Best of ABA Techshow 2009. Twice!
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While my blog postings are for any old musing, I try to keep news to things that I am up to - writing, presentations, etc. - and gather them here.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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: 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.
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.
Encryption Options for Lawyers
Truecrypt has been a friend of mine for a while now. As a library director, you often have access to information - personnel, financial, strategic - that may not be appropriate to disclose publicly. If you lose your laptop or USB flash drive or memory chip, you can have lost a significant amount of data. I started using encryption to try to minimize any damage my forgetfulness might cause. So I was pleased when the opportunity to write about encryption for portable devices came up at Law Technology News.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Second Look at Postfix and Dovecot on Ubuntu 9.10
2010 ABA Techshow
