GetHuman™ — Talk To A Real Person, Not A Machine.

17 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Internet, References, Research

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GetHuman™

Every so often, you need information from a company or business. Your boss wants it yesterday, and all you have is a telephone number you found on the Internet. Each time you call, you end up in a never-ending voice machine loop.

If you haven’t heard of GetHuman™, take a minute to check it out. This is what I like about it. I can use its database to find a direct number to the company. It gives me instructions to bypass the voice machine, and talk to an actual person. Better yet, it is the person who has the answer to my question.

The last time I used it, it gave me an 800 number to call and then told me to press the star button four times when asked for an account number. A voice machine asked one easy question and, after a few minutes’ wait, someone from the legal department asked how he could help. I could ask all my questions, and get the answers I needed. From there, it was a short step to finish the assignment.

If you are unsuccessful, tell GetHuman™ what happened. How long did you have to wait? What was the problem? Did it have the company you needed? GetHuman™ takes that information, and uses it to fix improve its database.

It may not always be perfect, but it has helped me more often than not. Give it a try. -CCE

Craig Ball’s Lawyers’ Guide to Forms of Production.

19 Monday May 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Adobe Acrobat, Authentication, Bates Numbers, Computer Forensics, Databases, Discovery, Document Review, E-Discovery, Emails, Evidence, Federal Judges, Federal Rules of Discovery, Federal Rules of Evidence, Forensic Evidence, Judges, Legal Forms, Legal Technology, Native Format

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Adobe Acrobat, Ball in Your Court, Bates Numbering, Craig Ball, Databases, E-Discovery, E-Mail, ESI, Evidence, Lawyers' Guide to Forms of Production, Native Format, Redaction

A Guide to Forms of Production, by Craig Ball, Ball In Your Court Blog

http://ballinyourcourt.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/a-guide-to-forms-of-production/

Craig Ball’s Lawyers’ Guide to Forms of Production! Although Mr. Ball says there is much he wants to re-organize and rewrite, I can’t wait to dive in. You will find the hyperlink to the Guide when you go to the web site. Thank you, Craig Ball! -CCE

Semiannually, I compile a primer on some key aspect of electronic discovery. In the past, I’ve written on computer forensics, backup systems, metadata and databases. For 2014, I’ve completed the first draft of the Lawyers’ Guide to Forms of Production, intended to serve as a primer on making sensible and cost-effective specifications for production of electronically stored information. It’s the culmination and re-purposing of much that I’ve written on forms heretofore, along with new material extolling the advantages of native and near-native forms.

Reviewing the latest draft, there is much I want to add and re-organize; accordingly, it will be a work-in-progress for months to come. Consider it a “public comment” version. The linked document includes exemplar verbiage for requests and model protocols for your adaption and adoption. I plan to add more forms and examples. . . .

Going to Trial – Not Boxes of Documents Anymore.

23 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Legal Technology, Pre-Trial, Presentations, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Databases, Michael Skzypek, Pre-Trial, The Trial War Room Handbook Blog, Trial, Trial Techniques

Pre-Trial and Presentation Databases – Assembling Your Materials, by Michael Skzypek, The Trial War Room Handbook Blog

http://www.thetrialwarroomhandbook.com/?p=878

Back in the analog days, a parade of lawyers and paralegals would march into the courtroom right before a trial started, carrying dozens of bankers’ boxes filled with documents and other evidence. These days, attorneys in most medium-to-large cases digitize everything from contracts to deposition transcripts, photos, and video and organize them in databases. As such, a trial presentation technician walks into the courtroom carrying just a laptop – but one loaded with a database that contains the equivalent of hundreds of bankers’ boxes of material.