" pertains to the criminal records databases on Westlaw. Also, ChoicePoint Online should have been included in the list of vendors that forbid use of their databases for FCRA-regulated activities.
RELATED: The Background-Check Challenge
Optimize Magazine, July 2005
(Briefly outlines some of the difficulties in conducting background checks outside of the U.S.)”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
19 July 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
By Trey Ryder: “Editors don't often invite writers to submit columns because they usually receive enough unsolicited submissions. Still, most editors are open to looking at what you offer because they always want to publish better information that interests their readers. In addition, as current columnists move on in their careers, editors need new writers to keep their publications full and fresh.”
Read full text
Source: FindLaw's MODERN PRACTICE
A Monthly Publication On Law Practice & Technology
18 July 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Posted by Joy London: “In From Laggard to Leader: How the Legal Sector is Finally Embracing KM, Sandra Higgison asks several legal KM experts for their opinion on whether progress has been made with KM initiatives.
Bob Bater, of Infoplex Associates and author of the recent Ark Group report KM in the Legal Profession, identifies some of the historical reasons for law firm KM resistance:
Juliet Humphries, Managing Director of Pierian Spring Consulting and former Director of Knowledge at Linklaters, looks at the business drivers she believes apply to all or some firms in their pursuit of knowledge management:
Elizabeth Thomas, Knowledge Management Lawyer at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, describes KM’s transition at her firm including the formation of the firm's KM Review Group and the launch of Athena, a repository for the firm’s know-how
Marcia Cooper, Director of Knowledge Management at Canadian firm Blake, Cassels &: Graydon, describes KM’s transition at her firm
Jason Marty, Global Director of Knowledge Management at Baker & McKenzie, discusses his firm's focus on tangible objectives and clear benefits”
Source: Excited Utterances, 16 July 2005
Posted by Tom Mighell: “Last week, it was very interesting to read two, seemingly unrelated posts by the two Kevins of the blawgosphere. Over at Real Lawyers Have Blogs, Kevin O'Keefe wrote that many blawgs are "full of personal meanderings that their target audience couldn't care less about." Meanwhile, on the same day, Kevin Heller of Tech Law Advisor asked the question: "You Know What's Wrong With Most Blogs? They're not personal enough." You'd almost think they had it planned.
So who's right? Both of them, I think. If you want to get business from your blog, you'll certainly do better by sticking to topics that display your expertise. However, your clients also want to know that you have a personality, and even a life outside of law practice. That's why I don't mind the occasional personal meandering. I think it also has to do with the type of law firm culture you want to convey to your clients.
If I am a person who is strictly in search of legal information on a particular topic, then yes, I will be more interested in those blogs that confine themselves to the latest news on the subject. However, if I'm also interested in hiring that blogger as my attorney, then I think I would be more likely to tolerate the more personal posts -- they would help me get to know my attorney better.”
Source: Inter Alia, 18 July 2005
Jim posts: “Several years ago when I was called on to do my first "60 Tips in 60 Minutes" program, one of my tips was about using Paste Special to copy and paste just the text from one document into another without bringing the formatting or hyperlinks or different font from the original document. (Just copy the text, open new document, then select Edit, then Paste Special, then Unformatted Text.) This is particularly useful when copying text from an online legal research provider or other web page into a word processing document. It has been a tip that is hard to "retire" as almost every time you mention it to a large crowd, someone says out loud, "Oh my gosh, I didn't know that" or something to that effect. I've received many e-mails over the years thanking me for this tip. This "classic" tip was the subject of an article by Dan Pinnington in this month's Law Practice Today. You might want to circulate the link to Dan's article (or this post) within your firm. Someone there may not know about this and it could save them lots of document clean up time.”
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 19 July 2005
Sabrina posts: "From WSJ free content, Information Security - Where the Dangers Are: The threats to information security that keep the experts up at night -- and what businesses and consumers can do to protect themselves.
· See also Corrupted PC's Find New Home in the Dumpster
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
18 July 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe
Posted by Cindy Chick: “I've heard people extoll the benefits of using two monitors, a configuration that became easier to accomplish with XP. But I was slightly suspicious that this setup was desired more for the cool factor than for a real, practical computing advantage. And besides, I only HAD one monitor. I had no extras sitting around that I could experiment with, and until recently, I'd never seen such a setup in action. Then, a helpful tech guy at work set up my laptop LCD and my desktop monitor in a dual configuration. The first time I moved my mouse from one monitor to the other, I was hooked.
Here's how it works. One monitor is designated as the primary monitor; that's where your start menu and toolbar resides. You can drag open windows from one monitor to the other, secondary monitor, with your mouse. If you're working with two different applications, you can see them both at one time, one on one monitor and the other, well, on the other one. It's really quite simple.
Steve Bass explains the benefits quite nicely in his Tips & Tweaks article, Two Monitors Are Way Better Than One. The ability to see two full-size windows at a time is a big productivity boast. It reminded me of what I miss about working with paper, that is, the ability to spread out and easily look back and forth comparing and referring to several different items without having to obscure my view of any one of them. Cutting and pasting from one window to another becomes infinitely easier, and you don't lose your bearings in the window that is temporarily obscured like you can when using one monitor. When I'm only working in one application, I like keeping my calendar open on one screen at all times on the second monitor in hopes that I'll keep better track of my activities during the course of a day. There are obvious benefits for legal researchers, many of whom have bemoaned the inability to easily look at two full windows at once.
Then I had a vision. Why stop at just two monitors? Why not more? Desk space is limited, you might say. How many monitors can you realistically have? How about smaller monitors? If we really wanted to get retro, perhaps a small "rolodex" monitor for your contacts, another small monitor for you calendar, etc., etc. I think I can see back to the future! Maybe someday...
For information on how to configure multiple monitors, see How To Configure and Use Multiple Monitors in Windows XP from the Microsoft Knowledgebase.
What? You don't have enough room on your desk for two monitors? Try this product, two monitors, one stand. What fun.”
Source: LawLibTech, 17 July 2005
Posted by Chuck Kallendorf: “An article in last evening’s Cincinnati Post addresses a call on the part of some to eliminate “mayors’ courts” from the structure of Ohio’s jurisprudence. Chief Justice Thomas Moyer back on May 12th. called for the elimination of mayors’ courts in his annual address to the State Bar Association.
Mayor’s courts, established around 1815, have survived numerous changes in the overall court system statutorially, but according to the Post’s article “handle fewer cases than their municipal counterparts and are less efficient in handling cases within recommended time limits, according to the first statewide review of courts.” They have original jurisdiction over ordinance violations and traffic situations in their respective confines.
A July 13th. release by the Ohio Supreme Court says “mayors’ courts have small case volumes & are concentrated in Ohio’s largest counties.” Hamilton, Franklin, and Cuyahoga Counties all have 20 or more mayors’ courts; Butler County has three, Clermont nine, and Warren seven according to the Supreme Court’s “mayor’s court registration & reporting” page which contains case loads and statistics for each of these courts.
Copies of the “2004 Mayor’s Court Summary” are posted on the Supreme Court’s website.”
Source: Cincinnati Law Library Blog, 15 July 2005
Posted by Gary Price: “When Yahoo Search Subscriptions launched a few weeks ago, Yahoo said that material from Factiva and LexisNexis, two well-know online information aggregators, would eventually become accessible via the service.
Well, eventually means today.
This morning I noticed that content from these aggregators is now available.
Because the Factiva and LexisNexis offer massive amounts of both new material and archived content from thousands of sources, Yahoo needs to do a better job documenting precisely what Factiva and LexisNexis are making available.”
Source: SearchEngineWatch, 15 July 2005
David Swanner posts: “David Ball says that sometimes jurors get upset at damages witnesses saying “Why are they telling me that the guy had such a hard time?? They’re just trying to play on my sympathy and tug on my heart strings.” and will rebel against that. The solution? Tell the jury why you are showing them this information. Start with your opening statement. Let the jury know why you are going to show them the damages information.
“We’re going to be showing you what Joe went through. We won’t be doing this to get your sympathy, the time for sympathy is long past, we are here for compensation. We expect that the most important job you have on the jury is to decide how much money this case is worth. The most important job will be to determine the level of losses and the levels of harms that Joe has. We’re giving you that information so you can determine that.”
Let the jury know that:
1. You are NOT attempting to tug at the heart strings.
2. Damages are central to the case. That they need this information, it’s important to the case, important to their decision and they it to do their job.
I agree with David on this. I remember a Budweiser commercial at the last Super Bowl where it showed a soldier coming home from overseas being greeted by his family. It was very warm and touching, but had nothing to do with beer. Being retired military it hit a nerve that they would use the sacrifices of young soldiers and their families to sell beer. It seemed gratuitous and out of place.”
Source: South Carolina Trial Law Blog, 17 July 2005
Dennis Kennedy posts: “Randy Holloway has made the second show of his Unfiltered Podcast available. I was honored that Randy invited me to be the guest for the podcast. We had a good discussion about the sometimes wacky world of lawyers and technology, including topics like Tablet PCs and OneNote, electronic discovery and the uneasy relationship lawyers have with technology and how vendors might better provide and sell tools to lawyers (or, perhaps even better, to clients of lawyers).
As always, it was a lot of fun to have a conversation with Randy, who is a tech person who really understands the implications for of technology for lawyers (in fact, while we recorded the podcast, Randy admitted that he almost went to law school).
Randy will be involved in the big SQL Server 2005 rollout coming later this year and I think I talked Randy into helping me learning enough about what can be done with SQL Server to do a podcast later this year about the implications for the SQL Server in the legal profession.
I encourage you to listen to the podcast (and Randy's show #1) and subscribe to the feed for Randy's blog."
Source: DennisKennedy.com, 17 July 2005
Sabrina posts: "Justia Offers Free Migration Solution for FindLaw's Law Firm Web Site Clients"
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
17 July 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe
Edison Ellenberger posts: “Robert Ambrogi discusses the results of his survey of FindLaw, a site that has long been considered one of the best among free legal research Internet sites. The survey found that FindLaw's index has many dead links - 406 of 1,427 links checked - and includes links to outdated and irrelevant content. Mr. Ambrogi acknowledges that there is much valuable information on FindLaw, but "for legal professionals performing online research, it is important that they understand the weaknesses in FindLaw's index, so that they do not rely on it to the detriment of their research." His analysis is in three posts:
· "Survey reveals FindLaw's aging core - Part 1" (July 12)
· "FindLaw's aging core, part 2: The numbers" (July 14)
· "The aging of FindLaw, part 3: Notes" (July 14)
A follow-up post (July 15) notes that efforts to update the site are underway, and FindLaw plans to launch a redesigned and updated site before the end of the year.”
Source: The E-LawLibrary Weblog on Law, Libraries and Research, 17 July 2005
From the e-newsletter: “Cardozo law professor and former clerk to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Marci Hamilton discusses the Justice's legacy, now that she is retiring. Hamilton discusses both O'Connor's position on the Court -- as the first woman justice, and a frequent "swing vote" -- and her distinctive contribution to its jurisprudence, particularly in the areas of constitutional federalism, and the Establishment Clause.”
Read full text
Source: FindLaw's WRIT Legal Commentary
15 July 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved
Subscribe
In the news: “So where did Justice Sandra Day O'Connor go after announcing her retirement? Not to Disneyland. Try a working trip to Istanbul instead. Underscoring her longstanding interest in worldwide rule-of-law issues, O'Connor attended the annual conference of the American Bar Association's Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative. CEELI's executive chairman William Ide III says he saw no signs that O'Connor is slowing down: "Every day she wakes up and says 'What can we get done today and tomorrow?'"
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
18 July 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
Subscribe
Dave Fishel links to this site: “electronic Filing & Service for Courts.
This site contains lots of information about federal and state court e-filing. It has state-specific e-filing news too. Looks like a valuable resource for all e-filing watchers, and multi-district practicioners.”
Source: PDF for Lawyers, 14 July 2005
Posted by Cindy Chick: “PDF files are considered to be fairly innocuous. They're used extensively in organizations big and small, and typically don't contain viruses or spyware. But with the recent introduction of Adobe Policy Server and a new product called Map-Bot, creators of content CAN monitor and/or control PDFs once they've been distributed.
Adobe's Policy Server "lets a PDF document's creator set policies determining who can view a document and whether the recipient can modify, copy, print, or forward the document." (InfoWorld, Adobe's Policy Server tightens document privacy, Jan. 5, 2005) According to Are Your PDFs Spying on You? (PC Magazine, June 28, 2005), Map-Bot "can force users to be connected to the Web in order to read the documents. It can track who's e-mailing PDFs to whom and what they're reading - in real time."
Publishers are likely to take to this technology for obvious reasons. On the bright side, they may be more willing to distribute their publications electronically via PDF if they know they can control or at least monitor, who sees it. That can mean faster delivery of a product that looks just like the print version.
And the current approach being used by some publishers such as "The Deal", leaves something to be desired. Subscribers to The Daily Deal Digital, a complete PDF of the Daily Deal, are now required to install a utility called the Unsealer, from Sealed Media, which tracks how many different computers are used to view that file. If a subscriber passes their copy along to 10 people, the The Deal will know about it.
Cisti's Document Delivery Service uses FileOpen Web Publisher to limit the number of times a document subject to copyright restrictions can be viewed and printed.
The problem is, how many utilities do YOU want to install on your computer. Especially in a networked environment, such programs can have unintended consequences, or you may not be allowed to install them at all.
Since Map-Bot leaves no software behind it may provide a better approach for copy protection. But you should be aware that content providers may have more information about how you're using their content than you might have thought.”
Source: LawLibTech, 12 July 2005
Jeff Beard posts: “This timely PC World article warns that various spyware scanners may intentionally stop detecting various adware programs. It's not because of any technical deficiency, but because adware companies are getting aggressive about being "delisted".
Delisting occurs when an antispyware developer removes a particular adware program from its detection database. At that point, it may not detect the program if it's installed on your PC. So why would anyone do that? Per the article: "Some adware companies, arguing that their software is benign, have petitioned anti-spyware firms to stop warning consumers about their software. Other companies have resorted to sending cease-and-desist letters that threaten legal action."
The real problem is that we users generally can't access the detection database, and won't be notified that a particular program has been delisted after a software update. While there could be good reasons for delisting (e.g., an adware developer cleaned up its software to be far less intrusive), there will have been a certain reliance built up over time on a particular spyware scanner's effectiveness. Also, while a particular adware developer may have cleaned up new versions of their software, prior "nasty" versions could still abound on a number of web sites, and be downloaded. Will the spyware scanner distinguish between the versions and protect against them?
Even Microsoft has been in the news today (even