This is truly scary -- Laptops can be searched!
A recent 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal allows the government to search, seize and download laptop data at border crossings despite the Fourth Amendment! Suspicion is not required. A warrant is not required. No protection is available for the individual under this ruling. Just one more liberty removed.
The panel suggested that travelers should no longer expect privacy!
Rules of professional conduct require confidentiality. ABA Model Rule 6.1 provides that "A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client ... " Thus, a lawyer should not have any information on the laptop about clients' matters. If that's true, then can a lawyer travel across the border with a laptop? Arguably not!
Chevron GC gripes against technology vendors
Charles A. James, General Counsel of Chevron, Inc., started his keynote remarks at Los Angeles’ LegalTech program by describing his employer, Chevron, as one of the Corporate 5!
I’m familiar with Corporate 100, AmLaw 100, etc. When he spoke about the top 5 companies in the world, he jarred my sensitivities. He’s right, of course, and I intellectually knew that. But, he connected with the emotional side of my understanding. He got my attention.
Of course, that’s the function of the keynote presenter – get the attention of the audience. He did that by describing his gripes against technology vendors ... and challenges to law firms.
Discussing how much work Chevron "farms out" (outsources) to outside counsel, and the metric (see below) he uses to increase the size of his internal legal department, Mr. James was more candid than I recall from other GC.
LA Tech Show
New York (ALM) is the “big one.” Chicago is home of the ABA. And now, Los Angeles is doing its part in promoting the effective use of technology. The partnership between ALM and Los Angeles County Bar Association continues to grow. Countervailing trends are at work and I’m eager to see the results with the show opening tomorrow.
Travel has become more difficult and expensive, thus localizing efforts to bring the information to the people rather than the people to the information makes sense. Of course, you do remember we’re talking about technology? There should be no reason to travel to see the benefits of technology ... just do it over the web!
On the other hand, as the phone company realized years ago, “high tech, high touch” is required to be truly effective today. Thus, personal contact and demonstration and networking are essential even in a techie world. Hence, the LA show.
There has been so much consolidation in the legal services world of technology, however, that it will be interesting to see just how many vendors are left standing to show in Los Angeles.
Stay tuned for more. As I said, I’m eager to see the 2008 version of the show.
Blogging and TechnoLawyer
TechnoLawyer has created a new video with their 30,000th eBook download. A fun job ... Can you see our LawBiz Blog in the list of blogs? You have to look fast as the video speeds up at the end! <g> But, we're there.
Will lawyers adopt to social networking?
There’s LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, Plaxo Pulse, and .... other social networks.
In a recent article by Larry Bodine, he cited the following statistics: Less than 8% surveyed believe social networking is important to them; 91% said they spend less than 25% of their online time working with social networks. Still, these are rather large numbers to be devoting to a networking process that is relatively new ... As with other technologies, we will have to wait and see if this takes hold.
Law Technology Trends
Walter Mossberg, “personal technology” writer for the Wall Street Journal, highlighted a very interesting trend to a small group of consultants where I was a participant. He was looking at the industry from the 50,000 foot level when he said that it is the consumer that is driving change in technology. The winners in the race will be those who can develop new techniques to make the consumer’s life easier – without being a tech wizard.
Continue Reading...LawBiz Tips published
LawBiz Tips edition for the current week has been released. Using financial benchmarks to analyze your firm's performance has been the focus of several financial software companies. Is this of interest to you?
Also, I talk about dreaming having a poor ROI. What does this mean for the law firm? Read LawBiz Tips and learn my approach.
ABA Tech Show pictures
Lisa Solomon is tech savvy. I learn from her everytime we're together.
We went to dinner while in Chicago this last week and she took several photographs. Here are two of them that are listed on Facebook, one of the sprouting social networks. One should be careful what is placed on internet boards such as this ... This entry is sedate and trustworthy. This is the first posting for me, excluding our Airstream trailer, of photos on this site.
ABA Tech Show interview
During the ABA TechShow, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Rob of LexBlog.
Tech Show - Product evaluation
At the ABA Show, one product continues to impress me ... Fujitsu's ScanSnap. Model 501 is their desktop model ... it's outstanding. See my podcast with Derek Flower of Fujitsu, talking about the features and benefits of this unit.
At the Tech Show, I got to see the new portable unit, Model #300 .... It is sooooo small, light and priced right. Consider buying this if scanning on the road can benefit your practice.
ABA Tech Show
At its annual technology fest in Chicago, the American Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section once again displays its value to the legal profession ... and its skill in throwing a great party.
As I walked around the Hilton Hotel, the new site for the show, I met many folks that I have known for years and some new folks as well. It is in these walks around the Exhibit Hall and elsewhere at the Show that I learn the most.
Once again, though, I realize that it's the people you know that is the most important element to growing one's business ... Competence is presumed. But, when people like and trust you, they will help you grow, they will teach you valuable lessons about your business ... and they make it a joy to attend conferences such as this. And, if they happen to be customers/clients of you, they will be loyal to you, you will be able to count on their business for your firm's growth.
Challenges facing sole practitioners
In a recent poll, the following areas were said to be the greatest concern for sole and small firm practitioners:
- Income fluctuations
- Managing the practice
- Lack of help in the practice
- Isolation from other attorneys
- Inability to discuss ideas with colleagues
Continue Reading...
Facebook for Lawyers
In a recent post, Joshua Fruchter cited several statistics that I find quite interesting:
- There are more than 63 million active users on Facebook
- Since 2007, Facebook grows by more than 250,000 per year
- There's been an average 3% growth annually since 2007
- Active users double every 6 months
One challenge, though, is how many of these professional and social networking entities can one participate in ... Consider, for example, LinkedIn, supposedly a primary business networking entity. And what about YouTube? One could spend an entire life in this new, virtual world ... and I'm not sure that would produce the best results. So, how does one choose?
Crisis management, and then some!
According to one source, crisis management statistics include causes that are outside of those traditionally thought about by law firms. But, in addition to Katrina, broken pipes, etc. think about the following:
About 53% of marketing executives responding to a recent survey by BtoB and Eric Mower and Associates, said they have experienced a business crisis that resulted in negative news coverage, declining sales or reduced profitability. About the same number (57%) reported that their company does not have a crisis response plan currently in place.
Of the 43% of companies that have developed a plan, 10% worry about their ability to carry it out, and only one-half have trained spokespersons ready.
Some 23% of respondents who went through a crisis said it took three months to a year for their brand to fully recover, while 13.3% said recovery took more than two years and 17.7% said they have not yet recovered after two years.
Causes for these companies' crises vary. A majority of survey respondents (55.7%) said layoffs, shutdowns or business foreclosures created the crisis. Some 45.2% blamed operational or services failures, 33% cited legal or ethical problems and 32.2% pointed to a competitive attack, such as negative word-of-mouth or messaging by others who have a vested interest in damaging the company.
Quick Fix
Today's Wall Street Journal, section D, discusses several topics of interest for business success. One topic relates to technology. What do you do when your cell phone or laptop battery loses its charge while on the road?
Answer: Carry a lightweight charger that needs no electrical outlet. What a simple idea! I didn't know they made such things. Check out Duracell's PowerSource Mobile100, available at Amazon.com and elsewhere. There are other brands as well.
Cyber Monday is here!
Cyber Monday is here .. indications that sales will be ahead of last year by 15% to 20% on line! Buyers are shopping at the physical stores and then going on-line to seek better prices. Boot up and go shopping! When times get tough, the tough go shopping ... <g>
Yesterday, I bought a great camera, a new model from a high quality brand. I couldn't believe the difference in the pricing between what I saw in the store and the price of a reputable on-line operation (which, by the way, has a physical store in New York). And my wife says she will buy everything on-line this year in order to avoid the long lines and surly service in stores.
Is there an ethical issue in this circumstance? What are the ethics of using the service of a store, determining what you want, and then buying on-line because of a price differential? Is there any difference between this circumstance and comparing pricing among various stores?
Social Capital - How to invest
“J. A. Barnes in the 1950s defined a social network as ‘an association of people drawn together by family, work or hobby.’ In the digital age, social networking websites amplify opportunities to associate and grow our social (personal and/or professional) capital.”
Continue Reading...E-billing: Blessing or Burden
In an article in the September 2007 edition of Law Firm Inc., e-billing is discussed. Here are some of the primary points made in the article:
Pro
• Find errors and charges that aren’t in keeping with the client’s billing standards
• Compares costs among various outside law firms
• Saves 15 - 18% of its outside legal costs in some instances
• Reduces workload in reviewing and approval process
• Increase payment by 30 days to the law firm
• Faster pay increases profit for the law firm
Con
• Increased cost connected with e-billing
• Usually have to hire a dedicated person/staff to deal with the e-billing detail
• Places small firms at a competitive disadvantage because they generally can’t afford the cost of the software, the learning curve and the additional staff required to handle the process
• On-going software maintenance fees
• Additional fee for each additional custom billing template needed for a new client
• Added accounting requirements
• Steep learning curve for attorneys to learn different billing codes for each client
• Increased possibility/likelihood of billing errors because of lack of uniformity in codes
• Rejection of total billing invoice when there is a human error on one element – invoice is returned for correction
• Notification of error is seldom complete and law firm is expected to know what the error is; if this is not the case, the process becomes process, return, fix, return, reject, etc., until it is finally determined what the error is and it’s fixed.
The article concludes that, at the moment, e-billing today is not likely to benefit law firms, though it may in the future; but it clearly is an added cost of doing business.
Thus, whether it's a blessing or a burden depends on which side of the table this discussion finds you.
Follow up to lawyers blogging
After I posted my Q & A about lawyers blogging, I received a copy of the ABA's Law Practice Today with its lead article being a well-written piece by Greg Siskind on lawyers and blogging.
Another article in this edition concerns the changing landscape of the legal profession and outsourcing, written by me.
Do blogs work for lawyers?
Q:
Ed, you’re an avid blogger—I read LawBiz® Blog all the time. I’ve even contemplated starting my own blog. What could blogging do for my private law practice?
Disaster plans impacted by technology
Gary Chen, Senior Analyst for Yankee Group Enterprise made the following important points in the recent Application Continuity 2007 conference about technology:
- 83% of medium businesses (more than 100 people) have remote or mobile workers
- That means that only 17% of such businesses have no mobile workers at all
- Lifestyles today blend work and personal activities with fluid boundaries between the two
- 15% of our workforce are telecommuters
- 23% of our workforce travel long distance
- 27% of our workforce travel locally
- "Anywhere solutions" can boost productivity and enhance the probability of recovery in the event of disasters
- New technology for unified communications, not yet a driving force, is generally reviewed, if at all, at the time of replacement or updates rather than as an independent purchase now
- One of the greatest challenges facing today's business is that information is lost or stranded within the head of one individual
That means that technology becomes even more important in the management of a law firm. Technology affects current law firm profitability and becomes essential for survival and continuity in times of disaster. In current terminology, "knowledge management" will be the backbone of the success and survival of a law firm. And knowledge management needs enhanced technology to be effective and readily available. As I've said before, I believe law firms of the future will grow or die based on their effective implementation of knowledge management.
LawBiz® Tips redesigned
| Venice, CA 90291 | September 25 2007 | |
| Law Practice Management Tips and Business Secrets to Arrive Weekly VENICE, Calif., September 25, 2007—Law business growth and management consultant Ed Poll announces the release of the new version of his free eNewsletter, LawBiz® Tips, that has a fresh updated look and is presented in a modern HTML design. Arriving weekly instead of monthly, this version offers a new twist on Poll’s already famous advice for lawyers on how to make running a law practice easier, less stressful, and more profitable. “As readers will notice in the very first issue, the new newsletter has a high value content like the old one but is now delivered in more ‘bite-size’ chunks,” says Poll, founder and president of LawBiz Management Company. Poll practiced law for 25 years, was the CEO and COO of several manufacturing businesses, and has been a consultant to small and large law firms for 15 years. “I’m excited about our new format and hope readers will find it more enjoyable.” The average issue will feature one article that focuses on a critical aspect of the reader’s law career and business, whether it is low-cost strategies to improve marketing, managing, selling, client management skills, account keeping, or employee relations. The newsletter will also cover some of the personal issues lawyers who run their own practice might feel uncomfortable discussing, such as how to improve relationships at work or what to do with a partner who is not pulling his or her weight. And just like the old newsletter, this one will still feature Ed’s own personal commentary, updating readers on upcoming speaking engagements and family news. In each issue subscribers also get: • Access to free gifts and special offers • Announcements of special events • Discounts on Poll’s CLE products and coaching • Their privacy protected. Participants can unsubscribe anytime. The first issue that was released today discusses why law firm managers should focus less on making money themselves and channel that energy into being a better leader and decision-maker for the firm as a whole. To sign up to receive this issue and many more, please visit www.LawBizTips.com. To schedule an interview with Ed Poll, or to find out more about his law business consulting and coaching, please contact Carolyn McKibbin at 617-230-4886 or Carolyn@ictusinitiative.com. ### |
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| Carolyn McKibbin (Carolyn@ictusinitiative.com) Public Relations The Ictus Initiative 343 Commercial St Boston, MA 02109 Phone : 617-230-4886 |
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Law firm virtual banking
During a discussion amongst law firm chief financial officers that I moderated for the American Bar Association, one of the best practices mentioned was the use of check scanners. Coincidentally, not more than 7 weeks after that event, my bank installed a check scanner into my office.
It is a remarkable instrument that further reduces the bank float from your clients and gives you almost immediate access to "good funds." No more waiting for the "check to clear" or other excuse for delaying your use of funds.
Continue Reading...Law firm marketing truth
Scott Greenfield takes me to task about my comment that a busy lawyer can have a ghostwriter help out in blog posts. He apparently believes that only the lawyer should write the post ... and perhaps he further believes (though I don't want to put words into his writing) that lawyers should not market their expertise ... or that blogging is not a marketing tool.
I appreciate the opportunity he gives me to expand my thoughts on this subject further. What follows is my response to Scott:
I truly enjoyed reading your comments on what I did not say; quite amusing. I think, however, that you miss the true value of blawging (blogging). It is to convey value, to convey information and to convey help to the reader. Oh, yes, it can be to vent and it can be to journal, but that was not the context in which I made my comment. Lawyers use the blawging process to communicate their existence to the world - to express their expertise so as to make prospective clients aware of them ... and, hopefully, to become clients. If this is true, and I believe it to be and can point to many examples, then it is a marketing tool. Just as large firms have marketing and business development departments, producing quality material that may or may not be written by attorneys (but for which the attorneys/law firm are responsible), so to can blogging be performed under the direction of an attorney though not written by him/her.
Attorneys do not do everything done in a law firm. That doesn't make the information or the service a "scam." There are trial briefs written by paralegals -- is this a scam? There are deposition summaries written by paralegals -- is this a scam? There are many things done for lawyers under the lawyers direction/responsibility that provide benefit for clients .. and enable lawyers to more effectively market their services to new prospects.
Take this out of the context of the law office, there are many books written for famous people that appropriately convey the intent and meaning of the "author." Are these scams? Does the public not get value in better understanding the character and message of the famous person? Lee Iacoca is one that comes to mind quickly. We learned a lot about him, his life and his message ... though he didn't write the book himself.
Blogging is not the last, great American novel ... it is a business tool. As such, one can take a business-like approach to its application. Google certainly does, so I'm not sure why you don't.
Again, thanks for writing about my belief system and allowing me the opportunity to expand on it a bit more ... though I certainly didn't say all the things you said I said. <g>
Continue Reading...Outsourcing - Handle With Care
In his column, Fire Wire, John Tredennick, writes the most extensive and articulate article on the subject of outsourcing I've read.
iPhone hacked and unlocked
News just hit that the iPhone has been hacked and unlocked! You weren't supposed to be able to do this --- guess what? A 17 year old kid did!
Terry L. Brock tells us the story of George Hotz of New Jersey and then extrapolates some principles from George's persistence in breaking the iPhone code.
What will this mean for users? Ability to get to other phone companies, not just AT & T? Will this affect the privacy and confidentiality issues uppermost in conversation of lawyers? Will there still be an expectation of privacy when lawyers use the iPhone?
While the legal issues may be argued in court, the market place will make many decisions for users as well as Apple, the manufacturer.
Financial planning for law firms
At the ABA conference in San Francisco last week, I had the pleasure to moderate an outstanding panel of experts about the financial management of their firms and their "best practices." The panel consisted of Bob Hirshon, CEO of Stoel Rives in Portland, OR (and former ABA president); Marcia Wasserman, COO of Nossaman Guthner Knox & Elliott; Larry Kleinberg, CFO of Munger Tolles & Olson; and Ron Yano, CFO of Loeb & Loeb.
Reid Trautz mentioned his observations from our panel:
"From a terrific panel of firm financial managers moderated by Ed Poll, comes these interesting ideas:
- Firms are taking advantage of the new check scanners offered by some banks to more quickly and securely deposit client checks.
- More firms are closing their billing on the 25th day of each month to get their bills into the "first of the month" billing cycle of clients--both businesses and individuals.
- Law firms are putting more pressure on partners to collect bills sooner (nothing new there!), but they are using automated e-mail and other added technology features now available in many time & billing programs to keep the pressure on, well, automatically!
- Larger firms are doing more to ensure that each new client matter has a signed representation letter or agreement before starting any work. This is a smart practice, and is just one area where large firms tend to lag behind smaller firms."
Blogging posts - Where does your city rank?
USA TODAY Snapshots tells us, in today's edition, that certain cities blog more than others. I'm not sure how they get this information, but the number of posts per 100,000 residents in March and April are the following:
Boston 89
Philadelphia 88
Pittsburgh 53
Washington 51
Portland, OR 49
I'm surprised that Western cities (further south of OR) aren't on the list and, with all the politicians in the area, why Washington didn't rate higher ...
But, it takes a blog to talk about the blogging list, right? :-)
LawBiz® Blog Increases Lawyers Revenues and Profits -- Now Live!
Press Release
Contact: Ed Poll
800-837-5880
edpoll@lawbiz.com
Immediate Release August 8, 2007
Edward Poll, principal of LawBiz® Management Co., announces that LawBiz® Blog has gone live! As of today, the complete redesign of the Blog site is active.
Blogs gathered together
BlawgWorld 2007 is a free eBook featuring "77 thought-provoking essays from 77 of the most influential blawgs."
I'm pleased to say we were included.
Law Firm Staff: Warning, your printer may be hazardous to your health!
Amber Dance, an LA Times staff writer tells us that the “... laser printer sitting on your desk could be emitting high levels of potentially hazardous particles ...” according to a study published today. “Some printers released almost as many ultra-fine particles as a smoldering cigarette, the study authors said.”
“‘Particles have been shown beyond any doubt to be a health hazard,’ said study author Lidia Morawska, a physicist at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.”
HP LaserJet and Ricoh fared well in the study. But HP, for example, had non-emitters in eight HP LaserJet 4050 series printers, while having high emitters in their LaserJet 1320 and 4250, “which, when printing, increased the particle number in the air more than tenfold.”
Flash drives may have come and gone!
I was really impressed with flash drives, the little pencil sticks with now up to 2 gb of memory. In fact, I was so impressed that I ordered a bunch to give away to friends and clients! But ...
Continue Reading...Technology often makes work more difficult
The New Yorker , May 28, 2007 edition, discusses the impact of our new gadgets, our new technology.
“Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, allowing us to do things more quickly and efficiently. But too often it seems to make things harder, leaving us with fifty-button remote controls, digital cameras with hundreds of mysterious features and book-length manuals, and cars with dashboard systems worthy of the space shuttle. This spiral of complexity, often called ‘feature creep,’ costs consumers time, but it also costs businesses money.”
Continue Reading...Technology in Human Terms
Today, I had the pleasure of listening to Fred Lederer, Professor and Director of the Center for Legal & Court Technology and the Courtroom 21 Project.
I had heard of this project for many years but this is the first time I've been in it ... a marvelous example of future thinking, applied to today's world. Prof. Lederer made some very interesting observations:
Continue Reading...Blackberry fails - Big time!
"In this day and age, not having a backup plan is equivalent to jumping out of a plane without a parachute: it's simply not done," according to Carmi Levy, Senior Research Analyst, with InfoTech Research Group in London, Ont.
Continue Reading...Save energy with better use of technology
See Monica Bay's blog article about saving energy when using new technology.
YouTube and new technology
Many folks are beginning to use video on YouTube. Political satire, personal journal-ing, acting and singing are examples of personal use of the "new" technology.
Law firms, especially sole practitioners, can't be too far behind in this world where change is happening at an ever-increasing pace. For example, I was advised not to buy a new PDA because Apple will be releasing its new i-Phone in the next few months. My audio studio is more sophisticated, I'm told by an engineer, than most radio stations. Yet, it is now obsolete because of Panasonic's new phone system which I just installed that allows me to do the same recording, and more, than I was able to do with the old system.
One can spend both a fortune in money and in time just keeping up. The goal: Stay at the leading edge of technology where it enables you to perform more or more efficiently the work that your clients value from you. Know what the bleeding edge of technology will bring, but otherwise ignore it.
Beware of the Honeypot
Honeypots are a new phenomenon that can ensnare the unwary.
Tech error wipe out!
From Associated Press, (March 20, 2007)
That's what happened to a computer technician reformatting a disk drive at the Alaska Department of Revenue. While doing routine maintenance work, the technician accidentally deleted applicant information for an oil-funded account - one of
There was still hope, until the department discovered its third line of defense, backup tapes, were unreadable.
See full article by Anne Sutton (Associated Press Writer)
Law Firm Technology Tips
Albert Einstein said that "... (technology is) this magnificent applied science which saves work and makes life easier ..." Here are a few such tips for consideration:
1. Radio-frequency identification tags for your luggage will increase the chances of keeping your luggage and tracking it if/when lost.
2. New workplace trend: Use a gym ball in place of a chair. Ergonomic consultants suggest that gym balls help strengthen one's abdominal and lower back muscles as well as improving posture. Technology has helped design some of the fancy chairs now being sold for egonomic benefits. Going back, however, to some of the old ways may be the real solution to back and other medical ills. Einstein went on to say that technology fails to bring us happiness "...because we have not yet learned to make sensible use of it." The gym ball may be one example of "sensible use" of existing knowledge.
Law firm management - Use of cell phones
Cell phones are ubiquitous - In fact, I fear the next generation of young folks may be born with one arm at a 90 degree angle resulting from their parents seemingly being in a permanent "cocked arm" position .
However, there are things you can do with a cell phone that you may not have realized. Check out the following:
Legal Tech Show
The opening keynote for ALM's LegalTech Show set a dramatic tone for the balance of the day and, I suspect, for the balance of the show currently in New York.
David A. Thomas, deputy assistant director of the FBI.
Continue Reading...Identity theft statistics
30% of ID theft occurs through lost or stolen wallets, checkbooks or credit cards.
Moral: Check your belongings frequently, especially your credit cards.
50% of all ID theft is perpetrated by friends, neighbors, employees, family members or relatives.
Moral: It's always the folks who are close to us who have access to our personal information and, most importantly, our trust to be in a position to take from us.
It takes 40 hours on average for a victim of ID theft to clean up the mess.
That's a lot of angst and incredible financial loss (multiply your hourly rate by 40 to know the number.
Approximately 11% of fraud cases are caught via credit monitoring reports.
You're entitled to a free credit report from time to time. Check it regularly to be sure your credit is still intact.
Adobe 8 - New version
I recently interviewed the business development manager for the legal market for Adobe
We talked about their new edition. His comments, I thought, were very interesting ... and merit consideration for the upgrade if you've already got an earlier version. I understand that there were some challenges in version 7 that have been eliminated in the new version.
The interview is scheduled to be featured here ---- look here on Monday ---- and on our web site.
I encourage you to listen. Adobe is more powerful now than ever before ... Adobe seems to be quite satisfied with the quality of their new version 8.
I'd welcome feedback on anyone's experience with the new version 8. Contact me.
Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails
Technology has been cited as the cause for many things ... from landing on the moon to winning a war. And, of course, technology has been blamed for many ills in the world ... from overcrowded airwaves to cell phone use causing traffic accidents to crowded mail boxes, e-mail that is.
Now, a new book by Tom Wheeler, "Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War," suggests that President Lincoln used the technology of the 1860's to win the Civil War.
Spam statistics are frightening!
According to Jeff Davidson, Spam is 90% of all emails.
Jeff further says that Postini, a U.S. email security company, says there were 7 billion spam emails worldwide in November compared to 2.5 billion in June.
Wow! With the holiday season upon us, be even more careful than usual!
Goin' phishing?
How to spot a phish -- the best explanation I've seen.
Cyber Monday is here!
WSJ suggests looking on - line for some great bargains now that Black Friday has come and gone.
See cybermonday.com, fatwallet.com, shopping.msn.com, slickdeals.net and dealtaker.com.
While you're checking out all those great purchase ideas, be sure to guard your wallet ... and your plastic!
Target is sued
Do federal and State disability laws apply to the Internet?
Is Corel a word processing product or stock market ploy?
See the October 9th edition of Business Week. Fantastic new perspective on the company.
Blogging tips
My article, Ten Ways Blogs Boost a Law Firm's Image, was just published by Law Technolgy News and featured on law.com.
On Line Banking is Suspect
With the many stories of hacking into computers, i have always been concerned about entering into on-line banking. I have risked being called "Neanderthal" about my opposition to going on to the Internet to do banking for fear that someone might be able to see my trail/tracking and follow me right into my bank account.
Global Tech Leaders named
Citytech, a London-based publication, just named its Top 100 Global Tech leaders. Among those mentioned were Monica Bay, editor of Law Technology News, Tom Collins of Juris, Inc., and Dennis Kennedy.
Congratulations to all!
Can a lawyer today be "competent" and not technologically proficient?
The State Bar of California is revising is rules of professional conduct, the catalyst being the massive revisions recently made by the American Bar Association.
One of these rules, Rule 1.1 (formerly 3-110), pertains to the definition of “competence.” There is no reference in the definition to technology.&nb