Miscellaneous

Listen to Lawyer2Lawyer, Earn CLE Credit

Posted on March 08, 2010
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.legaline.com/uploaded_images/L2L_2009_300x300-714324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="http://www...

Podcast: The Google Books Settlement

Posted on March 08, 2010
Is <a href="http://books.google.com/">Google Books</a> the greatest-ever collection of human knowledge or a massive infringer of copyrights? A lawsuit brought by authors and publishers said it is the latter. In 2008, the Authors Guild and Google reached a settlement of that lawsuit, but the settlement requires the approval of the court...

Planned Law and History School Launches Web Site

Posted on March 07, 2010
A planned law and history college that is gearing up to open its doors to students in August has taken another step in that direction with the launch of its Web site. To be based in Salem, N.H., the <a href="http://www.achls.org/home.htm">American College of History and Legal Studies</a> will be an undergraduate "completion college," offering only junior- and senior-year courses...

More on Dubious 'Best Attorneys' Site

Posted on March 07, 2010
Caryn Tamber at <i>The Daily Record</i> in Baltimore picked up on my post yesterday, <a href="http://www.legaline.com/2010/03/beware-new-best-attorneys-site.html">Beware New 'Best Attorneys' Site</a>, and <a href="http://mddailyrecord...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Dubious Achievement: Shorty Awards for Law

Posted on March 07, 2010
The <a href="http://shortyawards.com/">Shorty Awards</a> have been announced. They honor the best <a href="http://twitter.com/">Twitter</a>-ers. Awards are given in a number of official categories. Users can also create their own award categories...

Beware New 'Best Attorneys' Site

Posted on March 07, 2010
With all the lawyer-ranking sites already out there, I wasn't surprised to see yet another one make its debut. But as I looked under the skin of this latest entrant, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.<br /><br />Launched March 1, the new site is called <a href="http://www...

The Indicted Executive's Guide to the Justice System

Posted on March 07, 2010
The former founder and CEO of a biotechnology company who was indicted and convicted of federal criminal charges has written a 640-page guidebook to help others who face federal criminal charges. The book, <a href="http://www.federaldefendantguide...

Site Provides Photos of Any Intersection

Posted on March 07, 2010
Imagine this scenario: You are a motor vehicle accident lawyer. You have a conference tomorrow involving an accident that took place at an intersection clear across the state. You realize you need photos of the intersection. What can you do?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6...

Mass. Seeks Someone to Run Bar Exam

Posted on March 02, 2010
An interesting job opportunity has been posted by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: <a href="http://www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/docs/bbe-exec-dir-description-032210.pdf">executive director of the Board of Bar Examiners</a>. This, of course, is the board that is responsible for conducting the bar exam and reviewing the qualifications of bar applicants...

New Blog Tracks Religious Land Use Law

Posted on March 01, 2010
A blog launched this month by a Michigan law firm may be the first devoted exclusively to the federal <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/usc_sec_42_00002000--cc000-.html">Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act</a>, a 2000 law designed to prevent local governments from making land-use decisions that disfavor religious groups, which are exempt from paying property taxes...

Blawg Briefs Upcoming SJC Arguments

Posted on February 28, 2010
A new legal blog, <a href="http://jackcushman.com/mab/">Mass. Appellate Briefs</a>, provides an advance look at cases accepted for argument by the Massachusetts <a href="http://www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/">Supreme Judicial Court</a>...

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Posted on February 28, 2010
Here are some of the events at which I will be speaking in the coming months:<br /><ul><li>March 11 and 12, 2010, Boston: Massachusetts Bar Association <a href="http://www.massbar.org/for-attorneys/calendar/mba-events/annual-conference-2010">Annual Conference 2010</a>...

Bloomberg Law: Can it be a Contender?

Posted on February 27, 2010
<span style="font-style: italic;">[The following column originally appeared in print in <span style="font-weight: bold;">January 2010</span>. I am republishing it as part of my continuing effort to maintain an <a href="http://www...

Google Gets Into Case Law Search

Posted on February 27, 2010
<span style="font-style: italic;">[The following column originally appeared in print in <span style="font-weight: bold;">December 2009</span>. I am republishing it as part of my continuing effort to maintain an <a href="http://www...

New Sites for Documents, Research and More

Posted on February 27, 2010
<span style="font-style: italic;">[The following column originally appeared in print in <span style="font-weight: bold;">September 2009</span>. I am republishing it as part of my continuing effort to maintain an <a href="http://www...

A Legal Publisher's New Life

Posted on February 24, 2010
Sam Spencer was once one of the most prominent leaders in legal publishing. For many years, he was publisher and CEO of the Lawyers Weekly chain of publications, based in Boston. Then he became a senior vice president of <a href="http://www.dolanmedia...

Enterprise-level Document Assembly for Small Firms

Posted on February 22, 2010
A new cloud-based document assembly system aims to offer solo and smaller-firm lawyers a tool on a par with the enterprise-level system the company already markets to large firms and corporate legal departments. Called <a href="https://www.contractexpress...

Podcast: Cyberbullying and the Law

Posted on February 22, 2010
This week's episode of our legal-affairs podcast <a href="http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lawyer-2-lawyer/2010/02/cyberbullying-and-the-law/">Lawyer2Lawyer</a> explores the topic of cyberbullying and the law. Just recently, 15-year old student Phoebe Prince from South Hadley, Mass...

Here's a Lawyer Who Thinks Small

Posted on February 22, 2010
Some people <a href="http://www.thinkbigrevolution.com/">think big</a>. Not Toronto lawyer Jordan Farkas. He prefers to think small, as in small claims court. As a matter of fact, he calls himself <br /><a href="http://www.mrsmallclaimscourt...

Two Friends, Two Deaths, One Day

Posted on February 19, 2010
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.legaline.com/uploaded_images/DanSharp-746252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www...

Firm Launches 'Legal Crisis Strategies' Blog

Posted on February 19, 2010
The law firm <a href="http://www.mwe.com/">McDermott Will & Emery</a> has launched <a href="http://www.legalcrisisstrategies.com/">Legal Crisis Strategies</a>, a blog devoted to legal crisis management. The blog will provide advice on "preventing, managing and ending a crisis while protecting a company's reputation and limiting its legal liability...

2010 Edition of Mass. Evidence Guide Now Online

Posted on February 19, 2010
The Supreme Judicial Court has posted the 2010 edition of the <a href="http://www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/guide-to-evidence/">Massachusetts Guide to Evidence</a>. In the absence of formal rules of evidence in Mass., this is the closest the state comes to a document akin to the Federal Rules of Evidence...

Legislature to Hold Hearing on Reporters' Shield Bill

Posted on February 18, 2010
Massachusetts remains one of the minority of states without a shield law to protect journalists' confidential sources. That could change if a bill to be heard by the legislature next week becomes law. The bill, House Bill 1650, would prohibit courts and government agencies from forcing members of the news media to reveal their news sources...

Bloomberg Law: My Extended Review

Posted on February 17, 2010
Law.com now has <a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/lawtechnologynews/PubArticleLTN.jsp?id=1202439542267&Threes_a_Crowd">my extended review</a> of <a href="http://www.bloomberglaw.com">Bloomberg Law</a>, the new legal research service that aims to muscle in on the turf now occupied by Westlaw and LexisNexis...

SJC Affirms Public's Right to View Jury Selection

Posted on February 17, 2010
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued an important decision today underscoring the right of the public and the press to sit in on jury selection in criminal cases. The opinion, Commonwealth v. Cohen, concludes that even a partial closure of the courtroom -- with some family members and non-parties allowed in -- can violate both the First Amendment rights of the public and press and the Sixth Amendment rights of the defendant...

New Site Provides Ratings of Experts and Neutrals

Posted on February 16, 2010
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_iHYDAo93tQY/S3rvy7OcOFI/AAAAAAAAGZo/4UQhiPeP8IE/s1600/courtroominsight.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://lh6...

A Chronology of Legal Technology, 1842-1995

Posted on February 15, 2010
<i>[I came across the following chronology among some old files. I originally compiled it in 1995 in conjunction with a magazine article I wrote.]</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>1842</b></div><br />The fax machine is invented by a Scottish physicist...

My LegalTech Interview with LegalRelay.com

Posted on February 15, 2010
During the recent LegalTech in New York, I sat down for an interview with John Gilman, president and founder of <a href="http://www.legalrelay.com/">LegalRelay.com</a>, a new Web site that features user reviews of legal software. <br /><br />Listen to the <a href="http://www...

The Bloomberg Law Biometric Doohickey

Posted on February 15, 2010
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Last November, I <a href="http://www.legaline.com/2009/11/reviews-bloomberg-law-smart-time-and.html">published my review</a> of <a href="http://www.bloomberglaw...

Lawyer2Lawyer Considers Domestic Violence Laws

Posted on February 10, 2010
The murder of a young woman in Massachusetts raises new questions about the laws and the legal system in cases involving abusive relationships. Nineteen-year old Allison Myrick was stabbed to death, her ex-boyfriend charged with murder. Could the legal system have done more to prevent this tragedy? What can lawyers, judges and other legal professionals do to prevent similar tragedies? <br /><br />This week on the legal-affairs podcast <a href="http://legaltalknetwork...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.