Legal Commentary

SOS FOR IOWA LAWYERS

Posted on June 21, 2008
I turn the mic over to Tom O'Connor, and his TechnoGumbo blog: Ernie Svenson has a post on his blog today with pointers to the Linn County Bar Association which includes Cedar Rapids, a city hard hit by the recent flooding and location of the Linn County District Court...

IT MANAGEMENT: DARK FORECAST?

Posted on June 20, 2008
From the June issue of Law Technology News: By David Baker It's all over the news. Stock market declines, subprime mortgage mess, oil prices, decline in earnings. An uncertain time, causing uneasy speculation in the inner circles of most law firms ? how will this affect us? Will deal work slow down? Will litigation caseloads grow or decline? Does our bankruptcy practice have enough talent? Should we slow down recruiting? What about that unprofitable office in a promising region? How can we retain our important clients? Is there elasticity in our rates? Such questions show good business judgment in responding to market conditions and anticipating their impact on the business and practice of law.

ANDY'S A STAR

Posted on June 10, 2008
Check this out!!! LTN edit board member Andy Jurczyk, CIO of Sonnenschein, stars in this new Apple video about the new iPhone 2.0: Click on "Hear What IT executives are saying about iPhone 2.0" video. The production quality is amazing!

OUR PHONES ARE FRIED

Posted on June 10, 2008
All: If you are trying to reach the NYC office of ALM/Incisive, our phones have melted in the heat wave. Please use e-mail to reach us: (lawtech@alm.com) and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can. Ironically, we can call out but can't get incoming calls.

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"SELL YOUR TECH," WITH DOUG CADDELL

Posted on June 06, 2008
Our June edition of Law Technology Now podcasts features Doug Caddell, CIO of Foley & Lardner, who discusses "Sell Your Tech" -- how law firms can no longer just market their lawyers, they must use their technology tools as well to win, and keep, clients...

ONLY IN SAN FRANCISCO

Posted on June 04, 2008
Frank Lopez, marketing director, recently announced Hanson Bridgett's "new look" (and new tagline, "inspired") -- with this video of managing partner Andrew Giacomini, (right) "walking" the streets of San Francisco. Here's a clue: It's slugged "The World Accordion to Hanson Bridgett...

LAW MARKETING LISTSERV TV

Posted on June 04, 2008
The ever-clever Larry Bodine, a long-time member of the LTN edit board, has launched a nifty new feature on his Law Marketing Listserv (a must-have resource for all legal marketers). Now, there's a TV-style screen that can tell visitors to the Law Marketing website see the conversations on the listserv...

SNEAK PREVIEW: FUTURETECH AT LTWC

Posted on June 04, 2008
We've been putting the final touches on the upcoming, first-time ever Law Technology News Presents FutureTech at LegalTech West Coast. We're calling it "The Trifecta" inside ALM, because it's the first time we've conceived an effort that includes a live presentation, podcasts, and an LTN report...

CAN YOU ADAPT?

Posted on June 02, 2008
Cover Story: June 2008 Law Technology News By Monica Bay Electronic data discovery is not just raising havoc with trial strategies, risk management decisions, litigation budgets, and document retention policies, it?s also uprooting traditional support staff job descriptions in law firms, corporate law departments and vendor shops...

2009 LTN AWARDS - NOMINATIONS OPEN

Posted on June 01, 2008
It's that time again -- to nominate your company or law firm for the annual Law Technology News Awards -- which will be presented at LegalTech New York 2009. Here's the 411 on how you can nominate your product or company for the Vendor Awards, (voted on by our readers) or your law firm, law department, or pro bono project awards, selected by our jury from LTN's editorial advisory board...

JUST A TOOTHBRUSH.....

Posted on June 01, 2008
Jill Nawrocki, who left ALM to join the Peace Corps, where she is working with young people in Africa, is a treasure. She is an absolute delight, smart, perky (in a good way), indefatigueable, warm, with a joyous personality and outlook. Her experiences are so humbling, and just reading her missives makes we want to cry for the things we take for granted, and what a huge difference in people's lives can be generated by just small change...

GOODBYE, HELLO

Posted on June 01, 2008
Martha Fay Africa, a former member of LTN's Editorial Advisory Board, has boomeranged right back to the legal headhunting firm that bears her name. I'll turn it over to my colleagues, reporter Niraj Chokshi and photograph Jason Doiy, at The Recorder: After leaving almost exactly one year ago, recruiter Martha Fay "Marty" Africa has returned to the legal search firm that bears her name...

MAIL BAG #060108

Posted on June 01, 2008
On the road again..... catchin' up with the in-box: * Upcoming Webinars: -- TutorPro Ltd. is offering TutorAuthor NG, designed to help law firms create online educational programs. There are six sessions scheduled this summer. -- Guille Rayala of Workshare is inviting you to a Workshare/Microsoft webcast on automating enterprise contract management...

SPONTANEOUS KEWL

Posted on May 20, 2008
My colleague, Anthony Paonita, acting editor-in-chief of ALM's Corporate Counsel magazine, is also a photographer, and I just love his whimsical mini-blog, "Corner, Lower Left." Check it out here.

CELL PHONE BOARDING PASSES

Posted on May 20, 2008
Pretty soon you may not need to print out boarding passes -- which is easy on your outbound flight, but a pain when returning home if you don't have easy access to a printer. LTN's ace admin asst, Safia Maharaj, spotted this boston.com report about a pilot (bad pun?) project at Boston's Logan airport, where Continental Airlines is testing an electronic version of boarding passes...

TOM O'CONNOR HONORED

Posted on May 20, 2008
Tom O'Connor, a long-time member of LTN's Editorial Advisory Board, and director of the Electronic Documents Institute, was among those honored for his tireless work on behalf of the Gulf Coast legal community, at the International Litigation Support Leaders Conference, May 15-16, sponsored by Litigation Support Today magazine...

PLAXO BOUGHT BY.... COMCAST?!

Posted on May 20, 2008
Social networking compa Plaxo has announced plans to be acquired by... Comcast?! wow.

NO ENERGY CRISIS IN NOLA

Posted on May 10, 2008
About 300 people attended this week's Louisiana Bar Association's first Solo & Small Firm Technology Conference -- about three times the number originally expected by the organizers of this nuts-and-bolts conference. LSBA's Eric Barefield, left, -- who has the long title of Professional Counsel for Law Office Management and Professional Assistance -- was the chief organizer of the program, which not only was a crash course in legal technology but a nifty way to rack up a whole lot of CLE credits in two days...

TOM O'CONNOR ON LAW TECHNOLOGY NOW

Posted on May 09, 2008
E -Discovery: Defining Documents -- Bye Bye Bates One of the most challenging problems facing litigators is how to work with the massive volume of digital documents produced during discovery. In the past, each piece of paper was stamped with a "Bates" number -- to help manage exhibits...

LIVE FROM NEW ORLEANS

Posted on May 08, 2008
I am demonstrating live blogging during my presentation to the La. Bar Assn.

BODINE ON SOCIAL NETWORKING & CMOs

Posted on May 01, 2008
Let's turn the mic over to Larry Bodine, member of LTN's edit board and speaker extraordinaire: Dear Colleagues, I wanted to let you know that I will be a speaker for an upcoming Law Journal Newsletters webinar, "Getting New Business from Online Social Networks," on Thursday, May 15, 2008 from 12:00PM ? 2:00PM Eastern Time...

MONEY HONEY

Posted on April 30, 2008
Our Incisive colleagues in London have created a blog in the wake of Linklaters' decision to hike it's pay bands, and other UK firms resistance to following suit. New associates are now up to £66K.

TICK TOCK 3 O'CLOCK

Posted on April 29, 2008
Dying of curiosity about the 2008 AmLaw 100? The full story goes up tonight on The American Lawyer's website, but you can get a sneak preview at 3 p.m. when editor-in-chief Aric Press presents a free webinar, "The Numbers and What's Behind Them." Press will offer key insights and analysis about what factors have influenced this year's numbers...

SNEAK PREVIEW: FUTURETECH AT LTWC

Posted on April 29, 2008
Campers: I've been JUST a leetle distracted lately, putting the final touches on the upcoming, first-time ever Law Technology News Presents FutureTech at LegalTech West Coast. We're calling it "The Trifecta" inside ALM, because it's the first time we've conceived an effort that includes a live presentation, podcasts, and an LTN report...

EDD: CONTROLLING COSTS WEBINAR

Posted on April 28, 2008
Our latest Law.com/LTN EDD Webinar, E-Discovery: Controlling Costs is now available. This one-hour webinar was sponsored by EED (thanks!) and is free. We had a blast taping this one; how could you not with such a fabulous group of speakers: * Craig Ball, LTN's "Ball in Your Court" columnist and Austin-based trial lawyer/tech guru/ computer forensic examiner...

CONTINUING CHILLY RECEPTION FOR CRM

Posted on April 25, 2008
Let's turn the mic over to Carolyn Elephant of Legal Blog Watch: Law Firms Still Not Relating to Client Relations Management Software Incredibly, many law firms simply can't relate to the importance of client relations management (CRM) software, according to this article by Andrew Burger, one of today's top stories at CRM Buyer...

A PERFECT DAY

Posted on April 24, 2008
Huge thank yous to LTN edit bd members Andy Jurczyk of Sonnenschein, and to David Baker of Baker Robbins Co., for conspiring to grant me a perfect beisbol day, as part of a trip to Chicago this week. A rare day/night Chicago/NY doubleheader at Wrigley and the Cell...

COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU....

Posted on April 21, 2008
Christine Van Tuyl of Smart Draw can't wait until the new courtroom thriller, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, starring Michael Douglas, comes to a nearby theater. I'll let her tell you why: [Our] legal business graphics software, the SmartDraw Legal Edition, is set to make its big screen debut in ...

10 PRACTICES GO GOING GREEN

Posted on April 21, 2008
Adobe's Rick Borstein spotted this article from Ecopreneurist, a primer on 10 ways that organizations can start to go green, by Megan Prusynski: Among the tips: Need some shelves for your office and don?t have a budget for new furnishings? You never know what you might find on freecycle...

LAWYERS ON AMERICAN IDOL?

Posted on April 21, 2008
Monica Phillips Jalil (director of mktg) and the gang at Washington, D.C.'s Ross, Dixon & Bell are pulling out the stops for their former partner Will Hopkins, who is one of 20 finalists in American Idol's Songwriter Contest. Let me turn over the mic: If selected, his song, ?When You Come From Nothing,? will be recorded and released as the first single by the winner of American Idol...

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