All About Information: 2010 Solo, Small Law Firm Conference
News
A folder to hold news items
Unwiring Your Office and Home
This article was published in Law Technology News' March 2003 issue and focuses on where the wireless LAN market (WiFi) is heading and how lawyers can take advantage of it.
Open Source Portals
I've rebuilt my own Web site using Zope and Plone because I think they provide an amazing opportunity. At the National Conference of Bar Presidents in Seattle (WA), I gave a presentation that included a discussion of open source portals.
More Productive Legal Research
The Internet is changing how lawyers do legal research, an integral part of practice. There are lots of ways that lawyers can make the research go faster, and to use their time better.
Small Law Firm Technology Trends
Just published in the Law Office Management & Administration Report, a short article on what's hot and what's not in small and mid-size law firms in the U.S. The data used in the article comes from the American Bar Association's annual technology survey.
Case Software & Automation
One of the foundations of any law firm is the management of the information related to the "case". In some firms, the subject is an injured person; in others it's a house or someone's livelihood or an inalienable right. The best way to manage this information is by using technology to keep track of the many details - and conflicts - that can arise when practicing law. My article on case management and automation was published by the Philadelphia Bar Association in March.
Use Online Express Services
I wrote a short article with 8 reasons why using FedEx and United Parcel Services online can help your law firm save money and be more efficient. These opportunities scale very well from small law firms (2 or 3 attorneys) although the way up to the mega firms.
Getting in Front of IT Challenges
Coming off a 4 month stint as the acting CIO for the American Bar Association, I had the opportunity to share some thoughts about problems facing IT departments. These thoughts apply both to larger IT departments and to smaller IT departments or even firms without IT staff.
Predictions 2013
Law Technology News published, as a side bar, a brief list of predictions for where the legal profession and technology will be in 10 years. Is it prescient? Probably not. But considering the steady, but slow, adoption of advanced technology by lawyers, it is doubtful that the landscape will dramatically shift based on a technology that is currently in place today.
Battle of the Toolbars
Google and Altavista have released duelling toolbars to try to grab hold of your Internet search loyalty. I compared Google's beta toolbar (v2) and Altavista's toolbar to see how they stacked up against each other. The short story is that they both share many similarities. The differences, when they work, are what will help you choose.
Top Ten Tech Trends
There are no new ideas, right? There do not seem to be any in the legal technology world, at least from what we see lawyers adopting on a regular basis. The ABA Journal's December issue gives an overview of some technology trends that are insightful because of the senior law firm staff they interview for the perspectives they can share.
Legal Tech in Arkansas
A bit of news coverage from my old fave state of Arkansas, where I went to law school. The article discusses recent survey research our department at the American Bar Association performed on technology use by lawyers, as part of its broader discussion of some Arkansas lawyers who don't use computers.
March 2004: New Content
I don't normally bother to announce new content additions to this site. For one thing, most new additions are caught via one of the automatically updated slots on the side of each page. But this content includes old presentations and files that I had been holding off adding to the site for logistical reasons.
Build for Success
I recently had the opportunity to present with Ross Kodner (of Microlaw, Inc.) as part of the State Bar of Wisconsin's Building for Success seminar series. The seminars, continuing legal education oriented toward new lawyers, are interesting collections of topics for the new lawyer and, as importantly, the new business person!
Moving On: Cincinnati
I've been working in the legal technology world for a number of years and it's time to move on. I've been fortunate enough to secure a position as director of the Cincinnati Law Library Association and am looking forward to a return to more traditional law librarianship challenges, as well as running my own "shop".
AALL Citation Formats
The incoming president for the American Association of Law Libraries, Tory Trotta, has appointed me chair of the Citation Format Committee for 2004-2005. It's a fascinating area, although it has diminished in importance, in part because there is a perception that it will happen 'some day'. It is going to be interesting to work on all the issues related to uniform citation.
Blend Your Legal Research
This article appeared in the July 2005 issue of Law Technology News, as part of a law library showcase. The article focused on products - like Fastcase, Loislaw, and Versuslaw - that were less expensive than Westlaw or LexisNexis and were an alternative to paying such stiff fees for legal research. But it also noted that, while paying less, you also receive less access.
Updated Cincinnati Law Library Site
I am slowly making my way back into the library world: reference work, technical processing issues, and the like. One of the bridging experiences is Web work: a bit of technology, coding new pages, while throwing in a solid dose of information links and navigation and organization.
Law Firm e-Billing Slow
Electronic data interchange remains a big part of how large companies interact, sharing real-time order and billing information. Much of the current hope is on "open" rather than proprietary methods of sharing that information. As businesses adopt enterprise applications to automate billing and paying, law firms are being viewed as any other vendor, raising the expectation that they too will join in the exchange of electronic bills and information. Unfortunately, it seems that the benefit may not be as clear for the law firm as for the client.
Ohio Task Force on Law Library Associations
The Ohio General Assembly created a Task Force on Law Library Associations as part of the sausage grinding known as the biennial budget bill. I have been appointed by the Ohio Judicial Conference to the task force as one of the 2 law librarian representatives on the 13 person group. The Conference has named 2 judges as well, and the Ohio State Bar Association and the County Commissioners Association of Ohio are each naming three representatives. We are charged with looking at the funding and organization of county law libraries, to make recommendations by fall 2006.
LTN Awards Panelist 2007
I've been invited back to join Andy Adkins and Fred Lederer as the panelists for the annual Law Technology News Law Firm awards. The awards will be given during the 2007 Legaltech New York show in January 2007.
Duke Law School Presentation
I had a delightful opportunity in mid January to travel to Duke's Law School in Durham, N.C., to kick off their Technology and the Law lecture series. The focus of the talk was technology in large law firms and trends in lawyer use of technology.
Videoconferencing and the Future of Law Libraries
I was quoted in an article about videoconferencing for lawyers in the Fulton County Daily Report on January 30, 2003, and in the American Association of Law Libraries futures report.
Law Tech News: Opinions Online
It was a busy late spring/early summer, as I took advantage of Oliver's arrival (and my paternity leave and sleepless nights) to do a bit of extra professional writing. This article was published in Law Tech News in July.
Library Tech Sampler Platter
I was fortunate to be invited to speak at the Texas Library Association annual meeting in April 2006. It was pretty nice in Houston, especially compared to the hot summer we've had since then. I spoke for 2.5 hours on emerging library technologies, giving an overview of many of the systems and technologies that seem to be impacting libraries.
A World Without Secrets
Many people worry about how the Internet and technology are making it easier to pry into private details: personal identification information, medical histories, and so on. Richard Hunter presents a number of interesting discussions on how technology is only one of the ways our world is becoming one "without secrets".
SLA Legal Division Program Accepted
Web-based integrated library systems (ILS) are fundamental in the modern library. While many systems remain mixed, with a Web-based online public access catalog (OPAC) and a proprietary internal database frontend, more and more systems are available written entirely for Web. A program was proposed for next year's Special Library Association meeting in Denver, and I'll be on the panel!
Small Firm Buying Blunders
A short article I wrote on small law firm buying practices was published in this month's Law Technology News and appears on Law.com. It outlines a few basic guidelines for small firms considering upgrades to their technology.
ABA Techshow: Networking, Upgrades
The American Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section has just wrapped up the 2007 ABA Techshow, one of the best legal technology conferences in the country. I participated on panels with Brett Burney discussing networking and Ben Schorr on upgrading systems as part of the Basic IT track.
Putting the Squeeze on Your Technology
We all use technology in our daily work, whether we're legal researchers, lawyers, or anyone dealing with current information. I wrote an article for the Cincinnati Bar Association's monthly magazine on how to get more out of the technology we're using.
Tips for Solo Law Librarians
I enjoyed giving my presentation - of tips for solo law librarians - at the SEAALL 2007 Annual Meeting in Baton Rouge last week. Not being a solo law librarian, I was a bit concerned about how the presentation would go over but since most of the audience also weren't solo librarians, it worked out all right. At the end of the day, a solo law librarian is really more like a law library director without anyone to whom to delegate, than anything else.
Criminal Lawyer Legal Tech
I'm excited to join the faculty of the 11th Annual DWI Seminar held by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). I'll be joining the conference attendees to give a presentation and set of workshops on law practice technology topics.
Rains, Pours: Web Dev Course
June has become a very busy month, for a number of reasons. One was a late May request to step in and teach a course on Web Development for a library school summer program. I enjoy teaching online courses - there's nothing like the flexibility of kicking back in a chat room as opposed to having physical office hours!!
Virtual Migration: Moving to a Web Based ILS
Despite the shrieks that the "catalog is dead", long live the catalog! I was fortunate to be part of a panel of librarians at a workshop designed for those contemplating a move to a Web-based Integrated Library System. The session was a special program put on by the SLA Legal Division as part of the Denver annual meeting.
Internet Legal Research Manual Published
The Ohio State Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) has published my Internet legal research manual! You know you've arrived as a librarian when you have an authority record in catalogs as an author. This is the culmination of a CLE course I developed for the lawyers at our county law library.
Off to the Great Library!
I've been off line for a week as my family and I have emigrated from the US to Canada to enable me to join the Law Society of Upper Canada in Toronto. I've joined the Great Library in Osgoode Hall as the chief librarian, although my position is Manager, Legal Information.
Internet Research Tips
The Cincinnati Bar Association held a law practice management and technology seminar geared to solos and small firms in September. It was a great opportunity to share some Internet research tips with CBA members and learn from colleagues who presented on a variety of topics including e-discovery and mobile technology.
Do More Virtually
I enjoyed giving this presentation - three times! - to the members of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers who came out on a Saturday morning in Las Vegas last month. They were an interesting assortment of lawyers, from solos to firm lawyers, some dedicated solely to criminal work and others doing it as part of their overall practice. Similarly, their use of technology ran the gamut and my presentation zigged and zagged through a variety of Internet-based topics.
Talk Talk Talk
I've enjoyed writing for Law Technology News and my latest article on RSS for lawyers is in the December 2007 issue. But there's a twist this month. Monica Bay, the editor of Law Technology News, has kicked off a monthly podcast related to the magazine's contents. As part of the Legal Talk Network, you can catch Monica interviewing me about RSS in the inaugural podcast.
Managing Information Overload
Here is my Powerpoint slide deck from a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar I participated in, on the topic of managing information overload. The three of us, all librarians at the Great Library, gave tips and ideas on how to use information better, from being selective about which sites you rely on, to being more creative in controlling e-mail and RSS. This was an interesting experience in two ways. First, half of our audience connected in remotely over webinar technology, so we had to keep in mind that, although our physical audience was there, the cameras for our remote audience were above us. Second, our audience was mostly solos and small firm lawyers with an interest in information management (CLE isn't required in Ontario, so there was no compulsory element!) and how to be more efficient. It can be hard to translate librarian concepts, otherwise portable to law practice, into relevant examples for lawyers.
2008 Law Technology Awards
Monica Bay has just announced the 2008 Law Technology News Law Technology awards honoring firms, lawyers, and legal tech experts. I've had the honor to work with Andy Adkins and Fred Lederer on the panel of judges to select the recipients. It's always fun to work with Andy and Fred, and to get a sneak peek into the innovative work and exemplary energy that exists in legal technology.
ABA Techshow 2009: Research Tips
The American Bar Association Law Practice Management Section has published an article by Catherine Sanders Reach and me on cost-effective legal research. We will be speaking at Techshow 2009 on "Research on a Dime" and discussing research sites, tools, and research tips. The article brings together 10 tips, and is part of LPM's annual tips issue.
Intranets & Law Libraries
The Special Libraries Association Legal Division's newsletter published a short article I wrote on intranets in law firms. Intranets are a huge topic and many of the articles I've read talk about how librarians can prepare their organizations for them: committees, discussions, business decision makers, getting buy-in. Since that ground has been well covered, I thought I'd jump to the "what next" piece. Now you have all of these folks thinking an intranet is a good idea, now what? I've included the full text of the article as well as a link to the edited-for-space version, below, as well as some other thoughts on intranets.
ABA Techshow 2009: Presentations
Another enjoyable visit to Chicago for the 2009 American Bar Association Techshow. Catherine Sanders Rearch and I collaborated on a pair of presentations, one on cost-effective legal research and another on software-as-a-service (SaaS) for lawyers. Techshow remains one of the primary legal technology conferences for North American legal professionals and I was only one among many Canadian participants.
Productivity Tips for Lawyers
I spoke on a panel with Carolyn Wilson and John Starzynski about lawyer productivity and having a balanced life. Carolyn told a great story of adapting to life changes while practicing, and some of the tools she uses. John talked about some of the challenges that lawyers face - alcohol, depression, etc. - and some of the "simple" things that can help minimize some of these problems. My piece was focused on tips for better productivity, and I had initially thought I would be the techie on the panel. As it turned out, my tips tended towards a variety of low tech concepts as well.
Legal Technology in Law Schools: 2009 CALI Conference
I'm just flying back to Toronto after a great visit to Boulder, Colorado, home of this year's CALI Law School Technology conference. For anyone who hasn't attended a CALI conference, it is the best place to find out about what you can do with technology in a legal information environment with limited resources. Many of the presentations at the conference dealt with significant applications, complicated systems, and innovative ideas that could put corporate IT departments to shame considering the number of staff and dollars most law schools have for technology. I spoke on a panel with Wayne Miller and Ken Hirsh on the opportunities for teaching law students about legal technology before they enter the profession.
Right Size Your (Legal) Research Published
I wrote a short piece for the Ontario Bar Association, a branch of the Canadian Bar Association, on some tips for managing the costs of legal research. Since research is not a large part of most lawyers' work, it makes sense to keep tabs on what you're paying for and how you can save money by balancing your research overhead costs with free resources. As many librarians know, if you don't watch closely what you're getting in print and online, you can quickly see your costs rise with little tangible added value. This includes the usual suspects - your local law association libraries, for example - but also some concepts familiar to law librarians that may not be so apparent to lawyers.
Automatic Time Tracking Article in Law Technology News
I've spent more time this year than probably in any other thinking about lawyer productivity. One of the recent software developments has been improved time tracking. In fact, this software is not designed primarily for lawyers but seems to have come from the freelance, self-employed world of creative types. It can be a great tool for lawyers who are trying to figure out where their time goes. I wrote an article comparing three products in the October 2009 Law Technology News.
Security in a Wired World
Today I participated in my first teleconference continuing legal education (CLE) seminar. Not only was that a first, but I was with the largest panel of speakers I'd ever experienced at one session and from a variety of backgrounds. The session went smoothly and I picked up a lot of interesting tips and hopefully the content will be useful for the live (and future) participants.
Innovation and Small Law Libraries
County law libraries are an endangered species, with many of the strongest libraries facing funding shortfalls or outright closure. Those that are not funded by government are supported by membership dues and other creative financing schemes. A constant is that they are all facing financial challenges as print and electronic legal research materials get more expensive, the scope of library services broadens, and they try to adapt to modern law practice and research attitudes. I took a look at 5 law association libraries in Ontario in an article published in the November 2009 AALL Spectrum.
Do We Still Need E-mail?
That was the general question I asked in my first posting on the pan-Canadian law and information blog known as Slaw. I'll be contributing a column under the title "Working Tech" every two months. This first one included a number of ideas I've had floating around in the back of my head, not least of which was how or why would I want to use a technology like Twitter?
Risk Management: Outside the Office
Foreign lawyers who are new to Ontario have to complete a 3 day course prior to their being permitted to practice. I was asked to participate and talk about risks lawyers may face when leaving their offices with client data on electronic devices. This presentation was the slide deck I used for my piece of the course.
Best of ABA Techshow 2009. Twice!
The American Bar Association Techshow 2010 is generating a bit of interest as it gears up, and they are highlighting presentations from the 2009 conference. The two sessions I did with Catherine Sanders Reach were selected and the Techshow blog is linking to free copies of our papers on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cost-effective legal research.
Open Source on the Brain: CMS, DMS, OS
Nothing like a strong (or strange) brew of open source software and acronyms. My blog posting for Slaw.ca on why lawyers should use open source operating systems Mint and Ubuntu was published this month. I have also worked up an article on open source content management and document management systems that will be published next month. No business software is perfect and open source fits in that category. But law firms and organizations that have avoided open source in the past would do well to consider it in the future.
Open Source in the Law Firm
I've written a short article on open source opportunities in law firms looking for a content management application. Specifically, the article in the April 2010 Law Technology News talks about Web content management, like Drupal, Plone (booyah), and Alfresco, and document management. Monica Bay, the editor of Law Technology News and blogger at The Common Scold, interviewed me about open source for a podcast.
Finding Social Media for Marketing, Business Intelligence
The life of the law librarian is never dull and for many years there has been a noticeable shift from traditional legal research to assisting in business development and business and competitive intelligence. How much a law librarian does will depend on the firm and the position of the librarian within it. An increasingly easy resource to tap are the many social media resources - from blogs and their comments to life-streaming services like Twitter or Jaiku - that are available on the Web. Not only are they available, they offer content that may be more off the cuff and informal than other corporate-vetted content. I write about how to find some of this information in this month's Web Watch in Law Technology News.
Lawyer Responsibilities in a Wired World
The Law Society of Upper Canada regulates the legal profession in Ontario and lawyers coming to practice here from international jurisdictions have to go through an education process. I was fortunate to be asked to speak to them about using legal technology in their practice, particularly to the extent their client confidential data might be impacted. The presentation discussed encryption in law firms, metadata, portable technology, and passwords.
All About Information: 2010 Solo, Small Law Firm Conference
It is probably pretty obvious I'm a bit obsessed with information, how lawyers use it, and how they can find it. I spoke at the 5th Annual Solo and Small Firm Conference on two panels. The first was with Rick Sage, a reference librarian at the Ontario Legislative Library. We discussed a variety of free resources available to Ontario lawyers. It was interesting to notice how many resources that appear to be "free" to our Law Society members are actually funded through their dues, like CanLII and LibraryCo. A second panel discussed focused on some advanced social media concepts, including strategy and how to manage your social activity in balance with your solo or small firm practice. The other panelists were Michele Allinotte and Jordan Furlong, both well known social media users and thinkers. It was fun hearing their take - both at the session and in our preparation - on how social media can fit into law practice.
Book Published! Finding and Managing Legal Information on the Internet
A project that had its start the summer after I moved to Canada has finally seen sunlight! I have for some time wanted to write something longer, more in-depth, and covering a lot of the research tools and concepts that I use myself for legal research. It turned out to be timely, given that a lot of lawyers are using Google as a research starting point!
Watching DVDs on Lucid Lynx Ubuntu
Moontaxi Online Radio
I'm not a big fan of online streaming media. I sometimes am known to pull out a stream from BBC or some other news station (CBC Iqualuit, for example) just to do it. But streaming music is not something I've used often. Until I found Moontaxi.com
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