Category Archives: Technology

Social Media in Law Office Marketing.

21 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by in Law Firm Web Sites, Law Office Management, Legal Blogs, Marketing, Technology, Using Social Media

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SEO and Social Media, by Lisa Pansini, Legal Productivity Blog

http://tinyurl.com/nuj2nwp

SEO has always been about one thing: publishing high-quality content that gets seen and linked to by as many people as possible. For years, the foundation of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has been dominated by two key elements: content and links.

Today’s online society has given rise to a third: social media. It wasn’t around during the dawn of the SEO industry, but it’s difficult to ignore the power and importance that social media has in any marketing strategy.

Social Media does more than allow companies to keep up with their competition. It allows them to reach out and interact with their customers while building their brand, creating a sense of community, and driving traffic to their website.

When it comes to social media, however, there is no ‘one size fits all’ rule. . . .

CaseManager iPad App – Fast, Inexpensive, And Highly Recommended.

17 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by in Apple, Apps, Calendar/Docketing, iPad, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Technology

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CaseManager — Manage Your Legal Practice On Your iPhone or iPad, by Jeff Richardson, iPhone J.D.

 http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2014/09/sponsor-casemanager.html

iPads are very popular, but not all attorneys use them to their full potential. This app sounds great. I would like to hear more from those who use it. -CCE

[C]aseManager was created by New York civil rights attorney John Upton as a fast and inexpensive solution for sole practitioners and attorneys with small firms who want to use mobile devices to manage their law practice. The app debuted in 2011, and I discussed the app in August of 2012 and January of 2014. However, the app recently received a major update to version 6.0, when the interface was revised to match the aesthetic of iOS 7 and the upcoming iOS 8. CaseManager is a beautifully designed and useful app for keeping track of all of the key information in your cases:  events, tasks, contacts, time and expenses, plus the facts, notes and documents unique to each case. 

The basic organization of the app is the same as before, but now in version 6, when you launch the app the first thing you see is the calendar entries for today, so you know immediately what is ahead of you. . . .

[Emphasis added.]

 

Legal Edge From JD Supra – App Of The Week.

06 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by in Apple, Apps, Cell Phones, iPad, iPhones, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Technology

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App of the Week: Legal Edge- Stay Up-To-Date on Legal Developments, by Lisa Pansini, Legal Productivity Blog

This app is free – at least for now. -CCE

http://tinyurl.com/k9smzoh

In the business of law, it’s extremely important to stay on top of the latest legal developments. With Legal Edge from JD Supra, you can do just that.

Legal Edge allows you to stay up to date with the latest legal news via updates, alerts, and case filings from the nation’s legal professionals. With this app, you’ll receive a daily stream of articles, briefs, and newsletters on all areas of law. It also includes court filings from notable and newsworthy cases.

Through Legal Edge, you can browse information by industry, profession or topic of interest. You can also contact lawyers or firms directly through your iPhone with any comments or questions you may have about certain documents (this feature is only available for documents posted by JD Supra premium account holders).

The app was recently updated to include informative videos and a save/view functionality which allows you to view documents offline. All that is required is an app that supports PDF viewing on your devices (such as iBooks).

You can rest easy knowing that the content on Legal Edge is provided by Amlaw 100 law firms, attorneys, and other legal organizations and professionals.

Currently, Legal Edge is free and is only available for iOS devices. You can download it today from the Apple App Store.

Survey Says! iPhone Top Choice Among Attorneys.

24 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by in Android Phones, Blackberry Phones, Cell Phones, Cybersecurity, iPad, iPhones, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Mac, Passwords, Tablets, Technology, Technology

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2014 ABA Tech Survey Shows More Attorneys Using iPhones, But iPad Use Holds Steady, by Jeff Richardson, iPhone J.D. Blog

http://tinyurl.com/pxmhlf6

Every year, the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center conducts a survey to gauge the use of legal technology by attorneys in the United States.  My thoughts on the prior reports are located here:  2013, 2012, 2011, 2010.  No survey is perfect, but the ABA tries hard to ensure that its survey has statistical significance, and every year this is one of the best sources of information on how attorneys use technology.  Yesterday, the ABA released Volume VI of the report titled Mobile Lawyers.  This year’s report once again shows that a large number of attorneys are using iPhones and iPads.

Six out of ten attorneys now use an iPhone

In both 2014 and 2013, the survey revealed that 91% of attorneys use a smartphone.  (In 2012 the number was 89% and in 2011 the number was 88%.)  For the past four years, there has been a slight correlation between law firm size and smartphone use.  In 2014, for example, 86% of solo attorneys reported using a smartphone, 89% in firms of 2 to 9 attorneys, 95% in firms of 10 to 49 attorneys, and for firms with 100 or more attorneys, 96% use a smartphone.  As a whole, though, it is fair to say that the survey consistently shows around nine out of every ten attorneys use a smartphone. . . .

Is It Legal Malpractice If You Are Technologically Incompetent?

01 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by in Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Malpractice, Social Media, Technology, Technology, Technology, Trial Tips and Techniques, Using Social Media

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Luddite Lawyers Are Ethical Violations Waiting To Happen, by Megan Zavieh, Lawyerist Blog

http://tinyurl.com/lo9fs45

Do you have a smart phone but only know how to make a telephone call? Do you think of a cloud as some white puffy thing in the sky that looks like a ducky? Do you have a computer on your desk but never turn it on? Is the password to your computer actually “password”? Then this article is for you. Technology is here, and it is not going away. Resistance if futile. -CCE

Technological incompetence used to be merely a competitive disadvantage. Now, it is a potential ethics violation — or even legal malpractice.

During my first year of law school, we were not allowed to do computerized research. Instead, we were taught to use the leather-bound reporters, Shepherds, and treatises. It was only during our second year that we were deemed worthy to use Westlaw and Lexis to ‘confirm’ our book findings. (Of course, I doubt any of us ventured into the stacks again.)

This approach reflected the general attitude of the legal profession in the mid-to-late 1990s. Technology was grudgingly accepted, but not required. Lawyers at big firms had online research accounts and solos went to the law library to use the books. Nobody thought anything was wrong with this, although online research did give big firms a competitive edge.

In 2013, email is ubiquitous, and just about every lawyer has some form of electronic research available on his laptop, tablet, or phone. And everyone — lawyers included — uses Google to find everything else. In law practice, that includes research on witnesses, opponents, judges, and anything else not found in a Fastcase, Westlaw, or Lexis database. Technology is an unavoidable part of practicing law.

Ethics rules follow practice

The ethics rulemakers have taken note of this evolution, and the rules have grown to require technological competence.

Lawyers cannot ignore technology

The ABA made it abundantly clear that lawyers must keep up with technology when it amended comment 8 to Model Rule 1.1 on competence. Comment 8 now reads:

To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, engage in continuing study and education and comply with all continuing legal education requirements to which the lawyer is subject.

(Emphasis added.)

As Nicole Black, Director of Business Development at MyCase, puts it, ‘I think it’s pretty clear that […] lawyers can no longer turn a blind eye to technological advancements and their effect on the practice of law.’ . . .

Jeff Richardson’s Latest for iPhones and Ipads.

26 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by in Android Phones, Apple, Apps, Cell Phones, iPad, iPhones, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Tablets, Technology, Time Management

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In the news, by Jeff Richardson, iPhone J.D. Blog

http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2014/07/apple-2014-q3.html

In this version of Jeff Richardson’s “In the news,” we get a wide variety of iPhone and iPad candy. There is  information about Apple’s new partnership with IBM, smart watches, making the most of Wi-Fi on an iPhone or iPad, apps to track billable hours and listen to podcasts, the iStick – a new thumb drive with a USB and Lightning connector to transfer files between a computer and an iPad without having to use a cloud (a bit pricey for my budget), and Touch ID – a fingerprint scanner for iPhone 5s.

For those of you already in football mode, Jeff shows us how to subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket from any iOS device for $200.

If you are a hiker, you may be interested in a new device that lets you connect to another iPhone or Android device up to 50 miles away even when there is no cell or Wi-Fi Service. You may think of other ways this kind of thing would be handy.  It is nice when traveling abroad because it will allow you to remain in touch with another GoTenna user without having to pay the high international cell roaming fees.

If you think that no one hears you, send an email to Apple COE Tim Cook. Someone sent an email about the quality of the music played while waiting on hold with Apple. Mr. Cook read the email, and fixed it. -CCE

Why Defendant Former Employers Do Not Get Mirror-Image of Plaintiff’s Personal Computer.

30 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by in Computer Forensics, Discovery, E-Discovery, Emails, Employment Law, Evidence, Forensic Evidence, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Requests for Production, Technology

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Proportionality Prevents Mirror Imaging of Family Computers, by Joshua Gilliland, Bow Tie Law’s Blog

http://tinyurl.com/osvw3ws

The Defendants in employment litigation sought the mirror imaging of the Plaintiff’s personal computers three years after she had been terminated. The crux of the eDiscovery centered on the former employee forwarding emails from her supervisors email to her personal account, which the Defendants claimed were lost by the Plaintiff. The Court denied the motion to compel. Downs v. Va. Health Sys., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74415, 6-11 (W.D. Va. June 2, 2014).

Judge James G. Welsh did a very nice job of summarizing ESI relevant to a case,proportionality, and the rules for conducting forensic analysis on an opposing party’s hard drive. The Court held the following:

(1) Nothing in the record suggests any willful failure, fault or bad faith by the plaintiff on her discovery obligations that would justify the requested computer forensics examination;

(2) The “mirror-imaging” of the plaintiff’s family computers three years after her termination raises significant issues of confidentiality and privacy;

(3) There was no duty on the part of the plaintiff to preserve her family computers as evidence;

(4) Principles of proportionality direct that the requested discovery is not sufficiently important to warrant the potential burden or expense in this case; and

(5) On the current record that the defendants have failed to justify a broad, and frankly drastic, forensic computer examination of the plaintiff’s two family computers.

Downs, at *9-10, referencing McCurdy Group v. Am. Biomedical Group, Inc., 9 Fed. Appx. 822, 831 (10th Cir. 2001); see also Basile Baumann Prost Cole & Assocs., Inc. v. BBP & Assocs. LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51264, *8 (D. Md. Apr. 9, 2013). . . .

 

Why Are U.S. Employees The Weakest Link In America’s Cybersecurity?

27 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by in Cybersecurity, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Malware, Office Procedures, Technology, Trojans, Using Social Media

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U.S. Employees Are Weakest Link In America’s Cybersecurity – Part One, by Ralph Loosey, e-Discovery Team®

http://tinyurl.com/kkltm9p

The Chinese army knows this vulnerability and attacks American employees every day to steal trade secrets and gain commercial advantage for Chinese businesses.

Criminal hackers can cause tremendous damage, whether trained in China or not. If a high level expert, such as any member of China’s elite Unit 61398, aka Comment Crew, gets into your system, they can seize root control, and own it. They can then plant virtually undetectable back doors into your systems. This allows them to later come and go as they please. . . .

ClearView Social App – Sharing Social Media or Spam?

24 Saturday May 2014

Posted by in Advertising, Law Firm Web Sites, Law Office Management, Legal Blogs, Technology

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Pseudo Social Sharing Isn’t Smart, It’s Spam, by Robert Ambrogi, Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites Blog

http://tinyurl.com/mkqjkpu

I have to admit I was taken aback by the premise of ClearView Social, the new app being developed by social marketing consultant Adrian Dayton. Targeted at medium and large firms, the app ‘helps attorneys more easily share content with their professional networks through LinkedIn, Twitter and other platforms,’ according to the press release last February.

That sounds harmless enough. But further reading reveals more about what the app does:

ClearView Social allows one person in the firm – for example, a designated marketer – to create a queue of content to be shared in an email template. When attorneys receive the email, they can click a link, which launches the application for sharing the content via various social media platforms, including LinkedIn and Twitter, which are integrated in the tool. This allows attorneys to share on those networks without leaving ClearView Social. It’s as easy as responding to an email.

So the app doesn’t actually help attorneys share content they find worthwhile. Rather, it makes the attorneys the conduits or redistributors of content someone else chooses to share. . . .

A Double Treat – Two-Part Posts On Cybersecurity and Outsourcing From Ralph Losey.

19 Monday May 2014

Posted by in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Computer Virus, Confidentiality, Document Retention, Emails, Encryption, Heartbleed, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Malpractice, Malware, Technology, Technology, Trojans

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The Importance of Cybersecurity to the Legal Profession and Outsourcing as a Best Practice – Part One, by Ralph Losey, e-Discovery Team®

http://tinyurl.com/oalblet

and,

The Importance of Cybersecurity to the Legal Profession and Outsourcing as a Best Practice – Part Two, by Ralph Losey, e-Discovery Team®

http://tinyurl.com/mjek896

It is worth taking the time to read the Comments for both Part One and Part Two. -CCE

Complete Guide to Everything Apple for Legal Professionals.

18 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Apple, Apps, iPad, iPhones, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Mac, Technology

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Mi Apple Practice, from the State Bar of Michigan Practice Management Resource Center

http://www.michbar.org/pmrc/applepractice.cfm

Everything related to using Apple products in a law office, e.g., iPhones, iPads, and Mac. Accessories, apps, articles, blogs, podcasts, how-to’s, reviews, groups, websites, and more – it’s all here. -CCE

The Reason Why You Should Use Evernote.

11 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Evernote, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Technology, Time Management

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A Great Free Guide for Utilizing Evernote, by Jim Calloway, Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog

http://www.lawpracticetipsblog.com/2014/05/great-evernote-guide.html

Here’s a great explanation of why you need to use Evernote.

‘Evernote is software that is a digital extension to your biological memory. Remembering ideas becomes trivial….The intellectual demands on professional life can be overwhelming. Great minds are best deployed to the intractable problems to hand. But life is made up of lots of little things that have to be remembered. Evernote stops you wasting effort on remembering all those little things, and liberates your imagination.’

That explanation was written by Philippe Doyle Gray, a barrister from Sydney, Australia. I was privileged to sit in on the session he taught at ABA TECHSHOW on How to Optimize Evernote. He is now sharing his paper and his training videos on how to use Evernote with the world. Sometimes a picture, or a short video, really is worth a thousand words. Check out his online collection of Evernote resources for lawyers. We believe that Philippe was the first Austrailian to give a presentation for ABA TECHSHOW and my guess is that this will not be his last time. . . .

The Mashable Hit List.

13 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by in Android Phones, Apps, Cell Phones, Clouds, Computer Virus, Disaster Preparedness, Dropbox, Emails, Encryption, Google, Heartbleed, Identity Theft, Law Firm Web Sites, Law Office Management, Legal Blogs, Legal Technology, Malware, Office Procedures, Passwords, PC Computers, Search Enginges, Technology, Using Social Media

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The Heartbleed Hit List: The Passwords You Need to Change Right Now, The Mashable Team

http://mashable.com/2014/04/09/heartbleed-bug-websites-affected/

If you wondered whether any main specific websites are affected, such as Yahoo, this list will help you.  It will also help explain the Heartbleed bug,  and why you should pay attention to what it is. If you want to know whether your specific bank was compromised, this list may not answer all your questions. So, if you’re not sure whether you should change your password, go ahead and do it.

Even better, find a password manager in this list of the best of the best from PC Magazine by Neil J. Rubenking — http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407168,00.asp. If you use one password for more than one website — and lots of people do — this is a good solution and a wise move regardless of the Heartbleed bug. -CCE

 

Jim Calloway And The ABA TECHSHOW.

05 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by in Law Office Management, Legal Blogs, Legal Technology, Management, Marketing, Technology, Time Management, Using Social Media

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ABA TECHSHOW 2014 – Interview with The TECHSHOW Chair, by Jim Calloway, Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog

http://tinyurl.com/khy3wwj

If you are interested in legal technology and law office management and you don’t know about Jim, it’s time to get acquainted. Jim Calloway is the Director of the Management Assistance Program of the Oklahoma Bar Association.  He is a nationally recognized expert, and the recognition is well deserved. Among other things, he produces, with Sharon Nelson, The Digital Edge: Lawyers and Technology, a monthly podcast. You will also find his articles on the ABA’s and Oklahoma Bar Association’s websites.

In this post, he shares an interview with Techshow Chair, Natalie R. Kelly, 60 Sites in 60 Minutes lineup, the ABA Journal article on the program, and 60 sites list. Really good stuff. -CCE

High Tech Thieves Looking Forward to Windows XP Deadline.

06 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by in Disaster Preparedness, Law Office Management, Technology

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XP – The Operating System That Will Not Die, by Mark Ward, Technology correspondent, BBC News

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26432473

 An earlier post about the upcoming demise of Windows XP is here:

 https://researchingparalegal.com/2013/12/27/open-season-for-malware-in-april-2014-are-you-ready/

It’s an event that Microsoft has been warning people and businesses about for months. And it is one that hi-tech thieves have been looking forward to as those digital protections start to diminish.

In a bid to get users shifting over to a more modern version of windows, Microsoft has created a website that tells people if they are, or are not, running the software and on 8 March will make a pop-up warning appear on the screens of those who are still using it. . . .